Aha Moments with Kendra Morgan - Part #5

In Part 5 of Aha Moments with Kendra, Kendra shares a pivotal moment in the early stages of Building All Children, when she sought out guidance from trusted, respected business leaders about her vision. One by one, each of them told her the same thing: it wasn’t a good idea, and it wasn’t going to work.

Faced with overwhelming doubt from voices she valued, Kendra had a decision to make—follow the advice of others or remain faithful to what she felt called to do.

In this episode, she reflects on the tension between worldly wisdom and calling, and the courage it takes to move forward when the path doesn’t make sense to anyone else. This part of the BAC story is a powerful reminder that obedience doesn’t always look logical, but staying true to your mission can lead to something far greater than you imagined!

For more Aha Moments visit https://buildingallchildren.org/podcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome. My name is Kendra Morgan, and I'm the host of the Rise and Build Podcast, where we hope to empower you to rise up and build a strong family, knowing you have to strengthen your hands to do the good work. Come with us as we rise and build. Hey you guys, welcome to the Rise and Build Podcast. We are in the aha moments of God where we abide, hear, and act, and I get to share all the God's stories with you and how He has just shown up in Building On Children. Today I'm going to talk about how the service has started. So last podcast, I shared the story of how I prayed with the family and how that made me realize what I was really called to do. And I had the vision. We had started the process. And so I stepped, stepped into that process and really got things going. And so behind the scenes, I had created a website. Really didn't have improved. Just kind of, it was, no one was reading them. No one even knew about the website. No one even knew about the blog. So it was really just kind of a way for me to put my thoughts down on paper. And so then I decided, okay, if I'm going to do this, I am going to start doing the services. And what I knew to do was assess children to figure out what they're really, really good at, and then figure out the areas they're falling behind in. And then the most important piece is connecting them to resources to build development. And I knew how to do both those things. But I didn't have a place and I didn't have any children. And so I just remember asking the Lord, like, Lord, where do I even start with this? And what do I do with this? So I think I went to Lowe's. I really don't remember, but we went and bought um a kid's card table, and it was lime green. I think the bright lime green was a little bit cheaper than like a normal color. And so at the time I had no money, so we just got what we could. And it now they make them where the card table, like the legs fold out, and it's pretty easy. But this each leg had to screw in. So I had to screw all four legs in. So I ended up putting that in the back of my car. Um, and I knew I needed children. And so I went to a few churches and I set up some meetings. I told them what I was doing, and I asked them if I could screen their three-year-olds for free. And I said, I will keep them in the center. I had to have the parents sign consent, and then I would set my table up in the hallway, pull them from class, screen them, and then the ones that were falling behind, I would meet with the parents and connect them to resources. And so the first center I went to, they had to like think about it. Who is this crazy woman wanting to screen the kids for free? Um so they were like, let me think about it. But then I had a connection to another church, and so I then they had a huge Mother's Day Out program. And so I went to that church and I went again, asked for all the three-year-olds, sent in a packet for consent to every three-year-old, and I think I got maybe 10 back. And so I started. I worked for free and I would screen these kids. But what we realized is the kids that I was screening, they were falling behind in areas. And so when I would meet with the families and connect them with resources and get them going, um, then they would start building development, and then I would re-go back and re-screen those kids, and we saw children making progress. Um, so it just started working. Um, so I was seeing kids here and there at a few centers 100% free, um, really just trying to get my name out and trying to get the process of the program started. So that was the service side that I knew how to do. But then remember the business side of the vision that I got that was super clear. Um, so I knew that the way the business side was set up is that the services were gonna be provided for the families through donations, churches, and school partnerships. Um, and so I knew that I was supposed to partner with churches, but I didn't know what that looked like. I had never heard of anyone doing that. Um, so the first couple churches I met with, um, they looked at me like I was crazy. Like I was kind of asking them to support my ministry financially. Um, didn't go, didn't go anywhere. And so I remember kind of sitting down with Ryan and talking with him about the business plan. And he was just like, you know, I think it's maybe time to seek some wisdom from just some higher leaders and some some other people. And I thought that was really wise. So I knew um, I knew three different men that were CEOs or CFOs, kind of in leadership positions. And so Crazy Kendra called all three of them and set up meetings. And the first one I went in and he had a pretty significant office, and I went in and I told him kind of the business side of it. Um, he just listened, and so I remember I got done and I said, So, what do you think? And um, I'll never forget. He looked at me and he said, It'll never work. Um, and I was caught off guard and I I was so surprised. And so I was like, Okay. Um, and so I said, Well, what could I change to make it work? And he's like, It'll never work. He's like, This business plan will never work. Okay, didn't think much of it, kind of went on. Um, second guy I met with wasn't probably as powerful, didn't have the huge office, but I knew that he had quite a bit of success. Same thing. Same thing, never work. This will never work. So I left there pretty discouraged. So the third guy that I met with um was kind of running a church. Um, I did highly respect him, but he was a little like in the ministry, so maybe a little softer. So I just felt like it was gonna be a really positive conversation. Um, Ryan and I had met, and Ryan had like kind of prepared me for some specific business questions. I was ready. I was ready to take it on. And so we were actually remodeling one of our rooms. Um, and so I went and met with this guy while Ryan stayed home and worked on the remodeling. And I met with him and I told him everything about the business side of it and the partnership with the churches and the schools and um the how they were gonna support the families to go through the program, but the family was gonna sponsor the next kid for a hundred dollars. Like I explained all that to him, and um, he looked at me and he said, Kendra, I love your heart. There's no doubt that you'll provide a good service, but I just don't see the business plan working. Um, and so I thanked him for his time, and I got in the car, and I to say I was discouraged is an understatement. Um, I I just sat there and I was like, Lord, what are you calling me to do? And how in the world am I gonna do this? And so I drove away that parking lot and I drove home, and Ryan was actually um on a ladder painting. And by the time I got into the room, he was like, So, how did it go? Because I mean, we were prepared for the meeting. He had helped me, and I, I mean, I lost it. I just started bawling. I was crying so hard. He couldn't even get down the ladder fast enough. And so he got down the ladder and he came over and he's like, Oh my gosh, what happened? And I said, He too said that it will never work. Um, and I just remember Ryan kind of hugging me, and I took a deep breath and he said, So what are you gonna do, Kendra? And I said, I'm gonna do the vision, and I am not gonna waver from what I know the Lord has called me to do. Um, and he's like, Great, let's move forward. And so I moved forward with it, and I stuck with the business plan to this day. We have never wavered from it. Um, we have multiple church partners, we have multiple school partners, they support us as a mission. Um, we have a strong root of deep donors that are giving to us, and when our families walk through the door, we get to let them know that their child has been sponsored. Um, we do ask them to sponsor the next child, um, and that hundred dollars just covers the openness, the fee of them to sponsor the next kid, but then all of our donations go on top of that and covers the next child. We've never wavered from it. And so what I love about it is the whole time I just kept doing what the Lord had called me to do. Not what the world tells you, not what the people tell you, but what the Lord called me to do. The cool part of this story is years later, as we were building all children and we were helping quite a few kids, um, the third gentleman he actually called me. And his church was doing a video, and he asked me if if I would be willing to do a video on the success of building all children. Um, and I giggled so hard, and I was like, Well, yes, I would love to do a video for you. Um, but I what I love about it, it has nothing to do with me. It had nothing to do with my plan or what I desired. It had everything to do with me abiding, hearing, and acting. And I stayed true to the vision, never wavered from it, even though it made no sense, and the Lord continues to provide for his children.