Needless to say, it has been a while since my last blog, but rather than tell you why just believe me when I tell you that this summer was crazy. Crazy awesome, though. We had alot of laughs and fun, some heartache and tough times, but God was very apparent and present with our youth this summer.
Since school started just a few days ago we began our "after-school hours youth ministry" just this week (yesterday). Generally during a transition period (summer to school, school to summer) alot of the faces that we see will change. Whether it be sports, different friends, homework or family related activities many of the kids will stop coming or be very inconsistent when they do come. But, on the other hand, alot of kids that we didn't see much of during the summer begin to make their way back to Rock Island once school starts. Yesterday was a prime example of that.
This school year Monday is officially our "Study Hall/Tutoring" opportunity for the week (although, in the past there have been a select few of the youth that come for help throughout the week). In the past we have split up the junior-high and high-school kids from the elementary students but because attendance isn't usually as high on homework day we have decided to combined the two. The experiment worked out pretty well yesterday as the younger kids did a pretty good job of not annoying the older kids. We did our best to make anyone from the neighborhood that came go home and get their homework if they didn't have it with them. Because some kids were dropped off and didn't have their homework we tracked down some multiplication workbooks and had them solve a few problems. With all of this being said, my favorite aspect of the day was when "Teddy" arrived. Teddy and his younger brother come any and everyday we are open, whether it's an elementary day or not. They are always dropped off. This day was no different.
As soon as Teddy and his brother came in I quickly noticed neither or them had their backpacks. Their mom had already driven off and so we were left with nothing. After some investigating Teddy informed me he had to read a story and then have a signature to confirm he had read. I began to search throughout Rock Island but was unable to find a single childrens book. After delaying a couple minutes I stumbled upon one of our easy to read new age interpretation Bibles. Perfect, I can have Teddy read some of Revelation. Not really. I gave Teddy story options. I asked him which story did he want to read, a story of a big fish swallowing a man named Jonah, a story of Noah and the ark and a bunch of water(he wasn't impressed) or the story of Daniel and a bunch of lions. Which do you think he chose? Daniel.
The story of Daniel, in Daniel, is relatively short. I mean it's only one chapter and maybe, I'm guessing, thirty or thirty five verses? Either way it wasn't terribly long. I forgot to factor in we were at a 3rd grade reading level and Teddy's primary language is Spanish, not English (which by the way you wouldn't be able to tell). It took about thirty minutes. It was well worth it though. After every five or six verses I would stop Teddy and ask him to tell me what he read. I was astonished at how well he could process the information he was reading. The fact that it took him 5 minutes to read five or six verses and could report back to me what he was reading was impressive enough. The thing that got me though was it seemed like he wasn't just reading and regurgitating the story to me. When he told me the story in his own words he phrased things in a way that made me feel like he was actually "getting it" and he would ask questions about Daniel and his position.
For instance in the story when it talks about how Daniel was thrown into the pit it says King Darius went back to his room didn't eat, sleep or have entertainment, Teddy said things like, "So the king and Daniel were pretty good friends, huh?", and I would ask Teddy why he thought that and he responded. "Well, why wouldn't the King go back and eat and do whatever he wants he is like the richest man alive." Teddy just seemed interested not only read, but to know what the story was trying to communicate. It was exciting, to say the least.
After several more minutes of reading and talking Teddy finished up the story, I signed his paper and he went on his way (for some pizza and halo). Instances like this are times and opportunities I look foward to this school year. I am anxious to see and be apart of God doing great things with and through our kids the next several months.
PS. Ron and I will be posting videos of some after school activities soon, as well as, a schedule, which may or may not change throughout the course of the year. Ron's site is www.ronstale.blogspot.com or you can just click the link to his page.
Enjoy
