Just Do Good

This past Saturday, I had the privilege of spending the day in Compton as part of a program called The Compton Initiative. To give you a little background, the program was started in 2005 by Emmanuel Reformed Church (the church my family and I currently attend) in an effort to bring healing to a neighboring city.

The church made a 40-year commitment to the city of Compton and as each workday comes and goes, more and more churches, businesses, non-profit organizations, and volunteers have come out to turn the city around.

Last Saturday's workday was my first and in more ways than one, I was blessed. Connect, the young adults group I'm a part of, was assigned to Longfellow Elementary School, where we were responsible for painting six murals on three handball courts and repainting the school's hopscotch, dodgeball, and foursquare courts.

The murals were designed by one of Connect's leaders and each had an inspirational message: acceptance, respect, leadership, cooperation, ambition, and responsibility. They were creative in design, vibrant in color, and gave so much life to the school's dreary schoolyard.

The school's principal (pictured above in green), as well as a handful of teachers, parents and students, stopped by and spent most of the day helping in any way possible. The school's staff was more than generous and accommodating, as they provided extra equipment and even cookies and punch!

When all was said and done, the principal was in tears as she thanked us for our service. And she said something that will stick with me forever: "Don't ever think that all you did was just paint murals and lines, because what you did proves to these kids that someone does care about them and their school."

I remember when I was attending Carpenter Elementary School in Downey we had a ceremony that unveiled a new mural on our handball court and being really excited about it. To this day, I can drive by the school and still see it. Without a doubt, the murals we painted will leave a last impression at Longfellow Elementary School. I just wish I could've been there on Monday when the kids arrived...I can just imagine their excitement.

We'll be out in Compton again May 2, June 27, Sept. 19 and Nov. 21, so if you're interested in helping out, let me know and we'll make sure to put you to work!

Oh, and the mural that is pictured above is the mural my team of six worked on! Talk about teamwork!

~Brooke