Adopt A Block

Adopt A Block

Today, Celebration Serves had a huge Adopt A Block Party! It was awesome! We had live music, hot dogs, drinks, snow cones, nail painting, face painting, bracelets and necklaces, we handed out Bibles, had the Fire Department bring a truck out for the kids to get in and look around in, had a barber come in to do free haircuts, tons of prizes and a big bouncy house. It was so much fun. I took Riley with me, he loves helping out at Adopt A Block.

It's at an East side apartment complex, lots of kids whose parents aren't around, or are involved in drugs, and our church has just kind of adopted this whole complex. We have picked up trash out there, power washed, planted flowers and grass, as well as monthly trips to have parties with the kids.

So today, Riley and I started off with nails and bracelets. He was so cute painting the nails for the little girls, and helping them with their bracelets. But then we moved over to snow cones and we made 100's of snow cones! They were a big hit, we had a line almost the whole time. Then the concert started, a guy from church, and he was awesome, the kids were dancing around! We passed out Bibles to the kids that needed one, helped the kids get in the fire truck and then helped pick up trash and give out prizes to the kids. It was a lot of fun, and I love seeing those sweet little faces each time I go!

Happy Easter!

On Saturday, we spent the morning at home, relaxing, watching movies, sleeping in. Then we headed to church to serve at the 3:00 and 5:00 services. I got to co-ordinate the 2nd-5th grade class, so I got to take the kids out to the helicopter and watch the candy drop. It's so much fun! The kids have a blast. And thankfully, I had dinner in the crock pot for when we got home, cause we were worn out and ready to eat and go to bed!

Then we were back at church bright and early and served for the first two services today, then came home to tuna sandwiches, deviled eggs and a nap! It's been a pretty boring Easter. The "Easter Bunny" made a mistake and brought Regan the same stuffed animal he brought last year. I was hoping she wouldn't notice, but sure enough, first thing, "Hey! This is the same one he brought me last year, are you SURE the Easter Bunny is real?!" I think the jig is almost up!!

Caritas

Servolution continues with Caritas, the soup kitchen! I had always wanted to work in a soup kitchen, and David had the day off, so I left him home to get the kids to piano lessons, and I spent the morning at Caritas. First, it was one of the hardest days of my life! But, it was very rewarding. I got there around 9am, got my hairnet on, no looking nice in the kitchen! And proceeded to make 420 ham sandwiches. Then about 10 peanut butter and jelly for the (rare?) homeless vegetarian.

There were trays of lasagna already made, but our team chopped bell pepper, onion, garlic and cabbage for the ginormous pot of soup. Then we chopped a ton of tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots for the huge containers of salad. Then we set up our line, starting off with their choice of soup or lasagna, then I added a dessert (these are donated by grocery stores, there were sheet cakes, cheesecakes, brownies, anything that was about to expire) and I was also the "sporker" (I put a spork on each tray) and then each person got a ham sandwich, a portion of fruit salad, green salad, and a cup for juice or water.

From 11am till 12:30, we did not stop, it was constant scooping/slicing/sporking. After all was said and done, we fed over 330 people. We went out to the dining room to clean up, and there were some stragglers at the door, so we brought out leftovers to them also. And helped them bag some stuff up to take with them.

Then it was clean up time, and we left at 1, exhausted, sore in places I didn't know I had. But so many people stopped to thank us for taking the time to go down there and serve them, so it was all worth it. I am so glad I went, and it's hard to believe that someone does that every single day. Ms. Vera was in charge, and that woman runs a tight ship. Every once in a while we would hear her yell, "MORE FRUIT!" or "LESS LASAGNA!" She is IN control of that kitchen!

Here's one of the giant bowls of salad we served:


Here's the line, ham sandwich, fruit, salad:

And this was my section, spork and dessert.


Those ham sandwiches looked good. That's my favorite leftover after Thanksgiving, a ham sandwich on soft white bread. Yum. Even after 420 of them, they looked good!

Serving the Police Department

Today's Serve Project is the City of Round Rock. We set up, cooked, and fed over 120 police, Firemen, SWAT, EMT and Animal Control officers today! We had grilled ribs, chicken, sausage, burgers, potato salad, chips and water. Riley was on potato salad scooping detail and Regan got to hand out bottles of ice cold water (thus the need to double up on the gloves).

They were SO appreciative. The assistant police chief goes to our church, as well as the fire chief, so I think they really enjoyed having their home church out there serving in such a big way. And it was nice to thank the ones who do so much for our community.

And as a thank you to US, the firemen gave the kids a tour of the truck, letting them sit on the seat, wear the headset, they showed them their tools, even the jaws of life, explaining how they all worked. The kids loved that part!

And here's a picture of Regan mad at me because I wouldn't let her have another piece of chicken :)

Serving at the Lodge

We spent this morning serving at an Alzheimer's Assisted Living center in Georgetown. First, it was much nicer than I was expecting. It looked like a home, a large home, with each person's room like a suite. We started off in the activity center and the kids played some games with the people, Riley played Yahtzee most of the morning with a group, and Regan did some arts and crafts and some puzzles with a couple of little ladies.

I went down the hall and met some of the residents who were still in their rooms. I met the cutest little man named Jim, he talked my ear off! He was so sweet, and a real lady-killer. He was a big time flirt and just cracked me up. I couldn't figure out why he was there until he asked Regan what her name was for about the 3rd time. And each time we said, "Regan" he would say, "Oh! Like Ronald Reagan?! Great guy, great guy." When Riley met him, he told Riley he was in the Air Force too (which is Riley's current obsession) and he told him about how he traveled the world and lived in China and India flying for the Air Force. He was the nicest man!

Then we visited a little man named Jim. Turns out Jim was 100 years old! The kids got a huge kick out of that. He was resting but he wanted to visit for a bit. I think at 100 years old, he deserved a rest! He had the world's largest harmonica next to him, so he played us a little song (Shoe Fly Shoe or whatever the name is) and the kids loved it.

Then we went back to the activity center, I looked at a photo album of a man named Bud who didn't recognize the pictures in his album, of his family and his dog, and he was getting agitated trying to remember who everyone was. We just spent time talking, and walking and just loving on these little precious people.

I think Riley was kind of freaked out at the beginning by some of them crying out, but it didn't seem to bother Regan, she loved talking to them, and was certainly loud enough for them to hear her! Riley on the other hand, had to repeat himself a lot. But they told me they really enjoyed going and want to go back to visit our new friends.

I did take a few pictures, but can't post them due to HIPPA laws or something, but this was one of our favorite serve projects so far! I do think we will have to go back soon.

Servolution

It's my favorite time of year again! Servolution!! Our church organizes a ton of community service projects over the span of 2 weeks, and we all jump in and get our hands dirty. Today was the big kick off, with a rally with Pastor Joe and Jonathan Bowles kicking it off right. Then the Kids team headed back down to Adopt A Block and had a great time with the kids again. This time, I brought Riley with me and shattered his little wide-eyed innocence!

First we handed out juices and bags of chips and ice cream or popsicles. We brought a lot of stuff to leave for Ms. Maggie to have at her apartment, since she has kids coming to her for food all the time, we brought her a good stash to have on hand for that. She makes $10 a month in food stamps, and still manages to try to keep these kids fed.

Then we had a rousing game of kickball, then football, then kickball again, and the girls would hula hoop and play frisbee, and there was a long line of little girls getting their nails painted!

Then we all grabbed some trash bags and hit the complex picking up trash. It was at this point, Riley and I were over by the entrance to the complex, he found a cute puppy that he was petting, and this SUV rolls up, you could feel it, then hear it, then see it. The driver looks at me and says "Hey, Baby!" I just assumed he was talking to someone else and kept picking up trash, but Riley was starting to panic, "mom...mom...momMOMMOMMOM!" The driver had something in his hand, hanging out the window, passed by another car going real slow in the opposite direction, barely stopped, and then kept driving, turning right by us, hand still out the window, this time holding a wad of cash. Riley was like, real loud, "WHY IS HE HOLDING MONEY OUT OF HIS WINDOW?!" Anyway, we continued with our trash pick up and I explained a few things on the way home.

I was glad he went, he had a good time and I think he learned to appreciate the things he has. He told me he felt very sad for those kids and he wants to go back and help some more. I'm glad he's learning to serve at a young age. I took a ton of pictures again, but I'm only posting the ones I really liked. I can't wait to continue to Servolute this week!!

Community Service

Riley's school always does a lot of community service projects. The project for this semester was to help out at the Capital Area Food Bank. Riley helped load frozen pizza into boxes to give out, and he got a thank you note from them saying they processed 8,424 pounds of food, which equals 6,793 meals! Way to go Pure Energy!

SERVE Team

We have joined a lot (LOT) of small groups this fall! I am loving every minute of all of them, even though I think we probably joined too many! But, how can you not love them when you get to do things this awesome?!

This sweet single mom in our church has recently had a lot of medical issues, so our Serve Team met at her house bright and early and got to work. I made the kids come too, I really want them to learn the importance of serving. She had some boards around the house that had rotted, and a lot of very overgrown plants and weeds. Some concrete pavers that were uneven and dangerous due to weeds, and some plastic pavers that were coming up in places, and the yard needed mowed and trimmed, trees needed pruning, etc.

So David and Riley mowed, there were guys on the roof taking down Christmas lights, one guy was working on the a/c and hot water heater, one guy replaced a lot of trim, and I even got to caulk! Regan helped me and the other ladies as we cut back plants, pulled weeds, took out the plastic trim and replaced it with real concrete trim, we took out some of the overgrown plants, moved stuff around, gave her a little area up front with a table and chairs to sit and have coffee in the mornings! But the real reason we served, the thing that makes me cry when I think about it, is her thank you e-mail to our team afterward. I am just so thankful that I could be a very small part in making someone feel the love of God in such a tangible way!

> I PRAISE GOD FOR "The bus being moved". I have thought so many times
> "Oh GOD I need to hear "MOVE THAT BUS" and see a wonderful
> blessing. Well Neal said "move that truck" for me to today. God's
> blessings are here and the bus has moved.
>
> I don't know how to PRAISE GOD ANY MORE. I will be at the Womens oil
> change again this year and won't have to run home and do a dialysis
> treatment at noon!!
>
> God through Celebration has blessed our family. I've been a
> member of the church for YEARS and never know just how much
> Celebration does for people. I praise God, for being a small part of
> such a wonderful family.
>
> I love u all!