The Summer Fun Program started yesterday.  Many parents and grandparent were surprised when they showed up.  Surprised because we had to let them know that as of this morning we could not provide transportation during summer for their children should they need it.  As one might suspect there were many questions.  Like many folk who have a long history with the Mission, most never really grasped that when the denomination ended (Disciples Mission Fund) funding to the Mission in 2007, sooner or later something like this was bound to happen.  The day was hard because it meant some children who have come to the Mission during the summer, all of their young life, would not be able to come this year.  But then this is the reality for youth, families, communities, and structural entities like the Mission who are of poverty.

Just the same, twenty-five children arrived and the day went great!  With food, games, crafts, and staff and children remembering one another, everyone settled in for another summer.  Now we begin living into the creative time that can only arise out of this soil, these people, and the visitors who make this home during the summer.

© David B. Bell 2010