Community service is a rewarding thing any person can do for a community.

There is long list of needs in the community, but one of the most rewarding things I could
offer the community was serving at the church. Watching these students grow in their
faith and lean on God and to know him is one truly amazing gift. Through this experience
I have learned and grown my skills in areas of being a leader, patient with students,
dedication, and my organization.

In the 30 plus hours that I served assisting with being a teacher during Wednesday
night church Orange 252 at Northridge Baptist Church. There was a variety of rolls I did
while doing my community service there. The night would start out in the sanctuary
where our class was joined by other grades from preschool to fifth grade. We would
worship as a group we would have the students stand and sing and do the motions to the
songs that were sung I had to help make sure that they were paying attention. After
worship there would be a story that would go along with what we would eventually go
into the classroom and discuss but in the sanctuary, I would assist with making sure the
students were listening and following along during this time as well. We then would be
dismissed and join our groups in a classroom setting were we would discuss what was
said on stage and how it relates with each other and reflect on how we could change a
situation in our lives. Toward the end of the night our group would join the other groups
of their age group have a snack and after snacks we would finalize the night with a game.

I feel like I am a well-organized person, but I have to say that teaching a class of
3rd and 4th grade girls it has helped me advance in my organization skills. When teaching
a group of young students, no matter if it is in education or ministry, I have learned that if
not organized the class seems to fall off track and not go as planned.

My patient’s level is well I wouldn’t say is the best, but it is growing larger and
larger as the days and experiences I encounter are more. While in this experience with
this group of girls I feel it has improved as I have learned that they all have very
important things to say and they all want to tell their stories at the same time, so as all
these third and fourth grade girls are talking at the same time I have to take a breath and
realize that their stories are very important to them and that it make take a moment for
everyone to share and we might not get out to where we need to be when we need to be
there but letting these girls express themselves is important.

Dedication, when working with students it is very important to be dedicated to

the job because the students depend on the teachers on a daily. I feel like this experience
has shown me that once I commit to teaching, I need to be there. There were many
evenings that I would rather have stayed home but I knew that if I didn’t show up there
would be no one there to guide them and they look forward to seeing us and depending
on me.

Leadership has been another skill that I have learned through this experience as
well. Leadership is more than just the person who does most of the talking in the class, it
is also a person who guides students through some hard situations; show the students that
they can trust you as a leader and can come to me with any situation and know I will do
my best to guide them and help them through it.