Life in Cowplain
I have not had much time to update the blog in a while and so much has happened! We have arrived back in Jolly Ol' England and are staying in the South near Portsmouth. We are working with a local church here. It was been wonderful because all of the families we are staying with have been so great. I am staying with a lovely couple and have my own room...it is like staying at the Ritz for me!
Here, the church members are very active in their local community. A few of them live in a council housing estate called Wecock. There is a community center called the Acorn where lots of activities take place during the week. We have done quite a bit of children's work and also singing! We prepared some British covers in Romania and have now sung them at a International Student Coffee House in Portsmouth and in a local pub owned by a church member. I sing 'back-up' which has been fun although I am always feeling a bit reluctant about how we will be recieved. We have done some presentations, as well, that included a slide show from our time in Romania for a Seniors lunch and have done 3 school assemblies-one in a school for kids with severe special needs. That was a very special experience for us since some of the higher functioning kids seemed so thrilled with us being there!
Ann, who is our coordinator here and who runs the Acorn, teaches an art class as well at one of the secondary schools. Tom and I have had the privledge of accompanying her each week to assist. The kids are almost all girls and are obsessed with my 'accent'! It is a lot of fun to talk and work with them. We have also just spent a lot of time building relationship with the church families and youth. Tuesday nights they have a small group at the Acorn to invite community members to talk more about who God is. Many of the church folks come and get involved by fixing a meal and being a part of the dialog, which is wonderful. The people who work and volunteer at the Acorn really seem to enjoy having us around.
Last Friday, we hosted a 'disco' for the under 13's. Since most of these kids took a while warming up to the idea of dancing, we had lots of other activities planned. I helped with the Art and Craft tables, we had the kids work on a mural, there was a paper airplane making station, games, and then, of course, music and dancing. The night was very busy and fast paced and the kids had a blast. This weekend we will close out our time hosting 'The Noise' community day. In the morning we will have rubbish clean up and a car wash. After lunch we will have a few workshops for drama, dance, and cooking. Then we will end the evening with some music and a talent show. We hope to learn a Hannah Montana song for that...should be interesting!
God has been so good to us during this time and I have seen a lot of stretching and growth amongst the group. I really love it here...it is such a beautiful little place.
Here, the church members are very active in their local community. A few of them live in a council housing estate called Wecock. There is a community center called the Acorn where lots of activities take place during the week. We have done quite a bit of children's work and also singing! We prepared some British covers in Romania and have now sung them at a International Student Coffee House in Portsmouth and in a local pub owned by a church member. I sing 'back-up' which has been fun although I am always feeling a bit reluctant about how we will be recieved. We have done some presentations, as well, that included a slide show from our time in Romania for a Seniors lunch and have done 3 school assemblies-one in a school for kids with severe special needs. That was a very special experience for us since some of the higher functioning kids seemed so thrilled with us being there!
Ann, who is our coordinator here and who runs the Acorn, teaches an art class as well at one of the secondary schools. Tom and I have had the privledge of accompanying her each week to assist. The kids are almost all girls and are obsessed with my 'accent'! It is a lot of fun to talk and work with them. We have also just spent a lot of time building relationship with the church families and youth. Tuesday nights they have a small group at the Acorn to invite community members to talk more about who God is. Many of the church folks come and get involved by fixing a meal and being a part of the dialog, which is wonderful. The people who work and volunteer at the Acorn really seem to enjoy having us around.
Last Friday, we hosted a 'disco' for the under 13's. Since most of these kids took a while warming up to the idea of dancing, we had lots of other activities planned. I helped with the Art and Craft tables, we had the kids work on a mural, there was a paper airplane making station, games, and then, of course, music and dancing. The night was very busy and fast paced and the kids had a blast. This weekend we will close out our time hosting 'The Noise' community day. In the morning we will have rubbish clean up and a car wash. After lunch we will have a few workshops for drama, dance, and cooking. Then we will end the evening with some music and a talent show. We hope to learn a Hannah Montana song for that...should be interesting!
God has been so good to us during this time and I have seen a lot of stretching and growth amongst the group. I really love it here...it is such a beautiful little place.
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