November 11-12

Picture-A-Day:

11.11.11 - On Veterans Day the girls' school put on a beautiful program honoring veterans. I think Veteran's Day seems more significant during war time, because we have seen so many men and women we know coming and going in the war. Also, the principal at the school is a Marine veteran, so he is particularly zealous about Veteran's Day. I'll admit, I'm not the most patriotic person. I tend to have a more global perspective on the human race and cringe at the idea of thinking that our country is somehow "better" than others. But this VD ceremony was so moving, it gave me a new appreciation for what it really means to serve in our military. There were about 5 guest veterans there, who each spoke for a few minutes about their experiences. All of them are somehow related to the school - one man, probably in his 60's had grown up in the 'hood in Elkhart. His daughter is now a teacher at Mary Beck. Another man, I'd put him around 35-40? went to Mary Beck as a child, and now has children who go there. I think it made it very real to the kids to be able to see these people who were once in their shoes, in their neighborhoods, in their school, and how they grew up to be honorable citizens, serving in the U.S. military. I got teared up a couple times. A group of 6th graders had a flag which they folded and presented to one of the Vet's. The kids sang patriotic songs - many familiar ones (can't think of any at the moment), and another one that I'd never heard before that gave me goose bumps, the kids were singing with such feeling. It talked about how we may be of different races, different beliefs, etc, but "we are one nation and we are one land," - I don't know, I just love that. And it's especially powerful coming from such a racially diverse school. Many students even speak a different language. My kids are somewhere in this crowd, but I couldn't see them very well.

11.12.11 - Stuff A Bus! Every  year our friend John organizes this event and coordinates with the IBEW and our church to get volunteers. This year he also added the boy scouts to the mix. What a fun way to serve the community, by bring different organizations together. We stand outside of Martin's grocery store passing out a list of needs, asking people to buy a few extra things to be donated to a local charity. This year the food went to the Salvation Army. People are always very responsive and that bus gets pretty full! It's a fun time, and a pretty easy way to teach the kids about serving in the community.