After-School program

A few days ago I went with a few other students to the refugee shelter. The shelter is basically a place where one of the missionaries holds an after school program for children and teenagers who are refugees fro all over Europe and even Africa. While we were there we basically just interacted with the kids there. I will admit, I am not very good with kids. I tried to help a little girl with her homework and she blew me off. She was cute though and spoke a little English. I think she was just showing off. A lady missionary named Reggy works so hard to put this thing together. She is from Texas so the whole place has Texas Longhorn memorabilia on the walls. She has taken a few of these kids to live with her in her own home. I think that is such a demonstration of God's compassion through her. The rest of the time we played cards with some of the older kids. They spoke great English and were excited to be around us. It is so great how these kids can be separating themselves from the secular Europe and engross themselves in Christian fellowship. I dont know if they have a choice in the matter whether or not to come to the program, but I did catch a glimpes of one of the teenager's ipod and it was full of Christian music. That lifted my spirits. I never thought I would see that in Europe. We barely see that in the Bible Belt. When I left I was talking to a friend of mine about how I would much rather be doing Bible studies rather than fellowship with kids. She told me a story of how her favorite childhood memories were the VBS's the American missionaries put on (she is from Canada). She said they are the reason she even came to a Christian College. I was struck by that and began to think about the Christian influences I received as a kid and I give them a lot of credit to my adult Christianity. I no longer feel that fellowship is a "waste." I really felt like we did some good that day.