The following is a reflection prepared by Bryson Kemp, a
Volunteer living in the McKinley Park Community. Bryson reached out to Amate
House after he learned that his plans with another organization to do service
in Chicago had fallen through. He joined the McKinley Park Community mid-August
shortly after Amate Volunteers had started at their Service Sites. Bryson has
been able to keep his commitment to St. Margaret of Scotland School, where he
had previously been planning to do his service. Amate House Staff and Volunteers are very
excited for him to be with us and wanted to take this opportunity to introduce
him to the wider Amate House family.
As I was jostled through the doors of the train, I became
frozen with fear the moment I instinctively patted my pockets and felt they
were flat. I looked back into the Orange Line train car and saw my wallet lying
on the seat I had just vacated. The doors
had already closed shut, and all I could do was tap on the window for a second
before the train whisked away. It was
just two days after I had arrived in Chicago.
Several community members and I had hung out with some former Amate House Volunteers, and were
taking the "L" back home. Just
as the train was leaving, I saw a woman walk over to the seat and pick up my
wallet. I immediately told the others,
booked it towards a Chicago Transit Authority stand, and explained my error to
an employee. She called the conductor
and had him ask around in each of the cars to see if anyone found a wallet, but
to no avail. The employee then explained
to me that the person must have already exited the train and unfortunately
there was nothing she could do.
Meanwhile, my fellow Amate House Volunteers were waiting patiently near the
“L” entrance. Just as we were about to
leave the station, my cell phone rang, and a woman says, “Are you Bryson
Kemp? I just found your wallet on the
train.” After thanking her profusely,
she was instructed by the CTA employee to give it to the conductor of an oncoming
train. Ten minutes later I had my wallet
back. My community members were as happy
as I was, and one of them said she had prayed to Saint Anthony, the Patron
Saint of lost objects. We then took an
Uber home, and I was grateful that my community members offered support without
chastising me for the incident. I had
learned two things that day—there are good people in Chicago, and I know that
my community has my back.
Since March of this year, I had been gearing up for a year
of service in Chicago with another volunteer organization that had placed me at
St. Margaret of Scotland School (SMOS).
Only a week before orientation was to begin, I was informed the Chicago
house for that program was closing.
Amidst the panic and heartbreak, I began frantically calling and
emailing dozens of year-of-service organizations, asking them if there was a
chance I could join late. The principal
at SMOS, Mr. Powers, who was just as surprised as I was of the closure,
suggested I contact Amate House. And
coincidentally, my sister's sister-in-law who lives in Chicago had volunteered
there several years ago, and she also encouraged me to reach out to them. It was late afternoon, just two hours after I
had heard the news, and I was talking with Alison Archer, Amate House’s Program
Director. And although the current Volunteers had been through orientation and
had begun at their service sites already, Alison was willing to look into the
possibility of me joining the program. It wasn't easy, but the Amate House
Staff worked quickly to reach out to Mr. Powers, and the following week I was
on my way to Chicago! My hopes of
teaching at St. Margaret of Scotland were restored because of the kindness of
the Amate House Community and Staff, who conducted an expedited interview
process and welcomed me.
 |
| SMOS principal Kevin Powers poses with Bryson in the school office. |
St. Margaret's is a pre-k through 8th grade school on the
south side of Chicago. I serve as their computer teacher, teacher’s assistant,
and aftercare assistant. It has been a
month since I first started teaching at St. Margaret of Scotland, and every day
I feel closer to the staff and students.
Throughout the first week I was stopped by students several times a day
asking me how tall I am, with their heads craned upwards. I have received questions like, “Are you 7
feet tall? Can you count to 100? Are you in high school? What type of blood do
you have?” Besides the time I hit the
principal’s car during recess with an overthrown football and having the
feeling that the school would contact my parents, I relish walking through the
halls, tidying up my classroom, eating at the coveted teacher’s table at lunch,
but most especially interacting with the students. I have a passion for music, so I have been enjoying
incorporating music into my job. At the end of each computer class, I play the
harmonica, while the older kids gather around a desk and play their best drum
beats with two pens as drumsticks. I play classical music (with mixed reviews)
on a Bluetooth speaker during class time as the children work quietly. Soon
I'll bring my guitar and add it to the harmonica. My grandmother has generously
donated the funds needed to buy percussion instruments so that I can start an
after school drum circle, which I am very excited about. I look forward to
seeing what the students can do with an African drum in their hands. Having the ability to share what I love about
music with the students at SMOS and, perhaps, enriching their lives in a small
way, has been a highlight of volunteering.
 |
| Bryson plays the harmonica at the end of one of his classes. |
I have been welcomed with open arms by my fellow community
members, and continue to thrive and grow closer to them. I was pretty nervous joining a house of
eleven people who had already gone through orientation, but I found it pretty
easy to become one of them, due to an atmosphere of chillness and welcome. At the end of this week I fly home for my
sister’s wedding. In some ways it feels
like I left home a year ago—not a mere five weeks. I am returning home a little wiser and a
little more confident. And more sure than
ever that I ended up exactly where the Lord wants me.
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