Jamie Scher, Director of our Children’s Shelter, received a letter from one of his volunteers several weeks ago, and we wanted to share it with you! We are so thankful for all of our volunteers and the many ways they pour into our clients here at the Christian Care Center! We hope you enjoy this letter.
Hi Pastor Jamie!
Miss Nance and I had a fun time with “Bobby” & “Mary” last night. Miss Nance's 74th birthday is today, and the kids helped us celebrate it last night in such a way that it was one of her best birthdays. First off, we went to Books-A-Million because “Bobby” wanted a certain book in a series he's been following. Several of the kids at the shelter have introduced Miss Nance and me to B-A-M. We'd never been there before. “Susie”, “Jane”, “Mary”, & “Bobby” have "going to B-A-M" on their reward list (as did “Lori” before she left.) What a fabulous place for these kids! Miss Nance paid the annual fee to join the B-A-M club so that we can get future discounts for the kids. And…we saw that there's a coffee cafe in the store too! Woot!
Then we went to Miss Nance's sister Pam's house to teach “Mary” how to bake a chocolate cake. That way, after the cake was in the oven, Miss Pam could take it out & let it cool while we took the kids out to dinner. Miss Nance, Miss Pam, & I live a couple doors away from one another. Learning how to bake a chocolate cake was on “Mary’s” reward list.
We gave “Bobby” & “Mary” several places to choose from for dinner. They chose Fiesta Grande Mexican Grill here in The Villages. When we entered, “Bobby” said, "There's a lot of old people in this place." The young Hispanic hostess at the podium laughed. So dang funny. These two kids are such good readers, they read almost everything on the menu. They couldn't decide what to order. They narrowed it down to two items each. We told them it was okay to order both. When the two combo platters came for each of them, the look on their faces was worth every penny. Needless to say, after we filled up on chips 'n salsa, then our meals, their 2nd platters were boxed up for them to take back to the shelter. During the meal, they thanked us many times. They were thrilled that they got free refills on their drinks. During the entire evening, we didn't come close to having to reprimand them. This is a remarkable thing with 11 & 10-year-old siblings, & it's a most welcomed thing for us older people. We'd like to commend you & your staff for teaching these kids in the way that they should go during the (collective) 3 years that “Bobby” and “Mary” have been there. From the mouths of babes, we learned from their conversations that these siblings truly love each other and have clearly been taught about the love of God, manners, chores, etc. Some of the things “Mary” said....I love this restaurant, thank you for taking us when it's raining, old people are rich, all of your houses look alike so how do you know which one is yours, why do you like us so much, thank you, I like these measuring cups because they're so shiny, when you make food you have to keep washing your hands, when I love God I'm going to love this day.
Some of the things that “Bobby” said....do you have wi-fi at your houses, thank you for getting me the book and I found the map I was looking for in it, this food is the bomb. Why can't we drive your golf carts in the rain, since we didn't get to drive your golf carts in the rain can we have first dibs for our cookout, how do you get to your house if you don't have one of those things (residence card at security gate), how old are you.
When we got back to Miss Pam's & “Mary” frosted the cooled cake and dotted it with chocolate chips, we ate her delicious cake with vanilla ice cream, played with Obie & Aggie (their two dogs) then took the kids with their leftover dinners and cake back to the shelter. A fun laughing night ended at the shelter with hugs from all the kids, Mr. Emmanuel, and Miss Lauren & a song from our new little man “Joey”. Thank you, Jesus. We do this because it's in our hearts to bless the kids, but it's them that blesses us, time and time again. We're looking forward to the next four outings with the next 4 children who've earned rewards from their reading and writing journals.
Love,
Miss Debbie (French)Fry
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