Having Mentors is Important
“We really love interacting with the kids!” exclaim Tim and his fiancé, Taylor, explaining their motivation for volunteering each week in our kid’s ministry.
Members of Woodmen Valley Chapel, Rockrimmon Campus, Tim and Taylor first learned about FLS through another FLS volunteer group from church. Taylor was heading oversees for an internship, so Tim decided to start volunteering for something to do. He loved it so much that he invited Taylor to join him as soon as she was back.
“The kids really like having an older guy around with them, playing with them, just being with them. I really appreciate being able to invest in them as a male role model,” Tim expresses.
Since the beginning of summer, they’ve been paired with the “middles”, the very active elementary school boys – whom they know quite well and whose names they rattle off like they were their own. What makes the boys gravitate to him? “I’m good with kids, just because I’m a guy and can be physical – play basketball with them. I can relate to them and their struggles as guys.”
Taylor adds that “Having mentors – people in your lives that aren’t your parents – is super important. It’s something I had growing up that I want to share with them.”
What do they see in the kids, and what are they trying to bring out in them? Taylor explains, “In between crazy moments of boys with lots of energy, we can see a lot of individual talent, their own identities. For instance, one boy seems as active as the others, but when away from the others, it turns out he loves the crafts. He’s very detailed oriented and talented. You start to see their uniqueness and let them see it for themselves.”
Tim shares, “What I see in them comes from the fact that they live in a tight-knit community, all together. I see how they rub each other the wrong way, but also how they care about each other, how they are motivated to help each other. We don’t talk to them constantly about their own faith, but things naturally come up so we can talk with them and let them know what that’s all about.”
Tim shares that he really likes volunteering with Taylor as a couple. Taylor agrees, “It’s cool to see how God develops our individual talents and how we each work with kids.” Besides volunteering, working, going to school and getting married this May, Taylor can’t get enough of FLS. As a nursing student, she chose FLS for her community health rotation this summer.
Summing up their experience at FLS, they share, “We really love FLS and share it with our friends all the time. We love to tell people we are part of an organization that is working to build up single moms and their kids, to support and come alongside them as brothers and sisters, since we’re all under Christ. It’s been a great experience to get to know them and foster the relationships.”
Want to share your gifts like Tim and Taylor? Visit here to volunteer, here to give.
