Work Day #1

(Blogger and Poet: Jim Kelly)

Hey ! It’s the First Parish crew down here in Kiln, Mississippi and the weather is warm and so are the people we are sharing the camp with. Last night the First Parish crew took over the kitchen for a marathon peanut butter and jelly sandwich session with a bunch of young, enthusiastic AmeriCorps teenagers. We lathered bread and stuffed sandwiches for the 283 fellow Camp Coastal workers. We totaled 400 ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly by the time we were through but mostly we had a blast chatting it up with the Camp Coastal workers. We learned the secret of turning the heel inside out to trick the youngsters into eating the end pieces, a skill we shall use on our own children when we return.

Here’s a little something about our first day’s work.

Work Day #1

Rolling out to face the day
It’s cool inside
Opening the door heat smacks us
Gently at first but…
It builds

A quick breakfast
No coffee!!
We dash across the street
Find the brew
AHHH
Assignment time
One crew paints
The other heads out to fix a botched siding job

Slowly we find our way
Figuring out steps to take
Jobs progress
Teams form
Slowly… so slowly something begins to happen
At first it seems unlikely we will have an impact
Then things begin to take shape
Everyone is working
Sweating in the sun
Or shivering in the AC schoolhouse

At the end of the day we are a team
Together we have accomplished
Something…
Tomorrow we’ll be back
Working together
Making a difference
Together.