Isaac's work is going well; his boss is also allowing us to host a fundraiser on Sunday, September 11th. So if you're in Louisville, be sure to come to the Smoothie King on Bardstown; twenty percent of the profits will be donated to our trip to Swaziland!
The Elder Program is also going very well; we will have another one of our refugee elders become a citizen on Friday, September 2nd at WorldFest (a wonderful annual celebration of the international community in Louisville)! My three amazing social work interns have began two weeks ago and are doing a fabulous job! I cannot wait to see everything that they will learn and accomplish over the next year. A few new volunteers have recently joined the Elder Program, too! It's really such an amazing program, and I am so proud to be a part of it. We were granted the full amount of funding for our final year of this grant cycle, but we're still going to have to be creative with the budget- we have so many elders to serve, and we want to serve them well. Don't forget to check out our blog:
I'm back working for the athletic director of a local private school for a few field hockey games; we'll then move onto fall soccer and volleyball, I believe. The school is close enough that I can walk to it in about thirty minutes, so only having one car shouldn't be too much of an issue in continuing this side job. I'm also back to the after-school homework help position two days a week. I'm at the same school, so I love seeing some of the same kids from last year. Several of the kids ran up and gave me a hug, but I'm not so excited that some of them asked me last week if I was a grandmother (not a mother, but a grandmother).
Like Isaac, I'm back in school too. Of course, I'm just back at SWI taking Essentials. It's a twelve-week course that covers a little bit of everything. Several of 'my girls' are in the class, as well as a few new friends too! I really enjoy the SWI classes, since it provides me with not only an amazing opportunity to learn from some very wise women (and men), but also allows me to connect with other women also in this sometimes simply weird stage of life.
We both got to go to our respective homes in August as well. Unfortunately, neither one of us got to accompany the other one home! I actually drove to Florida to surprise mom for her birthday at the beginning of August. She had no idea I was coming, and was indeed surprised when she opened her door to see me standing there! I also got to see several other people in my family and visit my grandparents as well. It's great to be home, and I treasure it very much because I've lived so far away for several years now.
Isaac got to go home to Missouri for an extended weekend as well. He got to see all of his family and spend a few days revisiting all of his 'old haunts'. He was also able to speak at his sister's church and then preach at his home church that Sunday evening about our upcoming trip to Swaziland. Several people donated to our trip, and we are so completely humbled by their generosity. Thank you to everyone who has already supported us!
