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The Adventures of Em and Jerry

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Journal Entries: Emily Kelley

"What can you do to better the school?"
This was the original question posed to me and my mind immediately began to race with ideas
on what to do. What was something that needed help that often got overlooked? Finally, it hit
me. Mr. Jerry. Someone who does so much for the school with no help at all. Mr. Jerry is the
custodian at Trace Crossings Elementary School. Originally there was a group of about 4
custodians cleaning the school, but with finical cuts they had to let all but Mr. Jerry go. How can
I better the school? I hope to better the school by helping someone who often gets overlooked.

Meeting 1 (2/19/14) Who is Mr. Jerry?
I have heard all about Mr. Jerry, but never had the pleasure of having a full conversation with
him before. So when we were given time in class to work on our project, I went exploring around
the school to look for him. I eventually wandered to the front office where I ask, "Do you know
where I could find Mr. Jerry? I need to interview him." Laughter filled the air. "Mr. Jerry? The
janitor? Why are you interviewing him?" I have to admit, their responses threw me off but they
pointed me to his direction anyways.
"You're Mr. Jerry, correct? My name is Emily Kelley. I'm a student that interns here from
Samford University and if it's alright with you, I would love to get to know you." From the
laughter in the front office, to the odd look on his face when I said this, I was beginning to
wonder if I had made a bad mistake choosing this as my project. After some hesitation he
responded with a , "Sure, why not."


1. Family
I asked him about his family and he didn't really say much about them. He said many of them
were not in the area and that was about it. I was unsure about just how much I was going to get
out of him.
2. Hardest/ Least Favorite parts of his job
After a little chuckle to himself, he said, "Well, the cleaning. Most of it is fine, it's just part of the
job. The part that gets hard is doing it all by myself and doing it every day from 6 in the morning
to 3 in the afternoon." That was exactly the answer I was looking for. He struggled with doing all
that cleaning by himself, hopefully I could be of some assistance to that. Make his life a little
easier.
3. Best/ favorite parts
Despite all the cleaning, he loves Trace Crossings. He loves that the staff feels like one big
family. Which would be important to him considering he does not have family close to him. Even
above that, he loves the kids. Group after group passed by and waved and called out to Mr.
Jerry. It was very obvious he had made an impact on this school himself.
4. Need help?
This is where I explained myself. I told him that I get to spend some of my class time to help out
Trace Crossings. I told him that if he wanted some help cleaning around the school, I would love
to be of assistance to him. Anything he needed me to do, from stairwells to bathrooms. Now he
looked even more stunned. He gladly accepted the help and said he would try not to scare me
off too soon by making me do the toilets the first week- he would save it for the third. We both
laughed.


Mr. Jerry became quiet for a few moments. I asked if everything was ok: he responded, "Why
me?"
I explained to Mr. Jerry, "You are not overlooked. Of course the teachers and administrators do
a lot of work, but their work is often recognized. You do so much for this school, every day. Not
many people work as hard as you do, Mr. Jerry. I couldn't imagine doing this all by myself. So
when I put myself in your shoes, I thought I would appreciate some help. So if you would give
me the chance, I would love to help you in any way I can."
His response gave me confirmation that this is the project I need to be doing:
"I didn't think that I mattered. I would love some help."

Meeting 2 (2/26/14) The start of a beautiful friendship.
The day started with two hours of class. But before we came to class, my carpool group and I
stopped by Dunkin Donuts and I got Mr. Jerry a chocolate donut. Before going into the school, I
put his name on it and decided I wanted to put a bible verse on it. I rather mindlessly flipped
through some of my favorites and decided to put Isaiah 41:13.
"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear; I
will help you.'"
This comes into play later in the story. I went to class anxiously awaiting to get started with Mr.
Jerry. 10:00 hit and I ran downstairs to look for him. He was in the nurses office after just
finishing cleaning up some throw up from a sick students (can't say I was so sad that I missed
that). We started cleaning the nurse's office and it was sweet to see him check on the student.
From there we went to the windows on the glass doors in the from. We made small talk and I
discovered he has 9 brothers and sisters, 2 that live in this area. He started to joke around and
give me a hard time for "missing a spot" but then I looked over at his section where a smudge
was left and pointed to it- we both started cracking up. I can tell I have found a friend in Mr.
Jerry!
But the story gets even better! We moved on to the second set of windows and he paused for a
second and said, "What made you decide to put that verse on the bag?" I looked back thinking I
might get into some kind of trouble for doing that and explained how I looked through some of
my favorite verses and this one stood out to me. He shook his head and said, "Well.. The Lord
used you. He spoke right to me through you." Mr. Jerry began to explain how he had been
married for almost 30 years with two kids and then one day, out of the blue, his wife wanted her
space. She told him she was filing for a divorce. Being the person he is, he let her go. But it was
something he has been wrestling with (along with other things he hasn't shared yet) since
November. He said he felt like he had been praying without getting any answers, then I walk
through the door and there it is. A message from the Lord telling Mr. Jerry that He has been
there for Him the whole time, walking with Him, helping Him. He said,
"Don't get me wrong, the donut was good.. But the message was even better."
We shared a couple more laughs and cleaned the rest of the window and he went to eat lunch.
What an amazing start to this beautiful friendship.
Mr. Jerry talked about how the cafeteria is his least favorite part. Especially when it was taco
salad day.. Food everywhere! And it was all up to him to clean it. So I brainstormed throughout
the week to think of I way that I could make an impact on him and his work. I was only here for a
few more weeks, but the students stayed here the rest of the year. How could I get them
involved and make a lasting impact?

Meeting 3 (3/5/14) How to make a lasting impact.
Today was another great day. I got him another little treat- Swedish Fish. The reason? Last
week he told me he lived alone, I asked him if he had a pet and he said fish. I said he should get
a dog but he quickly objected and said, "Dogs are too loud, crazy, and needy. My fish? They
just swim around, happy all the time." So I brought him a different type of fish- candy fish. It said
I'm glad we are "o-fish-ally" friends with a bible verse about being called to be "fishers of men."
He cracked up and then we headed to the library.
I cleaned tables while he vacuumed. I had teachers walk by me and either smile or look
confused. One teacher even made the classic southern remark- "Bless your heart." This made
me feel uncomfortable. It was like he felt bad for me. That's not the kind of response I want. This
is not a punishment- I considered this fun and a treat for me!
"Every kid around here knows my name." -Mr. Jerry. He makes comments about how all the
kids know him, but also makes comments about how he feels like no one appreciates him. This
just didn't settle with me. They all know him and care about him, but he says when they drop
stuff, they hardly ever pick up after themselves. I'm only here for a few more weeks. How can I
inspire help and show appreciation for Mr. Jerry when I am no longer here?
Brainstormed: Mr. Jerry's award: Come up with a website that posts a student of the week/day
that Mr. Jerry chooses that has been extra helpful to him. This encourages students to help out
the man they all love. There could be a little plaque/award for the winner!
Anything I can do to help my new friend.

Brief Encounter (3/11/14) Things are looking' up.
Mr. Jerry went to find me to tell me some news. He admitted to being down on himself for a long
time since the divorce, but this weekend was different. He went out downtown and met himself a
lady! Her name is Ebony. He lit up when he talked about her! He said suddenly things looked a
lot brighter. He didn't think he would see her again, but the next day he went downtown to grab
himself a hotdog. And, like in a movie, when he was driving there, who did he pass? Ebony. She
stopped and stared at him and he turned his car around and they ate a hotdog together and
found out they have a lot in common. What a sweet story! He is so deserving to be happy. He
also bragged about all the awards his daughter recently won: valedictorian, best dress, highest
GPA, most likely to succeed. He said he couldn't be happier that his daughter, and his son who
is a manager of a Target, were excelling more than he did. He puts their happiness above his
own. What a sweet man so deserving of joy!


Meeting 4 (3/12/14) Hope.
Every day gets better and better with Mr. Jerry. Today, was dusting day! (Which was ironic
because his shirt was from the snow day and it said the "Dusting of 2014"). We went around the
school dusting and laughing non-stop. Someone even made a comment, "Mr. Jerry, I have
never even heard you laugh this hard before!" That made me feel good because I knew he
thought of me as a friend too. Then we got into talking about his background. He grew up in a
really rough part of town. He said he was always having to stand up for himself and even defend
himself with a knife. One time he ran away from a kid trying to fight him and his mother got mad
at him and told him next time, don't come back. He was taught "to be a man and stand up for
himself." This is what made the story about the success of his children even more impactful. He
didn't let where he came from define who he was going to be and who his kids were going to be.
Today after Mr. Jerry told me a story about how he had to clean up "green boo-boo" from the
bathroom early (not sad I missed this event either), he told me that the kitchen staff was wanting
my help too. They saw me cleaning the windows in the halls and asked Mr. Jerry if I could clean
the windows in the kitchen, which was part of their job. He was telling me not to do it and they
needed to do their own jobs themselves. He had little sympathy for them considering there were
6 of them. But we decided I should "share the love" and do it anyways, so I did.
After that, we talked about how to get his award started. After talking to Mrs. Stone, we decided
on doing a bulletin board with the student's names that have won the award. This will hopefully
help students be motivated to help the man they love so much.
Today I brought Mr. Jerry some donuts and these time the verse was Hebrews 6:19. "We have
this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." I wrote this one because when he was
telling me about how things have turned around, the Lord kept putting on my heart the word
hope. So we talked about that for a while and he told me he looks up the verses in his bible
when he gets home and how he truly believes God sent me. I do not want any credit for this
project, because it is all Christ in me. I am just blessed to be a tool in his work.


Meeting 5 (3/19/14) Coming to an end.
I cannot believe this project is coming to an end. Mr. Jerry and I were so sad today, reminiscing
in all the laughs and good times we have had. He keeps telling me what a blessing I have been,
but I just keep reminding him he was the one who was blessing my life. We figured out how we
want to set up his bulletin board to help motivate students to clean. His donuts this morning had
my favorite verse on it- Philippians 2:15.


Shine like stars for Him. That is what Mr. Jerry does for this school, what I hope I did for him,
and what I'm wanting the students to do for Mr. Jerry. The students will be serving Mr. Jerry by
helping him clean and I can only hope that they will know or get to know Jesus and realize this
was ultimately for Christ.

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