Rapid City - 4

Hey friends!

I'm sorry for the day and a half of silence, we have been super busy and tired and it has been hard to get time for kids to come in and type an entry... we are hoping to have a couple in this afternoon.

Last night the Lakota tribe drummer and dancers were unable to make it to the church to perform for us, so we did a scavenger hunt in downtown Rapid City. Every street corner has a bronze statue of a president and the kids had to answer questions about each presidential statue. John R literally ran to every statue and Tara did a great job of researching all the answers. For bonus points we took a picture of our whole group in front of a Native American statue of a woman and child... and you'll all be proud to hear that FPC represented a pulled out a win! Our prize was a box of Hostess Ho Ho's.

Yesterday a couple of our crews switched sites. My crew moved from working a half day with Native American children and a half day in a nursing home to working a full day in a different nursing home. This nursing home was definitely different than the first, but our kids are fantastic at jumping in and serving and loving the elderly they meet. Many of our kids participated in morning chair exercizes, some kids helped residents fold laundry, some delivered and read mail, some watered plants and took residents for "walks" outside, and some used their creative minds to design a new bulletin board for the nursing home entry.

Another group reported on their time at the Blackhills Workshop for mentally and physically disabled people. The highlight was when the people who go there sang karaoke - many couldn't sing the words, but they danced and hummed and made other singing sounds. All the kids reported that the handicapped people had so much joy when they were singing.

There are two more crews, but I'll leave those stories for when we return or when youth come and blog.

Last night we spent a few hours in a gorgeous park! Many kids climbed trees (ask Claire about her experience), played kickball, hung out and generally just had a ton of fun.

Please pray for the health of our kiddos and those we serve - there has been a small outbreak of flu-like symptoms. We are taking steps to ensure the safety of the young and elderly we serve, but apart from withdrawing completely, there is no guarantee. So pray that we don't do more harm than good on this last day and that our youth stay healthy. So far none of our students have gotten sick - don't worry moms!! :)

Katie Harris, Youth Associate