God's Perfect Timing

Sandy gerber

On Tuesday evening the younger children from the After School Tutoring Program were outside during their recreation time. A group of them were playing four-square on the parking pad. A mother and her nine-year-old son happened to be walking by and asked about all of the activity. As it turns out, they live near the intersection of Meramec and Grand, and they are New Americans, having immigrated to the United States from El Salvador some time ago.

One of our volunteer tutors (I think it was Tim Schrader) brought them inside and introduced them to Pastor Stanish Stanley, who talked with them about what CFNA has to offer. The boy, Daniel, was interested in our program – not because he needs help with his homework, but because he doesn’t really have any playmates in the neighborhood. Pastor Stanish introduced them to me, and I sat with Alba (the mother) and helped her fill out the AST registration form for Daniel.

It happened that Pastor Michael Tanney from St. Johns was the chapel speaker for the evening. When he finished the Bible study with the teens, he came by and I introduced him to Alba. They were able to easily get acquainted with one another, as Pastor Tanney speaks Spanish fluently (having served as a missionary in Venezuela and Puerto Rico). The new family left, and we hope to strengthen our connection with them as Daniel comes to After School Tutoring and Alba comes to ESL classes.

As I reflected on these events, I could clearly see God’s hand in this situation. God brought Alba and Daniel to us at a time when some exuberant children would attract their attention. He placed our volunteer in the right position to bring them inside to find out about our CFNA programs. He knew that Pastor Tanney would be there to speak to Alba in her native language, which added greatly to her comfort level in this new situation. I hope that we will continue to see these little miracles as they happen around us and seize the opportunity to connect with people whenever we can!

By Sandy Gerber St. Johns, Morganford