I’ve been in communication with the Kaleidoscope staff over the past week and a half or so, but tonight was my official pre-camp telephone call. I will be helping out with the arts and crafts workshop.
This year, we had plenty of Kaleidoscope volunteers — but we all wanted to be helpers, with very few volunteering to lead workshops. That left the staff in a bit of a bind. At one point, they tried to get me to lead a workshop. I know the AIM program well enough to know that it’s sometimes about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and allowing God to help you through something you don’t feel capable of doing. I preach that gospel all the time.
But at the same time, these are special-needs kids. I do well enough as a workshop helper, but I’m a single, childless 44-year-old fat man and I think it takes someone with a little more child care or parental experience to actually lead a workshop. And between work responsibilities and my Kenya trip coming up, I knew I wouldn’t have much time to put together good workshop content on short notice. So I turned them down — and felt guilty about doing it. Since I’m a Mountain T.O.P. board member, I try to make it a point of being available and doing what I’m asked to do. I know I made the right decision, but I still felt awkward about it.
Anyway, we’re going to have fewer than the normal number of workshops. For this reason, the afternoon rotation workshop will be shorter and some of that time will be used for a sort of rotation play time with different stations like Play-Doh and bubbles.
I am really looking forward to my first AIM experience, and my first Kaleidoscope experience, since 2003.
You just about have to love any trip where you’re instructed to purchase a package of Play-Doh to bring with you.
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