Mission Trip 2: The Kids

There were twenty one of us in my youth group, and we split into groups to team up and help out with one of the five group homes. I was with three other people helping McGregor House, which has eight kids, most of which are particularly low functioning. Kids come to MRDC in one of three ways: They are abandoned by their parents; they are abused by their parents and removed by social services; or their parents can no longer handle them and take them to the center. The eight kids in my group were:

• Trish: She is a seventeen year old African American girl. She talks very little, but she understands quite a bit of what you say. Trish is very sweet tempered, and because she is so easy to get along with and never has tantrums we spent quite a bit of time with her.
• Mia: A very short, African American girl, younger, but I have no idea how old. She also talks very little, but can repeat what you say. Mia is sweet, but she has a violent streak, and had to be restrained a few times.
• Alicia: Hispanic, average age. Alicia didn't talk at all, but she made noises like sirens and banged her hands on the table. She also stuck her hand in her mouth periodically and then smelled it. I made a little bit of a connection with her, though.
• Josh: An average age African American boy. He didn't talk, and walked around picking up things and eating them, crayons being a particular favorite. He also liked dumping out the trash and scrounging through it.
• Anthony: A younger boy, also African American, and very cute. He was having tantrums about half the time we were there, but his smile was adorable. He can talk a bit, but you can't have a conversation or anything. Anthony seemed to be happiest when he was sweeping or vacuuming, and he started screaming when someone took the broom or vacuum away from him.
• Charlie: An older, Hispanic boy, Charlie doesn't talk at all, but he seems to be sweet tempered if rather excitable. He has seizures and a bad arm and can't walk very well by himself.
• Robby: Robby was by far the highest functioning in our group. He actually knew his alphabet and could do patterns. He is white and fourteen years old, with some pretty mean basketball skills.
• Matthew: He is also white, but younger, very hyper, and rather prone to tantrums. He is completely obsessed with bugs and catches them every chance he gets. Matthew can form coherent sentences, but his attention span is not really long enough to hold a conversation with anyone.

Those are all the kids, and these are the other three volunteers in my group:

• Matt: At twenty-eight, he was our adult. He has no hair except a bright red beard at the bottom of his chin. He doesn't say very much, but is pretty funny when he does. He didn't really exert any authority over us. Matt made a special bond with Charlie.
• Kiki: She is going to be a senior at Centennial, and fits the ditzy blond stereotype perfectly, as she will be the first to point out. Kiki always has a smile, though, and she was good with the kids.
• Rebecca: Rebecca is a middle schooler, and she is moving to Grand Junction soon. She spent most of her time with Trish.