Application
Eli really wants to help me when I volunteer in the children's ministry at church. I'm totally on board with that! It is great experience for him to work with kids in a classroom setting and I can assign him to the little naughty kids so I don't have to deal with them. Win win!
You may recall that my application process for the children's ministry was a wee bit painful. Thankfully, Eli doesn't have to fill out all 50,000 pages, just four, and he only needs to give two references.
References cannot be family and need to be someone who can speak about Eli's mannerism with little kids. It was a given that one of the references would be Aunt Mika. Eli and M have been buddies since the day M arrived in Germany. Eli's patience with him is remarkable and he is generally really happy playing with M on his level. I must confess, the other night when M was over, Eli attempted to play hide and seek with him in an effort to ditch the youngster. M caught on real quick and the game was over. But other than that, Eli is typically very kind, loving and caring with M.
Eli and I were trying to think of another reference and Eli suggested our neighbor Mrs. J. She has a little boy who is 22 months old and Eli is often outside playing with him. Eli went over to Mrs. J's house to ask if he could use her for a reference for his application to volunteer at church. She said "yes" and then Eli handed her a pad of paper to write her email address down for the application.
Instead of simply writing her email address she wrote this:
"I have had the pleasure of watching Eli play with my son B on numerous occasions. Eli has consistently demonstrated a maturity beyond his age because he is sensitive to B's safety as well as keeping their playtime age appropriate. I am always happy for Eli's interaction with my son. I think his mannerisms, kind and friendly nature, will be a great example for B as he grows older"
I must say, I am a wee bit proud of Eli. Not only that he has a special place in his heart for little kiddos, but for the impression that he is leaving on others and that he had the gumption to fill out that darn application form.
I think Mrs. J's words were special to Eli. He was a little embarrassed when I read the note to him (she wrote in cursive and he can't read it - see yesterdays post on time warps). This is his first lesson in references. The things you do on a daily basis without even thinking about it quickly become your legacy.
You may recall that my application process for the children's ministry was a wee bit painful. Thankfully, Eli doesn't have to fill out all 50,000 pages, just four, and he only needs to give two references.
References cannot be family and need to be someone who can speak about Eli's mannerism with little kids. It was a given that one of the references would be Aunt Mika. Eli and M have been buddies since the day M arrived in Germany. Eli's patience with him is remarkable and he is generally really happy playing with M on his level. I must confess, the other night when M was over, Eli attempted to play hide and seek with him in an effort to ditch the youngster. M caught on real quick and the game was over. But other than that, Eli is typically very kind, loving and caring with M.
Eli and I were trying to think of another reference and Eli suggested our neighbor Mrs. J. She has a little boy who is 22 months old and Eli is often outside playing with him. Eli went over to Mrs. J's house to ask if he could use her for a reference for his application to volunteer at church. She said "yes" and then Eli handed her a pad of paper to write her email address down for the application.
Instead of simply writing her email address she wrote this:
"I have had the pleasure of watching Eli play with my son B on numerous occasions. Eli has consistently demonstrated a maturity beyond his age because he is sensitive to B's safety as well as keeping their playtime age appropriate. I am always happy for Eli's interaction with my son. I think his mannerisms, kind and friendly nature, will be a great example for B as he grows older"
I must say, I am a wee bit proud of Eli. Not only that he has a special place in his heart for little kiddos, but for the impression that he is leaving on others and that he had the gumption to fill out that darn application form.
I think Mrs. J's words were special to Eli. He was a little embarrassed when I read the note to him (she wrote in cursive and he can't read it - see yesterdays post on time warps). This is his first lesson in references. The things you do on a daily basis without even thinking about it quickly become your legacy.
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