Center Grove UMC

On the 28st of October the Center Grove UMC youth group went to Sherill to meet with the church there. We watched a video on what it means to be healthy and happy, and we then sang songs about love and peace with one another. After the songs we all sat around in a circle and listened to scripture readings done by the Sherill pastor, and we were then given a sheet of paper that we had to read. The sheet of paper talked about some hard times that individuals may go through in life, and that they may lead to suicide. The examples listed were divorce, breaking up with someone, thinking that no one cares about you, feeling like you are a nobody, and more. Then we took time to let the youth and anyone else share if they had lost anyone to suicide, or if they themselves had ever attempted it. It was interesting to hear the Pastor tell us a story about a time when she thought her life could not get any better that she actually considered suicide. It was a very touching youth service that night, and we discussed options that people have when they feel like they just cannot go on. After that we discussed what we will be doing for this week's youth group session, and we discussed the Thanksgiving dinner at Hope House that we will be serving. We also started selling coupon books to the communities to raise money for Christmas families, and also the youth camp trip.

Center Grove UMC

On the 21st of October I met with the youth group at Center Grove UMC in Dubuque. We gathered around eachother and listened to scriptures of the bible that the pastor had picked out, and we then talked about what it means to grow spiritually and to be able to rise above everyone else. We talked about how it is important to recognize the changes we need to make in our own lives so that we become the best we can be. Some stories were given by the leaders and the youth that told about signs they have been given in their lives where they felt they were calling them to "rise above" others. It was interesting to hear these stories and see the effects they have had on both the youth and the leaders. We related these stories back to a guest speaker that we had the week before. His name was Pastor Charles, and he came to the youth group hours to discuss what he does for his outreach service to others, and he told us of the school that he helped bulid in Camaroom, Africa for the less fortuante children there. It was amazing to see the pictures he showed us, and to see how the help of one individual changed the lives of so many.

2nd Day

My second post… This post it is different than 1^st Day (http://servicelearningrels204.blogspot.com/2007/09/1st-day.html). On the 1^st day I attended to Dubuque Humane Society and this day I went to St. Vincent de Paul Society. The experiences were the exact opposite of each other; one had to do with animals that have been a banded and the other one has to do with humans who give, to hopefully receive something back in the future.

Today I noticed that the world that we are living in is only being enjoined by a few people. What I mean, is that between the three kinds of societies that are in this world (low class, middle class, and high class), only the high class is the one who really enjoy the world with out any problems. We have people with nothing trying to become somebody. In their path they help or get helped by somebody else from the same kind of society or lower.

I never been in a place or imagined a place where people could go to buy used stuff. After volunteering at St. Vincent’s, I realized that I should be grateful with what I have and should not be thinking about buying more stuff. Sometimes in our society we don’t realize or know our limits to what we should have. We are so selfish with ourselves that we never think that there are people in the world who are needy. Whenever we go to the mall we always say “Oh, I think that I would wear this shirt some day in the future.” Instead we should be thinking, “Oh, how about if I buy some shirts and/or food for somebody that need it more than I do.

I think that we categorize too much and don’t appreciate all we have, and never say thank you to God for what we have, and how we got it.

Service Learning at the Sinsinawa Mound

This past Friday, October 26th, I continued with my service learning at the Mound. We had not been back for a couple weeks because Sister Sarah had been gone on a trip. She was gone down south on a Conference in which she attended with another Sister from the Mound. She said the trip was enjoyable and productive. This week went quite well because we have almost reached the wall in the rock garden. We worked on a deep layer of rocks this week and I noticed how much more work was required to wash the rocks because of how dirty they were. Next week when we go we will be able to lay down all the rocks we cleaned. Sage and I worked hard on cleaning these rocks for two hours, while Sister Sarah showed us which layers were to be cleaned first. When we first started this project I wasn't sure if what we were doing each week was going to be apparent to myself and other people, but this past week we stepped back and admired our work accomplished thus far. We all noticed how our work compared to the rocks not yet cleaned and relayed, and what we have been doing has payed off. I can tell that our work has made the rocks look newer and more organized. After we worked on the rocks for two hours, Sage and were invited to eat with everyone in the Cafeteria. We were invited to eat with Sister Sarah, Sister Mary Owens, and another Sister. We sat down and we introduced ourselves and Sister Mary soon got up. We soon realized that she was announcing Sage and i to the other sisters eating. Sister Mary said that we had been volunteering for the past couple weeks and that we had been working hard on the rock garden. We then stood up and they all clapped for us. It was such a good feeling because the sisters are all so welcoming to everyone and they made us feel like we were helping them so much. After the meal Sister Sarah showed us around and there were a couple of bulletin boards outside the cafeteria. There were pictures of many soldiers and it said there name and where they were currently at. I realized how the Mound is a place where people come to give hope. They are all sweet, and caring people. They seem to always be giving to others, whether they know someone personally or not. Also, I was touched by a board that had prayers on it. People that work there, sisters, and also people in the community who call in a prayer can have it posted on the board and everyday they pray for all of them. It is so touching because I read a few and some wanted to pray for a relative having surgery, and others called in and asked them to pray for the people in California who were affected by the fires. She also told us that there is a channel at the Mound, that displays the daily prayer on the screen. This allows the Sisters to be in their room and be aware of the requested prayers and pray for all of them. I thought this affect of kindness and love for people near and far tells us about all the good these sisters do each day.

Sinsinawa Mound

Getting back into the volunteering phase after a couple weeks off due to scheduling conflicts, Heather and I went to Sinsinawa Mound on Friday, October 26. As corny as this may sound, it felt rather refreshing to get back to helping Sister Sarah and get away from school stress for a little while - the Mound is a very welcoming place and comforting. We chatted a bit with Sister Sarah about her conference trip and got a lot accomplished with our work - by next week, we suspect that we will reach our goal of reaching the wall with the rocks - it is kind of surprising how far we really have gotten in a relatively short time.
We were able to stay for dinner and sat with Sister Sarah, Sister Mary Owens (the volunteer coordinator) and another Sister. Before we knew it, Sister Mary Owens had gotten up from her seat and Heather and I were kind of startled when we heard our names announced with a welcome from the Sisters. It was so sweet - they have welcomed us into their community. We found out things about them (the Sisters we ate with), but they asked a lot about us - our futures, families, interests. I think this shows how our interest in helping them leads to them wanting to know about us. I also believe with that concept that the elderly want to learn about new aspects in younger peoples lives - for example, Sister Sarah asked about how we relax and the TV shows we watch. Dinner was really enjoyable and I hope we get the chance to do it again.