Day 06

Today was our second service day at the bland ministry center and at the Kissito nursing home. It followed the same schedule as day 4 but today we decided to switch roles at the ministry center or “stir the pot” as Bria called it. The two teams were to switch roles today and work on the other team’s previous task, so the team that previously worked in the food pantry would work in the clothing store while the team that previously worked in the clothing store would work in the food pantry. I was to work in the clothing store today as I previously worked in the food pantry. The switch went very well as both teams adjusted to their newly assigned task. The new food pantry team completed efficiently and were praised to be a better team. The new clothing store team, which I was part of, also performed their task well. We were able to fill the shelves but were discouraged by the large pile of clothes we still had to get through. Thankfully, the new food pantry team came over to lend a hand after they had completed their tasks. Switching roles was a good decision as it exposed us to different types of tasks and prevented monotonicity. We continued to sort the clothes till it was time to depart the center, we went a back to the house for a break before leaving for the nursing home. Unfortunately, Maggie wasn’t feeling too well, so Mike had to stay back with her.

              At the nursing home we planned to perform a dance routine for the residents but we ended up doing an improvised dance routine, which our audience seemed to love very much. After that we then went on to interact with them, entertaining them with coloring books and puzzles. Eugene then decided to play the piano. Him playing the piano was the highlight of the day as a lot he was able to draw the attention of the residents and get responses from them. Georgie, a resident of the nursing home that Erin and I spent time with, really enjoyed Eugene’s performance. She started talking a lot after he started playing and making comments about how he could make the piano talk. Service at the nursing home really made my day because the residents at the nursing home were responding to us and interacting with us more than the previous visit. It really made me happy to see them get comfortable with us and interact with them us more.