I Hope They Know We Care

As you can see from the recent posts by Laura and Ben we have been pretty busy here in Cincy!

The Easter egg hunt really was a great success. Besides the bunny costume we had over 1300 eggs, about 150 prizes, and about 100 hot dogs. I really enjoyed seeing the kids have a great time, though I smiled at myself when the hunt that I had spent three weeks preparing for was over in five minutes. A big thanks to mom and dad for coming to see Cincinnati over Easter. They pitched right in and were a big help in getting everything together, plus it would not have been Easter without tons of candy strait from Chocolate World, Thanks Mom!

Now that Easter is over, I've moved on to other projects. Projects which are requiring lots of prep work, like four peace murals we are hoping to have the kids paint in June, a Mother's Day church service, and sending kids to camp this summer - I'm going to be a camp counselor!

These are all great things, but I realized this Sunday as I was trying to get kids to think about working together, and many of them could barely handle this, that it is going to be an interesting summer. I'm going to spend all this time prepping for things, and it will depend on the moods of the kids as to whether or not my plans will be successful. And these kids are moody! Many of them can't help it, and as much as I would like them to be different, I can't blame them.

You wouldn't know how to control yourself either if you had little to no supervision at home, had a mom who cussed at you, as a nine year old were playing around with and shooting a BB gun, were going to be evicted from your home pretty soon, and didn't really know where you were going to live. On top of that, the education you receive at school is questionable, if you are even going to school. How on earth do I try and overcome this stuff for two hours a week, how do I respond?

To be honest, most of the time I don't know what to say when kids are talking about their mom's cussing at them, are so apathetic towards authority that they get up and leave whenever they want because they don't have adult supervision for hours on end a day now that it is warm out and they can roam the streets, at age 1o, 12, & 13. The only thing I can do is be an example. Try for the time I do have with them to talk with them about positive ways of acting, to let them know that somebody does care about them.

After a frustrating Sunday school this past week, it made me smile when I was sitting down to lunch with several church members at a local restaurant, and three of the kids I work with were sitting at the table. I had come to lunch in a separate car and didn't know they were going to be there. They were sitting happily at the table with their drinks, fries, and wings - engaging in conversation with one another and with a church member. Responding to the positive influence of a young adult male, influence that they so desperately need.

While I can't dramatically change their lives, I know they are going to remember the people at Cincinnati COB who took the time to feed them on Sundays, took them on fun trips like ice skating, to the Aquarium, and camp. Experiences that they never would have had they not found their way into the church. While I hope the kids remember a lot of what I teach them, what I hope most is that they remember us as people who just took the time to show that they cared. I'll keep trying to do my best to make sure that for just a little while each week they see love.

Blessings,

Anne