LEAAP of faith

This morning, myself and 21 other eXchangers Crashed the LEAAP center in Brazil (it was wild, because my parents were there, along with my daughter, so three generations of Crashers… crazy!). LEAAP stands for Linking Education to Adults, Adolescents and Perschoolers. Here’s a quick bit that’ll explain what the LEAAP center is all about:

Our Mission:

To improve reading skills, communication skills and employment opportunities which will give every citizen the chance to better their lives and realize their full potential.

Our Vision:

To strengthen existing programs.

We showed up around 9 a.m. this morning, ate a couple donuts, then went to work. Overall, we did some medium to light cleaning, and while there were no kids there, and I’m not really sure how many kids will notice how clean their rugs and chairs are Monday and say, “Wow, these are clean; I want to follow Jesus!” I don’t think today’s Crash was really about that.

To me, today was really about community. Sure, we helped make the LEAAP center a little cleaner, but for me, the real value today was meeting a couple people I didn’t know, and getting to know those around me a little better.

My Dad, Ezra (whom I witnessed go nuts cleaning the bathroom at a local bar in the middle of the night on another Crash) and myself were tasked with cleaning the trikes and bikes that the kids ride. Needless to say, it only took a few moments before our little shindig became a full-on detailing shop, complete with shiny trike rims and squeeky clean STOP and U-TURN signs. While we wiped down, the three of us discussed a myriad of subjects, from art to video games to kids, and everything in between. I also got to meet Elizabeth’s husband, Kurt (the same Elizabeth that also went with us to clean toilets), and Michelle, whom my wife has Crashed with before. We have a saying in eXchange; Community happens on the way to cause. Today was a shining example of that.

Of course, the day wouldn’t be complete without some adults mounting our freshly cleaned trikes for some hot laps around the indoor race track (sure, it’s some tape layed down to mark off some faux lanes, with arrows pointing which way to pedal, but it works), of which I’ll post some pics later.

The cleaning we did today is actually the duties of one person to do in five hours, and it took 22 of us a solid three hours to get it done, so needless to say, the LEAAP center needs Crashed again with more cleaning help. If you’re interested in helping next time, leave a comment, or hit up my Contact page and send me an e-mail, and we can get things coordinated with you next time.

If you’ve yet to take part in a Crash, I highly recommend you do so. Sometimes we’re right in the middle of God’s plan, feeling him close, and other times we’re just shoring up relationships between each other, learning about those who love God like we do, and are choosing to show that love in a practical way.

leaap center, clay county, indiana, brazil, exchangemcc, crash, shawnw

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