Sunday Worship

Delivering a moment for mission at First Congregational Church of Fresno

Fun Day!

Today we spent our free day at a Fresno water park, cooling off on slides and in the lazy river. It was a great end to the week!

Time with FIRM

From Brianna:

Work camp is a great experience because the youth and leaders all have to put up with each other for a whole week. The time is set up so that we have both time to chill and have fun as well as time to be creative and do service. The communities we work with, FIRM for example, are church communities who share our general morals and always welcome us. It seems that each year it takes me a while to feel comfortable with the people we are serving as well.

By now, I have gotten familiar with the elders we have tutored and the kids we have played with at Family Fun Camp. Yesterday I was in charge of beanbag toss at the camp. In general kids were shy, excited, or bossy, but all of them had smiles and energy to practice their aim on the frog painted beanbag toss. I had an older kid come up who was really friendly and well mannered who ended up organizing the younger kids himself and helping them to play. Another kid skipped from 400 to 600 in keeping track of his score because he was so excited. It’s amazing to get to know new groups of people this closely. It feels like there is no judgment dividing us now. We are a community.

As a smaller group of Winthropites at the Church, everything has given our best efforts, from cooking breakfast to playing cards, tricycle races, and bets. I feel like we are appreciative of everything that anyone has to offer, be it ideas or talent or non-talent or simply one’s presence and laughter. We have strong opinions, for instance we debated the existence of the “Guy’s” bet today, and we like being sarcastic, yet we all mean the best. We are stuck with each other and so we put up with the imperfections, be it not remembering the craft box, or losing things, or not sleeping enough. In moments talking, playing cards, cooking, listening to music or just hanging out, I feel like I have once again come to feel at home with the Winthrop group. The experience of participating at Work Camp allows us to let go of our worries and judgments, it strengthens our bonds and reminds us to be ourselves, enjoying each other and spreading love to the communities we visit (FIRM).

a flashback to Monday...

From Olivia:

Today is Monday, June 18 2012, which marks the first full day of work camp! Woohoo!

This morning was an early one (for me, at least) and breakfast tasted very good after a near sleepless night on our pads. Today was also our first shower day, in which generous hosts offered over their houses so we could be clean throughout the week. I personally ended up at a house, which was home to a three year old, and after my shower I found myself being bombarded with toys and fake watermelon.

Afterwards, we briefly stopped back at the church to drop off our towels and such, then headed out to the real reason we drove three and a half hours out here; FIRM! When we arrived we were interrogated at the entrance to make us feel like we were crossing the border;  an experience that a lot of the refugees had to face. 

to be continued.... (something interesting must have been happening in the corner) 

Morning person?

From Lia:

So it's Thursday morning and the time is 7:41. I’m not a morning person but after Workcamp I usually turn into one. For breakfast we will be enjoying crepes, breakfast burritos, and other wrap like things. The weather here is amazing now, it’s perfect. Just hot enough to wash yourself with an icy cold hose and air dry after at 9:00 at night. This morning after breakfast we’ll be going to FIRM tutor the elders and help out, then come back to the church and relax until usually 3ish. When 3:30 comes we drive back to FIRM and start helping with the family festival.

A poem

From Patrick:

A great time will be had by all,
though I sure wish the weather was more like fall,
but oh well, we'll make it through
keeping it fresh like the morning dew
together we'll progress through the week
hoping our water bottles do not leak,
we truly are just like a family
supporting each other, it's great, golly.

Little to no Internet and general busyness all day has delayed our postings! We'll see if we can get more toward the end of the week, but for a while it may be quick phone updates!

Photos from day 1

Gaining entry to FIRM (aka "The US") through the complicated system of immigration

Our new friend Bailey

Helping the elders with citizenship classes

Hats with built-in air conditioning!

Learning through the history quilt

Superman!

Working hard as goalie

Dinner crew!

Morning at FIRM

Ladder Golf and Washers with FIRM elders.

At FIRM

Helping elders practice different ways to write time. They're preparing for their citizenship test.

Blog 1

A vlog from Alex (and friends):

First Day

From Amaya:

So the day began, and we brought all of our sleeping bags, pads, pillows, backpacks, and banker’s boxes to the Winthrop room. This was shortly followed by the church service, where all of the youth going to work camp served communion. After service, there were many good byes, stuffing the two cars to the brim, and then a lunch circle on the ground. Then we set forth on our three hour car ride. I was in the black van, along with Hannon, Brianna, Helen, and our driver, Andrew. We definitely didn’t get lost, we wanted to take the scenic route, where we encountered a car accident, which curiously looked like it only had one car involved, but which appeared to be burnt up and there was a spreading grass fire. After a long car ride, where we listened to CDs and the radio, and watched the temperature increase all the way up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit, we arrived and settled in. It was hot but practically everyone was playing ladder golf until dinner time, where we were introduced to the people of the church and served delicious food. Then we went to the pool, and enjoyed the refreshing water, and played an intense game of Marco-Polo. After that we returned to our room in the church and got ready for bed. It was quite fun, and the weather is great (hot and dry, just the way I like it, though others disagree), and looking forward to showers in the morning!

Marco Polo at the pool party

Yay Jesus!

Commissioning

Work Campers getting commissioned this morning at FCCB.

Work Camp in brief:

Who: Youth and adults from First Church Berkeley
What: Working on projects such as recreation for elders, activites for children, and learning about immigrants and refugees
When: June 14-27, 2012
Where: FIRM (Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries) in Fresno, California
Why: To learn, serve, and grow together as a community of Christ