June 25, 2009
Today, Thursday, was our last day with the kids. It was so sad seeing them leave. Most everyone in our group connected with at least one child and to think that we might not get to see them again was heart wrenching. We all said our good-byes and gave hugs as they hopped back on the vans. Hopefully we’ve made as big an impact on their lives as they have on us.
The kids here at Fortress are truly special children.
There were many positives to today. We took the group on a field trip to the Botanic Gardens to see the Japanese Garden exhibit. The children absolutely loved it! We got to see a sand garden and feed koi. One of the youth members even found two snakes, and some of the groups got to see a special gift given to Fort Worth by the Japanese.
My girls seemed to be thrilled by the fish so we spent most of our time there rather than exploring.
After we returned to Fortress from our field trip and the children left, we had a close-out session with Mr. Quest and some of the other staff and interns. We shared the experiences we were taking away and how much of an impact this trip had made on us.
All the members spoke about the relationships they had made and our hopes for Fortress to continue with great success. Thank you Fortress Staff, Interns, and children for an experience of a lifetime and a great opportunity to serve. You will be in our thoughts and prayers.
Christina Bartelt
Today was bittersweet for the volunteers working with the pre-k students. Some of the girls played with my hair for a good bit and then had lots of fun at the creative center dressing up. We took tons of pictures for our mission scrapbook back home, and the Fortress kids loved posing for them. It was probably the most fun and behaved day, but it was also the last day we’ll get with the children. L Tomorrow is the field trip and these students aren’t participating this week. It was so sad to see them leaving.
After seeing the youngsters off, it was time for centers with the older students. This went fairly well and we got to trace outlines of some of the students on the ground. The outlines later came to represent Abraham and Sara. Overall we had a really good day. The kids were slightly wild but enjoyable nonetheless.
-Christina Bartelt
The second day of our experience was just as great as the first. The three through five year olds were pumped up and ready for fun. Every moment you spend with them is an absolute blast. Their smiling faces and sincere laughter make you fall in love with each and every one of them.
After centers we watched Elmo’s nature video to remind the kids that Abraham had to live on his own out in nature.
The urban experience of the day consisted of several of our youth members asking for food stamp applications and planning a budget as a 23-year old single mother of three: seven, six and two years old. One of the children has asthma and the seven- year old is a rowdy individual who finds himself in a fight a week.
The “experiencers” had to plan out how the family was going to afford all the household’s necessities with only $227 a month. It was an eye-opening event for the youth to realize how hard it was to afford just groceries and that these families had to leave items out that most would view as a necessity.
Both days have been a learning experience as well as days of bonding between the youth group and the children.
-Christina Bartelt
Fortress welcomes guest blogger Christina Bartelt, a recent high school graduate and Lipscomb University-bound secondary education major from Fayetteville, Tennessee.
Christina and her youth group from Washington Street Church of Christ are here this week on a “mission trip”, helping us facilitate the summer program by loving on, interacting with, and encouraging our kids. They’re doing an amazing job! Led by youth minister Brad Sullivan and adult sponsors Ron Kerbo and Anna Catherine Cooley, Washington Street is a true blessing to Fortress YDC.
Christina will be blogging daily this week. Please check back for updates!
-Stacy
First I would like to say that I truly feel that working with the children at Fortress has been more of a pleasure than a service. I chose to volunteer with the pre-k students, and all of them are absolutely adorable! We started off the day with breakfast and playing outside. My group had a blast playing basketball and swinging. Afterwards the children participated in centers. Between making a constellation viewer and digging for plastic bugs in purple sand, we all had a great time getting to know one another as well as the story of Abraham. Not only was our time enjoyable, but we also really started to connect with the children.
This year’s groups for the older children include Transformers, Spiderman, and Dream Team. In addition to working with the pre-k I will also get to participate with the Transformers group after the young ones go home for lunch. Although I missed today’s activities because of the Urban Experience, I asked some of the other volunteers what their day consisted of. Several students came down from TCU and played games with the children. The Fortress kids participated in dance, football, and basketball games and all seemed to really have a good time. After heading back from the park, it was time for praise and worship. The students acted out the story of Abraham leaving his home and shouted uplifting chants. Centers followed and the kids took part in reading, arts and crafts, and games.
While centers for the elementary students took place, four other volunteers from my church and I went on our “urban experience.” My group walked around the neighborhood and learned much about the area’s history. We were able to see the house that the first African American millionaire lived in and many nice homes. However, the majority of the houses we came across were run down and needing improvements. It was so strange to see the extreme differences among houses right next door to one another. Overall, it was somewhat overwhelming to realize that poverty is so prevalent in an area where some of the richest and most dignified African Americans once lived.
We all expect to get a lot out of this experience and develop strong bonds with the Fortress children and staff, the other members of our youth group and our loving Savior and Lord.
More to come tomorrow.
Christina Bartelt