Week 2 of Summer JAM started today. I couldn't be more excited for the rest of this summer. Only one thing bothers me: it's already week 2. That means there's only four more weeks after this one. I already don't want to leave.
Week 1 was incredible. Sure, there were some bumps getting things started, but now we're hitting our stride. Our daily schedule is locked down, and we're familiar with all our kids now. Payton and I have firmly established ourselves as games masters, and we're having a blast giving the kids a short break from math and reading. All the interns are getting along great, and we're comfortable interacting with our youth group volunteers who come in each week to help with the program. Basically, life is good at Fortress.
I love my junior high kids. I really do. I've spent five days with them and they're already the coolest thing that has happened to me this summer. These are the kids that set the example for Fortress. The kids look up to these guys because they're the oldest ones there; Fortress runs through high school and then directs the kids to a different ministry. So junior high are the 'big kids' at Fortress. They get to go on some special field trips this summer (Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor, yeah I'm pumped), but they have to work to earn these trips because they're more expensive. So the junior high does some work around the building on Thursdays to earn their spot on the field trip. Last week we split up into groups and rotated through three stations: working with the little kids in Building Blocks, leveling a pretty big pile of dirt behind the building around the basketball area, and free time. 30 minutes each, pretty easy stuff. I think it's a really cool lesson about the 'real world', though.
They are junior high, so they are a handful. They can sometimes get into it with each other or have a bad attitude about following directions, but I love them anyway. It's so much more satisfying to see them step up and act like responsible, Christian adults when you know that they act up sometimes and have trouble following the rules.
First, a story about one of the leaders in the junior high group. Most of the guys back him up if he gets into it with somebody, and when he talks, they'll listen. He can also show a lot of attitude to me and the other staff members. Sometimes, I'll ask him to stop talking or go sit in his seat like he's supposed to, and he'll just look at me like I told him to dig ditches all day. Ironically, there was no problem when we actually moved dirt last Thursday, but at lunch this kid gave me some serious attitude for asking him to behave like a civilized human (as my mother would say). He calmed down when I explained to him that his behavior directly affects his spot on field trips, but it was still a little discouraging. That same day, though, he did something that completely made my day.
On our way back in from working outside, we walked through the Building Blocks area. My junior high kid hung back a little, and I, a little annoyed, told him to hurry up. Then I realized why he was hesitating to leave: one of the little kids had gotten in trouble for throwing part of his lunch and was sitting in the corner. My kid pulled up a chair next to him, asked what he had done, and calmly told him that he should have followed the rules and respected the teacher. I told my guy to join the group when he was done, and I left high as a kite.
There are two sisters in the junior high. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I pretty much wrote them off in the first couple of days. It seemed like they did not want to be at Fortress. At all. They didnt want to participate at all during games, which is where I had them the most. Games! I figured that if they didn't like games, there was nothing I could do to help them. When Thursday rolled around, I had a bad feeling that they either wouldn't show up, or they wouldn't do any work to earn their field trip. I'm happy to say that they proved me wrong. With a little coaxing (they weren't the only ones who needed it), they both did their share of the work without any attitude. And today at the Money Factory (one of the junior high's smaller field trips) they both genuinely had a good time, and it showed.
Now for another leader in the group. He's tall, he's cocky (according to him, he's the best basketball player at Fortress, and will wear 10 NBA rings someday), and he's a really likeable guy. He also has trouble getting along with some of the other junior high kids. He constantly bothers one of the girls in particular, and he's also had little spats with some of the guys. Today, though, he stepped up as a real servant leader in the group. He had no real problems with anyone on the trip to the Money Factory. No one did, really. So Terri (one of our terrific staff members) took the group by McDonald's for drinks on the way home. The kids were pretty tired, so they just kinda sat and had their drinks. Close to when we left, though, this kid quietly gathered the trash of everyone who was done (including the girl who he normally cannot get along with), and he took it to the trash for them without a word and sat back down. Pretty Christ-like move, I think.
Hopefully I've conveyed a small fragment of what makes me love Fortress and hate the idea of leaving it. Allow me to be cliche: It's the kids. It's the people. It's the little things. Ask me about it sometime, I'd love to share some stories.
Week 1 was incredible. Sure, there were some bumps getting things started, but now we're hitting our stride. Our daily schedule is locked down, and we're familiar with all our kids now. Payton and I have firmly established ourselves as games masters, and we're having a blast giving the kids a short break from math and reading. All the interns are getting along great, and we're comfortable interacting with our youth group volunteers who come in each week to help with the program. Basically, life is good at Fortress.
I love my junior high kids. I really do. I've spent five days with them and they're already the coolest thing that has happened to me this summer. These are the kids that set the example for Fortress. The kids look up to these guys because they're the oldest ones there; Fortress runs through high school and then directs the kids to a different ministry. So junior high are the 'big kids' at Fortress. They get to go on some special field trips this summer (Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor, yeah I'm pumped), but they have to work to earn these trips because they're more expensive. So the junior high does some work around the building on Thursdays to earn their spot on the field trip. Last week we split up into groups and rotated through three stations: working with the little kids in Building Blocks, leveling a pretty big pile of dirt behind the building around the basketball area, and free time. 30 minutes each, pretty easy stuff. I think it's a really cool lesson about the 'real world', though.
They are junior high, so they are a handful. They can sometimes get into it with each other or have a bad attitude about following directions, but I love them anyway. It's so much more satisfying to see them step up and act like responsible, Christian adults when you know that they act up sometimes and have trouble following the rules.
First, a story about one of the leaders in the junior high group. Most of the guys back him up if he gets into it with somebody, and when he talks, they'll listen. He can also show a lot of attitude to me and the other staff members. Sometimes, I'll ask him to stop talking or go sit in his seat like he's supposed to, and he'll just look at me like I told him to dig ditches all day. Ironically, there was no problem when we actually moved dirt last Thursday, but at lunch this kid gave me some serious attitude for asking him to behave like a civilized human (as my mother would say). He calmed down when I explained to him that his behavior directly affects his spot on field trips, but it was still a little discouraging. That same day, though, he did something that completely made my day.
On our way back in from working outside, we walked through the Building Blocks area. My junior high kid hung back a little, and I, a little annoyed, told him to hurry up. Then I realized why he was hesitating to leave: one of the little kids had gotten in trouble for throwing part of his lunch and was sitting in the corner. My kid pulled up a chair next to him, asked what he had done, and calmly told him that he should have followed the rules and respected the teacher. I told my guy to join the group when he was done, and I left high as a kite.
There are two sisters in the junior high. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I pretty much wrote them off in the first couple of days. It seemed like they did not want to be at Fortress. At all. They didnt want to participate at all during games, which is where I had them the most. Games! I figured that if they didn't like games, there was nothing I could do to help them. When Thursday rolled around, I had a bad feeling that they either wouldn't show up, or they wouldn't do any work to earn their field trip. I'm happy to say that they proved me wrong. With a little coaxing (they weren't the only ones who needed it), they both did their share of the work without any attitude. And today at the Money Factory (one of the junior high's smaller field trips) they both genuinely had a good time, and it showed.
Now for another leader in the group. He's tall, he's cocky (according to him, he's the best basketball player at Fortress, and will wear 10 NBA rings someday), and he's a really likeable guy. He also has trouble getting along with some of the other junior high kids. He constantly bothers one of the girls in particular, and he's also had little spats with some of the guys. Today, though, he stepped up as a real servant leader in the group. He had no real problems with anyone on the trip to the Money Factory. No one did, really. So Terri (one of our terrific staff members) took the group by McDonald's for drinks on the way home. The kids were pretty tired, so they just kinda sat and had their drinks. Close to when we left, though, this kid quietly gathered the trash of everyone who was done (including the girl who he normally cannot get along with), and he took it to the trash for them without a word and sat back down. Pretty Christ-like move, I think.
Hopefully I've conveyed a small fragment of what makes me love Fortress and hate the idea of leaving it. Allow me to be cliche: It's the kids. It's the people. It's the little things. Ask me about it sometime, I'd love to share some stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment