I have been working with children for over ten years and have had many life changing experiences with them. None of those experiences have impacted my life more then what happened to me a year ago. It all happened when a parent came up to me at the school I work at and asked me to be a buddy at a program called Buddy Break. I asked, what is involved, she told me that it involved me having an open mind, warm heart and a little bit of training. With a little bit of convincing I was on board and ready to embark on a new adventure that changed my life. During my first day at Buddy Break, my eyes were opened to a new program called Nathaniel’s Hope, Buddy Break, and I was able to take a leap of faith. The training for Buddy Break consisted
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When I first arrived, I didn’t know the severity of the kids and didn’t expect having such severely disabled children in the program. When I was reading my VIPs folder, I saw that he was eight and had a mind of a 3-5 year old and he was non-verbal. My mind exploded, I couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to deal with this child in a one-on-one setting. I had a few ideas on what to do with him, but I felt very overwhelmed on my first day. Then, the members of the church asked to pray together before the children arrived. At the time, I had little faith and didn’t go to church, but I bowed my head and somehow the prayers uplifted me. With my greeting sign in my hand, I was shaking. The kids started pouring into the church and at that moment, my heart warmed up. My child was of course last to come in, with both of us visibly nervous, I introduced myself and the day that changed my life began. After the child sat staring at the window without saying a word for about 45 minutes, he held my hand and led me to a bounce house where he held me for about half an hour. Without any words, I connected with a child on a different level that doesn’t need any words to
When I first arrived, I didn’t know the severity of the kids and didn’t expect having such severely disabled children in the program. When I was reading my VIPs folder, I saw that he was eight and had a mind of a 3-5 year old and he was non-verbal. My mind exploded, I couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to deal with this child in a one-on-one setting. I had a few ideas on what to do with him, but I felt very overwhelmed on my first day. Then, the members of the church asked to pray together before the children arrived. At the time, I had little faith and didn’t go to church, but I bowed my head and somehow the prayers uplifted me. With my greeting sign in my hand, I was shaking. The kids started pouring into the church and at that moment, my heart warmed up. My child was of course last to come in, with both of us visibly nervous, I introduced myself and the day that changed my life began. After the child sat staring at the window without saying a word for about 45 minutes, he held my hand and led me to a bounce house where he held me for about half an hour. Without any words, I connected with a child on a different level that doesn’t need any words to