Houston-Health

This morning began our first day of service!  After a 30-minute drive to the city of Houston we made it to our destination for service.  Today we worked at an urban garden that promoted healthy eating and education within the community.  The name of the urban garden was Magnolia Roots and it was centered in an impoverished Latino area.  This area was designated a "food desert" because fresh fruits and vegetables were not available within 30 minutes of the area.  When we first arrived the garden overgrown and unkempt with weeds.  For the next few hours we worked diligently with two of the workers from the area named Mo and Blas.  We had a great time getting know Mo and his background and family.  We also had a good time getting to learn about Blas studying Art at the University of Houston.  He also gave some good tips on places to eat and visit in the town.  The work we did there included lots of weeding, planting and watering.  Mo complimented us on our hard work and wished that there were more people around his community that were willing to give of themselves like we had.  At the end of the day we saw a dramatic difference!  We were able to plant nine full garden beds as well as an herb bed and a flowerbed.  Even though Mo thanked us many times for our hard work we felt extremely satisfied with our efforts.  We were able to see the fruits of our labor within just one day!  It was amazing to see how much we take for granted, even something as small as fresh fruits and veggies.  The vision for this garden was much larger than the nine beds we were planting.  Mo eventually wanted to expand the garden to include more of the community as well as produce a yield large enough to donate to the local food pantry.  After finishing our work we came back to our apartment and took it easy for the day.  We hung out around the pool and tossed around the football while strengthening our friendship.  As I, Sir Adam Patrick Kidwell IV write this message with the group, we are enjoying an exquisite home cooked meal made by Laurel, Rachel, and Alexa (Allea simply opened a can and does not deserve credit for the meal).  The noodles were soft and tender and melted in our mouths.  The heavenly garlic bread complimented the noodles perfectly and we are all impressed by the perfection of the meal.  The aroma of brownies will soon fill the apartment, as the boys begin their baking adventure, which will top off our wonderful first day of service!  We can't wait to see what the day holds for us tomorrow!