Blaine C. Clay Lodge # 14

Bros,

    Recently a couple brothers and I went the first meeting for a mentoring program called the Twenty-Twenty Mentoring Ministry. The sole purpose of this ministry is to provide an opportunity for twenty adult brothers to mentor to twenty selected young brothers at a junior high level.

     Bro. Frank Kidd is coordinating the program. It was born in the local churches and two junior high schools reached out to these churches for help with their at risk teens.  In preparation for this meeting flyers were sent out, brothers spoke at churches, and ads were placed in the newspaper. Only 12 men showed up, 3 of which were brothers, and I can honestly say that everyone was disappointed. Since then in lodge meetings we have tried to push this program. Everyone keeps saying the right things but no one has made any moves to support this program. Maybe we don’t realize the impact that this may have on an at risk teen, so I have added this letter that I received from Worthy Matron Thibodeaux about a week ago. Hopefully this will change the way this program is viewed.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class

walking home from school.

His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books.

I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?

He must really be a nerd.'

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends

tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.

They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so

he landed in the dirt.

His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet

from him.

He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around

looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks.

They really should get lives.'

He looked at me and said, 'Hey, thanks!'

There was a big smile on his face.

It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.

As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him

before.

He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.

He said 'yes'.

We hung out all weekend, and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked

him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.

I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious

muscles with this pile of books everyday!'

He just laughed and handed me half of the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends...

When we were seniors, we began to think about college.

Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke.

I knew that we would always be friends, and that the miles would never be a

problem.

He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football

scholarship...

Kyle was valedictorian of our class...

I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great.

He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.

He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates than I had, and all the girls loved him.

Boy, sometimes I was jealous!

Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the

back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and

smiled.

'Thanks,' he said...

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began...

"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those

tough years".

"Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach..., but mostly

your friends."

"I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best

gift you can give them."

"I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told about the first day

we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to

do it later, and was carrying his stuff home.

He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, I was saved."

"My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable..."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us

all about his weakest moment.

I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize its depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions....

With one small gesture you can change a person's life... for better or for

worse...

God puts us all in each other’s lives to impact one another in some way.

Look for God in others.

You now have two choices, you can either:

1) Pass this on to your friends, or

2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.

As you can see, I took choice number 1.

'Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble

remembering how to fly.'

There is no beginning or end...

Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is a mystery.

Today is a gift.

Brothers, please, support the 20/20 Mentorship Ministry.  Bring back the Knights of Pythagoras.   These are our kids, young black kids.  Support your community, you will never know when you've changed a life.

So Mote It Be