One of the initiatives of Retread is the Jubilee Kids Club, which has partnered with a homeless shelter in McKinney, Texas called The Samaritan Inn. Our club is pretty basic and very simple. We just show up on Saturday’s and play with the kids at the inn from 10 – noon. We take juice and cookies and all the balls and fun toys we can carry. Our motto…”We love to play!”
We’ve been doing this club since February and it’s really been fun. This past Saturday was our biggest group so far and we just had a blast. Judging by all the smiles we saw from the kids, I’d say they had a pretty good time too.
One of the tough things with volunteering can be growing attached to the people you are serving. We are simply serving through play and attention to the kids, and giving the parents a little time to spend alone, to take a deep breath, and unwind for a few minutes. Some weeks it’s hard to say goodbye and you just want to give them all big hugs, but there are boundaries and rules in place and that’s not always possible.
It doesn’t keep us from falling in love with the people we meet there and it causes us to think about them throughout the week. I often find my mind wandering and when I reel it back in I realize I was thinking about the kids at the Inn, and wondering how they are doing. It’s a perfect opportunity for me to offer up a prayer and ask God to watch over them.
This past Tuesday we received some sad news. One of the boys we met the very first week of our club, died in a swimming pool accident. We couldnt’ believe it! A seven year old so full of energy and life is gone. We won’t ever get to see him at our club again and that’s sad. His twin sister, older sister and mom may never return to the shelter, so we may not get to see them again. No closure, no goodbye’s, but plenty of finality.
This week has been heavy as a result of this news. I’ve struggled with my writing and my desire to check in on the social networks and blogs I frequent. My mind has been on Christopher and his family. I’ve been asking questions and wondering why certain things like this have to happen. I can only hope and trust that God is holding Christopher today!
God I pray for your grace and peace. I pray that you will be with this grieving family, who already had it so tough they were living in a homeless shelter. Where do they go from here? How do they continue on from this point? Please be with them. Show them your love. Be close to them and give them peace today.
Retread...The online journal about reshaping life. 