A young man arrives in Chicago--Midway airport at 1am. He settles himself in a chair and, though exhausted, is so excited about finally coming to the one place nobody thought he could get to. He sleeps for a few hours before bursting awake and taking the first train into the city. Thirty minutes on the El train, and four heavy suitcases later, Chris arrives at Moody ready to settle in and get started. After experiencing a little of SDR's (Student Dining Room) home cookin', he starts the process of signing into residency at school only to reach a dead end. Fine print from acceptance letters is all the sudden bold, 36 type print and staring him in the face.
$2,000 TODAY, $5,000 BY APRIL
There was no way he could afford that and no way the school could or would budge to work it out. At 4:00pm this evening, Chris had to go back to Midway airport and take the last flight home to Sacramento.
Talk about discouragement.
The first time I met Chris was when I picked him up to take him back to the airport. I didn't hate my job until that moment in time when I wished I had a million dollars to pay for his tuition. The 45 minutes back to the airport as we waded through traffic, he told me that he was the first and only Christian currently in his family. No family members supported his decision to study the Bible and prepare for Islamic evangelism and church-planting. He was a strong young man, covering his disappointment with humor, but with exhaustion and sadness written on his forehead nonetheless. By the end of our drive, I wanted to hug him and cry. I can't wait for all of you to meet him in eternity and hear the testimony he shared with me.
Talk about discouragement.
The first time I met Chris was when I picked him up to take him back to the airport. I didn't hate my job until that moment in time when I wished I had a million dollars to pay for his tuition. The 45 minutes back to the airport as we waded through traffic, he told me that he was the first and only Christian currently in his family. No family members supported his decision to study the Bible and prepare for Islamic evangelism and church-planting. He was a strong young man, covering his disappointment with humor, but with exhaustion and sadness written on his forehead nonetheless. By the end of our drive, I wanted to hug him and cry. I can't wait for all of you to meet him in eternity and hear the testimony he shared with me.
Needless to say, I came home with renewed gratitude for the grace on me to be here. God forbid I take this for granted.
2 comments:
HOW TRAGIC!
I am just glad that the Lord gave you the opportunity to meet him and encourage him.
P.S - Are there any programs that Moody has to prevent this? Do they have financial aid?
Not really. Since moody is mostly donor sponsored, they set up only one type of payment program (on a 12month basis). If you can't pay upfront or on that payment plan, you're up a creek.
Post a Comment