This past weekend we partnered with our our kingdom department and held a "Summer Sports Camp" for Kids Hope and neighborhood kids. Kids learned basic soccer and basketball teams from amazing coaches and had a blast.
A few mentors came to reconnect with their kids during the summer break. As they were saying goodbye, one of the mentors relayed to me the following story:
"The boys mom said they could play in the playground for a little while before they headed home. A and K said goodbye to me and their mentor and ran into the playground (well actually they climbed over the fence and K got stuck and yelled "my penis, my penis" before he made it over successfully!) But L stayed behind and asked for a group hug, so we did and he said "not seeing you guys every week is soul crushing." I couldn't believe he would use a phrase like that. We walked off and left them, but that phrase stuck with me. I saw L's mentor at church on Sunday morning and told him about it.
Just had to pass that along -- if not seeing us every week is soul crushing, I guess the flip side of that is that Kids Hope time is soul-nourishing! I think it's a long summer for these kids, but I notice they never complain...they seem to understand that their mom is doing her best. But I can see how just one year of being involved in Kids Hope means to the whole family."