Every Sunday morning, the Elwood van carries the Elwoods and anyone who happens to want to go with us, to church. It's something that personally, I look forward to all week. Up by 8 O'clock, we hurry around the house finding suitable clothes, our better shoes and grab Bibles from the last place we had been reading them. I must admit, that sometimes it may be on the night stand, in my office or admittedly it may still be in the car. Where ever our Bibles are, they always accompany us to Church on Sunday morning. Like our Pastor says, "The sound of those pages turning is music to my ears."
As the car buzzes along, we know that we are getting close to our destination when we pass the "rodeo". Men with sombreros ride horses in a ring, in the middle of the bleachers while music from their native land of Mexico is blaring from the speakers. A hint of tacos and enchiladas is in the air. Smells good, but we have our minds on higher goals on Sunday at this time of day. As we travel down the old dirt road to Harmony Holiness Church we have made it a habit to start praying for our immediate work at hand. We are teaching Sunday School to two disabled young men and we can hardly wait to get there.
As we pull into the paved lot, we usually find that the guys are already there and waiting for us. Sunday School begins promptly at 10 AM, so they are usually waiting in the "Starlight" classroom eager to begin the lesson. We have a set routine and a guide to follow. Working with developmentally disabled adults is like working with children. You are challenged to address their physical, mental, and emotional needs. So, even though you have a set routine and a curriculum to follow, each Sunday is different. You can always plan on one element for sure. Each Sunday will be like none other. Something will always be different. Spontaneity and flexibility are a must.
As we teach about Jesus, we often have a period of time when we participate in "worshipping" which includes music. Little did we know that both Brett and John love worship time. They often request that we "Play the music." even before we've taken care of other business. I bring my ipod which has a few of the songs that our church worship band plays when we return upstairs later in the service. When we play songs like "Open the eyes of my heart", John likes to pretend that he is playing the drums. He will beat on the table or his lap. He really prefers to beat on a tambourine. Brett, on the other hand, likes to play an air guitar and sing. He has his favorite songs like "This little light of mine" and "Amazing Grace." He will "sing" his little heart out even though he doesn't have the ability to utter a word. Brett will open his mouth and try to sing the words while making a humming sound. The first time we heard him do this, we both choked up because of his sincerity. Both of the guys love Jesus so much; Jerry and I have seen thier love of Jesus. Even when there is other crafts to do, Brett in particular prefers to "sing" and praise God.
Every time the guys are finished worshipping, they mention that they would love to be in the church band. They will hear a song that is familiar, "Like upstairs", John Adam will say. Although we realize that at this time, this isn't possible. It's truly the desire of their hearts. So, we make sure that they get ample opportunity to be creative in our worship segments. While we often try to "keep it down" while we are in our little Starlight classroom. There are times that we have class outside and let the praise be loud. We shout and play make believe instruments to our hearts desire. We let our humble voices be heard and let them rise toward the blue sky. I'm sure that to the Lord, our praise is sweet music that echos through the heavens.
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