The Power of a Simple Yes

Kaili Hutchinson: All right, good morning everyone. Before I get started, I want to go ahead and give a
shout out to our eSports team. They swept Texas Tech this weekend. Let's give them a
round of applause.
Sorry guys. Okay, good morning. I'm Kaili Hutchinson. I'm the resident director at Katie
Rogers, but each year I get to work alongside faculty, staff, and students on a committee for
one of my favorite events. It's LCU for LBK, and while I love the fellowship and the laughter and
the soda shack, I get so excited about this day because the impact getting involved in my community
had on me. So in the fall of 2009, 18-year-old me walked into a building to serve. What I didn't
know and what I couldn't have known was that walking through those doors would shape my life
and my family forever. I agreed to serve at an inner city church because a friend asked me
and honestly I didn't have anything better to do. They said we'd get to hang out with kids,
play sports, maybe teach a little and there was a free meal so I was in. I went that night,
I had a lot of fun, so I went back. And the more I went, the more I was involved in this community,
a community that was very different from my own. It was diverse, it was messy, and it was the first
real glimpse of what I now know the kingdom of God looks like. The families I did life with,
they didn't look like me. They spoke different languages, their family dynamics were different,
Many lived well below the poverty line.
They were broken homes, gang involvement, drugs, prostitution, a lot of real hardships.
It was unfamiliar and it was uncomfortable, but I now know that it was holy ground.
One of the first families that I met had been at the church for a while.
They had quite a reputation.
There were four kids at the beginning, and by the end, there were nine of them.
I quickly learned that these kids, they bounced around to whatever aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents would take them, and they currently weren't in a feud with the mom or dads involved.
They were some of the hardest kids to work with, and I know you're not supposed to have favorites, but they were.
They were my favorite.
I immediately connected with them.
The first two that I got to know, Wani and Cantrell, they were brothers.
And a lot of times, their cousin Daniel would come along.
I started picking them up from school. We'd play basketball. We'd get ice cream
We'd go see movies and slowly became a part of their family unit
Their mom had their first child when she was 15. She had a middle school education
The dad I knew he never graduated high school. He was in a gang. He was in and out of jail and he was often high
But I kept serving at this church, and eventually I worked there.
And along the way, more siblings were added to the group, the first girls, Maya and Bernice.
And boy, did I love them.
They were silly.
They were sassy.
They were just so much fun.
They were curious about everything.
During that time, I reconnected with a friend from college, my now husband Hudson.
He was working with a college ministry, and he was bringing students down to the church to volunteer.
So who knows?
Maybe some of you will meet your spouse while you're serving.
But service became a part of our dating life and then a part of our married life.
Three months into our marriage, I got a phone call from the family's aunt.
Five of the children were being taken away, and they needed somewhere to go.
I was in the middle of Target, probably buying throw pillows that I didn't need,
and I remember everything about the next few hours.
I left my shopping cart in the middle of the aisle,
I got in my car, and I started driving to the south side of town.
Somewhere along the way, I realized I should probably tell Hudson what I had done,
so I called him and I said,
hey, I'm picking up five kids, and they're coming to stay with us.
That night was exhausting.
We were not ready to be instant parents,
I vividly remember a woman from church walking around with a basket just saying no, no, no,
and putting things in there that you shouldn't have out with children.
We had friend stations at the doors just so they wouldn't run out.
We had no idea what we were doing.
But after the dust settled, Maya and Bernice lived with us for the next year.
They later transitioned into their adoptive home, and we still have a relationship with them.
They're my daughter Hattie's big sisters.
Here's why I tell you this.
I had no idea that saying yes to one night of serving
because I had nothing better to do would change my life.
It changed my worldview, and I've changed my family.
I signed up to serve for one night.
That experience at that church with this family,
it opened my eyes to where God was calling me to serve in his kingdom.
We've continued our fostering journey since then.
We've had a lot of sweet memories that have forever shaped our family, and it hasn't always been easy.
But I don't think the life that Jesus calls us to was ever promised ease.
Jesus says in Mark 10 45, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.
And in Matthew 25, he reminds us that when we serve the least of these, we are serving him.
My prayer for you is simple, that you would find a place to plug in and serve,
that you would say yes to the opportunity right in front of you.
And for many of you, that opportunity is LCU for LBK on March 26th.
We'll start the day with an outside worship chapel.
We'll gather together on the steps.
We'll be dismissed to the rec for a free lunch for those of you that sign up.
We'll go out and serve for two hours, and then we come back,
and we have more time in community and fellowship with Soda Shack and games
and just a good time to be with one another.
After we dismiss here in a few minutes,
there are going to be people from the volunteer center set up outside.
They have iPads.
They have computers.
We want you to sign up.
There will also be a QR code on the screen that you can scan.
It will go out in your emails.
We want this to be a day that not only impacts the community, but impacts you all as well.
It's a chance to serve with your faculty, your staff, your friends, your teammates,
and be the hands and feet of Jesus for two hours on March 26th.
Stepping into the uncomfortable and the unknown changed my life and my family's life for the better.
This isn't about fixing everything. It's about showing up.
It's about stepping into a place that might feel unfamiliar, inconvenient, uncomfortable,
and trusting that God can do more with your yes than you can imagine.
Don't underestimate what God can do with a simple yes.
You might walk into a building on March 26th thinking it's just one day
and walk out having your life changed forever like mine.
Sign up.
Go outside.
We've got a soda bar.
We've got Volunteer Center.
We've also got this QR code here,
and it'll circulate in your emails this afternoon.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
You're dismissed.
Thank you.