The OCS 360°

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Yakima? Is that IT?

Life is life. Interesting how simple it can be. Frustrating that it seldom is.
We want it simple when it's busy. We want more of it when we compare.
It's never to busy, or too much, when we compete with the neighbors or co-workers.
Life really gets complicated when we debate service and service trips.
We compare. To previous excursions. To times when our life changed.
We want our students and children to go if they are going to work hard.
Last year OCS students went to Costa Rica. Did they play or work?
When you do both be careful. If play is fun the trip's value is questioned.
If work was fun then something is wrong. Is this the way America thinks?
Is this the way we think? Is this the way Christians think? No question.
We met Shirley on Tuesday morning. Her yard a mess-No fun will happen.
Words in my mind: Hopeless. Why. To hard. Will she keep it clean.
Oh! Will this be deemed worthy by the folks back home? I have an idea.
Why not take the folks back home? Watch Sierra chop wood. For two days.
Watch Kelly, Corrina, and Effie stack wood and clean the yard. Marissa
picking up dirt piles, and sharing her positive smile.
Whoa Danny with the wild lawn mower-wait, where is Danny? Kaylee attends
to the wounded. Graye chops and supplies me with snacks. Will lunch come?
Liam lays tar paper, and does whatever is asked of him. Julia chops, prunes,
and climbs ladders. Alex chops, sheds it, tends the fire.
Grant, Melia, Herb, and Doug, move broken appliances, wood, and unload
garbage. Sean is glued to the axe. Brynna scrubs the yard and runs into flying wood.
Jonathan builds a shed. Tom loves his chainsaw. Dawn and Carmen cater food.
The rain pours on the lunch. Soaked and tasty. Ron gathers the group.
Near Preston we stand. Ron prays. The Meaning Of Life.
Thursday. Finally finished. We pile into cars and Doug says, "Shouldn't we
go and tell Shirley goodbye? I'm in the car and I'm not getting out. Doug runs to the house
and tells Shirley goodbye-for all of us! May I never question the validity of service trips,
particularly the ones I don't plan or in which I don't participate.

I've got it! You and I could organize a service trip. We could come down
from the bleachers and plan the perfect trip.

We would come back with tons of pictures and stories of all work and no play.
Maybe we could go to an exotic place like Yakima. Yakima? Is that It?

MM

Tuesday

It's Tuesday of Spring Break. I'm out working in the yard-until I came in to do this blog. That doesn't happen very often-the working part.
Actually, yard stuff doesn't appeal to me. The purpose seems to be an attempt to impress other people. After working in your yard, you wait, you hope, to hear someone say, "Wow, your yard is looking really nice."
So, my question is, what then? However, someone fires back with, "Your yard is an indication of your faithfulness to the tasks and duties given to us by God!" No it isn't! Make people do better than that. Make people tell the truth. How about:
1) I want to sell my house so I'm fixing up the yard.
2) There's nothing on TV and I don't want to sit around and visit with anyone.
3) I'm trying to keep up with the neighbor and all the yard work he does.
4) I want to impress people. I want people to say nice things about me and my yard.

Well, I must admit, there are many, many people who work in their yard because they love working in their yard. Not me. A few months ago someone told me that my yard was looking nice. I felt great. When I went in and told Judy, she simply said, "Well, that could be because it looked so bad for so long." That's what friends are for-telling you the truth.

Well, back to the yard. Going to kill some weeds. On Orcas you have to sneak around when you kill weeds, or you'll get yelled at by the weed police, or accused of being from California.

I Love This Island!

How Sad

How sad that The Blue Rabbit and Bwana are losing ground to MM. It seems the relentless urge to push slows during a vacation. Spring Break offers a slight let down in the pushing. However, since we're counting blogs now, I will not let up.

MM

Thursday, April 14, 2011

High School Service Trip 2010/11

A few highlight photos, courtesy of The Blue Rabbit and Mr. Claus!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

So The Blue Rabbit Wants To Compete

Poor Blue Rabbit (BR). He's counting blogs. Take more pictures BR! Take more pictures! I'm afraid you're in trouble. I'm out to surpass you. And the Effie picture and poem. Does she know we love her work? Did you tell her BR that we love her work? And that pose! It scared me a little-I mean she's looking like this tough woman and that she's tired of treating me nice and all that. Ykes! Sierra, did you post the Blog on prayer? I didn't see it. And the Bob Nutt pictures. He's so handsome with those bottles. Oh, Oh, BR-who took those pictures? Ya, I know, Brad Slavens took those pictures. So watch out BR because the Right Fielder (RF) is coming to catch you.

Oh, by the way, isn't it nice no one reads this but you, Sierra, and me (or is it I at the end of that sentence?) And OK, you need to know I love your articles. You're ahead of me, but I love your articles (and pictures). So, I know I've said this before, but thanks for making this class fun. Just think, if you take this class again next year you'll get an "A" and boost your GPA. We'll call it Blog II, or the BR and Bwana Blog, or BBB class.
We won't tell anyone-oh that's right no one reads this Blog-that way we won't get in trouble.
So until the next Blog, BR you're alright!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Japan's Aftermath

April 7, 2011 at 11:32:41 p.m. another earthquake hit Japan's east coast, the islands of Honshu,Yamagata, and Sendai. Magnitude at 7.1, the earthquake caused many blackouts in various areas of Japan as well as tsunami warnings on the northeast coast. Some injuries were reported but no deaths have been confirmed. As for the Fukushima Daichii, no other damage has been inflicted on the reactors that did and didn't blow up. Even though the reactors didn't cause any excess damage to the power plant, officials had to evacuate authorized personnel immediately. To stop any possible explosions, Reactor No. 1 is being pumped with nitrogen to reduce the risk of hydrogen igniting.