A greater portion of January was spent bundling up and covering every exposed appendage from the extremes of the polar vortex. But on Wednesday afternoons, the kids in Youthfront Neighborhood’s Adventure Academy afterschool program in Argentine donned swimming suits as they splashed around the pool during swimming lessons at the YMCA. Peals of laughter and delight ricocheted across the surface of the water from every corner. A handful of the kids demonstrated a comfortable ease twisting and turning about on the surface like river otters. A greater portion of the kids sported big smiles, but simultaneously maintained a clawed, death grip on the pool lip. And finally, a few of the kids approached the water in full-fledged panic, convinced that this day would be their last.
A historic church with an aging congregation made a generous act of faith recently. And as a result, their gift will allow God’s work to continue in the Argentine neighborhood for generations to come.
