About 5 months ago I started a new job. It has been so awesome! I now work at the children's home in Round Rock and get to help out with after school care. We hang out with the kids on campus and also go pick up from a few different apartment locations. Each day is a different age group and I love how different they all are! The toughest part of my job is that we only get to see these kids one day a week.
It is actually a quite confusing schedule to explain without you being there so I will just say on Mondays we have elementary boys and girls from one apartment complex, Tuesdays we have the boys, Wednesday is middle and high school age, Thursday we have the girls, sprinkled in everyday we have about 5 kids that live on campus. To be honest I love these kids so much. It is a heavy job because these kids are going through real deep hurt. Some have been dropped off, a few are there as their mom gets back on her feet, and most live in a home where they barely scrape by financially. I never grew up with that fear. But God is greater than me and He has placed me here to love. Everyday I go in I have to live intentionally. My job allows me how to love with purpose. To push through walls and show people I care. The majority of my time is spent playing basketball, throwing a football, playing tag on the play scape, eating snack together, or just simply hanging out. I have no special agenda or anything. I just get to do life with these awesome students! Like I said I only see each kid once a week. So whatever we do is likely overshadowed by home life. So lately I have been talking to the kids intentionally. One of our younger boys who I will simply refer to as "M" loves basketball! I mean he simply wants a basketball and believes he is Steph Curry. It is awesome! M can get in trouble here and there, but I let it go most of them time because I know he doesn't receive much attention at home. The other day he would say, "Andrew watch this!" and he would throw his whole body into a basketball shot from downtown! He makes about 1 out of 8 shots. After about 10 times of him making me watch I felt as if God was reminding me to be patient and just watch. So I stood there and would cheer when he made a shot. He was soaking it up. I looked at M, grabbed his shoulder, and bent down. I looked him in the eye and said, "You are awesome. I am glad you come to group. I love having you here." I will probably never see the fruit of my labor at this job. And I am not writing this to receive any praise of what I am doing. I just know that Jesus saved my life and now I hope to bring that hope and love to these lives. I would really die for these kids. They have stolen my heart, and I am okay with that. To be honest I have probably learned more from them! One thing I realized is that they have taught me to play. It is such a simple task but I think often a lost art. To play has no agenda, it is to just go and do it. There have been days I played dodgeball, talked about Pokemon cards, played knockout in the gym, and searched through the playground gravel for "crystals" (just shiny rocks, honesty I am not quite sure). I have learned that everywhere is a playground. Games can happen anywhere and usually laughter is there. When I drop off the kids back home sometimes I just feel a weight press on me like a boulder. I hurt for these kids. We pick them up and we do our best to love them. But it is only 4 hours a week. I just know that some kids are getting dropped back off into the mess of home life. So in those moments all I can do is praise God for what He has done and cry out for these beautiful souls. So when they cry out, "Andrew watch this!" I will watch! When they ask me to teach them how to throw a football I will do my best. When I look them in the eye I will tell them they are loved. It is a special task to share the love of Christ. My life is nothing special. It is just that, a life, which the bible describes as a mist. "For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." (James 4:14) I pray that my life would be an offering to the Savior of the world. That though life is fleeting I would be able to point people to Jesus while I am here. So get out there. Look people in the eye and show them that you care. We don't have long here so be intentional. I love you all and thanks for reading about my life.
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AuthorMy name is Andrew Berry! I am just living my life chasing after Jesus and trying to point others to Him. Archives
January 2017
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