Once we arrived, we immediately began to get organized. Things came together quickly and before we knew it we were playing the waiting game for kids while the service project team went over the plans for the Church of Jesus. The project’s scope was simple, paint the inside of the church and tear out the handicap ramp. Time and money permitting, the idea was to pour a new sidewalk from the church steps to the curb. The inside painting plan was replaced with a simple washing down of the walls as the ramp’s needed work became more evident. As work began in dismantling the ramp, the senior warden returned with a startling new twist to the project. There was a change in plans, instead of tearing out the ramp, a committee had decided they wanted it repaired and shored up to take care of some structural issues. As we examined what was needed, it became rapidly apparent that it would be much easier to simply replace the ramp than to dismantle a portion of it to make the needed repairs. So that became the new project.
Phil Lambe, from North Carolina, began figuring out the needed materials while Greg Burke began coordinating the tear down. In the meantime the vans headed out into the neighborhoods to begin picking up kids for VBS. We encountered several of the kids from last year and we began hearing what they liked from our last visit and saw how excited they were about us offering much the same program. Unfortunately the numbers were about half of what we expected. The good news was this meant more food was left over to feed some really hungry team members. We later learned that the normal radio announcement that precedes our visit did not go out. That means fewer people knew we were coming. With the closing ceremony of the Wacipi the night before, that went well into the night, we could not help but notice that there were many homes that looked like nobody was awake.
The kids that came had a great time and they promised to return tomorrow with even more of their friends. Something new we added this year was a skit by our older teens that told the story of the day. Although no biblical scholar would use the play to offer historical proof, the teens were able to get the story of Noah across. We began with the story of Noah since this year’s theme is “The colors of Love” and the rainbow as a sign of God’s love and promise to humanity was a perfect opener. After a few songs, we took the kids across the street to the community center and began our VBS. Story time, crafts and games followed up by a snack at the end, we soon loaded everyone up and took them home. We then packed everything up and headed back to Valentine. The ride back was much quieter as we had some tired puppies riding in the back of the vans. However, once back at St. John’s, their energy picked up as they headed to the pool. Well, not all of us.
We did have an accident on the Reservation. Kieran fell down and hurt his arm, so he was taken to the nearby hospital to have it checked out. He came back just before dinner with his arm in a sling. Nothing too serious the doctor said, but he will have to take it easy for a few days. Following dinner, the team had some free time. Many headed down to the Frosty to get an ice cream or milk shake. I heard that they tasted really, really, good. Stomachs full, many’s ice cream fix satisfied, we gathered for our first evening bible study and then look back at the days activities. Overall, it was a really good day. As with all first days, not everything went perfectly but enough of it went well that we felt it was a success. As for what tomorrow will bring, we will just have to wait and see. Time for Compline and I suspect a much quieter night as people hunker down for a good night’s sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment