Have you ever heard the term home is where the heart is? In the summer after my freshman year, I found this to be true. I encountered experiences that illuminated the value of time spent with family and how this creates a sense of home. My family and a few members of my congregation went on a mission trip to Duluth and Superior. We did a variety of things such as helping people in hunger stricken areas, working and arranging clothes in a woman’s shelter, and spending time with kids at Superior’s Boy’s and Girl’s Club. Specifically, working at the Boy’s and Girl’s club stood out to me. When we arrived there, I quickly figured out that the kids, all different ages, lacked the sense of family and attention that I was so fortunate to have. As
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I was distraught after hearing her response. I spent a little bit of the afternoon getting to know a little about these girls, their interests, the schools they attended, and they even showed me pictures of their favorite celebrities. I thought it was odd that not one of them mentioned their family; this in turn made me wonder what their home life was like. Do they have a family that loves and cares for them, or even a quality of life in which they receive the attention they deserve? I pondered these questions, wondering these things about any and all of the kids at the club. As I made my way back to the game of freeze tag, I saw a little boy with dark hair and blue eyes, probably around 9 years old, with a smile as wide as the ocean, throw the ball at my dad, yelling “YOU’RE IT!” My dad, in his incredible façade, pretended he was being shot down and he wobbled back and forth before he fell to the ground. The game went on and on and on but ultimately resulted in everyone being happy with the new bonds that were created that day, no matter if it was between 9 year old boy and a 45 year old …show more content…
This meant that we had to say our goodbyes to the kids we had newly formed connections with. As we said goodbye, we were overwhelmed with the question …”Are you coming back tomorrow?” The three girls I had gotten to know gave me big bear hugs and said they wished that we would come back. Regretfully, this was the last we would see of everyone. As my family was walking out the door, the little boy with dark hair and blue eyes ran up to my dad, gave him a hug and asked the most heartbreaking question of all. “Can I come with you?” he spoke as he looked up at us with his vast blue
I was distraught after hearing her response. I spent a little bit of the afternoon getting to know a little about these girls, their interests, the schools they attended, and they even showed me pictures of their favorite celebrities. I thought it was odd that not one of them mentioned their family; this in turn made me wonder what their home life was like. Do they have a family that loves and cares for them, or even a quality of life in which they receive the attention they deserve? I pondered these questions, wondering these things about any and all of the kids at the club. As I made my way back to the game of freeze tag, I saw a little boy with dark hair and blue eyes, probably around 9 years old, with a smile as wide as the ocean, throw the ball at my dad, yelling “YOU’RE IT!” My dad, in his incredible façade, pretended he was being shot down and he wobbled back and forth before he fell to the ground. The game went on and on and on but ultimately resulted in everyone being happy with the new bonds that were created that day, no matter if it was between 9 year old boy and a 45 year old …show more content…
This meant that we had to say our goodbyes to the kids we had newly formed connections with. As we said goodbye, we were overwhelmed with the question …”Are you coming back tomorrow?” The three girls I had gotten to know gave me big bear hugs and said they wished that we would come back. Regretfully, this was the last we would see of everyone. As my family was walking out the door, the little boy with dark hair and blue eyes ran up to my dad, gave him a hug and asked the most heartbreaking question of all. “Can I come with you?” he spoke as he looked up at us with his vast blue