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.

From Student To Leader

In the fall of 2009 I felt led to start a Sunday school class for students with special needs. It's been slow growing; none of our pastors have kids with special needs so it's not something they even think about.

To be honest, I didn't think about it before Beth was born. The 'world of special needs' didn't really exist for me except when I saw someone at the mall or the grocery store. Then it was just a fleeting thought before I went back to my own little world.

But of course once Beth was born, it changed everything!

I find it interesting that once my girls were grown and our youngest had graduated from high school, that's when the Lord put it on my heart to begin a special needs ministry at my church. Not while I was busy raising them, but after. I hadn't even considered a special needs ministry before, even while Beth and our girls were growing up there. 

The past two weekends we've had a Volunteer Fair and a Serve Catalog that listed all the places you could volunteer at our church. We had a table set up along with all the others and the first weekend we didn't have one single person stop by the table. No one even glanced in our direction!

During the week I had the idea to get some fidgets (toys and gadgets that help calm and focus the students) and I put them on the table. LED lights, a timer that looks like a lava lamp and a fidget spinner. I turned on the LED wand and immediately people were drawn to the table! We had a constant stream of people and had more than 4 express an interest in volunteering in our class!

Beth has been in the class since day one and has always been considered one of the students in our class, even though she helps support the teachers and gets some of our supplies, etc.

 

She recently started praying with the teachers each week before class and has just changed the way she interacts with the other students. So I made the decision to make her an official leader. Badge and all! We'll give her a few more responsibilities and I'm sure she'll rise to the occasion!

Was there a time you found yourself in a leadership position? 

Were you ready for the challenge?

Tiny Barns And Large Pillows

Diana was here for a week but I didn't take one picture of her! I got the ones at Chuck's party but that was it. We all went out to eat on Wednesday night, her and I walked along the marina downtown, we spent a day shopping... it was so good to have her home.

I've added a few things to our classroom, trying to make it better without creating too much change. I bought a barn to go with the doll house but didn't realize it needed to be assembled. I was a little shocked when I opened the box, but it only took me 90 minutes to put it all together!

I also added a canopy to a large, platform type thing we've had in our room for a while. The first time I saw it, I thought of something like this! It's taken me a while to put it all together but I see it as a place for them to sit and read or even just a quiet space.

Do you have a quiet space where you go to just chill?

It's Hard To Be Patient

I babysat Allie last weekend and we had so much fun! We built a fort in the living room and she played with our LED light. We kicked the ball around the backyard, she hung out with Beth for a while and they drew pictures and watched a little TV. I'm SO tired when she goes home, but man, I sure love having her come play!

 

 

 

 

On Monday Beth and I went to Home Depot so she could buy a kitchen cabinet to put her stuff in. She's got her microwave, plus she buys her own napkins, plastic ware, food. She's needed a place to put all this stuff, it's just been on a bookcase while she saved the money to buy the cupboard. She doesn't have enough yet to buy the countertop, but hopefully that will come soon. We also bought a small piece of plywood to put on the top until she gets it. The door needs a little tweak so they gave us a good discount. As the clerk was taking it to the front of the store, Beth actually squealed, "I got it!" It was cute to see her so excited. :)

 

 

 

All of the stuff in our classroom has been moved. It took me more than 3 hours to get it all to the new room but it's there! Now Chuck, Allie and I will go over this Saturday and get it all set up. I'm getting more excited the closer it gets! I took some pictures of our old room before I took it all down.

 

 

 

 

Okay, so actually, these walls are pretty bare. I guess I did take quite a bit off the walls, family photos, some posters. And the tree at one point was covered in leaves. I'm looking forward to having more room. I wanna buy a nice rug for the reading area, we're bringing in more adult furniture, I just have this certain vision for what this room will look like. It's hard to be patient while it evolves. :)

Precious Moments

Beth went out to check the mail today and the front yard was bathed in sunshine. She got about half way through the yard and stopped. (I was watching from the dining room window.) She then spread out her arms, looked up to the sky and slowly spun around a few times. Just soakin' in the sun!!

On Sunday we had all 5 kids in our classroom. We started Special Connections in February 2010 and that has only happened one other time that I remember. We all went out to the playground to enjoy the warm sunny weather. On our way back to the classroom, each teacher latched on to a child and 'H' grabbed Beth's hand. (H is 17 and has a seizure disorder. She doesn't speak but says so much with her eyes!) Now Beth will only hold your hand when she's in the mood to hold your hand so the fact that she let H hold her hand was a miracle in itself. But then... Beth took H's hand and wrapped it around her arm and together they walked into the classroom!

It's moments like these that remind me why I chose this journey!