Students for International Mission Service (SIMS)

Outlook 2002
community kids connection
............................Alma Meza
............................graduate, dental hygiene
............................School of Dentistry

It was January, 2000, and I was invited to go to something called Community Kids Connection (CKC). Seeing the enthusiasm of my friends who went, I joined them. That Sabbath morning, I began my journey of blessings that has come through building meaningful relationships with kids and their families.

CKC begins each Sabbath morning at 10:00 a.m. Often, student volunteers pick up kids from surrounding neighborhoods starting at 9:30 a.m. Many kids are outside waiting eagerly to see their “big” friends. Arriving at the clinic, you can hear the sounds of voices singing to liven up the volunteers, reminding us that we must stay in tune with God if we are to share anything positive with the kids.

After singing and prayer, the volunteers present the program they have been planning. It may be a lively skit or interactive story to convey an important moral message. The kids then separate into small groups as they prepare to experience a hands-on activity or craft to help reinforce the story or the moral value they have just learned. As their tummies begin to growl around 11:15 a.m., the kids line up for their apple juice and crackers. Sticky hands and all, they dash outside to play.

The last program of the quarter is traditionally a field trip. Special trips have been to places such as the home of LLU chancellor Richard Hart, the museum, San Diego Zoo, or Kamp Kula (a summer camp program established for underprivileged children).

Although everything I have described makes every Sabbath a delight, the point of the program is to establish lasting relationships with the kids. Not lasting in the sense that the students will keep in touch with the kids for a long time, but in the sense that the kids will always remember that somebody cared enough about them to remember their name or give them a hug, at a time when family and friends were emotionally distant. Being a part of it enabled me to experience blessings that come after weeks and months of showing the children and their parents that you are committed to them. We were able to hear the kids’ hopes and dreams about the future.

I believe service-learning opportunities like CKC are reasons why many students have chosen Loma Linda University. We want to learn how to put our Christ-given principles of love and health into practical use. In something as seemingly simple as a kids’ program, God blesses with opportunities to share Him with kids and their families. These are the types of blessings and opportunities that God grants to us. He wants to prove to us that He can help us find our own niche in His service.

[Outlook 2002]

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