LOCALLY SOURCED
A Heart for the Outreach Community Center Vanessa Roth College Church member and chief operating officer of Outreach Community Ministries
"Ms. Jane was unique in how she interacted with the children, but she provides an example of how we can help children. As I think about it, this was more than Ms. Jane’s calling, it was her heart."
The other day, I received an email from Linda who was looking for someone who used to work at the Outreach Community Center (OCC) in Carol Stream. Linda began her email with a desire to reconnect with the person who ran the elementary after school and summer school programs at the Center—Ms. Jane. Ms. Jane was skilled in helping kids develop a love for learning. With three adult children and three grandchildren, Ms. Jane’s job at the center was her second career, and she always told people she was called to work here. Ms. Jane was exactly the kind of employee we look for at Outreach. The children in the afterschool program were precious to her because, in her eyes, they were all God’s children, made in his image, and she loved them. The email ended with a clue as to why it was important for Linda to connect with Ms. Jane, “She practically raised all of us neighborhood kids,” Linda wrote. As I read the email, it dawned on me that I remembered Linda. She and her mom lived in an apartment near the Community Center, but we lost track of them after Linda finished middle school. My recollections of Linda became more vivid the more I thought about her. She was shy and always had a book in her hand. A good student, she loved being at the Center. I only remember meeting Linda’s mother once, and then, my memories of Linda became quite clear. Linda’s mom struggled with anxiety and being in large places. Most days, her mom never left her bedroom. She had a bed, a TV, a refrigerator and an adjoining bathroom. She didn’t need to leave the room for anything. Linda would get herself up in the morning,
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get dressed for school and to the bus by herself. She got off the bus after school at the Outreach Community Center. After the Center, Linda would go home and walk into the bedroom to greet her mom with a kiss. Linda reported that her mom would ask about her day, before sending Linda off to make herself something to eat before going to bed. As you can well imagine, Ms. Jane, so different and so engaging, was special to Linda. The thing is, Ms. Jane had figured out that the children at the Outreach Community Center needed something more than her or the staff of OCC. Ms. Jane knew that all the kids needed someone special in their lives, someone who had time for them and considered each of them unique. This makes me think of the familiar verses in Psalm 139 that remind all of us how special God has created us and cares for us. “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be outnumbered!” (Psalm 139:13-14, 17, NLT) Year after year, we keep a lookout for people who see the children of OCC as God sees them. We look for people exactly like Ms. Jane who choose to spend time with the children and communicate how special they are. We look for ordinary people who trust an extraordinary God. What made Ms. Jane special to so many kids at the Center? It’s simple:
