Wow, I really stink at keeping this updated! I think the last time I posted we had just moved into the house our church owns. We're still here and we really love being in a house. Especially since someone donated a washer and dryer to us! We were having to load up our dirty clothes into rolling suitcases and walk it to the REALLY NASTY landromat in the neighborhood. Oh my word, that place was gross and during the summer it was miserable since there is no AC. It was probably 120 degrees by the dryers. Yuck!
We still don't have a car and it's really starting to become an issue for us, but we're just now really starting to be able to save money for one. In the beginning, we hadn't been able to save much money since we had spent so much money on hotels and rental cars for our trip to Chicago and the weekend we moved. And then we were getting things we needed in our house since everything had been in storage for almost 3 months and some things we realized were missing in the move. There are still lots of things that we need, but I think that we will be able to put some Christmas money towards that stuff. It really does help that Chad got a good bonus at work. It's allowing us to finally feel like we can get ahead with our finances and even start saving for the car we really need.
This fall I started working with the Awana program at my church. They really needed the help this year and I was wanting to get involved with working with kids anyway. I'm in charge of the Sparks which is the kindergarten through 2nd grade group. I also lead game time and music time for the whole group. We have a pretty small group of kids and time limitations on some of the space we use so we have to do game time together. It's hard to find games that work for kids in kindergarten to 6th grade. We aren't able to do some of the classic Awana games for this reason. The little kids just get trampled. Every week, I'm so glad I get to work with the younger kids during handbook time. I can still tell them what to do and they do it without much attitude. I have a couple kids who are probably going to finish their books this year. In 3 years of the Awana program at this chruch , that is the first time they have even considered this happening. I use the cd's in the back of the book that goes with the lessons connected with their verses and the music cd which puts their Bible verses to music. They really love music and for the non-readers it really helps them to memorize their verses if they have a song to go with it. I also made charts for the kids so every time they get a signature for a section in their book, they also get to put a smiley face sticker up on the chart. They love being able to see their progress on the chart and it's brought out some friendly competition with some of the kids.
Awana as a whole though doesn't always go very smooth. To be honest, it's a miracle some of the kids come back every week. We must be doing something right! At least that's what I tell myself. Sometimes I think they just come back to make us crazy and torture us with their bad attitudes and awful behavior! We had to come to terms with the fact that most of these kids don't come to church except on Wednesday nights for Awana. Their parents aren't Christians and we may be the only Christian influence in their lives. Too often I feel like people in the church (who don't work with them and some who do) just look at these kids as being loud and disrespectful and never try to get to know them beyond that. These kids need love and support just like anyone else and probably more than the average person! We are working on the behavior issues. I just wish that more people would take an interest in these kids and invest in their lives, even if they don't help with Awana. I would love to see church members inviting kids to sit with them for dinner before Awana and get to know them. Even the kids who drive me crazy and make me want to cry and scream in frustration nearly every week, have moments that remind me we are making an impact on their lives and they need to be loved on. Seeing those kids in the neighborhood and have them run up to me squealing "Miss Melodie!!!!!!" and give me a big hug reminds me of why I do this.
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