Jeff and I found a church here (I'll go into that in another post) called Moran Park. It sits next to a city park with the same name. Moran Park the church is commited to serving this particular neighborhood. One way they do that is by keeping the park clean and tidy. Once a month we gather under the big gazebo with edgers, wheelbarrows, blowers and the like. We spend the next 2-2 1/2 hours doing whatever needs to be done. Today's activities included edging, pulling weeds, blowing off the shuffleboard court, sweeping the sand back into the sand pit, and many other general clean up things.
I had a chance to talk with a couple new people. Well, new to me anyway. Ben is a dentist and we chatted about my dental implants. I spent a good chunk of time with Sue. Sue is a middle school teacher. We talked about all sorts of things. One of which was mentoring with the 70x7 program. 70x7 is a non-profit recovery program for addicts and also a community re-entry program for ex cons. In short, ex cons get involved with 70x7 to fulfill their community service requirements. If during the community service program the person shows reliability and a willingness to make changes in their life, they are elgible for a job. Which is where New Day Staffing comes in. New Day partners with local businesses to offer jobs only to ex-felons. Once you have a job you must also have a mentor. As a mentor, you help set goals (physical, emotional, and spiritual) and provide accountability and encouragement along the way. I'd like to be a mentor. Sue is a mentor and she addressed a lot of my questions and concerns about being a mentor. This is such a paltry explanation of all that 70x7 does. But I'm trying not to overwhelm you with this first post. I'm sure I'll talk more about it later.
On the homefront, Jeff finished wiring our kitchen! We now have a working sink, garbage disposal and dishwasher, and new outlets! Hooray for Jeffrey!
That's enough for today. Love you all, Rachel
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