Wee (Wii?) Update

I'm on spring break, and starting tomorrow I'm on a cruise to the Bahamas! Woohoo! Before I could leave, however, I had to challenge my Wii once more to see if I was REALLY in no better shape than the little devil tried to tell me a few days ago. Determined to pay close attention to my "skills" tests this time, I am happy to report that I now have a Wii Fit age of 45 (considerably better than the 70 I was previously told!!!) Hmmmmmmm........I think I'll take that! (And NO, I didn't cheat! I just actually paid attention this time!) In fact, today I even got a little praise as in, "You're in pretty good shape for your age!" It's a heck of a lot better than the sympathy I got the other day! :(

In other (much more important) news, Jonathon, Jeff, David, and I participated in a service project yesterday at a center for youth with emotional, mental, and/or psychological problems. According to the staff member who worked with us, the young people at their facility usually end up there as a "last resort"--often at the point of either coming to them or going to jail. Well, let me just say that it was one of the most rewarding things I think any of us had done in a long time. While David and the other team members painted a small building which is to be converted to a recreation/play center, Jon, Jeff, and I worked on planting some new shrubs and flowers. Jeff dug the holes, I prepared them for the new plants, and Jon got each plant ready for me to pop into the ground. Afterwards, I asked Jon to help me spread pinestraw around each one, and although it was a bit challenging for him to work on the slope where we planted, he did a great job helping. (After helping Jon and me, poor Jeff had to help with the painting, too!) Jon and I also potted a crepe myrtle and two large pots with begonias. Some of the young men who are residents at the center also helped us with painting and a couple of them helped with putting some plants into the window boxes on the building. It was so great to get to meet some of these young men, but I have to admit that it was also a little heart-breaking. We were told that most of the young people there are wards of the state, so when they are deemed ready to return to society, they are placed in foster homes--that is, if homes can be found that will take them. One of the young men in particular was clearly starved for attention, as he wanted to help with any and every task we could find for him. He was quite the chatterbox, too! Very intelligent, very helpful, and very sweet--definitely made you wonder how on earth he ended up there. As David said when we left, it made you want to know his "story", because we all know that everyone has a story....

We thank you, Lord, for opportunities that allow us to open our eyes to the needs of others and ask that you guide us in reaching out to them with your grace and wisdom. We pray for happy endings to each of the stories of these young people.