October 3rd, 2014
This year for SALT (Serving And Learning Together), my school's fundraiser, the seniors went bowling with several special needs children from The Russel Home. They didn't think they were quite prepared to serve in that way, but the day ended up being a huge blessing not only for the children but also for them.
So this week during assembly the director from The Russel Home For Atypical Children came to thank them for their outreach. She spoke of the numerous lives they had touched and shared several stories, one of which was of a girl named Hannah.
Hannah's mom had passed away and her only sister was not able to care for her. Thus, she was brought to the home only a few months earlier. The director said that every single day she would cry, wanting her mother and wondering if anyone loved her. The volunteers at the home would always comfort her and tell her how much she was loved and that she would one day see her mother again, but it didn't help.
The day the seniors took the children bowling she did not cry once.
There were many other amazing stories, and for a thank you to the seniors the director surprised them by bringing the special needs praise team to preform for us all.
There were about eight down syndrome girls who all had big smiles on their faces and waved at us all as they took their places. Their dance was beautiful. Simple and a little off coordination, but altogether beautiful. All eight of them were so engaged in praising God and doing their best. I was smiling from ear to ear. It was very difficult to keep from crying. As they ended and took their final pose, the whole school body stood up in the bleachers and cheered louder and more joyously than I've ever heard. Chills kept running down my spine. The expressions on those girls' faces were indescribable. Some covered their mouths with their hands and started jumping up and down and hugging each other. They all had the biggest and warmest smiles I have ever seen. Tears welled up in my eyes and I could not even attempt to stop them from flowing. The seniors flooded the gym floor and surrounded them. The rest of us were dismissed to our next class.
Once I got to the Chemistry room all the girls began bawling, hugging each other and wiping each other's smeared makeup off. It was a really special moment.
That was one of the most meaningful 45 minutes of my life and definitely the most indescribably beautiful thing I have ever seen.
