Los Peterson

Last night I went out with all of the teenage girls in our church to Amy Ruth's. It's a soul food restaurant here in Harlem with some of the best chicken & waffles (or as their menu calls them, 'Reverend Al Sharpton') in the city. The Ludicris is 4 fried chicken wings and the Afrika Bambatta is fried Whiting.



Every Friday we have an activity together. We usually do service projects, work on personal goals or try to teach the girls different skills. But every once in awhile we do something just for fun. So last night we decided to introduce the girls to a different kind of food. Even though almost all of them have lived in NYC all of their lives, none of them had ever tried soul food. One of the girls had never even been to a "real restaurant" before. It was fun.



Sometimes I think these girls should get more rewards like this. They're pretty amazing young women. They don't drink or smoke or do drugs. They don't have sex. They dress pretty modestly. They TRY not to swear. Many of them go to early morning seminary every day. Some come to church alone because their parents don't come with them.



More than that though, and almost even more surprising, is that they are all so kind and loving in a city that is sometimes so hard, especially on youth. These girls are really special. They deserve all the chicken, waffles, grits, collared greens, cornbread and BBQ ribs in the whole entire world.