It has been a busy past few weeks, as reflected by my lack of blogging. I apologize for the "dead air".
Last weekend, all of the Literacy KC VISTAs met at the Wildwood Outdoor Educational Center. The facility is simply gorgeous and I was so impressed by the friendliness of the staff. Wildwood allowed us to have our Spring Advance at their facility, stay in the cabins, and enjoy the outdoor activities.
It was a bit windy and I am a bit queasy on the water, so I opted to stay on the shore for the canoeing adventures. I did participate in the archery instruction and exercises. The campground has a beautiful fire pit area where we roasted marshmallows and ate S'mores on Friday night. I did realize that I did NOT miss sleeping on a bunk bed and that I really love my mattress at home. It was a good reminder to me of how spoiled that I am and how blessed that I am!
Amy, our fearless leader, always does such a great job with the programming; she provides value at each and every meeting that she leads. We had a great exercise about how to categorize the people that we meet in the community and also about how to turn participants into leaders. She is quick to give hugs and smiles, even when we probably exasperate her!
On Saturday morning I spent a few minutes doing yoga on the back porch. We chatted around coffee/tea and then went out to plant seedlings for Earth Day.
I paired with Jesse for the seedling planting adventure and I enjoyed learning more about him. If you look in the dictionary for the word "steady" (not easily disturbed or upset; dependable; showing little variation or fluctuation) you will find a picture of Jesse! He always greets you with a smile and you feel that he is genuinely glad to see you. At times, some of the discussions got very intense as our group of VISTAs tried to solve the problems of the world; Jesse sat quietly and just listened to each side presented. I appreciate that quiet strength because my hubby is very similar.
By lunch time we had planted 45 sycamore trees! I would love to go back in a few years to see how big the trees have gotten, and maybe even see the campers enjoying the shade of those trees.
If you are interested in becoming a VISTA, please check out this website to see what opportunities are available. I love our great group of VISTAs and I know that you will also. My work as an AmeriCorps VISTA is very rewarding and I meet so many amazing people every week.
And of some have compassion, making a difference: Jude 1:22 KJV
Click here to find out more about volunteer opportunities at City of Refuge.
All opinions expressed here are solely mine and are not a reflection of the opinions of the AmeriCorps VISTA program
or of City of Refuge in Columbia, MO.
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