August 1st- Joint Neighborhood Project, Day One

Written by Meghan Berman and Amanda Gibson

Today we traveled to the Joint Neighborhood Project Daycamp, to help counsel children ages 4-11. At the start of the day, we joined the six and seven year old campers in an invigorating game of kickball, followed by bracelet making with the girls, while the boys made collages. Soon after, it was time to eat lunch. Many lovely women served us, as well as the children, pizza and homemade chocolate chip cookies. During lunch, Amanda and I were able to get to know all of the campers and gain a sense about their home lives. Although the children spend their summers in a daycamp, they were really loving and were quick to get to know and accept us.
After lunch, many of the campers took a local field trip to the YMCA to go swimming, while others traveled to the musical education center, Infinity. Amanda and I accompanied the campers to Infinity and assisted the counselors in making splatter paintings with toothbrushes and participated in a Zumba class with a local dance instructor. The campers were very grateful of the opportunities presented to them and after class, somehow still had energy to play a game of four square.
Spending the day at the Joint Neighborhood Project daycamp taught us that although some children may have hard lives, God is always looking out for these children, providing them with opportunities to be loved and to live their lives to their fullest potential.