I know block parties are not a revolutionarily new idea, but the one that Serve Burlington hosted this past weekend sure felt like it.  The idea was pretty simple- host a cookout and block party to promote the third round of Conversational English Club.  Since it was our first time attempting something like this in Burlington, we did not know what to expect.  Will we have enough volunteers?  Several have said they want to come help but the real evidence will be when they show up.  Would any refugee show up?  Many of the Somalis are illiterate, meaning fliers won’t work and making us completely dependent on word of mouth, the smell of a grill, and the draw of a 52 foot inflatable obstacle course.  The answer was yes to both.  With eighteen volunteers and well over one hundred Somali parents and children, we had quite a crowd.  These pics taken by Jan Ling tell it all.

Big shout-outs to an incredible group of volunteers, our Home Fellowship, the crew from Valleydale Community Church, and to the Green Mountain Baptist Association for lending us their block party trailer.