Caroling with Trayvon - by Tara

01/21/20

Happy new year! A new year means a new semester of After School Program! Before we dive into the new year and all of its excitement, I wanted to reflect on what happened at the end of last semester. 

To finish off the fall semester and to celebrate the Christmas season, we took our students Christmas caroling around our neighborhood. Each of our students came prepared with a goody bag filled with hot chocolate mix, chocolates, and candy canes to give out at each house. I took the first and second graders around with three of the older kids who could lead the way and show them how to best carol. One of these kids was Trayvon. 

At the first house we stopped at, we saw a man outside blowing leaves. Trayvon led the way, gave him his goodie bag, and asked him if we could sing him some Christmas carols. After belting out Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and We Wish You a Merry Christmas, the man thanked us with an appreciative smile on his face. Before we went on to the next house, I pulled Trayvon aside and asked if he would be willing to see if the man would allow us to  pray for him. Without hesitation, he went to the man and asked him if he had any prayer requests. After learning that the man’s father was in the hospital, Trayvon prayed a powerful prayer asking God to heal the man’s father and proclaiming that God is the true healer. The man was touched as we said our goodbyes and headed onto the next house.

That bold, truth-filled prayer is just one of the few that I’ve gotten to hear Trayvon pray recently. In another instance when we prayed before meal-time, Trayvon thanked God for being our Good Shepherd, something we’ve been talking about at lot since this summer. I’m unsure if Trayvon and his family pray at home, but I know that at UrbanPromise, Trayvon is surrounded by and experiences prayer. He hears God’s promises and remembers them. This has led him to pray in a way that encourages everyone who hears it, including me.