Does Your Heart Break? | School Lunch Debt

Last week, I was deeply moved by something I hadn’t thought about in 10+ years.

It’s not always pretty. But it always makes a difference in the life of the student.

My mom is a substitute teacher and shared how the teachers were hosting a bake sale to raise money to pay down the school lunch debt of students at their elementary school.

That bothered me. Deeply. Why?

My Own School Lunch Story

Throughout my childhood, I benefited from the free or reduced lunch program.

In a family of five kids with a single mom making a substitute teacher’s income (spoiler alert – that’s not much!), we were eligible for the program.

At the time, it was kind of embarrassing. I never talked about it. And the school did a good job of not making us feel bad about it. We just typed in a Pin Number like everyone else to “pay” for our meal in the checkout line.

That program provided meals that helped me feel dignified in the lunchroom with other students. We never missed lunch because of money. That mattered.

It fueled a sense of belonging rather than isolation. And I was able to engage in the classroom without thinking about food.

How to Help

Did you benefit from free or reduced lunch as a student? Consider joining me in giving back.

The odds are high you did, as nearly 50% of students in Missouri qualify for the program.

But even if you didn’t, perhaps this is the first time you’re even aware of the program and how it covers so many kids.

Elizabeth & I have committed to eliminating the school lunch debt at that particular school this year and would love you to join us. We couldn’t bear the thought of teachers carrying the burden of raising money to pay down the debt, so this is our simple way to stand in that gap and help however we can.

Want to contribute?  Shoot me an email at jtsotojr (@) gmail.com & I’ll connect you with how to make a simple tax-deductible contribution to help make a dent in the school lunch debt.

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For the sake of the dignity of their students, the school district has asked to remain anonymous on social media.

The Aguilar-Oyuela Family: Hope Renewed

Sometimes God uses grief and heart-ache to turn us to Him.

The mission team from Elevate Church with the Aguilar-Oyuela Family. God did some crazy things in and through this team.

I’ve been learning that more over the past few weeks, especially through learning of the story of the Aguilar-Oyuela Family.

It was their son’s serious condition even prior to birth that led the mother to place her trust in the Lord. It was a miracle that he was alive, yet in his death last year at the age of eight, the effect of the miracle hadn’t faded.

A mission team from Elevate Church partnered with Great Commission Latin America to provide a new home for the family ($1500 home made of wood, sheet rock and tin roof). It was pretty unique getting to hang around an older group of people and see their hearts afire with God’s love (considering I’m a college student, not that they’re ‘old’).

The Lord really met me through the editing process of this video. It’s not going to win any awards, but I feel like I’ve already got what I desired from it through the Lord just breaking me and humbling me through having the opportunity to share the story of the Aguilar Family.

Please feel free to leave an comments, especially how a video like this might affect you emotionally. But all comments are welcome.