Hello Ministries Quarterly Report

Since Sofia and I have been working on our "Hello Ministries," we've expanded some of our programs and services.

We have broadened our mission to include environmental initiatives. Ever concerned for our garden, we have decided that even weeds on the periphery of our property need to be extinguished, so as we walk along, waiting for students to greet, Sofia plucks the heads off dandelions. Inevitably, this is followed by my immediate retrieval of the dandelion from her mouth, as she does not yet grasp the concept of blowing on it from a safe distance, though that is probably best since the point is to keep the seeds from spreading. When we find stray yard waste that is not a weed, we teeter over to our compost bin, where Sofia loves to be the one to throw it in.

Sofia has spear headed our new litter patrol program. She is excellent at identifying anomalies. While we walk about the street, in the yard, and watch the people passing by, we're always looking for trash. It never takes long, as with all the foot traffic and sporting events near our house, there is always a plentiful supply of litter. She picks it up the offending object, identifies it as trash with great scorn, and we bee-line it for the nearest garbage bin. And by bee-line it, I mean we head in that general direction, delaying for all manner of distractions and only making it to the trash can itself about half the time. The other half of the time the trash has to get stashed in my pocket to be thrown away when we return home.

Sofia is also exploring her passion for four-legged-creatures under the Hello Ministries umbrella. Shall we call this our "canine division"? Many a creature has become familiar, as they pass by on daily walks. We are coming to know which dogs are to be avoided, which are friendly, and which are too friendly, requiring a Mommy buffer between their eager schnozes and the child who would too easily be knocked down by their boundless energy.

All of our initiatives might be cause for pride and a sense that we've brought a great blessing to our block. But we've realized that we've found and always had a great mentor while we've been here.

Ever since the first day we met our neighbor, Bob, he's been so hospitable to us and everyone who passes by. He has to go outside in order to smoke his pipe because his wife does not allow him to smoke inside. While he smokes his pipe and people pass by, he greets them. He says hello, asks about the sports games they might be going to, or how their son is doing because he knows all these people after living in the same block for over 80 years. 


So while I'd love to take all the credit for Hello Ministires, I've had to realize that we're just learning from Mr. Bob. In fact Sofia's regular interaction with Mr. Bob has resulted in his being one of the first names she's learned to say. So now our daily Hello Ministires is kicked off with an exit out the door, crossing the path of Mr. Bob smoking his pipe, and Sofia saying, "Hi Bob."