Since I leave tomorrow morning, I thought it would be fitting to write one last entry before I go. The final week here was a lot of ups and downs. The kids are really getting at each other, which I think is partially just what all kids go through when they are spending more time together during the summer than they usually would during the school year. We had a good Sunday at Bluewater a week ago. It was the start of Flint reunion, and I had the chance to visit with some Graceland folks. There were lots of young adults there, which is very inspiring, it's good to know that the church cares about young adults. It was a day of good conversation and good worship, which were things I was in need of. The worship service was in a tent overlooking Lake Huron, which was a fabulous setting for a service.
It was good to have John C, Linda and Jordan back at the church for the week, the five of us made a really good team. We had lots of fun with the kids, in spite of some crazy times. Wednesday morning John and I went shopping for supplies, sending two avid shoppers (I haven't been an avid shopper until recently, and now I can't get enough) out with a wallet full of money can be dangerous, but we didn't spend too much. We got back to find Linda in a kitchen disaster - burger grease everywhere from cooking cheap, fatty hamburgers on the griddle. So I left right away to buy two industrial sized jugs of de-greaser from a food-service store. Linda and I sprayed down the entire kitchen. We threw away the vertical blinds, which were disgusting from years and years of greasy cooking. The floor was even covered in grease, so we were slipping and sliding all over the place. We shut down that area of the church and the kids did craft time outside - tie-dying t-shirts. All we could do was laugh really, poor linda was covered in grease herself from being in the kitchen while the burgers were cooking. Thankfully she was able to rescue the chocolate cake that Helen made for us earlier in the week. Several times I had chocolate cake for breakfast last week, shhh, don't tell my mom;)
In the past two weeks Jacob painted another awesome mural, around the corner from the first one. This one is of Jesus:
A guy from this area came by with some games and lego to donate on Tuesday, which was awesome. I think Jacob & Jordan had just as much fun with the lego as the kids did:
And here's John playing twister with DJ:
And little John and Ariane playing a game:
On Thursday, which was our last day with the kids, we had a big water fight and grill-out party. Jacob and I had fun buying water toys and filling over 100 water balloons on Wednesday night. It was great because John A. was able to be there too. We had our cookout first, which was fun. Here is Linda cooking some corn:
And here is Jordan chatting with a hungry passer-by (we don't turn anyone away when they ask for food):
We bought some face paint too, and Dave wanted a tiger face:
And Britney wanted a poodle face:
There was a slip and slide:
Everyone looking up to see where the water balloons are coming from...
...from John, John, and Jordan on the roof:
the kids either had to trapse through the kitchen to fill their buckets and guns:
or bravely try to fill them from the hose, which John was in charge of, which meant the risk of having the hose aimed at them:
A fun time was had by all. We sent the kids home to dry off and put on dry clothes, and then they came right back to play games and work on the newspaper. To end off the day, instead of our bible lesson time, Jacob and I were presented with great big cards that the kids made for us, and we each said a few last words. John bought us ice cream cake as a send-off, which we of course had with the kids. When it was time to leave, we all took a picture in front of the mural:
It has been a summer of ups and downs, good and bad days. I am so sad to have to leave these kids, they have become very important to me. I do miss home though, and the people there. Being away definitely helps me appreciate what I have even more. The lessons I have learned this summer will be with me forever, and I have only just begun to process everything that has happened. I am sure that telling my stories when I'm back home will be a lesson as well. I can't wait to share with all of you, face to face, and not just through this blog!
