It was a long but good first week of school, then it was Saturday morning. Finally, a chance to sleep in! Well, not for 18 Randolph-Macon Academy students who chose to wake up even before the sun rose over the mountains.
They woke up before dawn in order to serve as lights to people in need in Warren County as they went to Riverton United Methodist Church to participate in Kelsey's Big Give. This community service organization was founded in memory of my sister Kelsey who, while a senior in high school, died in a car accident.
These community service days were originally Kelsey's idea to bring churches, schools, and organizations together to serve those in need. This was the second year R-MA participated.
Our students shone bright as one group helped redo a garden in memory of Kelsey at Riverton Church as well as other landscaping work. Another group did yard work for a man who had recently become a paraplegic.
Several of the students said they had never worked so hard in their lives, but they were filled with joy and even energy for being able to help others. They truly shone bright like a city on a hill as they lived into Kelsey's vision of living life with passion for God and for others.