Less than a week till I go home. Actually, only 4 days. I am so excited! Since the ACC ended Thursday, we havent done a whole lot. All day Friday we chilled out, went shopping, and went to Toy Story 3, which was awesome. Saturday we worked a little, and the same on Sunday, but still not much. I figured once Monday rolled around we would get back to work, nothing too hard, but a nice long list of everything that needed to be done in the next week. But, no. We worked from 10-3 packing stuff up and doing random odd jobs that barely broke a sweat. Today wasnt much different, but after we were done working we got to go to Lake View and say good bye to the kids. Those were some amazing children and I'm really going to miss them, but at least we got to spend an hour just hanging out with them. We also got to take lots of pictures, and I'll probably have a hundred more before this week is out. I wish I had more to tell you, but this week has been really low-key and a great way to end it.
Entertained Amy:
We went through some books today and found some wonderfully hilarious things. One of the books was called "Hug" and the entire book was this little gorilla going around everywhere demanding that other animals hug him. Also, I found a few Wishbone books with almost made me scream with happiness. Oh, and my absolute favorite, a book called the Worrisome Wombat.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
ITS OVER! Today was the last day of the ACC and all the volunteers are headed out. This week we had way more volunteers than last time and I almost went crazy trying to cater to all of them. Don't get me wrong, we needed the help, and got lots done, but not always in a way I would prefer. But, hey, thats life. I'm glad it's over though, I am more than ready to move on. I only have a week left in Arkansas and I dont know how I feel about that. I'm thrilled to go home and see people again, but I feel like I didn't do much here. It's not that I expected to change lives, but I was hoping change my own. I feel much the same now as I did when I came down here two months ago. I do have more respect for people who can handle leadership, but its still not something I can do myself. I love helping out and taking on small things, but I would rather work alone than be the head of a crew. Last week I probably sounded different since I had a great crew, but they helped me be in charge since they were so great, and the people this week were crazy. I keep thinking of all the things I did in the past year and I dont know how I handled it now. I used to love being busy and made sure I had plans almost every day of the week, now I think having plans a couple days a week is cool with me. Oh well, I'll probably go back to my old ways and be crazy again this semester. I can't wait to be home!
Entertained Amy:
I dont even know where to start, this week has been crazy! I had some really crazy moments that are just blurs now but I do remember some stuff. The people that are usually in charge of Together for Hope Arkansas Delta left for a year to spend in North Caroline, but they came back for the ACC. The woman's parents are Dutch but they lived in Brazil for most of the time she was growing up. Anyway, she made Brazilian food for us, and it was incredible. It was some type of bean stew that you put over rice, and it just made me really happy. Also, this wasnt entertaining for me, but I though you all would like it. I yelled at volunteers. Not really, but I talked to them in a not so nice voice. I have never met people like them and I couldnt stand the way they were treating this project, so I told them to follow the rules and let the kids be the top priority. Oi.
Entertained Amy:
I dont even know where to start, this week has been crazy! I had some really crazy moments that are just blurs now but I do remember some stuff. The people that are usually in charge of Together for Hope Arkansas Delta left for a year to spend in North Caroline, but they came back for the ACC. The woman's parents are Dutch but they lived in Brazil for most of the time she was growing up. Anyway, she made Brazilian food for us, and it was incredible. It was some type of bean stew that you put over rice, and it just made me really happy. Also, this wasnt entertaining for me, but I though you all would like it. I yelled at volunteers. Not really, but I talked to them in a not so nice voice. I have never met people like them and I couldnt stand the way they were treating this project, so I told them to follow the rules and let the kids be the top priority. Oi.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
I am getting just a little bit tired of being woken up by people calling me before my alarm goes off. If you want to talk to me that bad, do it when I'm standing next to you, not when I'm trying to sleep, please. Obviously this doesnt apply to any of you, but I thought you all would like know I'm being woken up at indecent hours in order for people to tell me things I either already knew or didnt want to know. I also found out I have a hold on my account for SEMO so I can't deal with all that stuff and dont know why. I'm hoping I'll somehow be able to take a few minutes off somewhere and fix that, but I really dont know when I can do that. Anyway, lets talk about something happy. As I mentioned before, we get assigned volunteer churches to take care of each week, and this week we have someone from Missouri coming in. The leaders name is Davide Goode, and since I was wearing my CBFMO shirt at the time he mentioned he had also attended. Excited, I asked if he was related to Cory Goode, and he is. YAY! So, I get to work with David, his grandsons, and other random Goode family members for the week. They invited me out to breakfast this morning, and I really should have said yes, but I didnt feel like spending money so I declined. I hope they invite me out again though. This morning they're taking me to Divine Deliverance church, which is a black church in Elaine and I'm not sure how to feel about that. I tend to be a rather reserved person, and those churches are anything but. I think I'll enjoy it though, and it will definitely be a new experience. The past couple of days have been great because we've barely had any work except for prepping for the new churches by cleaning showers (fun), but now it's time to get back to it. One more week of ACC, then a few days of cleaning up after it, and then? I honestly dont know what else is planned for this summer. If nothing really needs to be done I may get home earlier than I originally planned, which wouldnt bother me at all. There's a million things I need to get sorted out at SEMO, theyre still really unhappy with my plans to move out, though I have got them to grudgingly accept, but I'm also doing some other things. Has anyone heard of a consortium agreement? Well, I'm doing it this next year and really hope it goes well. Also, changing my major and adding on a music minor, this is going to be one crazy year.
Entertained Amy:
So we had some time off last night and decided to go to burger shack for some food and ice cream. Then, while we were still very full, decided to go swinging. Not my best idea. Also, I just have to mention on more time, I'm working with the Goodes! I dont know why I'm so excited about this, but it is the first time I've gotten anywhere close to home in a long time so it made me happy.
Entertained Amy:
So we had some time off last night and decided to go to burger shack for some food and ice cream. Then, while we were still very full, decided to go swinging. Not my best idea. Also, I just have to mention on more time, I'm working with the Goodes! I dont know why I'm so excited about this, but it is the first time I've gotten anywhere close to home in a long time so it made me happy.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Well it's technically the end of the week for the volunteers and most of them are heading out today or tomorrow. Not my group though! A couple of them are still going to be here so they want to keep working, which is fine by me, but I wish they didnt want to do it in the early morning, afternoon is fine by me. I did have a great time with them though, and I'm going to miss all of them. For every volunteer we give them one cross necklace to find someone through out the week who they feel made an impact on them that past week, and one of my group gave one to me!! She was in graduate school and several years older than me but she said she saw Jesus in me and gave the cross and the verse Duet. 31:6. At the time we were at a church eating, and I had snuck away to sit in the sanctuary and pray. I was kind of stressing and worried when she came in and gave the necklace to me. It was such an amazing feeling, and the fact that I really needed to hear something from God right then made it all the better. When I first came hear I was positive this was where God wanted to me, but as I went through the experience I was worried I had rushed in and just came because it was what I wanted, not God. Now, I'm a lot more confident this is where He wanted me, but I still get curious sometimes. There's so many different things I had planned on doing this summer that couldnt happen because I was here, like being a leader at youth camp or VBS, and I thought that would make God happy, but I guess He had something else in mind. Anyway, almost all the books are done being sorted and marked and are basically ready to go to Elaine so next week we wont have much to do except put the libraries together. We had the farewell picnic tonight and it went pretty well, even if it was really hot. Each Together for Hope worker is assigned a church to look after for the week, and since my church is leaving in the morning, I debriefed them tonight. We didnt talk much, but what we did was cool, and it was an even better story after, but I'll mention that later. Anyway, tomorrow I have to get up early again to see my church off then finish up some library work with the girl who gave me the cross. At least I dont have to make any more lunches till Monday!!
Entertained Amy:
So about that story I mentioned... Well, I was dropped off with the expectation that I wouldn't be be done for awhile so the intern who left me went to do her own thing. We got finished early though so had to call someone else for a ride. I went to wait outside so my church could go to sleep and sat on the stairs of the church. After about 10 minutes of wait, the lights behind me shut off and an alarm starts going. Well, I'm totally freaking out because I think I set it off, so I call my supervisor and tell her what happened and all she said was "I'll be there as soon as I find my keys." Well, I figured it wouldnt be that long, but as I'm standing there a police car rolls by, then keeps on rolling. Well, I'm wearing a volunteer shirt and a cross necklace so I didnt look that threatening, but I was also a white girl out by herself in the dark. Whatever, they dont care. What seems like an hour later, but was really only a few minutes later, my supervisor calls me back and says the alarm went off because there was a power outage and it had nothing to do with me, yay! Anyway, that was my fun night.
Entertained Amy:
So about that story I mentioned... Well, I was dropped off with the expectation that I wouldn't be be done for awhile so the intern who left me went to do her own thing. We got finished early though so had to call someone else for a ride. I went to wait outside so my church could go to sleep and sat on the stairs of the church. After about 10 minutes of wait, the lights behind me shut off and an alarm starts going. Well, I'm totally freaking out because I think I set it off, so I call my supervisor and tell her what happened and all she said was "I'll be there as soon as I find my keys." Well, I figured it wouldnt be that long, but as I'm standing there a police car rolls by, then keeps on rolling. Well, I'm wearing a volunteer shirt and a cross necklace so I didnt look that threatening, but I was also a white girl out by herself in the dark. Whatever, they dont care. What seems like an hour later, but was really only a few minutes later, my supervisor calls me back and says the alarm went off because there was a power outage and it had nothing to do with me, yay! Anyway, that was my fun night.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
I LOVE Being in charge. Thought you all should know. These women understand I have no experience but they respect me and the way I want things done and its great! The main problem is that my supervisor is technically supposed to be working in that group too, but shes also doing 10 things at once. So, when she is actually in the room we have totally different ways of doing things but I have to let her do things her way and do my stuff around her. She says I'm in charge, and if I ask her to do something differently she will, but I'm trying to be respectful and let her try things out. Other than the times shes in there people always look to me and its great to be given the chance to just sit down and think about an answer before I give it. I'm not just running one thing, I'm running the whole library so I'm making an entire plan of how exactly I want things to happen and in what order to see how it affects everything else. I almost sort of wonder if my other supervisors gave me this assignment because they didnt think I could handle running things without another supervisor there, but I think thats just paranoia because I did make it obvious I loved library work. Library isn't the only thing I do though, I also handle lunch prep for the children. For the first time in my life I have to wear a hair net, and believe me, I am not loving it. Making the actual lunches isnt bad at all though, we throw down two loaves of bread, slap on some cheese and three pieces of meat, then two more loaves of bread to put on top, then wrap them up and send them down the assembly line. We have to do this several times though, seeing as we make about 300 sandwiches a day. Woot!
Today was a little more hectic though since the kids camp is always outside, but it stormed today. That meant everyone had to move around so the kids could be inside and dry and people not working with kids had to leave. So, while we were making sandwiches this morning, part of the construction crew came in and packed up every single one of our books, all 24 shelves. So we took all the boxes and began to sort them at Delta Fellowship which is the church I attend. They have an extra building on the side that used to be the boys and girls club, but I think it's used mostly for storage now. That may sound sad, but believe me, Together for Hope needs a place to put all their stuff for camp and donations for the million different projects they do for future use. Anyway, we continued to sort books there, one area to stay at the community center, one to go to the new, (and only), library in Elaine, and one to go to the Stories on Wheels bus so the kids could have some new books. I was worried it wouldnt work out, but we kept all the boxes labeled and I think we'll be able to pack them up and put them back in the library really well.
We're also doing adult swim lessons at night so that we cant cater to the whole community instead of just the children. The first night we only had three people show up, but tonight we had about a dozen and I hope it keeps growing. I'm not actually teaching the lessons, I'm not the best swimmer myself, but I register people as they come in to keep a good count of what's going down. After the first half hour we dont really have anyone, except one or two stragglers, so I get to stick my feet in the water and watch, and just sit in the pool and float. We also do water aerobics afterward and I've discovered I really enjoy them. And! I have a friend back home who teaches a water aerobics class so I know what I'm doing when I get home! Not that I'll be there, but still. Anyway, now that I've totally exploded on you everything thats going on I'm going to bed.
P.S. Entertained Amy
So we had to sort the volunteer shirts today and one of the churches order a shirt that was 5X. 5! Two of the interns held it up and it covered both of them, very entertaining. Also, working with childrens books is very entertaining. There was one book with a picture of a toilet that was called "Where does it go?" Awesome.
Today was a little more hectic though since the kids camp is always outside, but it stormed today. That meant everyone had to move around so the kids could be inside and dry and people not working with kids had to leave. So, while we were making sandwiches this morning, part of the construction crew came in and packed up every single one of our books, all 24 shelves. So we took all the boxes and began to sort them at Delta Fellowship which is the church I attend. They have an extra building on the side that used to be the boys and girls club, but I think it's used mostly for storage now. That may sound sad, but believe me, Together for Hope needs a place to put all their stuff for camp and donations for the million different projects they do for future use. Anyway, we continued to sort books there, one area to stay at the community center, one to go to the new, (and only), library in Elaine, and one to go to the Stories on Wheels bus so the kids could have some new books. I was worried it wouldnt work out, but we kept all the boxes labeled and I think we'll be able to pack them up and put them back in the library really well.
We're also doing adult swim lessons at night so that we cant cater to the whole community instead of just the children. The first night we only had three people show up, but tonight we had about a dozen and I hope it keeps growing. I'm not actually teaching the lessons, I'm not the best swimmer myself, but I register people as they come in to keep a good count of what's going down. After the first half hour we dont really have anyone, except one or two stragglers, so I get to stick my feet in the water and watch, and just sit in the pool and float. We also do water aerobics afterward and I've discovered I really enjoy them. And! I have a friend back home who teaches a water aerobics class so I know what I'm doing when I get home! Not that I'll be there, but still. Anyway, now that I've totally exploded on you everything thats going on I'm going to bed.
P.S. Entertained Amy
So we had to sort the volunteer shirts today and one of the churches order a shirt that was 5X. 5! Two of the interns held it up and it covered both of them, very entertaining. Also, working with childrens books is very entertaining. There was one book with a picture of a toilet that was called "Where does it go?" Awesome.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
I don't even know how to describe the day I just had. Some was good, some was bad, and all was crazy. I honestly dont think I'm cut out for this kind of work, I'm not a leader, I never have been, and I dont deal well with girls. Today was the first day in over a month that I just got to sit down and talk to a male and it made me feel so much better. I dont know what it is, I just blame it on the fact I grew up with all boys, but I am so much more comfortable around males than females, and working with a group of all girls down here grates at me. They're all great people, truly they are, but theres just too much girliness going on down here. Anyway, all the volunteers for the next week are down here and ready to go. Each person is assigned to a church, and I got some people from Arkansas. They're staying at an episcopal church so I got to experience that for the first time today. I now have respect for the Episcopalians, but I have no interest in being a part of their worship service. I dont think there was a single time we prayed that it wasnt something read out of a book. Liturgy is cool, but I think there needs to be more personal stuff sometimes. There were also a lot of rituals and such that makes sense to them and helps them worship, but to me it feels sacrilegious. Over all, I believe they are truly worshiping God and thats great for them, but it's not the way my brain works so I'm gonna stay baptist. After church I stayed with my church and played card games and ate lunch and just had a great time, I'm thrilled theyre my church. Things got out of hand though and I ended up having to walk to the community center for the meetings and being unable to prepare for it much at all, but the group was pretty laid back so they it worked out. I wish I could run this show my way, but I dont even know what I want to get done here or how, so I'm just going to finish what they asked me to finish, and I have more time, that library is mine.
By the way! At this point I was going to go to apartment and try to regroup my crumbling brain, but yesterday we had a very sudden flea infestation so we're setting off bug bombs and wont be spending much time in the apartment for awhile. Woot. So, we chilled for awhile at the park then went to the farm where we were having the welcoming party, which turned out great. The food was good, the volunteers was fun, and I just had a really good time. Then we came back to get some more work done, my supervisor called my 3 times in ten minutes (oi), and we eventually got everything worked out to finish at working an 11-hour day. Not bad, could definitely be worse. Now though, I'm ready for a shower and as many possible hours of sleep I can get before starting the ACC at 8 in the community center. Who's excited?
Entertained Amy:
So at the welcoming party today I was hanging out with some of the volunteers and one of the looked at a girl and said "Every youth group has a Dwight. You're the Dwight." Most of us cracked up, but she had never seen office and that made it even worse. Wonder who's the dwight in your church?
By the way! At this point I was going to go to apartment and try to regroup my crumbling brain, but yesterday we had a very sudden flea infestation so we're setting off bug bombs and wont be spending much time in the apartment for awhile. Woot. So, we chilled for awhile at the park then went to the farm where we were having the welcoming party, which turned out great. The food was good, the volunteers was fun, and I just had a really good time. Then we came back to get some more work done, my supervisor called my 3 times in ten minutes (oi), and we eventually got everything worked out to finish at working an 11-hour day. Not bad, could definitely be worse. Now though, I'm ready for a shower and as many possible hours of sleep I can get before starting the ACC at 8 in the community center. Who's excited?
Entertained Amy:
So at the welcoming party today I was hanging out with some of the volunteers and one of the looked at a girl and said "Every youth group has a Dwight. You're the Dwight." Most of us cracked up, but she had never seen office and that made it even worse. Wonder who's the dwight in your church?
Thursday, July 8, 2010
So apparently I jinxed myself last time because I now have an abundance of paper cuts. This week has been crazy getting ready for the ACC and I haven't had a chance to be outside for much too long. Since I'm doing the library team for the next two weeks though, and we're planning on moving stuff to Elaine, I think I'll get to be outside lots to move boxes from one place to the next. A long time ago I promised I would explain the ACC, so here goes my opinion. Its basically a way to get a bunch of stuff done for the community at once. On one side we have the youth camp, which is going on right now. It's a good way to give the kids something to do and encourage them to try to lead better lives. In the next week the youth camp will continue by way of the youth helping run kids camp. For that, we have music, crafts, swimming, all the ideal camp things, but we also try to give them new experiences by bringing them crafts from different cultures and sports that they wouldnt normally play. For example, one of the sports we're doing this year is golf, not something that normally happens in this area. Of the volunteers we have coming, a good amount of them will be at the camp leading the crafts, music, etc., but there will still be tons more other places. Some groups will be taking the Stories on Wheels bus out to Lake View for one week, and Elaine for another to play with the kids and try to give them as much of a camp experience that they can even though they lack a lot of the materials. Lake View doesnt have a building we can use, and the heat is pretty bad, but those kids really enjoy what we do and keep coming anyway. Elaine recently got a building, and it even has air conditioning, but it still isnt were it should be for a proper camp so we have to bring stuff to them. There will also be a group working on construction and gardening, mostly for the Eden Market, which I believe I already explained in earlier posts, and the blessings ministry will be continuing throughout the next two weeks, but with more people so more stuff can get done. And of course, there's library, of which theyre leaving me in charge, oh dear. Anyway, our main goal is to start a rotating library for the bus and to get a lending library out in Elaine. If we can, we also want to help out the new public library, but dont know if we can do anything there yet.
Ok, now that thats all explained, I hope you understand what a huge deal the ACC is to this organization. I can't say its actually clicked with me yet, but that doesnt mean someone else cant grasp it. Then again, not much of anything has been clicking with me recently and I'm having a lot of trouble finding motivation for much of anything. bleh. Well anyway, the pastor at the church I attend here did a sermon a couple weeks ago about humans are meant to be social beings and being a loner didnt make you strong, it actually made you weak so I thought I'd share that small bit about how I'm doing down here. I dont feel like I've made any actual connections yet, and if I havent yet, then I doubt I will, but there's only one more month to go. I'm not doing this to make friends anyway so it doesnt matter, I'm just glad I know I have my friends back home praying for me!
Ok, now that thats all explained, I hope you understand what a huge deal the ACC is to this organization. I can't say its actually clicked with me yet, but that doesnt mean someone else cant grasp it. Then again, not much of anything has been clicking with me recently and I'm having a lot of trouble finding motivation for much of anything. bleh. Well anyway, the pastor at the church I attend here did a sermon a couple weeks ago about humans are meant to be social beings and being a loner didnt make you strong, it actually made you weak so I thought I'd share that small bit about how I'm doing down here. I dont feel like I've made any actual connections yet, and if I havent yet, then I doubt I will, but there's only one more month to go. I'm not doing this to make friends anyway so it doesnt matter, I'm just glad I know I have my friends back home praying for me!
Friday, July 2, 2010
I am completely amazed at the lack of paper cuts I got this week. Youth camp starts next week, and after that all the other camps so the whole team has been going crazy preparing for it. My main part in all of this is to get together all the registration forms, organized alphabetically and by age, and to put together welcome packets for the churches. In the next two weeks we have 25 different church coming here, and a good lot of them have no idea how to get around this town, where and what to eat, or where to get supplies so I'm making a lovely list of everything they might need and where to find it. This then needs to go into folders which means I've lots and lots of fun with the hole-puncher, lots and LOTS. It's not so bad really, and I do like monotonous tasks where I can actually see my progress, but I do wish for something to stimulate my mind a little more. I miss the BSC library, and half the time I'm working, I'm wondering what to do with that place. If anyone who talks to Dr. G reads this, you can let him know I'm considering throwing the card catalogue desk out the window, scrapping the whole system, and starting over. The books are in too much disarray to really be organized properly while still being a running library. Anyway, not what this blog is about. So we went to Lake View yesterday and played with the kiddies. It was my turn, my first one, to run the crafts and I do believe that my call in life does not involve such things. We tried to make American flags since Independence day is coming up, but not all the children understood the idea of a flag and just ended up making whatever. I dont really care if they make the craft or not, but when the try to put glue in people hair, thats a problem. Just kidding, no one actually did that, but for awhile there I was wondering if they would. The bus broke down last weekend, and we didnt have any tables, so we had to crowd all the children into an area on the sidewalk and it was hard to watch all of them at once so if anything bad happened, I didnt see it and no one told me. I got sticks for them to put their flags on, and one of the little boys asked me to put it on for him, and I glued it upside down. I felt so bad when I realized! He, of course, couldnt care less, his flag was blue after all.
Entertained Amy:
So I had a bunch of stuff planned out for this one, but I dont remember much right now. We went grocery shopping last night and the other intern I went with is always shocked that I buy and eat raw vegetables. How else am I going to eat them? Cooking is too much work when I only have a short time to eat. Anyway, I also got some pocky, which I havent had in years and it made me so happy. I forgot I love that stuff, but no longer! Pocky reigns! Oh! And! I might be in charge of the library group in the next couple of weeks! YES!
Entertained Amy:
So I had a bunch of stuff planned out for this one, but I dont remember much right now. We went grocery shopping last night and the other intern I went with is always shocked that I buy and eat raw vegetables. How else am I going to eat them? Cooking is too much work when I only have a short time to eat. Anyway, I also got some pocky, which I havent had in years and it made me so happy. I forgot I love that stuff, but no longer! Pocky reigns! Oh! And! I might be in charge of the library group in the next couple of weeks! YES!
Monday, June 28, 2010
The youth are gone, but their last day was interesting. We finished painting Miss Mary's house and it looks great. We may also continue working on it by adding new gutters and such, but I dont know all the details yet. That afternoon we tried to do a water day with the Lake View kids, but ended up with a massive lightning storm and sat in the car hoping it would pass. It didnt. Poor kids. Either way, it was a fun week and I think both the youth and the kids enjoyed it. And then! My family came down and I got to visit with everyone except Steve. Cause he's a jerk and decided the air force was cooler, whatever. Anyway, we got to go to Memphis and chill out for awhile.
Today went pretty well too. Normally the organization down here is run by someone else, but he and his wife are taking a sabbatical for a year. He came down to drop off his truck today though, and he'll be back for the ACC and we got talk a little about ideas for the area. I'm putting together a welcome packet for the volunteer churches coming down in a couple of weeks and got to drop by the welcome center and chamber of commerce to find some brochures and maps. I don't think I've ever been to a chamber of commerce before, it was pretty thrilling. After that I spent the entire afternoon working on the welcome packets and other random things that needed to be done. So many things to do, and so much can't be done until something else gets done. We tried a new place for dinner today and it was pretty exciting. It's just this shack on the side of the road with some items painted on the side and a bench several feet to the side. It was surprisingly delicious, but I still wish I knew their actual menu. Anyway, its been a nice couple of days, but now I'm tired and I'm going to bed.
Today went pretty well too. Normally the organization down here is run by someone else, but he and his wife are taking a sabbatical for a year. He came down to drop off his truck today though, and he'll be back for the ACC and we got talk a little about ideas for the area. I'm putting together a welcome packet for the volunteer churches coming down in a couple of weeks and got to drop by the welcome center and chamber of commerce to find some brochures and maps. I don't think I've ever been to a chamber of commerce before, it was pretty thrilling. After that I spent the entire afternoon working on the welcome packets and other random things that needed to be done. So many things to do, and so much can't be done until something else gets done. We tried a new place for dinner today and it was pretty exciting. It's just this shack on the side of the road with some items painted on the side and a bench several feet to the side. It was surprisingly delicious, but I still wish I knew their actual menu. Anyway, its been a nice couple of days, but now I'm tired and I'm going to bed.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
So its been awhile, a long while, sorry. Some of our group went to CBF General Assembly so those who are left are trying to get everything going still while we have a volunteer group up here for the week. We have a 17 person youth group from Texas and we are spending much of our time with them. In the morning we paint and I totally ruined some of my shorts (though knowing me I'll keep wearing them) and got paint on my glasses. In the afternoons we go out to Lake View, which is one of the local towns. There is a housing project there with a bunch of kids living in it and we get to play with them in the bright sunshine. I dont know how the kids can take the heat and play kickball or ultimate frisbee or whatever they want, but I cant do it. Most of my time is spent standing or sitting in the shade playing catch or reading with the little ones. The younger ones are super sweet and really try hard to be your friend and the older ones all want to be thugs in front of their friends, but as soon as theyre comfortable theyre all really good kids. I finally know almost all of their names and a lot of them know my face if nothing else. ACC, which is a bunch of different camps, is coming up soon so we're all preparing for that on side. I'll explain more about it as it gets closer. But right now we know that about 400 volunteers are coming and we are trying to find some way to organize all of them and get them everything they'll need while down here. Most of it's been worked out, but as a volunteer I never realized how much work the people I was helping had to do. Not that they arent appreciated, but there is so much more than one would realize.
Entertained Amy
I'm not really sure what to write here currently, most of life has been pretty stressful as of late. But, the kids are great and keep me happy most of the day, even if my brain is so fried by the end I dont remember why. What does keep me happy at night though is "Iron King," a Japanese action tv show from the 70's. It's like a mix of power rangers and godzilla and worse graphics than both of them. Perhaps most people wouldnt enjoy it, but I love badly-made, cheesy movies with karate. So worth it.
Entertained Amy
I'm not really sure what to write here currently, most of life has been pretty stressful as of late. But, the kids are great and keep me happy most of the day, even if my brain is so fried by the end I dont remember why. What does keep me happy at night though is "Iron King," a Japanese action tv show from the 70's. It's like a mix of power rangers and godzilla and worse graphics than both of them. Perhaps most people wouldnt enjoy it, but I love badly-made, cheesy movies with karate. So worth it.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
K, so I've been a little lazy, sorry. I believe I left off after Lake View, so I'll fill in the rest now. Well, that night we decided we were bored and that it would be a good idea to play the "Dance Off the Inches" DVD that one of the other interns brought. Then, the next day, play 3 hours of 4-square with the kids at the community center. I am still sore. We are supposed to use Friday afternoons to do whatever we want for the ministry, so I joined one of the other interns in visiting a woman named Miss Mary who is disabled and cant work, but is the sweetest elderly woman ever. We just sat and talked with her for a while, then went downtown to visit some shops and tell people about our program. That night we didn't have much to do so we drove to Clarksdale to eat at this really cool restaurant called Rust where we got some fancy food and fancier prices. Oi. However, the architecture there was really cool and the whole atmosphere was amazing so I think it was a good experience. Saturday we did more with the Delta Jewels then drove to Memphis to go shopping at the Oak Court Mall which is really cool if you're ever bored in Memphis. It was also around this time I've decided I want to get some lilac perfume. Now you know.
Entertained Amy:
No pictures this time, sorry. I just want to tell you about a deal one of the other interns witnessed. Apparently while I was laying down in the back of the car, Dixie was at the front watching the gas station. At this time a woman walked past a man who asked her, "Hey, want to buy some food stamps?" to which she replied, "How much?" And this deal continued to go down in front of the gas station. I have no idea the outcome, and neither does Dixie, but who knew you could trade food stamps? Or, is it code for something else?
Entertained Amy:
No pictures this time, sorry. I just want to tell you about a deal one of the other interns witnessed. Apparently while I was laying down in the back of the car, Dixie was at the front watching the gas station. At this time a woman walked past a man who asked her, "Hey, want to buy some food stamps?" to which she replied, "How much?" And this deal continued to go down in front of the gas station. I have no idea the outcome, and neither does Dixie, but who knew you could trade food stamps? Or, is it code for something else?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
New day! So we still don't have a schedule of any kind, and I doubt we ever will, but the work is still getting done. Yesterday was all about the paper work and organization though. At different times in year a ton of volunteers come to Helena and its our job to sort them out and give them jobs so they don't just sit there and nothing happens. It's not the funnest thing I've ever done, but it was the kind of thing that makes sense to me so I'm happy. We also moved into our apartment yesterday and you'll hear more about that in "Entertained Amy" since I decided to make it a regular part of this blog. Anyway, today was interesting for sure since we went down to Lake View with the Stories on Wheels bus. I helped with the game time and we just had some free play today. The older children got out their phones and played music, all the while trying to teach my supervisor how to do the stanky leg, rack daddy, hammerhead, jerk, and a few I hadnt heard of. As I said, it was interesting. Later on we had an exciting confrontation about a very passionate lady who wanted to help people. I'm not going into that.
ENTERTAINED AMY!!
So, first off, yesterday my supervisor was talking about how her grandmother, Nina June, had her birthday that day. On the ninth of June. SO awesome.
Next, this is for Alyssa Smith if she reads it. There's a store down here that women own and make new things out of old things. The store wasn't open, but this was on display outside and I liked it, and thought Alyssa would too. A bathtub turned flower pot:
Alright, and now for the best, my new room! The other interns are sharing a room and I got one to myself, woot. This is my lovely room with my excitingly large air mattress:
ENTERTAINED AMY!!
So, first off, yesterday my supervisor was talking about how her grandmother, Nina June, had her birthday that day. On the ninth of June. SO awesome.
Next, this is for Alyssa Smith if she reads it. There's a store down here that women own and make new things out of old things. The store wasn't open, but this was on display outside and I liked it, and thought Alyssa would too. A bathtub turned flower pot:
Helena-West Helena, AR 72342
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Two full days finished and not at all what I expected. Yesterday we started at the Eden Market, which is eventually going to be an incubator for people to start their own business, but currently under construction. The building frame has been built, but there isn't running water or electricity and such yet. However, they do have some cabinets made up of old doors that look really cool. Anyway, yesterday our goal was to dig up and move the bricks that marked where the garden was going to be so that it could be tilled. It was some pretty hefty work, but I personally love manual labor and they let me throw some shot put style to move them which more than made my day. After that our supervisor took us for a tour of the city then got lunch at a local restaurant. We really do much else except preparing for today so that was an easy day.
Today was not exactly what we expected though. We were supposed to go to Elaine, which is a county about half an hour away, but when we got there the local pastor wasn't there to meet us. We waited awhile, but when no one came we got ready to leave right when the pastor called us. Well, apparently, he couldn't make it because he was in the emergency room for one of his members who had been stabbed by the members girlfriend. Well, there goes Elaine. So, we'll come back either later this week or next, but we did try. After that we went to the community center an played baseball with the kids, which I have rediscovered, I am awful at. We went back to the center later on to play in the side room where games and the library is kept so all in all a pretty decent day.
Time for the play by play to stop and its "Entertained Amy" time. These have nothing to do with Helana, but they amused me. Well here goes:
First off, this is my shower until the apartment is ready. See how tall I am? Now, see how tall the shower head is? Yeah. Bet you're jealous. I get to practice my limbo skills AND wash my hair all at once.

Today was not exactly what we expected though. We were supposed to go to Elaine, which is a county about half an hour away, but when we got there the local pastor wasn't there to meet us. We waited awhile, but when no one came we got ready to leave right when the pastor called us. Well, apparently, he couldn't make it because he was in the emergency room for one of his members who had been stabbed by the members girlfriend. Well, there goes Elaine. So, we'll come back either later this week or next, but we did try. After that we went to the community center an played baseball with the kids, which I have rediscovered, I am awful at. We went back to the center later on to play in the side room where games and the library is kept so all in all a pretty decent day.
Time for the play by play to stop and its "Entertained Amy" time. These have nothing to do with Helana, but they amused me. Well here goes:
First off, this is my shower until the apartment is ready. See how tall I am? Now, see how tall the shower head is? Yeah. Bet you're jealous. I get to practice my limbo skills AND wash my hair all at once.
I only have one more this time, but I would like you to meet Roscoe, a 5 week old kitten who likes to bite things. In this picture he is quite happily chewing on my finger, but hes really cute so its ok.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Well, I finally made it to Helena. The apartment I'm staying in won't be ready for 3 days, so I'm hanging out in my supervisors house, and its pretty awesome. I'll be sure to have pictures later of that and their 4 dogs and adorable kitten, Roscoe. Not sure what's happening tomorrow yet, but we're going to have a meeting soon an go over it. I'll try to update this blog pretty often, and feel free to ask questions.
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