Another month later...
We all made it back from break a few weeks ago and are now trying to adjust to a very quiet house. I think I can speak for all when I say that break was very good and restfull, but we are also glad to be back in Columbus. We've been able to keep fairly busy so far and I suppose that the winter will only get busier with time. So far the two main things that occupy our time are VLI and community outreach. We have VLI classes on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings, as well as some weekend intensives now and then. Weekend intensives consist of classes all day Saturday as well as all of Sunday afternoon. We have yet to experience one of these and I don't think I can say that any of us are particularly looking forward to them. So far we have really enjoyed classes, although they are pretty intense, and we have been learning a lot. Our Tuesday evening classes are on Pauline Literature and Theology and our Saturday morning classes are on Preaching and Teaching. We each have to preach three times to pass this class; I don't think anyone is really looking forward to this either.
Community outreach consists of Manna Cafe on Wednesday nights and The Zone on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Manna Cafe is a meal for the homeless and poor of Columbus at Broad St. United Methodist Church. It's different in that real dishes are used, as well as cloth placemats and napkins, and the food is really good. We all enjoy helping out every week and look forward to forming relationships with some of the guests. The Zone is an after school program at Vineyard. We help out with homework, teaching, or just playing with the kids. We have only gone once, but we all had a good time and look forward to going all winter. We are also working on putting our own meal together in a park nearby for homeless, or whoever wants to come. We are working on logistics right now and getting the word out so that people actually are around. Believe it or not, homeless people do not just hang around in the park in the middle of January like they do during the summer. Who would have thought?
Other than class and outreach we keep ourselves occupied with reading (mainly for VLI), working at the Home (the new building on 5th St.) and various other activities. So far life in 2008 has been good and we're excited about what the rest of the year holds for us.