On November 19, 2005 Bobie's Troop, Brownie Troop # 29 Overseas, joined the the rest of the Overseas Girl Scout troops in Sigonella, Sicily, in a community service project. (Bobie is at the top left of the photo.) Everyone met at 0900 at the base chapel. We were broken up in 6 groups and assigned specific tasks within our clean-up zone. Our first task was to wash the chapel windows...streak free! Bobie was such a good washer and wiper. The parents in our group (including myself) did the top half of windows because they were hard to reach and the girls cleaned the bottom half. Okay readers, I guess Ihave to admit that I too ended up cleaning the bottom half since I was too short to reach the top half! We then cleaned the chapel courtyard and picked up any litter found in the surrounding parking lot in our zone. We picked up cigarettte butts! YUK!!! No worries, we all had gloves on. Annabelle, one of the Daisies in our group exclaimed, "Disgusting!!! I would never ever smoke cigarettes because it can kill you." Bobie then said, "Disgusting!!! People who smoke cigarettes are not very smart, are they Mom?" I responded, "That's not necessarily true, they may be smart people who made a bad choice to smoke." The best part of our clean-up project was when Bobie and I found $20.00 on the ground. Our group donated the money to the Sigonella Girl Scout Fund. Bobie and I were very glad to have participated in this day of community service. After the service project, Bobie and I talked about why we participated and why the Girl Scouts organized the community service. Although she couldn't deny how fun it was to squirt water, race to clean, and find $20, I was surprised at how in-depth her response was in that she was able to express her concept of the importance of "service." She expressed how it made her feel and how service brings forth blessings from God. For Bobie and I, the blessings come in the most wonderful forms: 1) STRENGTH in our relationship as mother and daughter, 2) APPRECIATION in what we have, 3) APPLICATION of our God given talents and most of all...it makes us feel nice and warm inside! In James 2:20 the Lord said, "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" Part of the "works" is service to our fellowman, to our community, to our family. How about serving someone today?
