YoungLives

Saturday morning, December 11, 2010, I worked at YoungLives, a refuge for teen mothers run by YoungLife. We held a Santa's Breakfast for the mothers and their kids. We served them Breakfast and took pictures of their kids with Santa, read stories and let the mothers pick out Christmas presents from a room of toys that had been donated especially for these mothers at YoungLives. It was so satisfying to see that these mothers and their kids were going to have a blessed Christmas because of what we had provided for them. Alot of the women had no families that they could turn to for Christmas, so without YoungLives the kids and their mothers would not have any presents at all. I was nervous at first when I arrived at YoungLives. i was affraid the girls wouldn't feel comfortable around me, and i was right to some extent. Because they knew I came from Houston Christian High School a lot of the girls probably thought I was there to judge them or something, because they didn't really know what to expect from me, but all I did was serve them the whole time. I would play with their kids, help them pick out presents, carry all their toys, help them 'check out' (all the stuff was free, but they still had to give their stuff to some other people to have it wrapped). I would try and have normal conversations with them so they would feel less awkward around me, and it worked. They all love talking about their kids, so if you ask them about their kid, they automatically feel comfortable around you. This experience was so rewarding for me because I love Christmas and I love kids!!