Miss Nikki Is Missing

When the K-4 children came in from recess, they were greeted by a strange sight. Standing in front of their whiteboard was a woman dressed all in black. “Who’s that?” one of them was heard to say. Another child asked, “Is that Miss Viola Swamp?”

The stranger turned around. “Boys and girls,” she said, “I have heard that the boys and girls in Room 201 have been misbehaving. I am here to change that. I am Miss Viola Swamp, and I mean business! There will be no centers today. We will work, work, work. We have lots of work. Now take your seats.”

You could have heard a pin drop as the children cautiously walked to their tables and sat down. They didn’t know what to think. They knew it was not Miss Nikki in their classroom. Miss Viola Swamp introduced herself and said she was there to see that they did their work. No talking! No laughing! No smiling! And certainly no speaking without raising your hand. Miss Viola meant business. Even when Miss Karen stepped out of the room for a minute and then returned Miss Viola Swamp wiggled her finger at her and said in her sternest voice, “Miss Karen, no more!”

The children quietly did their work. They didn’t know what to think. Except for a few suppressed giggles from the adults in the room, all that could be heard was the scratching of pencils on paper as the children did their work.

You see Miss Nikki had been reading her class the book Miss Nelson Is Missing by James Marshall and a few of the sequels. The class enjoyed the stories so much that Miss Nikki decided to act out the story by pretending to be missing and having her sister-in-law come and visit and play the part of Miss Viola Swamp. Miss Nikki didn’t stay away very long, but the students were very glad to see her return. It was an experience that they won’t soon forget.

Lorraine Brandt • Wonder Club Administrator

The Blessing of Teamwork

One of the blessings of working at Water Street Ministries is seeing the wonderful connections we have in our community that compliment us as we compliment them. A great case in point is Joe(*see below) who just stumbled into our Recovery Program about a year and a half ago. Joe did as well as he could in our Recovery Program (he had a head injury years ago that has affected him) and as it neared the end it seemed more natural to finish up in our Supportive Services Program where he would be more closely assisted in finding semi - supported housing. To have helped Joe without the help from any other agencies would have been overwhelming and the results would have been meager at best.

First of all because of this head injury Joe was in need of a payee and they continue to be a great help in paying his bills and keeping him on track financially (Neighborhood Services). As it became time for Joe to look for housing – I directed him to an apartment building that is closely managed and especially designed for the elderly and disabled – I thought this would be a perfect match for Joe.

As we did the paperwork though, we soon discovered a problem with Joe’s credit. This led us to another wonderful agency in Lancaster City – MidPenn Legal Services. There Attorney Linda helped us not only figure out what the bill was (it was a mystery to us) but that actually Joe was being overcharged and it ended up in reducing his wage attachments and thus increasing the net monthly check Joe has to live on.

But maybe the greatest blessing was Joe’s long overdue meeting with his now 17 yr old son who he had not seen in years – this meeting took place because of the kindness of McCaskey High School in facilitating this supervised meeting. Because of this meeting Joe got the clear go ahead to call or visit with his son whenever he wants.

I think that in the process of Joe’s moving out – something we thought would be an easy endeavor, we discovered the huge benefit agencies could help us attain; what we wouldn’t have been able to do by ourselves. At least five agencies and many individuals helped Joe get to this stable place in his life, housing where he is thriving and has many meaningful things in his life which will help him continue to succeed in life. Besides a comfortable, safe and friendly living environment, Joe has stayed in regular contact with WSM: volunteering in food service, eating meals here and continuing to fellowship with the clients and staff. Joe also continues to fellowship at the church he discovered while he was in the Program. He stays in touch with the mentor that walked with him during the program.

Joe’s story shows that recovery, getting established and remaining steadfast on the community is no easy accomplishment and it requires a lot of help from a lot of people and places. I praise God for the help available in Lancaster County to end homelessness for anyone truly desiring life change.

*name has been changed

Chuck Albrecht • Shelter Manager

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Expressions of God's love at Wonder Club

In the past few weeks, it has been neat to experience the random love of God expressions. While the students were getting in line, it was a bit noisy. Then, out of nowhere, Ian yelled out, “I love God!” Another time while doing a written activity at the table, I was standing behind Kiara. She looked up at me and said, “I love God!” God is really moving in all the students. It is wonderful to hear and see those things happen. Thanks, God!

- Nicole Imhoff • Wonder Club Teacher/Site-Supervisor

And just this morning as I was greeting the arriving students, Alejandro came bouncing up the steps, full of life and energy. I asked him if he had eaten Wheaties to give him so much energy. His reply, “Jesus gives me energy!”

- Lorraine Brandt • Wonder Club Administrator