July Kids Club!

I know this is long, long overdue but I finally got some photos from our summer kids club-Son Rock Kids Camp! We had over 80 kids come at the end of the July, school years 2-7. The place was packed. It was only four days, Tuesday through Friday but everyone had a blast. A group of high school students from the States came to lead different stations in our building in Kenton: arts/crafts, music, discussion/small games, and story time. Since I was organizing the week, I was overjoyed to have 18 local teenager volunteer to help lead four groups of kids separated by age. Each group had a color and name: purple-bears, green-eagles, red-wolves, blue-chipmunks. Hilarity ensued when the oldest group found out they were the chipmunks but didn’t feel as embarrassed when I announced that I was the “big chipmunk” leader. We tried to work the camping theme into every aspect of the week. We began each morning gathering as an assembly and then proceeded to a nearby park for outdoor games for an hour. We finished by rotating around four stations. The stories got kids involved
I had a fun time that week; largely due to the amount of help. We had a day to train the volunteers and have them connect with their American peers. Every afternoon a group of the student leaders played different sports outside. Even in the summer, rain can come at any moment in London so we were praying for a good week. Thankfully it rained only one morning. The American team did a great job with the stations and all the kids made sure they arrived early to get started ASAP. The parents were very thankful to have their kids at the camp instead of on their computers all day and asked if we could extend the camp another week maybe next summer we will…

There were many highlights that week but one that stands out is our Parent’s Night. Two wonderful mothers in my neighbourhood have always made the dinner and surpassed everyone’s expectations despite having almost 200 people! We had a slideshow and summary of the week, a prayer and then just mingled for a few hours. After getting so much time with the kids, it was nice to meet their parents. Many of them expressed their gratitude and wondered how we did all of this with only £8 cost for the week. Almost half of the kids were at the summer camp for the first time. It is definitely something I would enjoy doing more of, and having help makes it much easier to consider.
I knew it was a good week when two months later I saw some kids in the park and they yelled “Ben, Ben! When are you having another camp?” Yes it is tiring and demanding but very worth it.

I knew very little about Sicily before going: a fun character in Princess Bride, old ruins and the mafia. But thankfully when it comes to traveling, who you know matters more-like a family living there. I landed in Palermo, took a bus into the city and a bus across Sicily to Catania. It was a beautiful drive, what stood out most was the vast open space. It was so nice to have a family take an interest in me and my time in London, show me around, and include me in their routine. I didn't check with them but I'm going to go ahead and tell you who they are: the Stiegler family!
I arrived Thursday and settled into their home. That evening I was invited to go cycling with the father and his friend. I borrowed a cycle and gear. It was one of many times to follow in which I felt spoiled. We climbed some hills and could see for several miles at the top...no cities. After cycling the streets of London, going to the countryside of Sicily was a dream come true!















Friday I went into Catania Market early while it was quiet. It was full of different colors and smells. The prices were actually alright and I got a nice piece of pottery for 1 euro. We had a small snack for breakfast. It was one of the few markets I went to with fresh seafood. In was interesting to know that a few years ago while digging to build a foundation, the city discovered some Greek ruins. We went back and met another family from the Navy base there and headed to Mt. Etna. The family has three girls who were all happy to orient me to the mountain and a cool house on the way up (see pic). After about an hour exploring the hills, it rained-a torrential downpour. We were soaked and headed home a little earlier than expected. Later that evening we went to the castle at Moda for gelato with a few families. It was a cool night and there was a festival going on with costumes, instruments, fire and choreographed dancing but we were tired and didn’t stay as long as we had wanted to.
Saturday we went to the beach at Fontane Biance. It was crowded but we got a paddle boat and explored a bit. Their dad knew of a good place to jump off a rock, about 25 ft up. He was brave enough to dive off, I just jumped. It was a hot day and compared to everyone else, as you'll see in another photo, I was pretty white. We went out for pizza in Nicolosi that night.
Sunday we were invited to an Italian man’s house. It was breathtaking-the covered patio, outdoor kitchen, clear blue pool with an amazing view of the plains below, orchards surrounding the property…and that was before the food was brought out! There were about 8 kids there, so they all kept me busy making sure I used the pool to our full advantage. We had the full 4 course meal and I had a hard time resisting more at each stage. The children had almost endless energy running around, jumping, swimming, racing, and playing with the inflatable shark I blew up for them. We were all full after a few hours. The whole day was a slice of heaven-wonderful food, fun and fellowship, most of us took a nap on the way back.
Monday after dropping off Katherine at swim practice, Becky and I drove to the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento. It was a scorching day! The ancient ruins were in remarkable condition. A Christian ruler built a cathedral around the temple of Concordia, keeping it free from the elements for centuries until the 18th c. when the cathedral was torn down-leaving the temple as it is today. These temples are located along a high ridge overlooking the sea which had a long wall fortified for protection. The temple of Zeus was in complete ruins, scattered rumble of what was once an immense structure. The sheer brilliance of the engineers to create such structures was amazing. I soaked in as much I could in a few hours and rested in the shade with a gelato!
That night I went to my very first swim meet. It was a “fun meet”(a prep for a real one).. I cheered on some kids from the families I had met during my time. Seeing an 8yr old swim smoother, faster and stronger than me was pretty humbling.
My last night we joined another family and went to Taormina, a city right next to the ocean atop high mts. There was a concert that night at the coliseum so we didn’t get to go inside. I loved the character of the whole place-the narrow, steep, twisting roads, the unique and colorful shops, the panoramic vistas. We had dinner at the Granduca, overlooking the ocean. I ordered swordfish for the first time. It was wonderful! I slept well that night with a very satisfied stomach.
My final highlight of Sicily was playing MarioKart Wii with the family I stayed with. I had played a few times with some kids in my neighborhood in London but it was very nice to kill some time, joke around, and get good enough to win more often! what part of italy are Mario and Luigi from?…