Monday, May 25, 2009

I Made an Executive Decision

I made an executive decision. Usually I like to give the VBS teams lots of freedom to do what they want in their classes. This year none of the teams planned any craft for their class. Not doing crafts would save us $$ BUT it would also leave us with a LOT of kids with a LOT of unstructured time.

I've always said and still believe that the best ministry we do there is done on the playground, BUT too much time with no very little structure can be disastrous. Besides, the kids really love to draw and color.

SO, I ordered some crafts. In keeping with the Olympic theme, I ordered the following:


Make your own Flag

Make your own Medal


We also still have one of these plastic display thingys left over from last year. It doesn't look exactly like this one pictured, but it is very similar and holds several index cards with can be decorated any way the kids want.

I also have made up some coloring pages with the American Indian athletes from the post below. Each of the sheets has a picture of the athlete that can be colored and a bit of their "story". These could be used to help instill in the kids that their circumstances do not have to limit them - that anything is possible. God has given each of them a gift. It may be athletic ability or artistic ability or intellect, but if they work hard God will bless their efforts.

I also ordered a BIG box of markers which we will leave there for Shelly to use in children's church.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

More Materials for Melda's

Jerry, Cliff, and myself went to Lowes today to get paneling, OSB board, and some sizing for the flooring. The paneling cost a bit more than I had planned but seems like a much better material. Thankfully, we have received a lot of donations! We'll need 'em!


Saturday, May 16, 2009

The Garage Sale

Despite threats of rain one very determined team member (Cathy) carried on and held the garage sale. We did OK. Here's a pic of Cathy with her first $5.

Tim dropped by for a while, bought my coffee maker for $5 and then resold it within about 10 minutes.


Whitlock came by too but due to a misunderstanding he did not buy the yard that he thought was for sale - or the garage for that matter.
And I (Amber) didn't make much $$ because I was practically giving stuff away, but I didn't bring anything back home so I'm happy. Having someone pay me to haul off my stuff seems like a deal to me.
If you missed it, you missed some good deals, some good coffee, some good bologna, and some good laughs.

Come to our garage sale today!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Olympic Themes

The theme for VBS this year is "The Olympics". I've been researching some inspiring American Indian athletes who competed in the Olympics and am pretty amazed at their stories. I think the kids need to know about these heroes. They are American Indian and they did not allow circumstances to control their destiny. They overcame some pretty daunting obstacles - that's a message the kids we work with need to hear. I'm thinking of making some trading cards to give to each of the kids.

Cheri Becerra
An Omaha Indian, she also became the first native American to win an Olympic medal
when she claimed a bronze in a demonstration wheelchair event at the Atlanta Games.
.
She only started wheelchair racing in 1995 when a rehabilitation worker in her home town of Nebraska City, Nebraska, showed her a magazine article and encouraged her to get involved.
Before that, Becerra had been swimming for fun and fitness but had never competed at sports.
"Being in a wheelchair, so many people have the attitude that you can't do anything," she said. "It's events like the Paralympics that prove we can compete and that we are very capable."
Becerra became a paraplegic at the age of four, saying she went to sleep one night and woke the next morning without any feeling in her legs.
Doctors attributed it to an unidentified virus.
Becerra said it could have been a blessing.
"If I could walk, I don't think I'd be competing at an international level -- I doubt it," she said.

Billy Mills
Oglala Lakota Sioux
Born in Pine Ridge and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Billy was orphaned at the age of 13.
He took up running while attending the Haskell Institute, which is now knows as the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS.
He is the second Native American ever to win an Olympic gold medal.
He accomplished this feat in the 10,000 meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics making him the only American ever to win the Olympic gold in this event.
Many consider his victory in 1964 to be the greatest upset in Olympic history.


Ben Nighthorse Campbell
member of the US Olympic team in 1964,
competingin Judo.
He is the only American Indian in Congress.
He is a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe.

During Campbell's childhood, his father had problems with alcoholism, often leaving the family for weeks and months at a time. His mother had health problems, with tuberculosis that limited the contact she could have with her children and continued to force her into the hospital for long periods of time. These problems led to Ben and his older sister Alberta (who died in an apparent suicide at age 44) spending much of their early lives in nearby Catholic orphanages.
Campbell dropped out of high school in 1951 to join the U.S. Air Force.


Campbell obtained his GED while in the Air Force and after returning to the United States, Campbell used his GI Bill and work as a truck driver (he was and remains a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters)


Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Today's Update

I've been shopping for cleaning supplies today. Gotta keep those bathrooms clean and shiny. 150 kids + 15 crew + 2 missionaries + dirt + sweat + a watermelon eating contest + a building project + lunch for all 150 kids and crew + potty breaks + an EXTREME water fight all adds up to some pretty messy bathrooms. So I've been buying, boxing and stacking up the boxes today.

I imagine they have cleaning supplies there, but ya know what? We go through a LOT of them in a week so ... we take our own so we don't become an added expense to the missionaries there. We take paper towel and garbage bags too - we go through a LOT of those too.

And SURPRISE! My surprise for the crew arrived today! *evil grin* I'll be working on that tomorrow.

And we got some GREAT NEWS!! Papa Johns will be back for REZonate Music Fest again this year! And .... they are willing to glue some flyers about the event on their pizza boxes!

OK, speaking of Papa Johns ... I'm hungry - gotta go fix dinner.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Wounded Knee

I hope you all got to see the PBS special about Wounded Knee tonight. It was extremely well done and left me with a fresh perspective about Wounded Knee and a greater appreciation for what happened there in the 70's. Films like this always leave me feeling sad and angry about the injustice and immensely grateful that the Lakota people allow us to care for their children. Many of the children we work with are children or grandchildren of those who experienced the horrors of the boarding schools that were ran by white, Christian, missionaries. That they allow us to take their children for a moment is amazing to me. If you missed the broadcast, I think it will be available to watch online at this site.

A Shower

Today I received $150.00 for Melda's project from a friend who found us through Michelle's blog. Its amazing to see how people are pulling together to help out. Michelle posted about Melda after the presentation at church and the school principal read it and told Michelle that there is a gift at the school for Melda. :) Michelle and Sheri will be doing a shower and I hope to be able to have Melda come up and make Indian Tacos for us (we'll buy the ingredients) the last night we are there and then we can present her with the gifts. She will not be expecting that - at all and will be so surprised. I'll post the date of the shower as soon as I know it.

For anyone who may be interested, I've made up a list of things Melda might use. The electric is limited there so please no electrical items. Here are some ideas ...

Ideas for Melda’s Shower Gifts

Dish Towels
Pot scrubbers
Dish Soap
Pot holders
All sizes cast iron cookware
Non-breakable glasses/mugs
Kitchen gadgets (non-electrical, things like spatula, tongs, long-handled spoons, etc.)
Kitchen knives
Flatware
Tupperware type storage containers
Non-breakable pitcher
Cutting Board
Kitchen Rug – the floor tile is black
Blinds or Curtains and the hardware to put them up. (if we can find out what size windows we will be putting in) I would suggest something sheer since privacy is not an issue – they are all alone there and the window(s) may be her only source of light. (this is taken care of)
Scrapbook – made of pictures from the shower and pictures of the building project and then mailed to her after the building is complete. If this included names of everyone and maybe some info about them it would be cool for her to feel “connected” to those back here who were a part of it that she may never meet.

Saturday, May 09, 2009

Drywall and VBS

Dennis just left from unloading drywall for Melda's. We got the big sheets so (hopefully) it will go up quicker and we'll have less seams. We have plenty of us to hold it in place until it gets fastened in good. I have a feeling we'll need pictures of that. :)

Also been hitting some garage sales and picked up some stuff for VBS games. Now I'm gonna hit the thrift store to see what others VBS game stuff I can come up with.

Friday, May 08, 2009

Garage Sale


Garage Sale!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
9am - 3pm
2504 Haverknoll Dr.

Cincinnati
Proceeds go to help team members pay for their trip to Pine Ridge.
Items: Housewares, Golf Clubs, Tools, Dishes, Fabric for quilting, Home Decor, good stuff