Local pastor offers insight

BY LUKE HEIM

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH PASTOR

April 10, 2006, “Trunk or Treat”

After being a youth pastor for four years, I thought I had seen it all, but I guess I hadn’t. One of my graduating Seniors, I’ll call him John, was a volunteer at our after-school program for Middle School students. John was great with the kids, a foreign exchange student from Hong Kong that was goofy, but also had great computer skills to help kids with their homework. A typical after-school program began with a snack while getting caught up on homework. The next thirty minutes we would play a game outside in the parking lot, and then finish up our time with a Bible lesson. It didn’t dawn on me until about thirty minutes into the program one day that John was missing. Of course, I just figured he was late or he got caught up doing something else. But John was usually pretty good about calling if he couldn’t make it. About the time we were going out to play our game, I finally got a call from John.

“Pastor Luke?”

“Yes John.”

“I am in a bit of trouble,” he says.

“Oh no, what happened?”

John then quickly said, “I locked myself in my car!”

I replied, “How did you lock yourself in your car?”

John slowly said, “I am, uh, in the trunk.”

“What?!” I shouted.

“I thought I would scare the kids when you came out to play a game, but now the emergency latch in my car won’t work.”

Growing more concerned by the minute I said, “Tell me where your keys are, and I’ll go get them.”

John frantically said, “I have the keys in my hand and I’m afraid I will lose oxygen soon!”

Well of course, it didn’t take me long to call 911 and in minutes the fire department came to jimmy the lock. Out came John sweaty and a bit rattled, but at seeing twenty kids watching, he quickly regained his composure and said “Not cool kids! Not cool!”

The kids, of course, thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Lesson to self: Always call your volunteers. You never know, you might help them out of a dark situation.