Making a Difference
/The Irwin Girls
Naomi & Selumn
Naomi & Sara
Abby, Anna & Naomi
People who say you have to be an adult to make a difference have never met the Irwin girls. Anna (13), Naomi (12), and Abby (11) have been in ministry most of their lives. Growing up in Dutchtown, they have had plenty of opportunities to reach out to the underserved in their community. They volunteer at Kids Klub, a program run by their parents that reaches out to South City kids. Anna also worked at Rise Together Resale, which focuses on getting jobs for homeless people and other individuals who have a hard time finding employment. When they walked by the Peace Center two and a half years ago, they decided to check it out. There, they met the Janssen family. They have been an integral part of the After School Tutoring program ever since.
All three of the girls agree that the hardest part of tutoring is trying to figure out how best to help the kids. The challenges include having to reteach material so that the students can do their homework, trying to keep them engaged while still expanding their horizons, and working to understand the way that they think, especially since they have such different backgrounds. But the friendships the girls have formed and the growth they have seen in the students they tutor make everything worth it.
Anna and Naomi say that CFNA matters to them because they have fun ministering to the kids and they can see the impact it has on them. “All the kids that come need Jesus,” Abby adds. “So, if by going to CFNA I am helping the boys I tutor or anyone else come to Jesus, then I would do it every day.”
By Samantha Hoyt Lutheran Young Adult Corps - Intern
