A Difficult Decision

Fourteen years ago I felt the Lord tell me to start a Sunday school class for kids with special needs. I've been leading this class almost every single Sunday since then.

We began with one student and grew from there. Chuck, Diana and Beth all helped for the first few years and as other teachers joined, they were able to step back. We've been in three different classrooms, each new one having more amenities than the last. Each new room was a better fit for the students we had at that time.

Most students were younger grade school age and over time would grow mentally and emotionally where they could attend the typical classrooms.

The years before covid we had 5-6 leaders and up to 10 students at a time. Most of the students had mild autism and participated in the Bible study and crafts, snack, etc.

(This was taken in 2018. The classroom looks so different now.)

Post covid - everything changed. Only one teacher came back after covid, and the students mental and emotional state is different. The students have behaviors that are very complex. They come into the room, pick up the first thing they can get their hands on and throw it across the room, shattering it against the wall.  Or they give an ear-piercing scream and wipe everything off the table because another student took something they had planned to use. Or they crawl under the large round table, lay on their back and using their feet begin pushing on the table causing everything on it to slide to the other side, triggering the other students to scream or yell... 

This ministry is for the parents as well, allowing them to bring their kids to a safe, quiet space so they can spend a couple of hours in the main service worshiping and being filled with the word of God. We try hard not to contact them during service but lately we're doing it more often than we'd like. Last Sunday we put up with a lot of poor behavior from one student but when they tried to bite the other teacher, that's when I called the parents.

I find myself just standing in front of the door all morning (many are runners) and I just observe the students and try to stop behaviors before they happen. How do I 'teach' in that environment? The kids will throw tantrums, and kick and sometimes you're in the way and get kicked. I'm not even sure I understand the behavior, where it stems from, what triggers it, let alone how to deal with it. I've heard that students all over the U.S. (and maybe around the world) are struggling with the aftermath of covid and I get it. I just don't know how to address it.

I'll be honest, I've been trying to lead this class under my own power for many years. I haven't prayed like I should: for the other leaders, the students, their families. I haven't been regularly seeking the Lord for guidance... and I'm weary. I'm burned out and exhausted. I find myself dreading Sunday mornings. Not surprising.

So I've made the decision to close the class for a time of restructuring. I've got to spend some time in fasting and prayer, seeking the Lord for HIS vision for this ministry. He's already shown me three areas to focus on: recruit volunteers, provide training, and change the room a little to accommodate the students we have now. I've added things over the years but I still have a lot of things for four- to nine-year-olds. Now the average age is nine - fifteen. 

Please pray with me that I follow the Lord's leading this time; that people who have a heart for kids with special needs will volunteer; for me to find specialists to come in and train us to lead post-covid students; and for the next fourteen-plus years to be even better than the first!

Me, Beth and Kathy - she was the first non-family member to join me in this ministry.

Just Random Stuff

Chuck, Beth and I went to see Dr. Dolittle the other day. It was pretty good, there were some funny parts. The best part for me was just getting out of the house for a while. Being able to do something different.

Honestly I'm writing this at 1:30 in the afternoon and I'm still in my pajamas. I worked from 8:30am to 11pm yesterday and will do it again tomorrow. Supervisor by day and Custodian at night. I think there's a light at the end of the tunnel though because I hired one person yesterday and I'm meeting with someone else tomorrow. Plus one of my night crew comes back from his missions trip the end of this week... this has been a very difficult start to the new year. But the miracle is my attitude. God is doing such a work in me, changing me to think differently and my 'self talk' is more positive.

God is good.

We've got rain today. And tomorrow. And the next day. Hey, this is Seattle after all! 😊

I haven't taken too many pictures lately. Well, except at work of course. Room set ups, broken chairs, etc. Okay, enough about work. Moving right along...

I'm in the middle of a couple of books. One is Home by Julie Andrews. It's the autobiography of her growing up years. (I've already read Homework of her Hollywood years.) I love reading about people in the spotlight from their own point of view. In the end they're just regular people like you and me, with the same doubts, fears and concerns. The other book hasn't been published yet. My high school biology teacher began writing books when he retired from teaching and he asked a few of us to read it and write a review. (The power of Facebook!) It's a law enforcement mystery novel and it's been really good. I get into it and can't put it down.

Our extended family has a reunion back in Iowa every summer and we're hoping - planning - to go this year. It's my grandma's family, (my dad's mom) her siblings and their kids, grandchildren and great grandchildren. My dad went a few times, he didn't realize they had it until he was older and now that he's gone, we want to make it a priority to go. When we visited a couple years ago they showed me the Family Book that they have spent decades putting together of each sibling and their families. How my grandma and her brothers and sisters lived in a children's home, there are pictures of them and of the house. Their story is incredible! Then as we were leaving Aunt Betty's she gave me my own copy of the book! I've been working on pages of our family and I hope to take them back to help fill in some gaps in my grandma's life. (She moved to CA when everyone else stayed in Iowa.) I'm excited to meet more of our family members!

Well I guess that's all from around here. It's been a pretty slow day, which is exactly what I've needed!

Does your family have a reunion every year? 

I Wish We Could Be There To See Their Faces!

This weekend we took part in a volunteer effort to clean up a local middle school. It was the school that Diana attended and in recent years has lost a lot of funding - like most schools I think - and one thing they've cut back on is landscaping. The principal said that when it comes time to make cuts, the last thing to go is the teachers. So the place doesn't look that great, but no one has lost their job. And I agree with her completely. People should always come first.

So 5 churches in the area got together and went to work. We pulled weeds, trimmed bushes, raked leaves, swept sidewalks and scattered bark. They said there were over 200 people that showed up. The principal told me that she hadn't told the students OR the teachers that we were coming and she couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces come Monday morning!

 

 

 

 

 

It rained for a little while but it didn't stop us for long!

 

 

 

 

 

This was taken at the end, after most of the people had gone home.

It was such an amazing day!

 

Dreams Coming True?

On my side bar, I have a picture of Beth and a short description. The last sentence says, 'her dream job is to be a preschool teacher.'

At all of Beth's vocational planning meetings, they ask her what she would like to do if she could do anything in the world. Her answer is always, 'be a teacher'. 

Tomorrow she begins a volunteer position at a local elementary school. For now she will be a playground attendant, hanging out with the kids and playing games with them. Her job coach said the volunteer coordinator at the school was very excited about getting Beth in a classroom as an assistant. We're hoping it becomes a paid position but with the economy the way it is and how hard it is for schools to get additional funding, we have to leave that in the Lord's hands.

But, her dreams are coming true!

Honorary Professor

Anyone else been through enough of these that you feel qualified to teach it??