Pine Haven Visit

 One of our FLEx (Formational Learning Experience) projects this year is to focus on being good neighbors to our "Grandfriends" at Pine Haven, a retirement and assisted living community with multiple locations in our area. We first started by learning the story of when Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. We learned that our neighbor can be anyone, not just those who live next door. We learned that Christ-like love means paying attention to those who can be easily overlooked or forgotten by others in our world. Then we shared that our elderly neighbors at Pine Haven can sometimes deal with loneliness. Their activities coordinator shared with us that they are in need of love, engagement, and hope. We asked the second graders, "What do you think we should do about it?"...and they got to work! We brainstormed ideas and they thought we should visit, start conversations, and play games with these Grandfriends. So, last week Wednesday, we did just that! We were VERY proud of these second graders for keeping in mind communication skills that we discussed beforehand (eye contact, clear speaking voice, building conversations with thoughtful questions) as well as knowing their math facts to a point that they could teach their Grandfriends how to play the dice game we brought along. It was a win-win, and both parties were sad to see the visit time ending. We promised to visit more often (we're hoping for once a quarter!) as we left. We heard the phrase "I wish I could stay here for longer!" many times. Praise God for the opportunity to share His love and build community with these precious neighbors at Pine Haven. Here are some pictures from our first visit there; there will be more to come from future times we are able to go!