Oh, kids.
Kids have a lot of creative energy. But, alas! They all too often use it on the wrong things. It was homework/reading time during SPARK (the afterschool program in which I serve) the other day. One of the boys, “Dale,” came into the room where the kids work on their homework. He had just been [...]
Walk down this mountain with your heart held high
This year at WorkFest some of the long-term volunteers put on a skit about what it’s like to be a volunteer. We focused mainly on funny (but true) realities of volunteer life: “Being a volunteer is having a year’s supply of expired Gatorade.” “Being a volunteer is eating three lunches a day because you can’t [...]
If I get to forty and I don’t have a spouse…
When working with children, it’s pretty typical for them to ask about your personal life, and they are especially interested in whether you’re married or have any kids. In Kentucky, not only do they ask, but they express concern if you are not where they expect you to be in life. For a long time, [...]
Life ain’t always what you think it ought to be
About a month and a half ago I made two important and somewhat scary decisions. The first was to run a half-marathon and the second was to extend my time at Christian Appalachian Project. I’ll talk about CAP first. My decision to extend was not a sudden one – the possibility had been weighing on [...]
I need your grace to remind me to find my own
Two weeks ago, I had my last classes at Tyner, my favorite school. (I know teachers aren’t supposed to have favorites, but I can’t help it. This was the school where I spent the most time, so I got to know the kids really well.) It was also my first time leading a lesson that [...]
These outstretched hearts were turned toward me
WorkFest is here! I’ve been hearing about WorkFest for about as long as I’ve known about CAP. I came as a perspective volunteer around this time last year, so of course everyone was talking about it, and I’ve been very eager to experience it for myself. So far, it has not disappointed. I really love the [...]
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Kids have been asking about Camp AJ since we started going into the schools in September. I remember one girl in particular asking us when summer camp would be starting again. (Um, not until the summer. It is called “summer camp.”) A few weeks ago, the inquiries about camp started up again and that same [...]
I know the sun’s still shining when I close my eyes
Camp Andrew Jackson, the CAP summer camp at which I am placed, has been under construction since I arrived. When I first got here in August, the office building, where I’d been interviewed as a perspective, was only a shell of its former self. The inside had been torn out and basically all that was [...]
Little pink frogs
On Mondays I get to have the pleasure of hanging out with two fourth graders who I’m going to call Mason and Cory. They are two of my favorite kids that I get to help with reading. I can’t say exactly why, but they really need my help and they’re a lot of fun. Their reading skills [...]
Good news will work its way to all them plans
I wasn’t sure what to expect the first time I went to the Lord’s Gym (a CAP partner with whom I spend part of my time). I had heard a lot about it, but I didn’t really have a mental picture. What I found when I arrived was a slightly dilapidated old building that reminded [...]
