Wildlife World Zoo Outing

This post is by our intern Kegan Yoder.  Thanks, Kegan!

On November 23rd, Aleisha and I took two children to the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium in Litchfield, AZ.  We have gotten to know these children through their participation in our Kids Club program, and wanted to do something special for them.  Since they had never been to the zoo, we decided that spending an afternoon looking at animals could be both fun and educational.

 

While we found all aspects of the zoo exhibits to be interesting, major highlights from our day include the giraffe feeding station, aquarium, and walk-in aviary.  At the giraffe exhibit the kids were too shy to hand-feed the giraffes themselves, but we all had fun watching other people do it.  Since the kids had only seen giraffes in pictures, they were ecstatic about getting within hand’s reach of the creatures.

 

The aquarium provided another new experience for the kids.  From sharks, to stingrays, to pufferfish, and many other creatures between, the aquarium was home to unique specimens that the kids had never seen before.  They loved slowly walking through the aquarium and taking in all of the sights it had to offer.

My favorite part of the day was spending time in the walk-in aviary. When we entered the enclosed area, we held pieces of apples in our hands, attracting the parakeets to us.  A couple perched on my arm, while one even made itself  comfortable on one of the kid’s head!  Aleisha and I thoroughly enjoyed showing the kids around the zoo, and it was made even more fun because it was their first time ever going. 

 

 

2016 Bike Party

Aim Right has been blessed to be able to invite children to Jimmy Walker's Bicycles for Kids Christmas party for several years. Normally, Aim Right is given the opportunity to invite 5 boys and 5 girls.  Well...this year, the party coordinator kept calling us with news about more openings for children. Our final tally? 19 children!  Most of them are pictured below.  It was awesome to have four interns, some teen leaders, Enric and Tory, Caleb and Stephanie, and Caleb's mom there so we could divide the children into groups of two or three and spread out to enjoy the festivities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Giant invades children's snow play land..." When I uploaded this picture of Caleb, I had to laugh out loud.  

 

Do you spot the giant again?

Here's Jimmy Walker, the man behind the party (in the ball cap).

 



 

Can you find the Aim Right'ers in the two pictures below?

 

 



Welcome, Carle!

A few weeks ago, we welcomed another intern. Carle Troyer is from New Philadelphia, Ohio. We are so glad to have her here, and I know Aleisha appreciates having another female intern to serve alongside her.

 

 

Carle was initiated at her first Kids Club. I forget exactly what she was searching for in the whipped cream--perhaps M&M's?

 

What a great sport!

At the following week's Kids Club, Carle played the role of a sheep during the lesson about Psalm 23.

 



Professor Wonder and Ro had quite a time with the "dumb" sheep.

 

Carle also taught the 3rd and 4th grade class.

 

 

Here is a Q&A with Carle so you can learn a little more about her:

• Why you decided to become an intern: God has been showing me why I'm here in this life (to show His love), and I knew that in coming out here, I was coming to a place with a lot of kids from broken homes.
• Have you ever won anything? A Hula hoop contest a few years ago at a concert.
• Hobbies & interests: Painting nails, being outside, warm weather. I also love painting/drawing and ice cream.
• Person you admire: My mom, because we are a lot alike, and she has shown me how to love and have a servant's heart.
• A highlight of the past year: Living in Michigan for two months. I got to see a lot of pretty places up north and work with some awesome kids.
• Jobs you've had: Bakery sales, server, nail technician.
• A memory from your flight to Phoenix: Most of it was listening to music on the plane, as it was dark. But the airline lady didn't charge me for my carryon because my check-in bag weighed 80 pounds!
• Which do you feel more drawn to--children or teens? Both. That's why I'm here.
• One thing you like about your home church [Grace Mennonite]: I like our kids programs we have. I miss my 5th & 6th grade girls Bible study and kindergarten Sunday School class.
• If you could meet a famous person, whom would you like to meet? Jesus (well...one day). I would say Kyle Idleman. He's my favorite speaker.
• You'd be excited to receive a gift card to: Amazon, Target, anything really. I like gifts, and I love cards.

Welcome, Carle! We'll keep the ice cream coming your way and can guarantee you'll get to experience plenty of warm weather!



Aim Right North Girls - Love and Pottery Painting

Enjoy an update from Aleisha. about her Aim Right North girls' Bible study group...

Happy fall y'all! Sometimes its weird to think it's fall out here because of our weather. To be able to see some colors on the trees, you have to drive a couple of hours away. But something that has changed is how early it gets dark here. A little after 5:30 p.m. is when the sun is down; that means I try to plan more indoor things for my teen girls Bible study.

 

 

Lately it's been a little hard keeping the Bible study going because of the school sports my girls are in. They had basketball tryouts these past couple of weeks on Thursday nights. But the last two weeks we have been able to get together. We are still talking on the subject of love--how to love God and how to love each other. Every week I start off with a question for them, "How did you show love this week to someone?" Sometimes their answer will be, "I did the dishes for my mom," which is awesome! But this past week one of them told me, "I ate lunch with a girl at school who was sitting all alone because people don't like her." To see God working in them is awesome!

 

 

They also have been working on memorizing 1 Corinthians 13:4. Perhaps you know it? "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." They were able to tell me it by memory this last time. To see these girls starting from, "Why would we love someone that we don't like?" to "I sat with a girl at school because no one else was showing love to them," is God working in them!

 

I have a little over a month to spend time with them before I head on out. I continue to pray for them every day and pray that this little time I have left with them will be the start of a little seed that will one day grow into something beautiful.

 

L-R:  Dani (Aleisha's friend visiting from out of town), Aleisha, Carle Troyer (our newest intern!), and two Aim Right North teens who are part of Aleisha's Bible study. They recently enjoyed an evening of painting pottery at As You Wish Pottery.