A Long-Awaited Step
by Tyler Lemmons
I am happy to report that after almost a year of not being able to meet, Impact Mentoring has started back up. We are taking things slow and are a considerably smaller group than we were last Spring, but I am grateful we saw a way forward. Our meetings have scaled back so that we only have one time per week to gather. We meet on Impact’s campus and use the outdoor areas. We have plenty of room to spread out with the basketball court, gaga ball court, and front parking lot filled up with tables and craft supplies. Thankfully, Impact has some outdoor lighting as it gets dark about halfway through our time.
On our first night back it was so awesome to see pairs that hadn’t seen each other in months fall back into conversation like they had never been apart. I saw one of our teenage girls talk endlessly for the entire hour! I guess she has a lot to catch her buddy up on. While others played an intense game of gagaball, I struggled to help one of the girls with a puzzle (not enough light!)
I loved seeing all the different pieces that make mentoring work, come together. The mentors who showed up, the kids who got on a van, the drivers who picked up the kids, the interns who prepared the individual dinner bags for the kids and gathered up balls, games, and crafts – all these feel extra special to me now after so many months of being apart from each other. Although we are still missing a handful of our group, I am so thankful for those who have been able to participate, and I am looking forward to when it is safe for others to join. Please pray for the health and safety of our group as we continue to meet together weekly and pray that we can safely add more kids and mentors in the fall.
