Fortress Week 6

This week was very different from the last few weeks. I went to Fortress with the youth group from Highland. We left Abilene around 3:30 on Sunday. Since I was with the group, they did not have to go to Fortress for orientation. I was able to do it with them. When we got to the DFW area, we had dinner and then headed to the church building where we were staying. We stayed in a gym that had an emergency light that never went off. It was fun though. We got everything ready and set up and then I led the group in orientation. We had a short devotional and then the kids found out who they would be paired with for the week. They prayed over their kid and we went to bed.

Monday we got up really early packed everything up and headed out to breakfast. After breakfast, we went to Fortress. The youth group just hung out while the kids showed up and ate breakfast. Then we loaded everyone up and headed to the children’s museum. The museum was awesome. I think we could have spent a lot more time there. The girls from the youth group loved getting to know their kids. It was so much fun. Then the youth group went and got a tour of Union Gospel. I love that place. It is pretty amazing what they are doing.

Tuesday we went and saw Toy Story 3. The kids loved it. Towards the end of the movie, one of the kids got scared and the girls he was with brought him to me. He wanted his brother. I told him that he could see him after the movie and he just stayed with me. It was really sweet. Then the youth group did a thing called pay it forward. They got $50 to spend and had to think of something nice to do. My group decided to get bus passes for the next day and we went to the down town bus transfer and passed them out. It was pretty amazing to watch the way people reacted. People do not think that someone would do something like that for free. Then we went on the prayer drive. I think that is one of my favorite things to do because you get to see the neighborhood that the kids you have been working with all week live in. There are a lot of run down houses, vacant lots, and boarded up houses. It is crazy to see it all but it allows people to see what kind of houses the kids go home to at night.

Wednesday we took the kids to the zoo. I had never been to the Fort Worth Zoo. It was hot but fun. All the kids loved it. We then had lunch at the Zoo and then headed back to Fortress. After all the kids said their good-byes, we left and headed back to the church to pack up and head to the Rangers game. The game was hot but fun. I am just starting to get into baseball and I have only seen like two games ever. It was fun though. We then headed to Farmers Branch to stay at a house that some people had just moved out of. The house was HUGE. It was a little crazy. I slept in a closet with 5 other people on air mattresses and we still had room to spare. It was fun though. One girl said how this house makes me feel is how the Fortress kids would feel if they came to my house.

Thursday we hung out for the morning, swam, and just chilled. Then around 1 we packed up and headed out. It was a ton of fun. I got to know some people I did not know very well and spend some quality time with some of the girls I have been missing.

My favorite part of the whole trip was listening to the girls I have worked with and lived near talk about the Fortress kids. I would start crying every time they started talking. I love the Fortress kids so much and it was amazing for me to be able to share them with people from home. It just helped me realize even more that I want to work with low income or poor families. I have a gift with them and they always seem to find a place in my heart. I only have two more weeks at Fortress and I know that they are not going to be easy. Saying good-bye, this year will be hard.

Fortress Week 5

This week was another short week. I did not even go to Fort Worth until Monday morning. I left Abilene at 5:30 a.m. and if you know me then you know that I am not a morning person but I really enjoy driving to Fort Worth that early. I got to watch the sun come up. It was pretty awesome. It felt like I was watching the world wake up. When I got to Fortress, I got ready for the day because I was leading things this week. Then when King showed up he ran to me and gave me a big hug. It is becoming a daily thing but I would have to say that I love it. :D

Everything went well for the day. Then I went on the prayer drive with Stacy. It was awesome. She did a great job. We went to Hillside Park and looked out over the city. I love the view from there. Between where we were standing and where down town starts is where the kids we work with live. It is just pretty amazing to look out over all of them.

Tuesday we had a group of 8 show up to work with our kids so it was a little crazy but fun. We did many hands on things and a lot of coloring. It was fun for the youth group but I did not interact with the kids so it was a little boring but I loved watching the kids interact with the group. It was a fun day.

I am looking forward to next week because Highland (my home church) is coming to take the preschoolers on a field trip. I can’t wait its going to be so much fun. :D

Fortress Week 4

This week was another short week but it was a long one at the same time. I got to Fortress on Sunday, we had a short meeting, and then we had orientation with the youth group that came that week. Then I stayed and help paint a little bit. I didn’t do much but I did some. The week we had off a group showed up and they started redoing the bathroom but they didn’t finish the bathroom so I helped a little.

Monday came around and the kids showed back up. I really do love all of our little ones. They are just so cute. King showed up and ran to me and gave me a big hug. He is so cute. I love that kid. This week we learned about kindness and goodness. We gave the kids stickers for being good or kind. It was fun. I really do love all the little kids that come to Fortress. Their personalities are starting to come out a lot more. It is so fun to see them start acting like themselves.

This week during circle time we told the kids we had to sing the fruit of the spirit song and William just started singing it and sang the whole song. It was kind of amazing. I mean we have been singing it for the last few weeks but they haven’t really been singing with us so our little preschoolers really are listening more than we think they are. They then got to go in front of the elementary kids and sing the song to them. It was pretty amazing.

This week some of the Fortress kids went to a VBS at a church about 30 min away. They all talked about how much fun it was. I got to go with them on Monday night. It was interesting but fun. I really love the kids that come to Fortress.

It was a great week and I am looking forward to next week. :D

Love Them Like Jesus

I love this song. I haven't heard it in forever and the other day on my way to Fort Worth it came on and it just fit my life. There is so much going on right now that I don't even know where to begin and sometimes I just don't want to do when I am faced with the situations I am faced with.

The other day I was doing neighborhood walkers and we found out that one of our neighbors husbands was put in jail about a month ago. He didn't really have anything to do with what he was charged with but because he had a previous record he was told the best thing to do is to serve the 10 months and not try to fight it. This broke my heart. Yes this guy might have been rough in the past but he is the sweetest older man you will ever meet and now he is in jail. It breaks my heart. His wife (the one who told us) is having a hard time and I was not sure what to say so I said what came to mind and I told her to call me if she needed anything. I may not have the answers to why this is happening to them but I can be there for them right now.

So many times in my life I am thrown into situations that I thought I would NEVER know how to deal with and I have done really well at that time and in that moment. I know that it is because God is with me and he is telling me to love them like he would. You don't always have to know what to say you just have to be able to be with them and show them that you care about them. In the end that is what matters.

When someone you know is hurting reach out to them and show them that you care.

Week off

This week I do not go to Fortress. It is kind of a good thing. I ended up getting a sinus infection so I took some time to rest. I feel a lot better now. I kind of miss the kids though. They are a ton of fun. I think this week is going to be a good restful week. I am also working on some school stuff so the time away will give me time to work on that. Fortress is counting as my practicum for school which is basically an internship. I have to acquire 125 hours and keep a daily journal and do some other paperwork. Anyway Look for an update next week after I get back from Fortress. :D Have a great week.

Fortress Week 3

This week was the first week I did not stay through Wednesday. I had to leave Tuesday night to babysit on Wednesday. This week was about patience. I find it interesting that when we were learning about patience my patience level seemed very low. We did several things this week that made it a fun week at Fortress.

Monday we had worm races because a worm does not move very fast or move at all when you have them race, so the kids had to have patience as they waited on the worms to move. The kids had fun with this though. Bob, who is constantly making me laugh, decided to play with his worm. He picked it up, held it, and was very interested in the worm. At one point, he picked up his worm and started swinging it around. I told him that he was going to kill his worm. He then told me that it was ok because his worm was not scared. It was really cute.

Another game we played was we put a sucker in front of every child. We told them that if they did not eat the sucker for two whole minutes they would get another sucker. Then I set a timer and we watched. Bob started to eat his sucker. We told him that he was out. After about one minute, Bob wrapped up his sucker and told us that he was just tasting it for a minute. It was really cute but he still didn’t get another sucker.

Tuesday we did a lot of the same games from Monday but we also did other things like plant flowers, and do some coordination things. It amazes me how much I love each and every kid that I am working with. They all have different personalities and they are starting to show more and more. It is going to be hard to leave when the summer is over.