Parting is such sweet sorrow...

Today is the very last Friday, and the very last day of our four week program. The Summer of Service students graduate tomorrow. We are very proud of them, but we're sad to see them go. We've spent the day reflecting on not only this past week, but the entire four weeks of service, and reinforcing just how proud of them we are.

We've also got some State Farm folks with us, and the students have been having a great time telling them all about the service that they've done. Our speaker today was Carol Clyde from SMU, who spoke to us about the interconnectedness of leadership and service, and we took some great pictures with her and in our teams.

State Farm Week

This week, our students are lucky to have employees of our amazing sponsor, State Farm, come out to their service sites and serve with them. Students get to mentor another volunteer and help get them engaged, and they have already made some memories and taken some pictures with their State Farm volunteers.

Summer of Service is almost over!

This past Friday, the Summer of Service students did an "Open Mic Night" reflection on their week. There is only one more week left, and the students wanted to share their creativity with each other. Some people read poems. The following were submitted for the blog:

In Summer Ministries
By Carlissa Cole

In the summer heat, I sweat very heavily.
In the summer days, I stayed and buried; plants.
In the church we painted. In Central Dallas Ministries
We planted. In my heart, I loved to see the beautiful day that I created.
My group and I held our heads high when we saw all of our goals being accomplished.
We loved our plants with much passion.


Musings from late July: A collection of haikus
By Audra Martin

Ridding soil of weeds
Mists of water to parched plants
Shovels in the clay

Brick lined flower bed
Children taught in the garden
Sprinkling cinnamon

Noon rays bake our flesh
Hide in room with no windows
Grumbling stomachs fed

Painting with colors
Making something from nothing
Bonding like family

Leaving sweat and love
Central Dallas Ministries
Pass on: Petunias

We took some great pictures, and painted a mobile mural to donate to another YVC Site!