Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Blogging Day 3


The Difference A Day Makes Today was an emotional day as we reflected on our service and worked to make connections with our lives back home. During our reflection, we shared our experiences from the day, examined our perceptions, and connected through our stories. It was apparent that we brought much more confidence into our second day working at Operation Breakthrough -mainly because we were more familiar with the routine and expectations, as well as the needs of the studnets. It also helped that many of our group members stayed up late the night before to prepare new activities, games, songs, and lessons for the different age groups. Through our reflection, it also became apparent that we’ve met some amazing people in the short time that we’ve been in Kansas City. • Debbie is the volunteer coordinator at Operation Breakthrough. She manages our assignments and daily activities which makes this entire experience possible. The volume of volunteers she organizes is impressive. • Katie also assists with the volunteers and brings a lot of compassion and energy to her work. • Pastor Alice has welcomed us into her church and provided us with overnight accommodations. She is thoughtful, warm, and kind and has definitely gone out of her way to make us feel welcome. • Mary volunteers at the Day Center across the street. She has been there each day, helping the men and women that access the facility. Despite her long hours, she has also been eager to welcome our group. • Students from Eastern Illinois are staying with us at True Light church. We’ve created a special bond with these seven women by working together, sharing facilities and preparing meals with one another. • “Grandma” as she is affectionately known by the children, works in the infant room and spends her days providing love and attention to the little ones. • Nate is a third grader who acts tough and tries to give his teachers a hard time. Despite this, we know he enjoys the atmosphere at Operation Breakthrough and has been fun to work with. He’s been an inspiration to several of our group members. • James is a young boy who was quick to defend us when we were challenged by another student. • And countless other children who inspire our work through their smiles and laughter. Many of the children come from challenging homes and families and Operation Breakthrough provides the safe, fun, and loving environment they deserve. We are thankful that we’ve been able to offer the attention and affection that so many crave. Current Folder: INBOX Sign Ou Compose Addresses Folders Options Search Help Shares Filters Message List | Delete Previous | Next Forward | Forward as Attachment | Reply | Reply Al Subject: Blogging Day 3 From: "Cailin Turner" Date: Wed, March 16, 2011 09:12 To: cailin.turner@uwrf.edu Priority: Normal Create Filter: Automatically | From | To | Subject Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file | View Message details | Purge Delete & Prev | D

1 comment:

  1. I love the diversity in teaching experiences you are all getting. Sounds like an amazing staff you are surrounded by at OB!

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