40 small kids running and howling
Wow. It's like being born. I feel like I haven't seen a computer in ... weeks. I miss this weblog.
I only have moments today, but so much has happened. I'm home. I now live in Dalmeny, Saskatchewan. I live in my parents' basement. I eat their food. I drink their milk. My mom offered to buy me deoderant the other day.
I'm not working. I read a lot (currently the "Little House on the Prairie" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder). I do dishes and cook sometimes. I sit and think a lot, especially while I'm driving. I dream a lot. I sleep a lot. And now, a full week after I arrived home, I'm getting tired. Might I just now be letting down?
Anyway, I'm looking forward to putting down some dreams on here soon, but here's a quick story about a recent inspiration for a dream.
Last night I went with my friend Dana and several other people to help with Dana's kids club in an apartment complex in Saskatoon. It's a lower income area of town housing a lot of refugee families from the Middle East and North Africa. We set up Christmas stuff in a dingy, basement apartment, and suddenly it was 7PM and the door opened, and there were 40 small kids running and howling around the apartment, most of them from the Middle East. Through the whirl and swirl it was somehow decided that I would join Colin and Jolene in taking about a dozen of the older kids out Christmas caroling. So we herded them outside and started going between apartment blocks, and up and down stairs singing "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" wherever the kids knocked on the doors. We had two specific trouble makers who loved to run ahead, bang on a random door, and then hide. Meanwhile, I would be standing there, a very white, hairy, strange man, with 4 or 5 kids running around me, waiting for the rest of the crew to show up. They almost never caught up before the door opened, revealing a confused and border-line angry tenant looking straight at me and wondering what the heck was going on. And in that instant all I could do was look them innocently in the eye and "Jingle bells! Jingle bells! Jingle all th..." and so on. Three words into the song the kids would join me, the rest of the crew would show up, and the tenant would melt into a full-body smile. Some of the families even passed out candies to the kids, and 2 apartments later the kids were handing the candy out to other people we were singing to. Wild. Overwhelming. I think I'm going to go home and really write this one down.
As far as the "inspiration for a dream" goes, do you know what it's like when something just feels right? That's how that evening felt. It all just fit for me. I sat down for a moment once and a little girl in ski pants I had never met climbed into my lap and started touching my face and calling me "silly" over and over again. I really like working with kids. It's the kind of thing where I feel like God planned for me to do something like that.
So that's where dreams are coming from for me these days. It's strange to live at home sometimes, but it seems to me that I'm living in a blessed moment these days. It's nice to dream, and know Someone's growing those dreams inside of me, for His glory.
I only have moments today, but so much has happened. I'm home. I now live in Dalmeny, Saskatchewan. I live in my parents' basement. I eat their food. I drink their milk. My mom offered to buy me deoderant the other day.
I'm not working. I read a lot (currently the "Little House on the Prairie" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder). I do dishes and cook sometimes. I sit and think a lot, especially while I'm driving. I dream a lot. I sleep a lot. And now, a full week after I arrived home, I'm getting tired. Might I just now be letting down?
Anyway, I'm looking forward to putting down some dreams on here soon, but here's a quick story about a recent inspiration for a dream.
Last night I went with my friend Dana and several other people to help with Dana's kids club in an apartment complex in Saskatoon. It's a lower income area of town housing a lot of refugee families from the Middle East and North Africa. We set up Christmas stuff in a dingy, basement apartment, and suddenly it was 7PM and the door opened, and there were 40 small kids running and howling around the apartment, most of them from the Middle East. Through the whirl and swirl it was somehow decided that I would join Colin and Jolene in taking about a dozen of the older kids out Christmas caroling. So we herded them outside and started going between apartment blocks, and up and down stairs singing "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" wherever the kids knocked on the doors. We had two specific trouble makers who loved to run ahead, bang on a random door, and then hide. Meanwhile, I would be standing there, a very white, hairy, strange man, with 4 or 5 kids running around me, waiting for the rest of the crew to show up. They almost never caught up before the door opened, revealing a confused and border-line angry tenant looking straight at me and wondering what the heck was going on. And in that instant all I could do was look them innocently in the eye and "Jingle bells! Jingle bells! Jingle all th..." and so on. Three words into the song the kids would join me, the rest of the crew would show up, and the tenant would melt into a full-body smile. Some of the families even passed out candies to the kids, and 2 apartments later the kids were handing the candy out to other people we were singing to. Wild. Overwhelming. I think I'm going to go home and really write this one down.
As far as the "inspiration for a dream" goes, do you know what it's like when something just feels right? That's how that evening felt. It all just fit for me. I sat down for a moment once and a little girl in ski pants I had never met climbed into my lap and started touching my face and calling me "silly" over and over again. I really like working with kids. It's the kind of thing where I feel like God planned for me to do something like that.
So that's where dreams are coming from for me these days. It's strange to live at home sometimes, but it seems to me that I'm living in a blessed moment these days. It's nice to dream, and know Someone's growing those dreams inside of me, for His glory.
posted by Simon at 1:47 PM
6 Comments:
Hey Simon, I'm glad you got a chance to help out with that club program. That was my roomie's CS, and she loved it. It sounds like you had a good time.
See ya in a week!
Hey - sorry I missed you here at the Library! Kids club sounds like fun. When I was there one night for a brief little while all these kids just kept coming up and hugging me. It made me feel so special! Has Dane told you about the library thing I want to do there? Glad that you are taking it easy now being back home.
hey, if you're still around when kid's club at church starts up, you should drop in. it's also wild running and howling and psycho. maybe you'd like it?... :)
Simon, I'm so glad to hear you're back in Saskatchewan! Dalmeny will be better off because of it. Hope to see you at Christmas time!
Well, Hello there Simon. I managed to stumble upon your blog, yeh me! It's cool you did that kids club thing. I helped with it once, and I thought it was alot of fun too.
I must say I'm rather glad I found your little page. You are a very good and interesting writer. I couldn't help but notice in the 3 posts I read that you mention dreams and the like rather often. Do yourself a favour and read "The Sacred Romance". If you have already... read it again. Don't let the girly title scare you off. I thought it was a fantastic book.
Keep well Simon, and enjoy the free basement and food while you have it! God bless!
Simon! Why just work with a few Middle Eastern children when you could work with them all! Over here they're all over the streets and usually throwing rocks at cats and sometimes touists! They're ready and waiting for people like you!!! (sounds like I am an ad agency)
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