2 exciting things happened recently at the Teen Center...
First of all we went on the annual ReachOut Retreat with Christ the King Parish and it was a huge sucess! We had 12 kids, 4 young adult volunteers, 2 former Teen Center staff members/Amate volunteers, Kozy, Linda and myself attend. It was a faith-filled, fun, sleepless weekend and I was able to connect with my kids on a much deeper level. We had one kid sign up at 6pm Friday night and we were leaving only an hour later; and he ended up loving the weekend! We still have a long way to go with him but I think this was an important first step. We had many returners who were given the opportunity to be small group leaders and who volunteered themselves to give a talk in front of the whole group. I spent weeks helping many of them prepare their testimonies and I am proud to say they all did fantastic. I found the weekend to be somewhat of a struggle because the teens from the other parish lead completely different lives than my kids. While I know it is beneficial for them to interact and create different types of friendships, at some points it was hard to relate to each other. At first a couple of my kids asked why I was with them and not with the other white kids who "looked like me" but after awhile assured me that I belonged with them and my place was in McKinley Park. I had a great time on the weekend despite my lack of sleep.
The other exciting thing that happened was that we had 87 kids on a single day at the Teen Center. That means that in a four hour time span we had almost 100 kids walk through our doors, stay for some time period, hang out, and get off the streets for at least a little bit! Looking back on September and October when we were lucky to get 35 kids, this averaging 65 kids per day is both a blessing and a curse. While I love having a busy Teen Center I am feeling the stress of a short staff. My boss went out of town for a few days, my co-worker went home to be with her sick grandpa, one of my volunteers failed to show up for 3 straight days, and another had to leave half-way through the day to go to his other job. This has left me alone with the kids on several occasions and rather than being able to enjoy their company I am forced to constantly walk around checking on everyone, giving warnings for swearing, and breaking up fights/arguments. But, I am so happy the kids have found the Teen Center and I am praying we can find funding to remain open next year and have a more complete staff (including myself!)
Sarah and her 2 roommates came to visit last week which was a lot of fun. I always enjoy spending time with my Sista and it was fun just hanging out in Chicago with them. They introduced me to a new restaurant up north in Wrigleyville that was quite delicious.
Well, time to go to work and make some more progress on my grant writing and get ready for the kids to come.
My time is winding down at Amate and I am working hard to enjoy every minute I have left!
Love and miss you all,
Meg
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