Obsolete

     Every day at PTM I stay about an hour or two after the Summer SaLT program ends doing tasks that Chan, director of PTM, asks me to complete. These tasks include things such as entering donation checks into the record system or updating the Mac computers in the community computer lab. In the computer lab there are old Mac desktops, really old desktops—not as ancient as the colored Macintoshes—and MacBooks. On Thursday, Will, a PTM employee, and I were charged with installing a printer driver and program called Open Office on all the computers in the lab. Will and I soon learned that we were unable to accomplish either task because the computer software was too old. The software in the lab is Mac OS X 10.4 while the newest software is 10.9 Mountain Lion. To give perspective, Apple has created a vintage list and an obsolete list of their products. All three types of computers are too old to be considered obsolete! For example, I tried to YouTube a video on how to download Open Office and Safari was incapable of running YouTube. At this point in time, there is not much we can do with these computers unless PTM pays a considerable amount to install new software. The kids however still enjoy playing educational games which is what really matters in the end. 

My First Full Week

    
     This summer I am working at Preston Taylor Ministries, PTM, with the Summer SaLT program—servant and leadership training. Summer SaLT consists of a group of fifteen rising fifth and sixth graders who come to PTM Tuesday thru Friday. Luckily, I am not alone in the program. I am joined by volunteers Joy and Jessie. Jessie, a college student, wants to become an inner-city teacher.

     Last week was very action packed. As part of the program, we take field trips on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesday, the group piled into three cars and drove an hour to a small, family owned dairy farm. Both the kids and I enjoyed petting goats—both adult and baby—playing with the huge Pyrenees dogs charged with protecting the animals from coyotes, and watching pigs run around in the mud. Thursday, we traveled to Cumberland Park next to LP Field to play in the fountains. Once again, I enjoyed the playing in the fountains as much as the kids. I even saw Lauren, another Turner Fellow, with a group of fifty-six from Fannie Battle. Friday, five kids and I went to Jessie’s house to cook banana bread and go swimming. Jessie's house was those five kids' favorite day of the week. Two of them enjoyed playing with Jessie’s dogs and went so far as to feed one of the dogs a sock.

    My first full week at PTM was one to remember, and eye-opening to say the least. I was nervous on Tuesday because I was the new one in the group after missing the first week of the program due to a church mission trip to Honduras. I have already formed strong relationships with the kids and look forward to sharing more experiences with them. This week we are going hiking in Edwin Warner Park and visiting the law offices of Waller Lansden followed by a trip to the Bicentennial fountains.