I knew the moment I was told about mentoring through PC3, I wanted in.  I left the service that day, picked up my application on my way out, filled it out that night, and brought it back the following Sunday. 

It wasn’t long after that I was contacted by Maureen Hill, who developed the program.  Maureen paired me with a second grade boy [David] at Rachel Freeman Elementary.  Once my background check was complete and the parental consent was in, we would get started.  During this “waiting period”, I made the mistake of starting to think way too much about it. 

I began to recall my experience as a second grader.  I was in a class with an “at risk” student.  Even at that age, it was clear to me that this little dude [John] was “bad news”.  To compound the issue, we had a teacher who probably shouldn’t have been working with children.  Luckily for my classmates and me, my mom was the grade parent and spent a lot of time in my class.  Later in life, I found out [John]’s story from my mother.  He lived with his mother but spent his nights alone, scared and locked in his room.  It was common for him to be awoken by strange men’s voices and strange noises.

I began to wonder, is [David] going to be just like [John] from my second grade class?  Is his heart going to be hardened already?  Is he going to steal my lunch money?  Is his teacher going to be callus, worn-out, similar to the one that [John] and I had?  And, who am I to think that I am going to be able to reach this kid?  To date, my resume read “Father of 3 wonderful girls” … “can French-braid hair” … “fluent in sweetie talk, like schmoopy and sweet-pea”.  Why in the world did I think I should mentor an “at risk” second grade boy? 

Finally, the day came.  I remember vividly the drive from my work to the school.  I remember praying … “Father, just let me plant a seed today….just something that will reach this child…something that will soften his heart and provide him a glimpse of Your Love.” 

I walked into the school fully expecting it to be my first and last visit.  I anticipated a call from Maureen Hill later that day, “Phil, I just got a call from the school; they decided to go with another mentor.  It’s not you, it’s them.”  Nonetheless, I walked in.  Within five minutes, I knew the truth.  The truth about [David] – he is a wonderful, warm, friendly, and soft-spoken little guy!  Despite the roar of the cafeteria, [David] and I were able to talk.  He was pretty quiet and I had to pull a few words out of him but immediately we hit it off.   The truth about his teacher – she’s clearly a person that cares about her students and wants to make a difference in their lives.  Finally, the truth about me: it was my heart that was hardened not [David]’s. 

Throughout the remainder of the school year, a seed was planted….a seed that quickly grew and bore fruit of The Spirit.  There were many little interactions that gave a reflection of God’s work and His unwavering love for us all.  This experience will live with me always, and I will always have memories of [David].  One that stands out is a discussion I had with him about the following week.  Our day to meet was on Wednesdays.  That following Wednesday, I had to be out of town on business.  I told him I would come see him next Tuesday instead of Wednesday.  He asked me if it could be Monday instead.  I asked him “why Monday”?  He put his little hand on my shoulder and looked me square in the eyes and said “because Monday is sooner than Tuesday”.

We shared some real fun times.  We tossed football with a classmate or two and worked with other classmates on an engineering project.  I got to know some of his other classmates and enjoyed the interactions with them as well.  “Hi [David]’s mentor!”  “How do I get a mentor like [David]?  One hour a week during the school year has such a wonderful, positive impact on so many. 

Submitted by Philip Gaglia