Monday night was a beautiful, crisp evening downtown. We took the HPCO kids on a "mystery trip" to go ice skating at Campus Martius. The parents were notified and as the kids were piling in the car the excitement was high! Several of the kids had to be told to go back in the house and get warmer clothes on and after that we were bombarded with questions about where and what we were going to be doing.
After serving the kids dinner at HPCO, we drove down Woodward to the outdoor ice skating rink. As the kids were putting on the rented ice skates, two of the boys came up to another leader and I and their face looked so sad. They informed us that they weren't wearing socks. It was winter. I was amazed. Thankfully, I was wearing two pair and the other leader handed hers over to the boys.
When we got to the ice, I realized that the majority of the kids had never been ice skating before. Some took it slowly, while others jumped right in and enjoyed the slips and falls. I was the most proud of a young boy named Cameron. He was terrified of skating. Just to get in the van to go was a HUGE step for him. Once he got his skates on and stepped onto the ice he began crying. I skated over to him, by that time he was about 1/3 of the way around the rink. As he clutched the railing and took precarious steps with his ice skates we began to pray. Cameron began to calm down and he made it all the way around the rink. He quickly exited and found a bench near by. I was a little disappointed that he didn't want to give it another try, but I knew he had been terrified. About 15 minutes later, I looked over at the bench and Cameron was gone. The last place I scanned with my eyes was the rink but when I did I saw him clinging to the wall giving it another go. All by himself. I was so proud. He is learning to trust and conquer his fears.
By the end of the night, none of the kids wanted to leave. :) I can't wait until they tear up the ice next winter!