Ethan's First Job

At 13 years old it's only volunteer work, but it's still a job.

My mother in law had a stroke a few years ago that left her in a wheelchair and very different than she was before. I'm always touched when I see how Ethan is with her. He's so loving and not timid in anyway. So when I got an email a few days ago from another homeschooling mom asking if any teens would be interested at volunteering at a near by nursing home, I thought Ethan would be perfect! I contacted the volunteer coordinator at the home that day and she agreed to meet with Ethan the next morning.

It was so cute watching him get ready for his "interview"! He spent waaay too long fixing his hair and added waaay too much gel! He was pretty nervous when we got there, but the lady really liked him and asked him if he wanted to start THAT AFTERNOON! We already had plans that day so he signed up to come back the next morning.

If I ever have to be put in a nursing home, I want to go in one like this place! It's beautiful! They took us on a tour and showed us the beauty salon, the cafe, and where they set up the bowling alley. The rooms are huge and they all have big flat screen TVs! Some of them even have patios. And this isn't an assisted living home where they can come and go as they please! It's a nursing home. A nursing home that I kind of wanted to move in to ;)

So for the past couple of days I've been dropping Ethan off at "work". He stays for just a couple of hrs and helps with things like transporting the ladies to and from the hair salon, helping the residents with activities like bingo, and just spending time with them. On Monday he's helping a lady with their cooking show :) 

The way it's all set up is really nice. They just send us an email and Ethan just puts himself into the schedule for whatever and whenever we want. No pressure. Because there's no pressure, and he has so much control, I told him that he should try and stick it out for at least a few months but I'm hoping that it turns into something more long term. 

I am soooo proud of him! He loves it as much as I though he would and he's already received some positive feed back from the activities director. I love hearing him talk about the residents he's meeting and the funny little thing they do! He says it may just be volunteer work, but at least he's doing something that makes a difference!

 

My first trip to the soup kitchen

On Friday my mom and I went to the soup kitchen.... I promise it didn't have anything to do with Jonathan's job loss.

I planned on volunteering in the soup kitchen at The Open Door Mission and taking Ethan and Logan with me. I checked out a book at the library about a soup kitchen and was going to read it to them before we went. Before I had a chance, they found the book. Ethan decided to read it out loud to Logan adding jokes and making them both laugh. When I heard them, I asked them if it was a funny book. I had no idea since I hadn't read it. Logan said no, but all the "hobos" in it were making them sad so Ethan was trying to make it better. Hobos? Hobos? Really?! I have no idea where they got that word but I thought it was confirmation that they really needed this experience!

On Friday afternoon I found out that the Mission actually had too many volunteers. So even though they really wanted to go and help feed the "hobos", I left the boys at home and just went with my mom.

I can still smell the place. The only way to describe it was a mix between Goodwill and a hospital cafeteria. It's a place run by men and where around 40 men live. So a bad smell wasn't really surprising :/  While I was there, I cut up cake, served food, and helped wash dishes. Some of the men were very grateful, though others wouldn't make eye contact. I'm sure that it is a very humbling experience for most of them. They were all on their best behavior though, and never gave any of us women or children any problems. Problems you say? What problems? That's what I was thinking... I wouldn't have even thought that was a concern until "Captain" (the man in charge of the kitchen) was praying over the food and prayed for God to protect us and take away any of the "unclean thoughts" the men may be thinking! All was well though :)

I'm definetly going to go back with the boys. Maybe as soon as next week.

I wrote a little more about it in my blog for herRochester.


This past Friday, my mom and I had the opportunity to volunteer at The Open Door Mission's soup kitchen. Volunteering at a place like this was something I've always wanted to do but never took the effort to find out how.

The experience definitely impacted me in many different ways. I was in awe of the people who were there, and are always there serving the people. It's one thing to say you love and care for someone, but it's another to show you care through service. "Captain", the man running the kitchen that night, told his story, how he was once one of the men who came to the Mission to get warm meals. Addicted to drugs, he went through their Christian Life Recovery Program and has been clean and working in the kitchen for 7 years. People like Captain, who love with service, are the kind of people who made me the woman I am today.

Everywhere I looked, I saw faces of men who reminded me of my father. As far back as I can remember he was an alcoholic. My mom prayed for years that he would stop drinking. Through the hard times, I can remember people who were really there for our family. People who came to help my mom pick my dad up off of the living room floor when he had passed out. People who came to pray with us when things got bad, and people who filled our cupboards with food and made sure we had a warm meal. I will forever be grateful to those people. People who not only said that they loved and cared for us, but proved it by being there even when it would have been easier to look the other way.

It's been years since my father had his last drink. Call it what you want, but we call it a miracle and an answer to my mother's prayers.

I plan on volunteering at The Open Door Mission again and bringing my oldest kids with me too. I want to be a person who loves the people in my life through service. And I know that there's still hope for those who walk through the doors of recovery. I've seen many of them come out the other side.