On April 14th, we visited the residents of the Masonic Home of Virginia – MAHOVA.  The ride down there was long but Eliza was in the car with me so I didn’t get bored.  I had written a letter to one of the Grandparents that we saw at our visit in January and I was able to meet her in person while we were there.  Betty wasn’t feeling well so I couldn’t talk to her very long, but it was nice to be able to meet her.  We also saw the MAHOVA King and Queen again.  We walked through the halls and at the cozy corner met up with the woman that we saw from our last visit and she is over 100 years old.  She escorted us to the dining room where we had lunch and talked to the residents while we were there.  Lunch was pretty good.  After our visit with the MAHOVA residents we headed over to the state Ritual Competitions at the Scottish Rite Temple in Richmond.

In Rainbow Love & Service,
Isabella
Manassas Assembly

On Saturday March 31st, I went to the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia to set up benches. Vanessa, Joella, Katie, Sami, and I participated.  I woke up early in the morning so Mom Paula could drive me there with Vanessa and Joella. It was really cold when we first got there, so most of us were wearing jackets or sweatshirts.  Ella, one of our Pledges attended too. She had gotten a giant chocolate Easter Bunny at the Easter party and was looking to give it away to the hardest working DeMolay or Rainbow Girl.

First, we went inside the memorial building. We went all the way back to the storage room, where some of the DeMolay boys were handing out chairs. We had to carry 50 of them down a giant flight of stairs! After all the chairs were brought down, the big benches started to be set up on the stairs. Since Ella and I were too small to carry the benches, we helped set up the chairs and get them in a straight line. Then I helped her look for the hardest working kid. It was really difficult since all of them were working so hard lifting those benches! We finally decided to pick one Rainbow Girl and one DeMolay to drop the chocolate bunny in the box to break it. Then all the hardworking kids would get a piece! After a long time of looking, we decided that Vanessa would get to drop the chocolate bunny with one of the DeMolay boys. Then anyone who wanted chocolate got some. You could also get a doughnut and milk from the building’s kitchen. By this time, the sun was very bright and most people didn’t need their jackets or sweatshirts anymore. Then we took a group picture on the benches that we set up on the stairs to the memorial building.

I was sad when it was over, but I was glad that I had a great time.

In Rainbow Love & Service,
Alyssa
Manassas Assembly

On April 14th, Manassas Assembly visited Masonic Home of Virginia (MAHOVA). We had a great turn out with over 20 people attending!   We enjoyed visiting with the residents and having lunch with them.  We saw several of the girls adopt grandparents.   It was a great day and we are looking forward to returning soon!

In Rainbow Love & Service,
Sami
Manassas 13

The Lodge Easter Party was held on March 25th, where we started off snacking and watching the movie, “Trolls”. We chatted for a bit while the eggs were being hidden. We could also guess how many jelly beans were in a jar. Girls who attended were Katie, Dalanie, Isabella, Joella, Jazmyn, Maribel, Sami, Lilli, Gigi, Allison, Eliza and me. Then the adults passed out baskets for collecting our eggs. We all lined up by the door, but the younger kids went first. Mom Paula made the rest of us sing our ABC’s at a normal pace before we could go outside to find the eggs. There were a lot of people there, so not everyone got a lot of eggs. Sadly, I am not a fast runner so I only got a few eggs, but I didn’t mind. A couple younger kids stayed out longer because they wanted to see if there were any eggs hidden in the snow that was still outside (there wasn’t).

When we got back inside, Dad Clancy turned “Trolls” back on and we all got some food. The jelly beans were probably one of the most popular deserts because they ran out really fast. Though there were no golden eggs this year, there still were some regular colored eggs with money inside them. I even got one! Some kids traded candy, and then we all emptied our eggs and put them into a container so they could be used again next year. Then, the winner of the jelly bean guessing contest was announced. Vanessa won the guessing contest and got a chocolate bunny, which she gave to Ella, one of the Pledges. I had a great time at the party and I have been enjoying my candy.
 

In Rainbow Love & Service,
Alyssa
Manassas Assembly