There is a certain peace that comes with doing what you know
you were made to do. Your body may be
tired and achy, but your spirit just soars so high it’s like it can touch God.
That is how I felt tonight.
I have started running the Kid’s Club for SON Ministries’ ESOL
classes. Basically, I hang out with
anywhere from 50 to 70 kids whose parents are in class learning English. It is such a cool place to see God moving.
I filled in for my predecessor last year. She had fallen and broken her arm playing
soccer with some of the kids. Kim, the
woman in charge of SON, called me to see if I could come be the substitute. I fell in love with those kids. Most of them are rough around the edges, and
they are definitely not church kids, and that is why I love them.
My first day as the official gym leader I spent fifteen
minutes playing catch with a boy who spoke next to no English. That didn’t stop us from giggling and having
a blast. He would point over my
shoulder, as though there was something I needed to look at. When I would “fall for it” he would just
burst into fits of laughter. It was a
beautiful moment.
Tonight we had a group of the Columbus Young Professionals
come in to play games with the kids. One
of the gentlemen brought a backpack with paper in it. He taught some of the kids origami. I talked to him briefly afterwards. He said he had planned on leaving an hour
earlier than he actually left. He still
had a job to go to after he left from ESOL.
He seemed a little flustered, but I don’t know that he saw the joy that
extra hour brought to the kids. I had
one boy who would not leave when his mom wanted him to, because he just wanting
to talk with me about the origami art that the CYP member had made.
My first night I had the opportunity to speak with a
volunteer who had just started that night as well. She said she had wanted more volunteer
opportunities, and this seemed perfect since she was the daughter of
immigrants. She said that the ESOL
program, including Kid’s Club, would have been so nice to have had twenty years
ago when they moved here and were trying to learn English. When I connected with her on Thursday she
really seemed to be enjoying her time with the kids. That is huge.
It is incredible to me the way some of the students matured
in the last year. There is a particular
set of twins, a boy and a girl, who were constantly at each other’s throat last
year. So far I have only had to break up
one spat between them, knock on wood, and the girl was one of the first
students to ask if I needed help with anything on Thursday.
It is so neat to see how God is at work in these students
and volunteers. It is a different atmosphere
than I am totally used to, though.
Unlike Impact, at Kid’s Club God is more covert, yet I see him moving so
apparently that it brings my heart such joy.
This is where my heart is right now. I love it.
~~~
If you are interested in volunteering with SON Ministries go here.
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