Thank You, Volunteers!

58 people.

58 people who don’t get paid.

58 people who love to love kids that don’t belong to them.

And that’s not all of them! 

I have been blessed this past year to help organize the children’s program with my church’s moms group.  I started the year thinking, “How do these volunteers do it?  How can I bribe these people into coming back?”  I quickly realized that 1) I can’t pay them enough for the work they do and 2) they wouldn’t take payment.  They love loving kids and by extension, loving the kids’ moms.  And that has been such a blessing!  They’re not reluctant to hold your child while he screams for “Mama!” They don’t complain about runny noses or squirrely boys.  They have given their time and energy and received very little in return. 

As a result, over 200 kids heard about, sang about, and/or crafted about Jesus, his love for them, what he did, and what he taught.  Because of the volunteers’ willingness to watch and teach these kids, about 120 moms heard the gospel (without distraction), encouraged one another, and left the morning refreshed and equipped to parent their children.   When you spend all day with young children, you realize how meaningful 1.5 hours of calm can be!

As we close out the MOPS year and take a break for the summer, I’ve been praying for these volunteers, mainly that they would be blessed through their generous giving to our moms group.  I pray that as they’ve rocked babies, separated fights, sung the Hokey Pokey (again), and talked about spiritual truths on a simple level that God has drawn close to them, showing them his love and truth all over again.