FAT Christians

"What we need is some FAT Christians," says Jonathan-- pretty much on repeat during NYCUP. "Flexible. Adaptable. Teachable. FAT."

And when you're working with 50 college students in East Harlem or the South Bronx and things like bad weather, gang fights, and sickness happen, you realize how right he is.

It's Week 3. Ready, go! Or..... not so fast.... We're supposed to be outside this week, back at Padre Plaza in the South Bronx. But the forecast was 100% chance of rain as of yesterday, and we had to decide to cancel today's program or go for it. So Jonathan planned a LOGOFF (Local, Green, Organic, Fair, Free) scavenger hunt for some of the students, and the other thirty-five students were going to work with us to get everything in order for the rest of the week.

At least that's how I had understood the conversation. But I'm learning that not everyone thinks the way I do, and when I don't double check, sometimes I get part way through the day and find out that we've been thinking different things all along. Today I made this discovery as all but four of the college students filed past me excited to head out for their scavenger hunt.

Oops.

I found Jonathan and we quickly figured out that we'd been talking about different things each time we'd touched base about the plans for the afternoon. And the four remaining college students were standing at attention, ready for instructions about what they were supposed to do.... Yet everything I had planned for them required a lot more than four people to participate.

Flexible. 
Adaptable. 
Teachable. 

Even when you happen to be a Type A personality who likes nothing more than to have all her ducks in a row on the first day of an outreach. Some lessons are harder to learn than others. But sometimes it's good to test exactly how FAT you really can be.