This week for Try This Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs, I am sharing more about how our summer has been and some of the challenges we have faced with regard to Michael’s progress. I hope you’ll take a moment to read it, especially as it will be my last one.
Yes, I am stepping down from the 5MFSN team. It has been a wonderful year (plus a little) since the site began, but I just feel the need to draw back from some of my commitments to focus more on my home and my family. I cannot express how amazing this experience has been and how blessed I am to have met so many amazing moms and dads of special needs children through that community.
Of course, I’ll still be commenting there and blogging here, and hope to be a bit more regular once school gets started at the end of the month. I just didn’t want to disappear from the site and have people wonder what happened to me! 
June marks not only the beginning of summer for our family this year, but also some big changes in regards to our ministry commitments.
For the past couple of years, we have been attending one of our church’s small groups (recently renamed Life Groups). This particular group met once a month and was based on the topic of parenting. As the leaders had decided it was time for them to step down, we finished up the discussion on the book we had been reading in May and had our final official gathering last weekend.
We had a great time eating and spending time together, and the kids (big and little) especially enjoyed the inflatable water slide they set up! The Little Guy is often pretty nervous about water on his face, but he jumped right in there and had a wonderful time climbing and sliding down with the other kids.
Although the hubby is continuing his involvement with another ministry on a weekly basis, he is no longer going to be helping with children’s worship. He had been volunteering in that area for the past several months as they got it up and running again and now will return to occasional events such as Preschool VBS this summer.
As he is ending his regular involvement with the kids, I will actually be moving in that direction! I had worked in the toddler nursery for several years but stopped soon after the Little Guy’s autism diagnosis coupled with his entry into preschool. As he needed extra help to handle the more structured classes, I began spending 2-3 Sundays per month as his “buddy” and was barely getting into services myself.
Well, now that he is doing very well without me (due in part to the education that has taken place with the teachers and helpers in his classroom) and will be moving into the kindergarten room in the fall, I am re-entering children’s ministry. But this time I will be helping in our new classroom for special needs kids. The Friendship Station, as it is called, is for preschool or elementary age children with disabilities whose parents do not feel comfortable leaving them in their regular class. The coordinator will also be working with the regular teachers to actively support the kids who are in the regular classes, such as my Little Guy.
Our main goals are to minister to the children, of course, and also to help parents and families who may not otherwise attend to feel that they can come and be involved in the worship service while their child is well taken care of. For children who are in regular classes, the parents can also choose to allow the coordinator to bring them to the Friendship Station if they are not having a good day rather than immediately calling the parent out of service. I am so excited to be a part of this ministry and help other parents not to struggle in the same way that I did with church attendance.
So lots of changes coming up this month – stay tuned for even more exciting things!
