The Calm After the Storm

Service Trip Leaders pose for a photo

This week has been the calm following the storm! Last week was the Color Rush 5K and I dedicated a lot of time and effort in it and now that the event is over, there is some free time and now time to focus on other things! The Color Rush was a fundraiser for the service trip to Belize and we raised about $750, at first I was a little disappointed because it was not as much as they raised last year but that is still $750 more than they had to help pay for the trip to Belize. With everything put away from the Color Rush, my next challenge will be a coffee fundraiser. We will be selling packaged (8oz) coffee bags that is fair trade coffee, we are still working on which company to go through but it is definitely leaning towards the company Grounds for Change. They are completely fair trade, organic, recycled materials and CO2 free. I am hoping to solidify everything tomorrow (Monday) and we can start selling by the end of the week/early next week!

Color Rush aftermath

Every week at the Sycamore House we have an event called Community Dinner on Tuesdays at 7pm. This past week was the biggest event we have had so far! We had almost 40 people attend and eat a meal that is usually prepared by the 7 of us who live in the house but this week we had a couple members and friends of the church prepare spaghetti and salad! We had so many children this week and I enjoyed breaking out the giant sticky pads and crayons and coloring with the children. We discussed what they were going to be for Halloween and reenacted Frozen. I was Anna and did a marvelous rendition of "Love is an Open Door" if I do say so myself! I was rummaging through cabinets in our living room and found some party store crowns and dressed up with the kids. Community dinner has been a hit or miss event, we usually have at least 20 people, some eat and leave and others stay and chat for an hour or so. This week was the busiest and one of the most
enjoyable. We have regular members of the community that come every week and it means a lot to them that we open our home to them. This coming week I am in charge of the community dinner and I have to decide on what we are making for dinner; this week we will be fixing vegetable soup with carrots, celery, tomatoes, potatoes, and cabbage, as well as cornbread. I am pretty excited for the soup because vegetable soup with celery and cabbage is my absolute favorite! When Country Kitchen was in business in Mason City, Iowa, I used to eat their vegetable soup like a fish in water and my favorite part was the cabbage! Hopefully it will turn out well :)

On Friday, I went to St. Stephen's Pre-K and read a Jamie Lee Curtis book to the class. St. Stephen's Cathedral has a lot of components, not only does it house the Sycamore House and the church but it also has a school as well. The children play in our "back yard" which is actually a bishops garden. I was a little nervous to read to the children because I had not been in a classroom since I changed my major almost a year ago. I enjoy reading fun books to the children and I am a huge fan of Jamie Lee Curtis books, they are such feel-good stories that are great for children. I read  Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery and the kids loved it! Preschool children are adorable because they love anyone that crosses their path, so all of them were coming up to me and asking me my name and if I would come back again and read another story and one little boy said "Katie, I love you" and the next thing I know is that all the children one by one are saying "I love you too, Katie" or "Katie, I actually love you the most-est." Because I left the education department on a somewhat sour note, that moment with the children meant a lot to me and I will definitely be going back to read with the children again.
This week was Halloween, I did not do much to celebrate the holiday. Halloween is not my favorite thing in the world, mostly because of my huge fear of clowns. Most people think I joke about my fear of clowns, but I literally kind of hyperventilate when a picture of a clown (cartoon or real person) comes near me and definitely if someone is dressed up as a clown. Thankfully I was not around any clowns and I did go to a Halloween party. It was a costume party and I got use of that tutu once again! With help from my roommates, I decided to go as a ballerina- complete with a ballerina bun hairstyle and ballet flat shoes!
This coming week will be a fun time because the Sycamore House is going on a regional retreat from Thursday-Sunday in the Poconos! There will be other groups joining us from Baltimore, New York, and others! All in all there will be about 30-40 people doing teambuilding activities and getting to know people in the area that are doing the same thing as we are, just in a different area. I am excited to see the Poconos, I hear they are gorgeous and its only about a 2 hour drive from Harrisburg! I will let y'all know how it goes!

Till next week,
Katie