Back to Work

Sorry about the lack of post yesterday. We had a fun busy day yesterday exploring downtown D.C. Most of the groups visited many of the monuments and some museums. We had over 1,000 photos to sort through! If you would like to see some of those photos they are in the video at the end of the post. The day away was made a little more exciting by having Christoff (one of our host team members) run around the Mall dressed in brightly colored clothing. Any group that tagged him and got a picture with him received donuts. From the comments I heard it seemed like all the SERVEants had a good time :)

Today it was back to work! It was another successful day with a variety of worksites. Some groups worked at a soup kitchen, sorting clothes, painting, helping with keeping up the Anacostia watershed, and passing out water bottles to the homeless. The SERVEants have been working hard and doing a wonderful job!

Work Round 2

The second day of work has been completed and I think all are ready for a much needed break tomorrow. The weather was a bit hotter today but that did not prevent the SERVEants to continue to work hard. Worksites today included yardwork, painting, sorting clothes and books, and handing out food and water to those in need. The SERVEant are not only connecting with the people at the worksites but also reaching out to the community giving away their extra water and food to the homeless. The DC SERVE site is truly blessed to have so many wonderful people here this week.

Tomorrow the SERVEants will once again brave the metro system and head to the Mall downtown (no, not a shopping mall :) ...) to explore the monuments, museums, and other sites! There will be more updates to come on the day away tomorrow but for now here is a video of some pictures from today:

Here is a picture of the group and a video of some of the photos from the first three days:

Starting With a Smile! (Saturday to Monday)

Welcome to the DC SERVE blog for 2011!

All the SERVEants arrived Saturday with much better weather this year than last year!

Apologies for the delay in getting the blog up and running! There were a few (OK maybe a LOT) of technical difficulties, but we're happy to be up and running and able to bring you daily updates from now on!

God has truly blessed us with a great group of students and leaders! Right from the beginning, we smile at the sight of new friendships being made, great moments during worship, and fellow christians growing in faith and spirit.

Going back to Saturday's arrival-- people from Michigan, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and areas in Canada graced the Washington Christian Academy with their travel worn faces. After some unpacking and fun on the slip-and-slide, it was time for some worship and icebreakers. Only 10 hours in and you can already see the SERVEnts growing closer.

On Sunday the group was split (because of sheer number!) and everyone visited the Silver Spring or Washington DC Christian Reformed Churches. The congregations at the sister churches were so happy to meet their prayer partners and thankful to see such helpful hearts in blue t-shirt uniform.

Following the services everyone was off to the National Zoo! Equipped with a photo/fact scavenger hunt, SERVE DC took the Zoo by storm. Thankfully, the weather was graceful enough to remain below 90.

And now we come to Monday, the first day at worksites! Scattered across the district, groups worked on various projects ranging from organizing supplies to be distributed to those in need, to removing invasive plant species from the Anacostia Watershed.

Photos and videos from the days past will be posted shortly! We're sorry again for the delay, but know that you'll be updated on a daily basis from now on! God bless!