This past weekend J and I had the pleasure of volunteering at the area wide garage sale that our church helps host. We worked on Saturday morning with other members from our Life Group. Our shift (for the women) was from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. and then the men would show up and work from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Saturday was pretty chilly, and considering the sale was outside under a large pavilion we did our best to keep warm. Thankfully J and I wore our polypropylene long underwear underneath our clothes, and layered a fleece jacket along with hooded sweatshirts on top.
I worked in the clothing section (which would be a nightmare for anyone who feels the need to be organized) with my sweet friend, Dana. During that time, J was getting his truck inspected. That actually took a bit longer than he expected, so he wasn't able to work the garage sale until about 11:00 / 11:30 a.m.
Once J arrived, Dana, her friend Erin (is that right?) and I decided to keep working through the next shift. We had a good time trying to add more clothing to the jam-packed racks and interacting with "customers", and also being able to visit with one another as well.
Saturday at the garage sale came and went. Once we returned home, J and I were pretty tired. Probably since we were on our feet the whole time, in the cold, and moving items around. Later in the afternoon we decided since it was cloudy, cold and gray that we would work on bills and watch Pinocchio.
I fell asleep about 15 or 20 minutes in. Then woke up to watch the rest of it.
Sunday was another day full of things to prepare. For whatever reason we didn't feel quite up to par when we woke up in the morning. I'm not sure exactly why. That afternoon we headed to the grocery store to pick up a few items. It wasn't a normal grocery trip. We would be hosting four students from their college jazz band who were on their way with about 20 other band members down to New Orleans. They would be getting on a cruise ship and going on tour to Mexico.
Sunday evening we made our way back up to the location of the church garage sale and listened to the jazz band perform while our church youth group and others cleaned up. After the concert, we were shivering since it was still pretty chilly, but we found out which students we would be housing for the night.
J and I had four young men who were hungry and ready to relax for the night. We both drove so that we could transport four additional people as well as carry luggage, and we made it back to our house. I prepared chicken spaghetti, jello with fruit, a green salad, and brownies. Everyone relaxed and ate while watching a funny movie and visiting.
Once everyone had all finished, we cleaned up. All the guys thanked me for making dinner and said they enjoyed it. They had to be up by 5:00 a.m. and we needed to take them up to our church building at 6:00 a.m. They decided it was best to hit the hay. J and I told them we wouldn't mind if they wanted to watch another movie, but they knew 5:00 a.m. would come soon, so air mattresses were inflated and beds were made.
Monday morning was early, but we all got up and out the door in time. The guys thanked J and I again, shaking our hands and telling us how much they appreciated the food, the beds and the company. We saw them on their way, along with the rest of their group and went back home to get ready for our days at work.
Once we made it back home, I saw that one of the guys had accidentally left a ball cap and sunglasses. Unfortunately it was too late to catch them, so I emailed one of the adults who would be on the trip with them, and I mentioned the missing items. We'll have to wait until they pass back through our area to get the hat and sunglasses back to the owner, or we'll just send them through the mail.
I have to say, and I think I speak for both J and I, that we are glad we decided to host students. We didn't know if they would be girls or guys, or how many we would have either. When we were told four, I thought 'Okay, so we will just need an extra air mattress. No big deal.' Then when we found out that they would be guys, I thought 'I really hope I prepared enough to eat!'
[grin]
Thankfully I did make enough for them to eat, and one or two even had seconds. It was an enjoyable experience, and the guys' parents would be proud. Their boys were all kind, well-mannered young men. I hope they all have a safe, fun trip and enjoy performing their jazz lineup on the cruise ship and other places in Mexico.
Saturday was pretty chilly, and considering the sale was outside under a large pavilion we did our best to keep warm. Thankfully J and I wore our polypropylene long underwear underneath our clothes, and layered a fleece jacket along with hooded sweatshirts on top.
I worked in the clothing section (which would be a nightmare for anyone who feels the need to be organized) with my sweet friend, Dana. During that time, J was getting his truck inspected. That actually took a bit longer than he expected, so he wasn't able to work the garage sale until about 11:00 / 11:30 a.m.
Once J arrived, Dana, her friend Erin (is that right?) and I decided to keep working through the next shift. We had a good time trying to add more clothing to the jam-packed racks and interacting with "customers", and also being able to visit with one another as well.
Saturday at the garage sale came and went. Once we returned home, J and I were pretty tired. Probably since we were on our feet the whole time, in the cold, and moving items around. Later in the afternoon we decided since it was cloudy, cold and gray that we would work on bills and watch Pinocchio.
I fell asleep about 15 or 20 minutes in. Then woke up to watch the rest of it.
Sunday was another day full of things to prepare. For whatever reason we didn't feel quite up to par when we woke up in the morning. I'm not sure exactly why. That afternoon we headed to the grocery store to pick up a few items. It wasn't a normal grocery trip. We would be hosting four students from their college jazz band who were on their way with about 20 other band members down to New Orleans. They would be getting on a cruise ship and going on tour to Mexico.
Sunday evening we made our way back up to the location of the church garage sale and listened to the jazz band perform while our church youth group and others cleaned up. After the concert, we were shivering since it was still pretty chilly, but we found out which students we would be housing for the night.
J and I had four young men who were hungry and ready to relax for the night. We both drove so that we could transport four additional people as well as carry luggage, and we made it back to our house. I prepared chicken spaghetti, jello with fruit, a green salad, and brownies. Everyone relaxed and ate while watching a funny movie and visiting.
Once everyone had all finished, we cleaned up. All the guys thanked me for making dinner and said they enjoyed it. They had to be up by 5:00 a.m. and we needed to take them up to our church building at 6:00 a.m. They decided it was best to hit the hay. J and I told them we wouldn't mind if they wanted to watch another movie, but they knew 5:00 a.m. would come soon, so air mattresses were inflated and beds were made.
Monday morning was early, but we all got up and out the door in time. The guys thanked J and I again, shaking our hands and telling us how much they appreciated the food, the beds and the company. We saw them on their way, along with the rest of their group and went back home to get ready for our days at work.
Once we made it back home, I saw that one of the guys had accidentally left a ball cap and sunglasses. Unfortunately it was too late to catch them, so I emailed one of the adults who would be on the trip with them, and I mentioned the missing items. We'll have to wait until they pass back through our area to get the hat and sunglasses back to the owner, or we'll just send them through the mail.
I have to say, and I think I speak for both J and I, that we are glad we decided to host students. We didn't know if they would be girls or guys, or how many we would have either. When we were told four, I thought 'Okay, so we will just need an extra air mattress. No big deal.' Then when we found out that they would be guys, I thought 'I really hope I prepared enough to eat!'
[grin]
Thankfully I did make enough for them to eat, and one or two even had seconds. It was an enjoyable experience, and the guys' parents would be proud. Their boys were all kind, well-mannered young men. I hope they all have a safe, fun trip and enjoy performing their jazz lineup on the cruise ship and other places in Mexico.
1 thoughtful comments:
I know God will bless you for your kind hospitality. I'm so happy you were a host family. I remember several of families I visited while I was in high school and college.
I also still have an article of clothing left by some visitors once when my roommate hosted some students while I was out of town. It makes me laugh each time I see it!
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