This year we (Eleanor, Ethan and groups) worked really hard at making something of our time spent at the Youth Centre.
A few months in, the groups could no longer meet so Eleanor and I decided to take what pieces of the building we could to the kids.
During the beginning of the pandemic, we were given a choice to accept unemployment and wait Covid-19 out.
But that was not an option.
For those first few months, I tried so hard to be a captain, someone worth following and to form a brother/sisterhood among a different group of kids than we were a custom to.
I referred often to a metaphorical ship and the nautical laws it beheld.
How I would slow the ship if someone went overboard or how we sometimes choose to walk the plank.
When the water got rough, what captain would I be to jump ship?
Onward we pressed.
Creating 2 Agriculture Clubs (MAYO/JAM) and doubling our SADD Group, we brought everyone good news in times when good news grew sparce.
We maintained a steady flow of messages going home to those we could, letting them know they were not alone and aiding in the battle vs “Covid boredom”.
We shared our village with the world and tried to keep safety and entertainment at our focus.
We took your money and made it worth something.
We braved blistering winds and scorching deserts, climbed to the highest room in the tallest tower… ok let’s not get carried away.
And you, my poor unfortunate reader. What about you?
I THANK YOU for being my audience during a time when you too experienced major changes, delayed promises and loss of kinship.
So many have “Confused courage with picking up arms and cowardness with laying them down” as Mitch Albom once put it.
I commemorate you for remaining true to what you believe in and please note that, your like, comment, share or engagement has helped me reach a larger audience than I could have imagined.
With our work year wrapped up and a summer break on our horizon, we look at what’s to come.
I don’t know what rules and regulations will look like when we return BUT, rest assured our ship remains the path of the righteous. Our deck is only growing bigger and we are going to take on new seafarers in the coming months. The engines will be fully fueled as we look for deeper water and a greater challenges!
All aboard and full steam ahead,
Ethan.
