Mentoring in service to others

Minneapolis police officer on horse

I had the pleasure last night of helping to serve a meal once again to some of the people impacted by the tornado in north Minneapolis.  It was an added delight to see one of the volunteers, a young man, "K.J." who was matched many years ago in the Kinship mentoring program.  He was there serving others with his Kinship friends, Walt and Heather Carpenter.

K.J. was a little guy when he got matched up with the Carpenters, who lived nearby by him in north Minneapolis. Now he's 14 and can look them in the eyes.  Walt jested that he's got to be nice to K.J., having himself grown up in a family with brothers that grew to be bigger than he was.

Horses drawing attention and adoration

The Carpenters are very involved members of Christ English Lutheran and exemplary models of service.  During the meal last night Heather was organizing the food and volunteers, while Walt was manning the dishwasher.

There was a great turn out of a few dozen volunteers helping out.  And again, the Northside residents were most gracious and appreciative.  As is often the case, those serving may have been more blessed than those receiving.

When leaving the church it was interesting to see a couple of police on horseback who were patrolling the area. The horses were a big hit with residents.