Monday First Work Day

 Good Evening Everyone!

   

Today was our first full work day. We woke up, and started our day hanging out in the common room together before breakfast. Breakfast was at 9:00; we had bacon, muffins, biscuits and eggs. After a DELICIOUS breakfast, we helped out in the kitchen (which was our team's assigned chore for the day). We washed dishes, cleaned tables, and took some nice action-shots of us doing the chores. 

Once we finished the kitchen, we met up with the rest of the group and we were walked through our jobs for the day. Our group (I Am Root) was assigned to a back garden that needed a lot of trimming and weeding. Anthony assembled the weed-whacker for use and used it to trim over-grown brush in the garden area. We encountered a small issue where the weed-whacker's attachment head got stuck, but Ally fixed it for us, thankfully ("when in doubt, Ally helps out"). We also did some weeding in some of the flower beds, and we trimmed some of the plants to its healthy leaves. 

At 1:00 PM, our beautiful sunny day was met with some drizzling rain. Luckily, we were able to eat lunch during that time and when we finished it was over. Our lunch was chili dogs, and it tasted wonderful. We were lucky enough to stay back and do more kitchen work. There were less dishes to do, and it was a nice experience to have fun and stay on task with friends. Cassie loves using the industrial dishwasher.

After lunch, we had a small break and then our group went back to work in the garden. Cassie went back to trimming the dead bushes, while Anthony helped put the clippings in the wheelbarrow so Cassie could see what she was doing. By the time we were done, the change in the garden was apparent. A lot of the weeds were gone and the garden felt more open and welcoming. 

Our day didn't end there; we went to the Children's Center to hang out with the kids. One 9-year-old kid, Robert, beat both Anthony and Sean in Air Hockey. Some of the girls threw a ball around with some of the kids and others played with LEGOs.  We also went outside to discover that one of our own, Charlotte Couture, is a stellar basketball shooter (not to mention that she was also wearing flip-flops). 

All of a sudden, right before dinner there was a surprise water balloon fight where a bunch of us got soaked!!!!! At the same time, Anna and Emily enjoyed a nice run along the farm. 

Afterwards, we went to dinner, which was pizza. We cleaned the kitchen for the last time, which also included sweeping and mopping. 

We had a nice break time in the common room where we chatted and played music. We moved swiftly into our small groups after finishing a report from our team leaders.

One question our group discussed was how do we serve people without making them feel like a
project? Our group said that we need to find equal footing with the people we serve; we can only give what they want to take, so we must find a balance. We also said that we must want to serve in order for it to be effective because no one wants to feel like a burden.

Now we're all tired and ready to sleep!!!

Goodnight,

Anthony and Cassie