8:35 Feel like I dragged myself out of bed today. Tired and still sore. Sat up in bed and read about God choosing David for a king. Passing through all the brothers till he came to the youngest, still a boy. David was of such "non consequence" that his father didn't even have him present for Samuel. It wouldn't be impossible for God to use me.

9:55 Drove six blocks to the parish. Unloaded my backseat. Trying to cool this place down. Fans, windows wide open, swamp cooler…

11:00 Volunteers trickling in. Talked about the day. We have a lot to pray/prepare for. Ruben, Rose, Ray and Ed…this will be their first time back at club since their mom died. Praying for Vanessa, her dad just went into hospice care. Dying. Mom is still too strung out on drugs to care for her. Martinez sisters struggling because their mom, out of jail now, has decided to crash at their house. Trying to keep in mind to be thankful for all God has done…too easy to let our hearts grow heavy with what's sad. Had a good time of prayer, remembering what it is to live the Gospel and make the most of every opportunity. Good to be together.

11:30 All of us (great amount of help today, 8 sets of hands and hearts) head out in different direction to get the kids. Most walk. Two pairs take cars. Several kids still sleeping since last night was 4th of July. I could still hear "local" fireworks at 3:00 in the morning. Met a brand new family, five beautiful kids, all being raised by their father (our 4th family being raised by a dad). Each has a wonderfully unique name that I can't seem to learn or pronounce…working on it.

12:10 Lunch! Michael won't eat. Told him he had to down three bites. He stuffed it all in his mouth at once, thought he was going to choke. Club starts with song time. Wish the whole world could hear these kids singing. It's hard to doubt that God is real/alive when these little souls sing. Spending most of today reviewing what we've been learning.

3:05 Great club. So many kids standing up and saying verses from their hearts. We ended by making a 12-foot banana split in a plastic rain gutter. Kids loved that. Me too. Began walking kids home. Hot out.

3:45 A volunteer just walked back to the church. No one is home at the new kids' house. We go over so that the other two volunteers can go home. We sit for over 30 minutes. You couldn't pay me to leave. These guys are precious. They are insistent on "fixing" our hair. Hoping dad won't return and be scared to death when he sees two white girls, hair all over the place, sitting with his five kids.

4:40 Dad still hasn't come back. Left the kids' house. Asked neighbor to watch them. Promised to return to make sure someone came home. Very hard to leave.

4:50 Back at church. Clean up. Found some cold juice in the fridge (that kind that's about ¾ sugar…who cares, so thirsty). Went over to the sanctuary to sing a hymn and pray over the day. (…take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee…)

5:30 Said goodbye to my last volunteer. Sent her to go check on kids. Drove to shoe store to get shoes for a little girl. She's getting baptized on Sunday and didn't have any shoes. All the sandals were beautiful…bought two pairs because I couldn't make up my mind.

6:05 Home. Got Jack leashed, put the new shoes in my backpack began walking through neighborhood. Lot of souls out tonight. Don't have any trouble though, having Jack helps.

6:30 Made it to Rosie's house. Her little sister, Rachel just ran into a sign post on her bike. Tried my best to help. Things are a little crazy, as everyone is drinking. Left Jack on the porch with the boyfriend. He let Jack drink some of his beer (!) Gave the shoes and held Rachel in my lap, kept ice on her head. Caught in huge rain/hail storm. Can't leave. Sit on the porch with Rachel's dad and his drinking friends. Since I (the "church girl") am there, conversation turns to God. Interesting. Wonder how sober everyone is as I talk. The boyfriend, Rachel's dad, starts to cry when I ask him if he prays. He says, "Oh (expletive) yeah…I say 'God it's me DANIEL HENRY RODRIGUEZ and I need some help!'"

8:15 Home. Start to eat dinner… washing machine overflows all over kitchen. Cleaning up. There is water all over everything. Like the Amazon basin in here.

9:28 Play piano, sing. Eat rest of dinner while watching a rerun. Finish mopping water.

11:00 Sitting down, finally. Studying and reading. About missionaries in South Africa. Wonder what their day was like. God is good. Thanking him for new family and time at Rosie's. Praying for Rachel's dad.

12:00 Going to bed early tonight. So tired. Grateful for this day…

* all names and identifying details have been changed to protect anonymity. © Amy Beth Augustin Barlow 2003