Something moved me today

And it took me a while to figure out what it was. I went with Clara's group (Clara D, Claire D, Julia S, Sari O, Henry B) and Marge W, to the Bridge Network, a literacy program in the Denver projects. The Bridge Network was started by the Social Work program at Denver University and is run at several sites around Denver to serve children in the projects who are lagging in reading and math. The site we were at was run by a social worker and staffed by a teacher. These kids need both. The morning group was about 25 kids from grades k-2. The emotional and behavioral problems these kids deal with was obvious as the trickled into the room. Some were sullen, some were withdrawn, some were angry, a few seemed normal. They broke into two groups and went either to a classroom or a computer lab. The teacher, Federico, was a young professional teacher with great skills and the patience of Job. These kids struggled to focus on the lesson, which consisted of identifying letters & sounds, then tracing and writing the letters, then basic vocabulary. Real basic building blocks toward reading. Second graders were struggling with this. Then we took a break and played outside, the kids were warming up to us but now attachment disorder was showing up. Back inside to the computer lab and an excerise in journaling, and more letter identification through games. It seemed like a fun and fulfilling morning. The afternoon was a repeat of the morning with the grade 3-5 group, the lessons were more sophisticated and the students needed less help. The emotional and behavioral issues weren't as obvious but still there.

At the end of the afternoon the staff and the volunteers gathered for a reflection on the day and I found myself almost too emotional to speak about my day. i was having trouble identifying why it was affecting me so. The project offered hope and that touched me. We were part of making a difference and that touched me as well. But, in thinking about it later, I found that the idea that some of these kids may never receive the gift of reading is what was making me so sad. The struggle to learn without good reading skills would mean many of them would not finish high school. The additional tragedy would be that they would never have the gift of reading for pleasure, never experience "curling up with a good book" or getting lost in the experiences of Huck Finn or Hans Solo or Harry Potter or Captain Nemo.

To sum up, my first mission trip was a success. I enjoyed bonding with the kids and the adults on this trip. I liked meeting the folks from the other congregations who worked with us. The staff from DOOR is wonderful, the people working at the agencies we served were great and the people we served were grateful and an inspiration to continue to do this kind of volunteqering at home. The fact that some of the work made me uncomfortable added to the experience in a positive way.

If the youth will have me along again next year, Sign Me Up.

John S