It seems that the request in my previous blog was ignored and time has not slowed down in any way. We are already in the middle of May and although it has it's advantages such as warmer weather and beautiful blooms, I can't help but begin to feel a little bit sad as I start to prepare myself for everything to change again. Though I am very much focussing on taking one day at a time, the hours pass by at an alarming rate - especially when we are doing as much as we do!
We began our gardening project a couple of weeks ago and have already managed to put up two raised beds as well as tidying the place up a little. The first bed which will house our vegetable plants hopefully by the end of this week, are now protected from the inevitable basketball that will be flying their way with wire and bamboo sticks. I've had some great conversations with the kids about the garden, (see the title of this post for my favorite question about it!) and we have joined forces with Ferris School, our JJM/Prison Ministry as they are coming here to complete Community Service. It's so great to see them gaining practical skills and they will literally see the fruit of their labour. We plan to use whatever we grow in the garden with the kids be that at a BBQ or meals in the coming months, which is where my excitement lies. We also have some lovely plants ready to go in, which I am also excited about as this place could do with some livening up! The kids are pretty scared of the bees here which to be honest, are rather huge so I am working on reassuring them they shan't be bothered by them!
We also had our Mother's Day tea which was an absolute delight! Everybody brought such wonderful food with them, as per my strict instructions so we had everything from Victoria Sponge to Cucumber Sandwiches and more tea than you could shake a stick at! Each of us from the team had a chance to share why we came to be a part of this Ministry and what it means to us to work with these kids. It was truly wonderful to see that a group of workers from all
over the world have been called together to love a group of young people who not many other people have the time of day for.
Some of our craftier kids have been working on paintings with Keenan, our American intern who is a rather gifted guy! I have loved watching them learn from him and they have worked so hard on their masterpieces. It's nice to see them so engaged in something and it makes me excited for other projects we can do in the future. Next in the pipeline is knitting so I will have to get practicing - that's not one of my gifts!
One thing that has been so great for us as a team of interns is the amazing support we get from so many families that we have met. I don't mean financially, but through opening their homes, providing meals, inviting us to spend time with them, offering to take us on trips, hosting us for games nights - you name it! That has been a real blessing to us and it feels such a treat to be served as we constantly give out to the kids throughout the weeks. It's nice for us to be around different people and share our experiences and cultures too!
This weekend has been lovely and was filled with laughter and Farmers Markets which is always a good combo. I got some time with a friend to walk around Delaware City a little which is a lovely part of this State:
I realise I can't really be seen on the floral photograph but I thought they looked so pretty and had to be documented! It sure is nice to have some good weather over here and long may it last, I say! There are lots of lovely little shops in Delaware City and we had a nice drink in a cute cafe we stumbled upon. I hope to take the ferry across to Fort Delaware soon, that looks like it would be a fun trip!
We also took some time to walk around Brandywine Park which I will definitely be doing again, I can't believe it took me so long to get there! It is a lovely area and is so peaceful. It's strange that it's so near to this crazy street and not far from the center City but remains so tranquil and pretty...or that's what I thought until a complete stranger came up and asked me for tissue so she could 'pee' in the bush. Classy!
A week tomorrow, I will be receiving my first visitor from England which I am SO excited about! She will be coming at the perfect time as Joni goes away on his vacation but also she will be able to support me in the middle of figuring out how my future over here will look. It has been an overwhelming time for me and it will be great to have someone who knows me so well by my side to see why I love it so much here! It will also be a nice time to find a bit of rest and do some traveling during my time off as well as have TWO WEEKS OF FEMALE COMPANY which I may or may not have been missing. Though the guys are great company, we don't always want to talk about the same things!!! I am hoping to finally see some of the Amish Country and maybe even ride the steam train! My friend doesn't know that yet though. I fear she may not be as joyful about that as I am. This just adds to the 'cool' image I regularly portray to the guys. Anywho! I just managed to cook a full meal, toad in the hole with all the trimmings with our makeshift 'oven.' Though it took me 4 hours, I only blew the kitchen fuse once so I count that as a great success. If it involves gravy and Yorkshire Pudding, it can't go far wrong in my eyes.
We began our gardening project a couple of weeks ago and have already managed to put up two raised beds as well as tidying the place up a little. The first bed which will house our vegetable plants hopefully by the end of this week, are now protected from the inevitable basketball that will be flying their way with wire and bamboo sticks. I've had some great conversations with the kids about the garden, (see the title of this post for my favorite question about it!) and we have joined forces with Ferris School, our JJM/Prison Ministry as they are coming here to complete Community Service. It's so great to see them gaining practical skills and they will literally see the fruit of their labour. We plan to use whatever we grow in the garden with the kids be that at a BBQ or meals in the coming months, which is where my excitement lies. We also have some lovely plants ready to go in, which I am also excited about as this place could do with some livening up! The kids are pretty scared of the bees here which to be honest, are rather huge so I am working on reassuring them they shan't be bothered by them!
We also had our Mother's Day tea which was an absolute delight! Everybody brought such wonderful food with them, as per my strict instructions so we had everything from Victoria Sponge to Cucumber Sandwiches and more tea than you could shake a stick at! Each of us from the team had a chance to share why we came to be a part of this Ministry and what it means to us to work with these kids. It was truly wonderful to see that a group of workers from all
over the world have been called together to love a group of young people who not many other people have the time of day for.
Some of our craftier kids have been working on paintings with Keenan, our American intern who is a rather gifted guy! I have loved watching them learn from him and they have worked so hard on their masterpieces. It's nice to see them so engaged in something and it makes me excited for other projects we can do in the future. Next in the pipeline is knitting so I will have to get practicing - that's not one of my gifts!
 |
| The proud (and CUTE) artists!! |
This weekend has been lovely and was filled with laughter and Farmers Markets which is always a good combo. I got some time with a friend to walk around Delaware City a little which is a lovely part of this State:
I realise I can't really be seen on the floral photograph but I thought they looked so pretty and had to be documented! It sure is nice to have some good weather over here and long may it last, I say! There are lots of lovely little shops in Delaware City and we had a nice drink in a cute cafe we stumbled upon. I hope to take the ferry across to Fort Delaware soon, that looks like it would be a fun trip! |
| Happiness is sunshine and a cup of Earl Grey |
A week tomorrow, I will be receiving my first visitor from England which I am SO excited about! She will be coming at the perfect time as Joni goes away on his vacation but also she will be able to support me in the middle of figuring out how my future over here will look. It has been an overwhelming time for me and it will be great to have someone who knows me so well by my side to see why I love it so much here! It will also be a nice time to find a bit of rest and do some traveling during my time off as well as have TWO WEEKS OF FEMALE COMPANY which I may or may not have been missing. Though the guys are great company, we don't always want to talk about the same things!!! I am hoping to finally see some of the Amish Country and maybe even ride the steam train! My friend doesn't know that yet though. I fear she may not be as joyful about that as I am. This just adds to the 'cool' image I regularly portray to the guys. Anywho! I just managed to cook a full meal, toad in the hole with all the trimmings with our makeshift 'oven.' Though it took me 4 hours, I only blew the kitchen fuse once so I count that as a great success. If it involves gravy and Yorkshire Pudding, it can't go far wrong in my eyes.
That's it for now!