After the New Year, I began a part-time job as the Youth Programs Coordinator at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in my rural hometown of Newport, Arkansas. I live in Little Rock so I make the hour-and-a-half commute to Newport every Tuesday to have a youth group meeting from 4-6 pm. We are also planning some weekend trips to Camp Mitchell, the Episcopal camp in Northwest Arkansas, and to college campuses in Conway and Fayetteville.
There are a few important things to note:
1. Two years ago, St. Paul's began a "Hispanic Ministry" program. They reached out to Latino families and communities and invited them to attend services. My parents were very involved in taking the children of these families to church on Sundays. They bought a 12 passenger van and (still today) have a pick-up route every Sunday morning. Today, the church has monthly Spanish-speaking services and dinners to promote community fellowship.
2. Every kid in the youth group is either Mexican (undocumented) or Mexican-American (born in the United States). So, the program is tailored to them and the issues they face as teenagers and as the children of migrant, Mexican workers. They are Neida (14), Jose (13), Tony (13), Marcos (14), Felix (13), Cynthia (15), Leticia (14), Monica (16), Miguel (16), Pedro (18) and Berneice (18).
3. I wanted to be the Youth Programs Coordinator at this church, because I am very interested in working for the rights of Latino communities and children in the state of Arkansas. I majored in Spanish, having lived in Spanish-speaking countries, and am often frustrated by the way in which the American and Arkansas governments have approached the issues of immigration, the Spanish-language, and education for Mexicans and Mexican-American children.
4. Why this blog?
I have only been with the youth group for a month and a half. Like every human being, I entered into this position with plans and expectations, many based on theoretical educational strategies. In only six weeks, I realize that I have so much more to learn from these kids than they do from me. This blog is about me (my background, perspective, and expectations); it's about them (their backgrounds, perspectives and expectations as they relate them to me); and it's about us (as a group, as a classroom, as a community, as a human family). I hope my experiences with this youth group can shed some light, at least for me, on countless issues pertaining to the lives of these kids and their families.
If nothing else, this will be a place for my own self-reflection; but I encourage (in fact, need) comments, insights, advice, other perspectives, recommendations, support, even criticism if I hope to define my role in the lives of these kids and learn more about them.
