Tutoring AJ

I have had the privilege to tutor AJ Malone for basically the last four weeks. I can say that God really has a way of switching roles when he wants to teach us a lesson. Even though I am only 20, I sometimes realize I am still somewhat of a father figure or more appropriately a big brother to the kids in this community. AJ is a special kid. He plays off this front like he’s tough and wants to be grown around his friends, but I’ve gotten to know the real AJ. When we first started reading together, I realized how behind he was and he showed no desire to read for long periods of time. I even wondered why Murray continued to assign him to me. But I thank God he did because I have established a relationship with AJ, and I can tell you that his reading has greatly improved. During tutoring when Murray is assigning tutors to students, AJ is already at the top of the stairs ready to read in “the spot.” One of the perks at tutoring is “Bones” which is like money towards going to get free ice cream from Coldstone. This week, AJ challenged himself to finish reading his first book. He usually gets about 2 to 3 chapters in each tutoring session. Not only did he finish nearly ten chapters in two days with time still left in tutoring, he finally won some Bones. I can still see how his smiling face light up when his name was called. It made my day. I just hope that God continues to help him improve reading and have a desire to want to read more and more.