I've Got 27 Babies

Their parents lend them to me and the other supervisors for a 2 hour interval every other Saturday and every 2nd & 4th Sunday for morning worship.

I'm referring to the Youth Choir at my Church.

Here we are photographed on Sunday, June 28, 2009, their Annual Day. I'm on the far right & the other supervisors are on the far left.

We sang, we celebrated and we had a good time concluding our 9 month cycle. It was hard work and we've had our share of ups and downs. If you happen to count the kids (I'm not really expecting you to), there are only 23 photographed. 2 couldn't make the event, 1 was there but he didn't participate due to a scheduling conflict and the last is on maternity leave...

We are perfect and imperfect works in progress.

It is an honor to work with these children. My Pastor appointed me to work with them 7 years ago... and I thought about quitting at least 12 times. Most people who work with youth ministries have experience working with children or have children of their own. Prior to this, I did not work with children and I do not have my own... yet through it all, I have grown with them and become attached to them.

I am proud of these talented, intelligent, marvelous children. 2 of the choir supervisors are mothers & grandmothers. The 2 younger supervisors (myself and another) have no children... yet I worry about these babies, I pray for them, I want them to excel and do better than their parents could even fathom, I want them to shine and outshine, dream dreams I couldn't even imagine. And I know my sister supervisor feels the same way.

We were honored with plaques commemorating our work and as I gave my remarks, my heart was so full I just wanted to bawl. But I held it together and said my thank yous... expressing my appreciation for all of our (church) family who helps and encourages us as we carryout our ministry.

2 of my babies are leaving to go to college. Both of them received full scholarships... I'm not just saying that my babies are intelligent, they really are! Another choir member, who didn't participate for the year because she had to attend Saturday school, graduated and also received a full scholarship for her studies. I know that these children excel because of their parents and their schools but also because of their connection to the Church.

One last thing... I forgot to tell my babies, on Sunday, that I love them. In my final remarks for the year, I forgot to tell them that I'm proud of them. I forgot to tell them to keep working hard, it's not in vain, they can be all that they want to be and even more. But as my friend who attended the annual day told me, "K, they already know" and I sure hope they do.