Finding Faith ... in a reunion

My "Little" and I pictured at his former school.

Today, I got to see my "Little Brother" for the first time in three weeks.

It was a joyous reunion, complete with hugs, a lot of excited chatter and, of course, Legos and talk of Minecraft.

I am a "Big Brother" in our local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fargo-Moorhead. I have been a "Big" for six years now. This is the second year with this current "Little," and I've been paired with two others, one for three years and one for one.

And I will state this unequivocally: No matter how much time I've given to these kids, they've given me far more back over these past six years. They've given me memories. They've given me friendship. They've given me joy. ... But most importantly they've given me love.

You want to feel good about yourself? Become a "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" to a child in need. The organization finds the children who need a loving, caring, compassionate adult in their lives the most. ... And I promise you these kids will never let you forget how important the act of love you are committing is.

Anyway, my current "Little" just switched elementary schools in town. But it wasn't without its trauma.

In December, my "Little" confided in me that he thought that he'd be moving. He said his mom said their apartment building and neighborhood were "sketchy," and that she was afraid for their safety.

He wasn't happy about the thought of moving, and it showed in his demeanor, his behaviors in school and how he was treating his teacher.

But then the Christmas break hit, and I didn't hear much about it again for a while.

However, I should have sensed something was up. When my "Little" came back to school in January, he wasn't himself. And his teacher shared with me that he was acting out badly in class. He was disrespectful; he walked out of class; he didn't do his assignments.

In fact, there were a couple of times during the months of January and February when I checked in with the school and they would tell me that either my "Little" was being sent home for misbehavior or that he couldn't have a visitor that day because of his behavior.

This all culminated one day in early February when I went to visit my "Little." When I picked him up from his classroom, his teacher shared with me that he was having his worst day yet. He was incorrigible, and she was hoping that he would open up to me.

So we grabbed his lunch and headed to our usual hangout, but this time he didn't even care if we grabbed a board game to play on our way there.

Once there, I gently prodded in an effort to find out what was wrong. ... Nothing, but angry stares, and some very sour verbal responses. ... But I kept at it, and not long later, he broke. His anger spewed forth, and he shared with me that he was indeed moving, and that it was coming soon. There was no doubt this time, he said. ... And he was not happy at all. ... In fact, he was terrified.

You see, my "Little" does not have an easy time in school. He is smart, artistic and a free spirit. He is fond of doing cartoon voice imitations. He can draw really well, and he has a fantastic imagination.

But he doesn't fit in. ... He's not athletic. He wears colors in his hair, in addition to feathers that are weaved in. ... He tends to wear clothing that isn't considered cool. ... He's just not made out for the cool cliques that are so ubiquitous. It's one of the reasons we have become such fast friends. I never was either.

Anyway, that day we were talking, he got so upset that he just up and walked off in the school. This didn't come as a full surprise. ... His teacher and the school counselor had informed me that he now had a bad habit of just walking out of class when he was upset. And he'd done it a lot recently.

Well, this time, I let him walk around for a few minutes while I followed him at a safe distance, at one point both of us coming across the school's principal. He just nodded at me, knowing that eventually my "Little" would come back to talk. And he did.

And when he did, he cracked. He just turned in the hallway, grabbed me in a bear hug and bawled.

I convinced him to go into the school nurse's office with me, and there we sat for 30 minutes, his head on my shoulder, sobbing. At one point, he had cried himself out, and he nodded off.

Later the principal came by again and asked if I wanted the counselor, and I said I thought it was a good idea. So my "Little" agreed and we moved to her office. And we sat there for another 90 minutes and talked.

I was at the school three hours that day. And my "Little" was only finally consoled about the move when he learned that our mentoring match could transfer to the other school. The Big Brother Big Sister program operates in two elementaries in Fargo, and it just so happened that the school he was moving to was the other one.

Well, I came back to the school the next week, and my "Little" informed me that that was the day: his last at his former school. He was moving after all.

So he moved, and it took three weeks to work out the transfer. Three long weeks for both of us!

And today was reunion day!

I anxiously waited in the elementary school office when they called my "Little" to the office. And it was evident that the poor kid had forgotten I was coming today because when he walked into the office, he had a look of terror on his face.

He turned the corner to the office, and there stood the school secretary, myself and his BBBS case manager. His faced moved from one adult face to another to another, until ultimately his brain registered who I was. ... And when he did, his face lit up and he came running into the room and he threw his arms around me. ... He was as excited as I was!

Today, he talked and talked and talked, filling me in on his new home, his recent birthday party, his new Minecraft-themed Lego toys, and lots of things about his new school and new teacher. He was happy. He seemed he was doing well. And he seemed more like the kid that I had gotten to know previously. Smart, witty, compassionate, artistic, chatty, smiley ... it was all there. He was back.

And it was glorious. ... I do not know what the future holds for my "Little" at his new school. But I do know that today was marvelous, and the looks good. It seems at least about a month into the change, he's doing well. ... And that gives me immense relief.

And that is why today, I am finding faith in a renunion.