Written by: Karen Pearson, President, Kids Hope USA
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
1 Peter 4:10
Program directors tell us of their surprise and delight in how the Spirit helps them make matches between students and mentors. We often hear things like ‘I had no idea that the mentor I matched with a student who recently lost a parent, had lost a parent as a young child too. And a mentor who had loved reading but struggled with math was paired with a child with similar gifts and challenges.’ These directors are inspired by the ways that God is helping them make matches that will draw on the gifts (as the verse in 1 Peter says) that each of us uses to serve others, and that goes for both mentors and students.
As prayer partners, please pray that God will help mentors and students connect about shared interests, experiences and identities in ways that may not seem obvious to them at the start. Pray that the things they may have in common draw them closer together in friendship, understanding and growth. We can be sure that God knows the ways that each pair is unique, and the Holy Spirit helps create and sustain strong, fun, and joy-filled friendships. As 1 Peter 4:10 says, we can pray that faithful mentors and students are showing God’s grace to each other as they form the bonds of friendship through one hour, one week at a time.
Dear Lord, thank you for helping create student-mentor matches based on connection points that we may not know about. Bless each Kids Hope USA pair as they learn more about each other and use their connection points to build stronger friendships. We trust that you are working in these friendships to show your love and grace to mentors and students. Amen