Greetings!
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers on this year’s Shepherd Serve & Learn Trip. On Thursday we began our morning with a service project. Our task was to clean up a neighbor’s yard, which included pulling weeds, and taking an axe to some limbs. Timmy Lim is good at everything from cubing to chopping wood. We loaded the brush into a truck, and then the boys unloaded it into a dumpster while the girls prepared for their day of swimming. We returned to Shepherd and went to lunch, followed by recess. The girls went to the pool, while the boys stayed at school; some of the boys played bingo, and ate chocolate. On the way to the pool, we had many conversations discussing different home situations and family dilemmas. For some reason, the first pool closed at 2 PM, on a random Thursday, so the girls proceeded to the second pool. There, they had a whole 23 minutes of swim time before loading into the bus for a brutal 47 minute ride back to Shepherd in the grueling heat while squished between a thousand sweaty children. Meanwhile the guys did worship, and watched a video about healthy emotions and how to best cope with them. Also, some of the guys led crafts, which included teaching kids the art of rock painting.
During Summer Plus, both of us were outside. We played real football (soccer) and did lots of monkeying around on the bars. After which, we did devotional time with Mike; during which we learned about the importance of loving outcasts, no matter what their situation may be. We discussed how we will help those who may or may not be oppressed or ostracised. Then we devoured a filling dinner of pulled pork, and watermelon. After dinner, we did our annual Chopped cooking competition. Ultimately, the “Super Seniors”, led by Eddie triumphed. Then, the ‘Paper Plate Awards’ were given, which we made to encourage each other. Later, a significant portion of the crew played real football (soccer), and then returned to the church in order to shower and try in vain to sleep!