Saf-ar-eeee

Okay, so the giraffe is still lacking a head, but is coming along nicely. However, since a safari isn't made up of just giraffes, the women of yam banded together to paint more creatures. This time our task included a zebra and gazelle.

We quickly realized that zebras' stripes are more intense and difficult to paint that a giraffe's spots. A lot more. But we managed, and it was fun.

No safari is complete without some gracefully gallivanting gazelles, so that was another task on our plate. It's amazing what one (or three in this case) can do with a few different paints and a target deer.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. It's been great to be able to help out with VBS prep and fellowship together at the same time.

Herdy Gerdy Gerdy

It's definitely been a while. April was a fairly quiet month as far as YAM activities. We did, however, have another Girls Night Out, which included a giraffe named Gerdy.

So, here's a little back story:

This year, our church is doing a Safari-themed Vacation Bible School. And since Safaris are in the Serengeti, and the Serengeti has many awesome animals, a Safari VBS wouldn't be complete without awesome animals.

Oh, and my mother (who is in charge of VBS) absolutely loves giraffes.

The plan was to build a 14-foot giraffe in our barn. Some 2x4s, 1x3s, chicken wire, and about a gazillion and a half screws and staples later, the frame of a giraffe stood in the middle of the barn...headless. Then the whole thing was covered in an off-white canvas, which doesn't sound weird, but the thing looked downright freaky.

End of backstory.

The lovely ladies of YAM were then commissioned to paint the spots on it. So, we set up some scaffolding and poured some paint, and were on our way to making the most beautiful fake giraffe you've ever seen. We could immediately (immediately meaning after about 10 minutes) tell that Gerdy (the affectionately named giraffe) was going to be pretty much awesome. Four hours after that, our job was done. She was a thing of beauty - I'll post pictures once I get them.

The turnout was small, but those that did join in had a great time. We'll be doing another VBS help night on May 18th (this upcoming Monday). Not sure exactly what we'll be doing this next time, but it's always a good time.

Staring contests and lighter fluid

Last Thursday night, a group of us went to Buca di Bepo in Cherry Hill for some marvelous Italian dining. It was quite the experience, and I had never realized how educational getting Italian could really be. I've compiled a list of a few of my learnings.

1. You will lose a staring contest with the Pope if you try. He never blinks.
2. Some jobs should require a singing audition when you apply.
3. It's very hard to sing a (very) familiar song when ther person leading is incredibly tone deaf
4. You can you get lasagna in the form of a log
5. Lasagna in the form of a log is delicious
6. Sitting the "Queen's Chair" provides an incredible feeling of power
7. Feeling powerful and actualling being powerful are two different things
8. When one says, "If I were a nun, I'd be like that", one needs to be very clear on what piece of art you are pointing at.


That's it for that. It was a great time of just chilling and chatting it up. Speaking of things like that:

Saturday night we had a bonfire. It was a time to just sit around and catch up with each other. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to just "stop" and connect with friends, some of which I don't get to see very often. And once I got over Deb not wanting to douse the wood with lighter fluid, I enjoyed the fire too. Seriously, lighter fluid is a lot of fun...

The Hands and Feet of Jesus

On February 28th, a group of yam members went over to Camden to help out with a ministry there. They passed out clothes and food to those in need, and were able to talk with some of the people there. Deb wrote a bit about it in her monthly newsletter, and this is an excerpt from that:

"This weekend I was able to deliver the quilts (from Quilts of Love) to Brenda and had the opportunity to meet two of the prostitutes she is working hard to get off the streets. As I sat talking with them, my spirit ached for them. They were both coming down off crack and were in desperate need of a long sleep and hot shower. The described the place where they live: a drug house that just got hit by some 'stick-em-up boys' (thugs that hold up drug houses to steal all the cash). One of the girls had been raped the night before, and the other hasn't seen her 4-year-old twin boys in over 2 years. Both had been disowned by their respective families.

"After they ate breakfast, one of them said to me, 'Why would you come down here and do this for us?' I told her that it was only by God's grace I wasn't in her shoes and that I wanted her to know how much He loves her. That she matters to Him. She let me paint her fingernails and pray for her."As we were leaving, I stood on the curb with them as Brenda had to physically hold one of the girls upright. I began to wonder if Jesus did that for Mary Magdalene. I am so thankful to serve a Master who made friends with prostitutes and touched lepers. The religious elite were not for Him....He had very little time for their rubbish. But the sinners...that's where His heart was! What a joy to know we have a God who doesn't just love the pretty ones!

"In my version of the story, when all those little children came running toward Jesus, He spotted the most un-cute of them all and hugged that one first. So if you get the chance, find a way to put your faith into action. Remember, you don't have to go to Africa to find yourself a leper to love!"

Pass the gluestick

Last night was the third Girls Night Out. Our assignment: make encouragement cards for the Ladies Retreat. We didn't need to write out encouragements, but rather make cards that the ladies would use to encourage each other.

Our tools: fancy shmancy scissors, stamps, paper, and glue.

Doesn't sound too complicated. And really, it wasn't, although the first card a little rough. I learned a quick lesson. Stamp last. Otherwise, in the gluing process one can end up with an awful lot of ink on one's hand. I also discovered that I love the combination of blue and white. Simple, yet sophisticated. Most of the cards I made consisted of those colors. And it was so fun to see each person's individual style. Such creative people!

It was a really great time to get together, fellowship, and help out a fellow ministry in the church. Between the 6 or 7 of us, we made 170 cards. Other people are making more cards, but I thought that was a great amount for the number of people and hours involved.

If you are of the female persuasion and a young adult, please come to our next Girls Night Out. It is a fantastic time! The next one is March 11 (Wednesday, not Thursday). We would love to see you there!

~Jen

PHANTOM'S GAME!!

Tonight is the last night to sign up for the Phantom's game!

Monday, February 16 (President's Day)

If you want to carpool, meet at the church at 4pm.

$25 - includes a meal option

Watching the tube....

The last couple weeks have been reasonably quiet as far as yam events go. The LOST premiere party was on Jan 21st, and man! It was crazy! I really don't know what I would do if every few minutes I jumped in time - backwards or forwards. I'm thinking I would rather go backwards, because at least that way you know what's coming.

Anyway, January ended and February came in (and although it's snowing now, the first two days of the month were rather spring-like). We watched Groundhog Day at Lee's last night. I think that was the first time I'd ever seen it all the way through. When I was younger, I would watch movies on tv on Sunday afternoons. Unfortunately, I would either miss the beginning and only see the end, or watch the beginning and miss the end because of Awana (I've watched the middle of Dances with Wolves innumerable times). All that's to say, Groundhog Day was one of those movies. It was nice to see the whole thing through, and without any commercials!

Sunday (Feb 8th) is our next Sunday Lunch. Remember: 12:30-2:30 in the Common Grounds!

~Jen