Joe Manafo

theStory hits the beach

today was the first of two beach bbq’s we’re having this summer as beginning steps for the plant. our intentions were simple: hang out, have fun and get to know each other…and that’s just what we did.

the north wind made the lake too rough for boating or water skiing, but just perfect for horsing around in the crashing waves. the little kids had a riot building sand castles and playing with the big trucks on the beach while the big kids preferred the bubbling jets of the hot tub. add the cheese burgers (and soyburgers amongst other ‘pretend food’…dave and steph!) watermelon and icecream and i say we had ourselves a good day.

some additional thoughts:

*i’ve found the large amounts of time between our get-togethers to be a real drag. there was no other way to do it in our case, but i’ll be glad to be in more regular contact with people once we get rolling.

*it was suggested that maybe i should call or email people to remind them of the event, but as with the first two meetings, i decided not to. if people are interested then they’ll make the point to participate. however, it is the summer time and people are all over the map, so that needs to be taken into consideration. but as it pertains to the core that we’re going to start with, i believe that the impulse to be connected needs to come from them. i don’t want to coerse people or lure them in, nor do i want to displace people from the communities they are happily a part of.

*what an eclectic bunch: the young parents; the older parents; the grand parents; the hippies; the univeristy students; the computer guy; the restaurant manager; the ymca worker and the kids. i wonder what God is upto putting the group together…

chillin’