Thank God for God!

Made rather apparent by my lack of September blogging, this month has been the kickoff of the ministry the Lord has me doing in LA. It has been a roller coaster of emotions, learning, adjusting and growth but I can say, without a doubt in my mind, the Lord is doing great things!!

Central City Community Outreach Update:
What sets up a child for success? How do I as a teacher love these children and help make up for the lack of attention, role models, security, educational growth, etc. that many face at home? The kids went started school on September 9th thereby marking our start date as an after school program. My class was set up, I had this great system in mind for how to empower the kids, charts were made, lesson plans were ready to be put into action- bring it on! The kids arrive and because I had been a volunteer at Central City last time we had interacted they didn’t exactly expect me to be a disciplinarian nor the classroom leader…how did this affect the class? The 5th graders stated a coup against their new teacher, they tested boundaries, the 3rd graders who hadn’t been with me until now (b/c they were in the 1st-2nd grade class) were totally confused and scared at the attitude of the big kids, I spent so much time disciplining and having one on one meetings to calm the class down that the kids weren’t getting their homework done b/c I couldn’t sit down and work with them…Lord help me, and of course He did!

Lisa Peacock is a child psychologist that comes in every Wednesday and Thursday to empower the staff and work in group and individually with the kids. She has a very unique ministry called “animal therapy.” She brings in the very well trained dogs and another “cool” animal every week and talks in group with the kids about their weeks. It’s fascinating because, when around the animals, the kids get really comfortable and talk about anything and everything that is going on with them. This ministry is what helped revolutionize my class. Lisa spoke with the 5th graders about their behavior to find the root cause. I have found that, especially with these children that see and endure so much hardship, their backlash is always rooted in much deeper issues.

This is what I learned:
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs dictates ( Basic Needs -->Security-->Self Worth--> Achievement)
For a child to achieve s/he must have a positive sense of self worth. In order to ensure positive self worth, however, a child must feel secure- they must feel free to sit and do their work rather than protect themselves from the actions and words of their environment, they must feel secure that the result of their efforts won’t harm them, they need structure so that, while they can’t control the instability of their home life, they know what to expect in the safe classroom space.
Though I was giving them the classroom structure they needed, Lisa found that they hadn’t dealt with the grief of losing their previous teacher. Her leaving had hurt them deeply because it seemed that she had been a pillar of stability that has abandoned them- they didn’t want to let me in so that I couldn’t hurt them the same way. Lisa instructed them that it was ok to miss their teacher but that I loved them and wanted to help and protect them. Yes the teacher’s transition annually but it was not out of a lack of love for them- they had done nothing wrong. To say Lisa was God sent would not be an understatement.

The coup has settled, the classroom environment is much more conducive to learning and security (even I feel more secure, haha) and things are finally flowing really well! I have sincerely fallen in love with these kids- every snotty tear dripping nose rubbed on my shirt, every smile when they master their times tables, every masterpiece taped on the wall behind my desk, every hug, every giggle, every child that falls asleep with their head on my shoulder as we ride the bus to various field trip destinations...wow, Jesus loves the little children. Please continue to pray for us at Central City as well as our children. God Bless you!

Next blog entry: The other half of my ministry here in LA is as an intern with Athletes in Action (a sports ministry sub group of Campus Crusade). My mornings are spent on USC’s campus meeting with female student athletes--then from noon to 6:00 I am at Central City--then back to campus at nights for student meetings, bible study and large group Athletes in Action. I can’t wait to fill yall in on my time with this extraordinary ministry. God is so great!