Week 5:

This was the week of sickness. We had two little boys get sick and have to go home and many other children complaining of headaches and stomach aches. It was one little boys birthday, as he was passing out the cookies he brought in to celebrate he looks at us and says I have to leave then proceeds to run to the sink to get sick. It was so sad and probably not the best way to spend your 5th birthday. Then his mother’s phone was out of service and all of his emergency contacts were out of state. So Jessica and I went to the address listed…..it was the wrong house and I’m really glad no one answered. So we got the correct address finally and went to the house. It was in an area that had a lot of no trespassing signs and run down homes. We knocked on the door for about 5 minutes but there was not answer. We knew she was there though because her car was there and we could hear the TV. Then this guy pulled up to the house, which kinda scared us, and he was able to knock loud enough for the mother to hear it. The mom did come get the little boy but it was quite an adventure trying to track her down.

On a more positive note, the children who have in the past had a very difficult time making friends and interacting with the other children are finally warming up. One of our little boys who basically stood still and stared at us all day is now smiling and running around. It is so nice to see his personality coming through! J

Also this week was very exciting because the Stetson Bonner Scholar Summer Camp started yay! We have 5 wonderful high school students from different parts of Florida and one from Texas.  The students have a Stetson class in the morning and in the afternoons they visit different sights in the area and do service. This week they have been to the Neighborhood Center, Boarder Collie Rescue, an assisted living facility, and a conservation/state park. At night we get to eat dinner with them and do reflections as well as some fun things. The Disney Seen-It game is very popular with them and it’s nice to get to just chillax some nights and watch movies. On Thursday we took them to a Daytona Cubs game which was a new experience for me. Friday we went to Deland’s Tropical Nights and got to walk around down town. During the weekend we were able to go to Islands of Adventure which was a blast and I receive a Harry Potter education. We spent Sunday at DeLeon Springs canoeing, kayaking, or paddle boating in my case as well as swimming in the spring. It was the perfect thing to do on such a hot day.  I have really enjoyed getting to know each of these students this week and I’m so glad we have a one more week to spend with them. (Hopefully they will decide to come to Stetson J )

More pictures to come :)