So today we started of the day with a bagel breakfast, which was very relaxed and a great way to start it off and bond with our friends for the last day. Then we split into two groups into Lower School classrooms explaining to them about Intensive Learning and about our experiences throughout the...
Continue readingSouth Jersey Service, Day Five: South Jersey Food Bank
– Zak B. Today we saw how much progress has been made as far as service across the nation. We saw a visual timeline of the development of the Food Bank of South Jersey, and it was truly astonishing how much progress they made. However, myself and others realize how much work can still...
Continue readingSouth Jersey Service, Day Three: Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge
Today was a day spent in nature and giving back. We started at Cedar Run Wildlife Center, where we explored the grounds and helped out by raking pine needles. Along the way, we got to see the animals being fostered there, learning about their stories and the center’s efforts to rehabilitate them. To wrap...
Continue readingDominican Republic: Art, Mountains, and Puppies
By Maisah M. & Chase B. This morning kicked off with breakfast around 7:30. After that, we gathered for Meeting for Worship and sat in a circle. We spent 20 minutes reflecting on the differences between the USA and the Dominican Republic, highlighting cultural nuances that often go unnoticed. Our query referred to ideas...
Continue readingHomemade Gifts for FBCM Food Pantry
Today was the service day for our Intensive Learning at Moorestown First Baptist Church Food Pantry. At 8:30 in the morning, we had a brief meeting at the field house discussing our plan for the day with Mrs. Barna and Mrs. Pande. Our plan was to bake cookies and brownies and attach appreciative notes...
Continue readingDominican Republic: The Pine Tree Nursery
This morning we started the day with breakfast at our hotel. Then, we had our Spanish lesson and learned the words necessary for our service today. Our tour director Brayan taught us a new game called “Stop,” which is similar to Scattergories, to help us increase our Spanish vocabulary. We then were surprised with...
Continue readingDominican Republic: Bonding & Building Benches
Welcome to the third day of the Dominican Republic IL. We started the day off with our daily Spanishlesson with our tour guide Brayan. We learned words for items we planned to use in our service project. After breakfast we headed over to the local environmental institute for the project. Our service project consisted...
Continue readingDominican Republic: Agroforestry Service at the Instituto Ambiental
Today, we started the morning at last night’s hotel, Hodelpa Centro Plaza in Santiago. After a nice buffet breakfast, we all met our tour leader, Brayan, in the hotel conference room for a quick Spanish lesson. We learned a few words to assist us in our work at el Instituto Ambiental, including árbol (tree),...
Continue readingSouth Jersey Service Day 5: Paws Discovery Farm
Today, we spent the day helping out at the Paws Discovery Farm. We split up into groups and did a lot of different tasks throughout the area. Some of us cleaned the play area, while others helped make Easter eggs for their egg hunt, and some of us picked up trash around the farm....
Continue readingPainting + a Horse & Carriage Ride
Tuesday, March 26 Today we woke up around 7:30 for a magnificent breakfast. It consisted of fresh fruit, butter crackers, and a fried treat! Yum! Afterwards, we got ourselves prepared for a day of work. ten of us went to another Quaker Meeting House to prepare it for a new paint makeover! The others...
Continue readingSacred Spaces Philly Day 4: Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia & Service at the DePaul House
We started off the day with a Buddhist faith encounter. At the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia, our guide talked to us about the Buddha and how he lived his life. The Buddha taught people to live the concepts of Buddhism rather than simply study them. We also practiced a bit of meditation...
Continue readingSouth Jersey Service Day 4: Visiting Lutheran Crossings
Today was a day filled with a variety of activities at Lutheran Crossings in Moorestown. Everyone got to do something different to suit their own interests. We all got to interact with many different residents during our time there. Some highlights are: “Some of us danced the Cotton Eye Joe several times today for...
Continue readingMartinique: Bonding at Amboise Palix
Today was an early start as we were switching hotels, so, after eating breakfast, we hopped on the bus and headed to an elementary school called Amboise Palix. At the school, we played games like BINGO and sang songs (Cupid Shuffle, Cotton Eye Joe, Cha Cha Slide) to help the children learn some English....
Continue readingBayshore: Day 3
Today’s work mostly involved following up on yesterday’s tasks. Lots more painting of deck boxes, oiling of blocks, and picking up of trash. The only new jobs were polishing the ship’s bell and carrying old sails (it took about 20 people to carry each one!). So for today’s blog entry, we asked each student...
Continue readingSouth Jersey Service Day 2: Newton Lake Clean-Up
The day began with a short bus ride to Newton Lake where we were met by Michael and Phil of the South Jersey Land and Water Trust. They explained the history of the river and the importance of keeping the lake clean. We were then given trash grabbers with the task to clean up...
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