Kingdom Workers By cheryl maida

​It seems like just yesterday we were writing an article in this newsletter announcing the opening of Hartford City Mission's second Noah After School (NAS) site. Now, over two and half years later, I say with great gratitude that the NAS Antioch site has truly flourished. Starting off with only two days a week of programming, then gradually moving to four, we have entered our second school year providing four days of programming at the Antioch site. This year we have 18 children attending the site, the most we've ever enrolled. At first I was

---

nervous to have so many children signed up, but the site has gained so many brand new volunteers this year that we have been able to appropriately serve the kids who attend NAS Antioch. Antioch continues to have a diverse range of volunteers whose faithfulness is essential to the success of the site. We couldn’t do it without volunteers like you! Over the years I have had the pleasure of having many younger siblings enroll at NAS Antioch when they entered the 1st grade. It is always a joy to see parents excited to sign up their younger child as it is a testament to their belief that our program is making a difference. Most of the NAS Antioch families also live in the same apartment complex, and many of the children's parents are friends with one another. All of this creates a sense of family within the site, which I am extremely grateful for. This past summer, as I walked around the North End gathering NAS applications from returning families as well as passing out new ones, I had a great conversation with one of the parents as she filled out an application to enroll her children for the first time. She told me that her children already knew the words to some of the songs we sing at Noah After ​​School. When I asked how, she told me that the children who attend Noah go around teaching the words and motions of the songs to the other children in the apartment complex. She added that the Noah kids brag about how much they love the program and talk about the importance of God to their neighbors. I had tried to get this mother to sign up her children in previous years, but she always declined. After seeing the effect the program had on her neighbor’s children she quickly signed up her four children. This was one of the most encouraging conversations I have had during my time at Hartford City Mission. I knew the Noah children she was referring to (Nyla, Aisha, Isaiah, Liana and Jeremiah) and it literally brought tears to my eyes when I found out that these children were proud of NAS, and more importantly, proud of their love for God. Their “childlike” faith allowed them to talk and sing about God without reserve. We as adults can learn from their example. It has been such a privilege to lead Hartford City Mission's very first Noah After School replica site, and I look forward to watching many more NAS sites pop up throughout the North End. God is using Noah After School in a powerful way. I have learned to never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirt regarding what a child can comprehend about God. Many of these children are truly “getting it,” and understand that NAS is more than just an after school program. They are becoming Kingdom workers before our very eyes and we must pray earnestly for the protection of their faith as they grow older. Pray with me that they continue to talk and sing about God to their neighbors, and that we might do the same