When so much happens, it's difficult to process everything as a succinct whole. But there have been many meaningful moments in the ministry within the past couple months that I refuse to overlook. Forgive me as this may seem like a laundry list of "things" but I'm hoping that in doing so, a glimpse of God's heart will be seen.
two:fiftytwo After School Program: We threw paper airplanes off a high staircase outside. We harvested carrots and competed on who could find the largest one. We did another paint pour activity like last year and they all turned out great. We made birdfeeders out of huge pinecones, peanut butter, and birdseed (the cardinals loved them). We planted seeds at the garden (bush beans, peanuts, eggplant, basil, jalapenos, bell peppers, and mustard greens). We had good conversations in our talking circles. We diffused conflicts with kids. We communicated better with parents. We collected books about plants, vegetables, and gardens for our new little library at the garden. We chose to do an activity dissecting owl pellets to see what they last ate, following a whim from a 5th grader who said she wishes she could be an owl. We learned how to introduce and conduct ourselves when being called in for an interview. And all of this is just on the few days per week that I get to see. I also know that on days that I'm not around, we have a program director who is a full time teacher, finishing his college courses, is president of his fraternity, simultaneously coached a basketball team, and used to be a student in 2nd Mile when he was in high school. We also have a high school student that goes to Andrew Jackson High School (right next door to the church) who has been committed all year to come each day and not only help assist with what we're doing, but has also taken more of a leadership role in planning activities and making sure the church looks clean. I believe she is getting the Summer Day Camp Assistant Director job. Super pumped to see her grow into that.
BLOCK Middle and High School Program: We learned about meditation and practicing good mental health. We started reading one of my favorite books, Kai'Ro (modern take on Pilgrim's Progress), and started acting out the scenes in a dramatic fashion. We planted seeds at the garden (collard greens, zinnias, and marigolds). We did a self-esteem worksheet with character traits that we either were proud to have, wish we didn't have, or wish we did have, seeing how each person is uniquely made. We thought of places that we would love to be and painted them on glass. We went to a Jamaican restaurant and tried jerk chicken and oxtails for the first time. We planned Open Courts and played a ton of games together.
Open Court: We have Open Court once a month. We had kids from the neighborhood come out and play basketball. We saw lots of laughter, competition, and comradery. We recorded fun videos for social media. We gave out pizza and chicken wings to the tired and sweaty. We had a former 2nd Mile student donate money to the concession stand so kids that didn't have cash on them could get a snack or beverage. We played Guess Who?, chess, checkers, Clue, Uno, Zilch, and Jenga. We bought new speakers to blast music at the events.
Nutritional Garden: We harvested carrots, kale, squash, and radishes. We weeded beds to get ready for sowing. We, (I) rescued a kitten (check out block_brentwood on instagram). I collaborated with a few neighbors near the garden to plan what we should grow and where. We also met with the local Brentwood library to see how we could promote each others' events. We decided that at the garden, we'd encourage visitors to check out some gardening books from the library as well as get seeds from their free seed library and the library would promote any Action Days or encourage people to visit the garden. We had students from the programs plant seeds and learn about spacing, depth, companion planting, and the importance of flowers for pollinators. This picture was one of my dinners this past month (yellow squash, carrots, and kale, all from the garden). We had many volunteers come through at one of our Action Days and did so much more.......
Action Days: The first one was in collaboration with The Ville Church. We cleaned up so much trash on a street just a few blocks from my house. It all just kind of collects at certain pockets of the road (ditches, empty lots, around the bend with no sidewalks, outside the corner store, bus stops, etc. What probably would've taken me a week to do by myself, it took like 25 of us just a couple hours to get it cleaned up. The second Action Day involved three groups--a church group from a different city that used to be involved with us years ago, some volunteers from the Mayo Clinic, and the University of North Florida Navigators. Totaling about 30 volunteers, we split off with half going to the garden and half doing work near and around the church. At the garden, we were able to get rid of 1400 pounds worth of concrete slabs that we've been trying to get rid of since before the garden came into being. We weeded everywhere. We got vines off the fences. We installed a little library for visitors to enjoy while they come chill. Got rid of lots of leaves, trash, and huge sticks stuck in our mulch. Back at the church, we got vines off the fence (we can finally see beyond the fence), two giant shelves were built, branches and trash were removed from the courtyard, games were organized, the bookshelf was organized. With fewer staff at 2nd Mile, God has truly blessed us with many hours of labor and sacrifice.
I would say, overall for February and March, we expanded the minds and experiences of our students, we brought people into the neighborhood from the outside to help with some needs we had, and the neighborhood was a slightly cleaner and more active place to be. I feel that the work God has allowed us to do in the neighborhood can only continue to grow. As long as our trees are planted by streams of living water can we experience the fruit, the growth, and the thriving. I pray that the neighborhood can experience that for themselves more and more. Lord, keep us vigilant, resilient, and aware of you.
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