Learning from children at sports camp

Summer meals in San Angelo start in July, so there wasn't much to do here my first two weeks in June directly related to my main assignment with the Texas Hunger Initiative. But I've been busy. We were involved in block parties, and it was intense.

After a one-hour period for staff, interns and volunteers to just abide in Christ, then we all started to prepare food, games and registration forms. Later, we headed to neighborhoods to invite people to the parties and to register kids for sports camp and overnight camps sponsored by House of Faith, a ministry that works year around with children from elementary to high school.

The turnout was not so great, since it was the first time House of Faith did block parties. But we had lots of fun—and plenty of leftover hot dogs. It was amazing to see how joining forces makes enables the work to get done.

Sports Camp was the second week of June, and preparation for that was crazy. We had tons of balls for all the sports involving the children, as well as water coolers, first aid kits, whistles, air pumps, clipboards, teaching manuals and a little bit of everything.

I loved being part of sports camp with House of Faith, but I'll admit at the beginning I was not so excited about the idea of working with children and being in charge of a group of girls by myself. However, I prayed to God to put me where he needed me, and before the week started, I felt more confident and excited. Truth is, all children are ready to be loved, but they also pour out their love to you, and that for me was the greatest experience I've had with children. I had fun along with them. I got to know part of their lives, and I could share with them that God loves them and is always there for us.

There were five girls in my group—Anna, Hanna, Jordan, Isamari and Bella. They were the smartest girls I've ever met. Anna always wanted to carry the water basket, but she would always wonder about snack time. Hanna is an energetic girl who loved volleyball and was always ready to show off what she could do. She was ready to pray all the time. Jordan was the most quiet and respectful, but painfully shy. Isamari was the sweetest. She is also shy, but she would reply to the answers all the time. Bella is the most mature of all, because she would always get us back on track in our teaching time, and she was ready to try all different activities like hip-hop, golf and gymnastics.

Sports Camp only lasted four days, but it felt longer because I bonded with the girls and saw their improvement. I know God put me there because he knew I would learn from the girls more than I could teach them. I got out of my comfort zone, and I had so much fun! This has also opened my eyes to see how much we all can impact children's lives with simply sharing time with them. They listen to what you say to them. We just have to be brave enough to trust God that he will use us.

Olivia Rodriguez, a student at the University of Texas at El Paso, is serving in San Angelo with Go Now Missions.