Thursday, July 16, 2009

Dots on a mission.

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Dots left this week on a mission trip with a group of 5th and 6th graders from our church. They are spending five days in rural Mississippi working on a community farm and doing some cleaning and painting at a local school. They also have an outing planned to an area nursing home.

Last night Dots borrowed her leader's cell phone and called me in tears to report that she was homesick. It about broke my heart! I could relate because I got homesick whenever I went away when I was growing up, even the summer I spent in Paris when I was 15. My mother's response to my teary phone calls was to fuss at me and tell me to straighten up. I must admit this was pretty effective because it made me question why I wanted to go home!

I talked to the counselor later last night, and her take on the situation was that Dots was exhausted after a long day. She relayed that Dots had fallen asleep within five minutes of lying down on her cot. This afternoon I received a text from the leader saying that Dots was having a ball today and had turned down an offer to use a cell phone and call home.

Here's hoping that the rest of her week is fruitful and fun and that Dots comes home reporting that the trip was a great experience, for both of our sakes!

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Lots of kids and parents gathered by the bus before it departed for Mississippi. But wait... who immediately located the cute high school girls going along as leaders?

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Why, it's Hockey Boy! Clearly he has found an effective way to assuage his grief at the impending departure of his sister


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Dots's leader posted this picture on her Facebook page right after the bus passed into Mississippi

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It was a slight improvement over the picture Dots attempted to take for me when we were on this same road last month

10 comments:

JoAnn said...

So glad Dots had a better day today. Hate those kinds of phone calls. I laughed at your story about what your other said!

KK said...

What a great thing Dots is doing! I wish Miss Priss could have gone with her. Instead she is sleeping in until 12:30 every afternoon...

Maggie said...

Yay for Dots! What a great way to spend some of her summer. I can totally relate to homesickness--personally. I struggled with it even in college. However, my own kids never seemed to miss us that much (sad and glad both about that).

Emily said...

What a great experience for Dots! I'm so glad to hear that she is having fun on her mission trip.

I know when I would go away to camp I would always feel homesick the 1st day b/c I was in shock by my new surroundings. After I got use to things I would always end up have a great time and when I would come home I would talk my parent's ears off with everything that happened. I'm sure Dots will have lots of things to share with everyone.

The part of about Hockey boy finding the cute girls was hilarious too!

Buzzings of a Queen Bee! said...

Oh, that makes me remember being a kid and having that same homesick feeling. But once I got into the swing of things, I was fine! Sounds like your little girl is the same way. :)
Carrie

annechovie said...

Aw, bless her heart - first times away from home can be tough. I am glad she seems to be adjusting and enjoying it better. She looks so cute. Have a great weekend, Eloise!

Erin said...

Oh, that tugged at my heart Eloise! I am sure it is hard work for Dots, and emotional too!! I loved your photo of Hockey Boy. What a cute kid he is! He reminds me SO much of my sons. I have been sketchy about being on the computer--- I miss!!! I hope she comes home with a great feeling of satisfaction. It is so powerful to conquer our fears, and she will surely feel fulfilled about helping others. She has a great life ahead of her Eloise. I can see that. Hope you have a good weekend.

fleur de lis cottage said...

Looks like you and your family are having a great summer. (love the barefoot contessa cake below). I've been super busy...hope to post today.

Thanks for your sweet comment!

Anonymous said...

Hi Joann. Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting. It's nice to meet you. That's great about Dots. I'm off to see the rest of your blog. Have a great weekend!

Tickled Pink And Green said...

I bet Dots was exhausted and that was not helping. I remember a trip to England and when I got there I thought what am I doing here and wished I was home. I felt miserable. The next morning I felt like a new person, eager to explore and happy I was there. It taught me a permanent lesson that enough sleep can cure many ills!