More about After-School

I know a lot of my blog entries focus around the after-school program, and unfortunately this one won't be any different. Its a huge part of my life, and a huge part of my prayer life right now as I continually seek God's direction in my life.

This week there is a group of college students here on a missions trip with AIM. They have been coming to after-school everyday, and it has been incredible. The after-school program, for the first time ever, is exactly what I envisioned it to be. Every kid has someone to help them with their homework and then play with them. Every child is getting love and attention. There is little chaos and there haven't been any fights this week. I have hardly had to do anything but love kids...and its been so wonderful!

The problem is, all of that is going to end soon. There is another group coming next week, which I am so excited about, but after that...its back to just me and the kids. Plus, all the pressure of coming up with new ideas, planning field trips, etc. is still all on me. Not to mention, I HAVE to be there every day. There is not a single day that I can decide not to go, and that's a lot for me.

One of the visiting college students asked me about my vision for after-school, and I had to honestly tell her I don't really have one. I had one, and a lot of my goals have been accomplished, despite the fact that the program has never really looked like I thought it would. But, I don't really have any idea where to go from here, and even if I went back to my original vision, I have no idea how to get there.

I do, however, have vision. In addition to poor education in terms of reading, writing and math, the Philadelphia schools are virtually void of the arts and physical education. I want to get the kids more involved in the arts...start a drawing and/or photography class. I want to push nutrition and physical activity so they can grow up healthy. So, maybe next year I will do that. Instead of after-school every day, I will have it 2 days a week. The other 2 days I could have a photography class and a physical education class. It would help get rid of the monotony and I could reach more kids (different kids could be involved in different activities). Plus, I think I could get help for the individual classes. Its much easier for people to commit to helping with one program that meets one day a week than it is to be a part of a 4 day a week program.

These are all just ideas, and I still have many months of praying and brainstorming to do. I don't know where God is taking me, but I can't help but wonder if this week is His way of showing me that He did give me the vision for after-school, and the vision has come to life (even if it is for a short time), but now its time to move on. I'm not good at letting go though...