Surprise.

I wanted to take the youth out to apple picking or something on Columbus Day. Initially, I thought I had the day off, but being that I work in a private institution, I had work. So I asked the teachers if they could bring the kids out individually and the day before, I would plan a bowling event for them, which was a fun outing overall.

So on Columbus Day, I was at work and in the morning time I was at internship. The other was texting me and told me he would bring food for me which was not a shock because he does that every so often when he comes to the city. He said he was going to study so I said okay. Around 1PM, I was going to have supervision and while I was seeing a client, the other texted me and told me to go up and pick up the food like I always do at the side door. This time, I couldn't because I was in the middle of seeing a client but he was rushing me and saying that he doesn't want to pay for the meter, etc, which he always says too. Once we finished, I ran upstairs and opened the side door and standing there was the entire youth group that came out to surprise me. They were all standing in a straight line with papers that read: "Joan, We Appreciate You!"

It definitely caught me off guard and it was such a friendly gesture that was put together by the teachers. That gesture made my day. It's been about three months since I've been serving in this church and every week I feel guilty for not giving them enough of my time and energy. I am only able to be there for them on weekends because that's all the time I have. Unlike previous ministries, I used to be texting people left and right and checking in on people, but during this season of my life, I just haven't been able to spread myself in that capacity.

When I think about the current church I'm at, I just can't help but to be grateful. God blessed me with a good group of kids to work with during this season of my life. It's not a humungous group but it's definitely a group of a set of kids absolutely different from what I'm used to, but I look forward to working with them and seeing them.