"Now I understand why you do what you do"

There is a precious family I have become very close to in the past months... we will call them the Smiths. It is a single mother with 10 children. The family used to live in our neighborhood, but through a series of events had to move over to the Southside. The teenage kids were in our Rock Island ministry and the little ones in our Underground. Their father is in prison...for life. We have grown close in the past months because the oldest son, who is 13, got into some legal trouble and consequently was sent to a boys home. We have been to see him a few times... he is actually doing very well.

I would say there is a bit of a "financial totem pole" when it comes to the families in our community. At the top of the totem pole is the "working poor", who are usually uneducated people who work hard at minimum wage jobs. Many of the families in this category have food on the table and a roof over their head, but not much else. I would put the Smith family at the very bottom of the totem pole. Mom is so caught up taking care of kids that she can't find time to work. She knows she has made some horrible mistakes and can't seem to get back on her feet. 9 of the kids and the mom live in an efficiency apartment. Each has a mattress on the floor. Each of the kids has maybe a shirt or two and a pair of pants. None of them have coats. I don't think their heat works. Through a series of very special God appointments, a life group from Lifechurch.tv decided to sponsor this enormous family for Christmas. We had a guideline for our Christmas adoption of $50 per child. Because of the state this family is in, I didn't give the group a dollar limit, I just told them the story.

The day the group dropped the stuff off I had a nice, long cry. Completely overwhelming. Each child had a garbage bag filled with a coat, clothes, gloves, hats, mittens, blankets, toys, etc. Because this family doesn't have a car, I knew I would get the chance to deliver it. So I loaded 10 full trash bags up in our 15 passenger van, grabbed two of our teenage boys from the neighborhood and headed over to the Southside at 10:00 one evening. The two boys I took are hispanic boys and have heat in their homes and food.. they are at the top of the totem pole. I warned them as we drove over what they were going to see, they made a few jokes about how they lived in the hood and understood, but I knew they didn't. Now picture this in your mind... as soon as we pulled up to the apartment all 9 kids (ages 2-13) came pouring out of the door, barefoot into the snow. They jumped up in to my arms and even in to the arms of the two teenage boys they didn't know. As we carried each trash bag in they kept hugging each one of us and saying thank you.

When we got back in to the van to leave there was dead silence. Not a sound from either boy... then I began to hear a few sniffles coming from the back seat. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw one of the boys with tears rolling down his face. He then asked, "do you see that kinda thing alot?" and I told him I do. After that there was complete silence for about 10 minutes, then the other boy said, "Now I understand why you do what you do."

Many of the older kids in the neighborhood think we are crazy, they don't understand why we wouldn't get jobs where we would make big bucks and get to live glamourous lifestyles. We try to explain, but I still think it is hard for them to really grasp. That moment in the van was one of the "lightbulb moments" I always speak about. All of the Rock Island kids may not ever get it, but those two do. They got the chance to realize that all the money in the world can't buy the feeling of being able to hug complete strangers and share the love of Jesus.

Small things with great love.

I haven't shared much about the Christmas season because there is so much to share, it is all jumbled up in my head, but here is one story.

In the days and weeks that led up to Christmas there were so many sweet gestures from families and people in the community. Each day for about 2 weeks, the women in the neighborhood cooked lunch for us like tamales, enchiladas, chile rellenos, etc. I pride myself on remembering everyones names, but there were even a few people whose names I didn't know that brought us gifts. There are 2 different "gifts" that were my favorite.

The first is from an older street man that we call "John the baptist". He is know for finding all kids of treasures in the dumpsters behind the businesses in our neighborhood. The night of the christmas pageant he pulled me aside and presented a gift to me. They were two little hand paintings of butterflies that had been framed. He had found the frames in a dumpster and had made the paint out of old markers and empty paint cans he had found. He told me a long story about why he had picked the butterflies out just for me. It was such a sweet gift...

The second gift is a little more humorous. There is a homeless man I will just call MB. I'm just going to be blunt... he's crazy. On some days he says the kindest things and on some days he completely loses his mind and starts cussing people out. Because of his unpredictability, he doesn't get to come in and wait with everyone else. We think it is a safer idea for him to wait outside. Everyday Luke is so patient and helps MB with anything he needs. He usually washes his clothes about 2-3 times a week and gives him a can of vienna sausages, his favorite food, everyday. We have also become his personal bank and on the rare occasion he has a dollar or two, we put it in his file for safe-keeping. The thing that makes MB so interesting is his mode of communication. He writes note cards. He doesn't speak much but instead writes everything out (in perfect hand-writing) on small lined note cards. Every morning he rings the doorbell around 9 and drops off his requests for the day. Some days it will say "May I please have viennas and clean socks?" or it might say "Can I use the phone?"... it is very interesting and we all get a good chuckle. But a few weeks ago MB came with an entire stack of notecards and handed them to Luke. He asked Luke to pass them out. On each notecard he had written out tiny Christmas cards for every staff member. "Dear __________. Merry Christmas. God Bless you. I love you. Love, MB". It was so special and definitely a christmas card that will hang in my office year around.

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love." -Mother Teresa

Rock Island...a year later.

I haven't blogged in a while for one reason. It's Christmas! We have had so much going on that I haven't had time to sit down at the computer in a while. This year for Christmas we did 250 families for Christmas food baskets, 100 families for family sponsored gifts, 30 teens for Rock Island Christmas, 250 people for our Christmas feast, 25 elementary kids in our Cross & Crown Christmas nativity, 300 people at the nativity program, and 50 women at the bible study Christmas party this morning. I'm no mathematician but I think that equals..... ALOT! How blessed we truly are.

Over the next few days I'm going to blog about each of those blessings separately because, of course, I've got stories to go along with them. Right now I'm going to share about the Rock Island Christmas.

Over the past year Rock Island has become more than we could have ever imagined. We started off the year a bit rocky. There were some break-ins and struggles with alot of the kids. But at the party I realized something very special....We've got 6th graders to 12th graders and whites, blacks, mexicans, native americans, etc.....BUT... THOSE KIDS ARE A FAMILY. They have each others backs at school, they all stay together in one house when the rest don't have electricity, they pick up each others homework at school when someone is sick (or suspended), they makes beats together on the computer and try to create their own rap group, and they even rig up dirty santa so that the kid who they know really needs a bike to ride to work gets to take home that bike. A year ago they were 50 individuals living in the neighborhood separately. They were fighting each other, stealing from each other and vandalizing each others houses. NOW.... well you better not come into our neighborhood and mess with one of them because you are likely to get the whole bunch on you.

Last Friday night we had our party. In the middle of ice and snow, 23 kids were waiting out in the cold when we opened the door. We ate pizza and drank hot cocoa, played games, opened gifts, and roasted marshmallows outside to make smores. We hung out together for 4 hours and never once turned on a computer, video game or television. It was awesome. The favorite gifts of the night were the brand new Rock Island hoodies that one of our donors had made. Every kid got one and they were soooo EXCITED! At the end of the night we all held hands and prayed together. Out of the 23 kids... including ex gang members, drug dealers and school drop outs.....EVERY single kid prayed OUT LOUD. Most adults won't even do that, but these kids poured their hearts out in front of their peers, their FAMILY. And now even typing this I'm getting pretty choked up.

And to think... all this began with one guy (Ron Crawford) stepping up to his calling. People thought he was crazy, his family struggled financially, but he knew the call and the Lord has blessed that. Imagine what you, one person, could do with your calling?!?!? If you started today...this time next year you might be shocked!

"Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you of things which you do not already know." -Jeremiah 33:3

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" Matthew 5:5

His name is Norman Jones... but his street name is Thor. If you saw him from afar, you might run the other direction. But as he gets closer and you see the smile on his face and the light in his eyes.. you might just want to hug him. He is one of the few "street men" we know who has no criminal record. He wouldn't hurt a fly. He's a gift giver... he has nothing but the clothes on his back, but he always manages to come bearing gifts for someone on the staff. He doesn't say much at all.... he usually just stares silently and smiles. But the few little words he says usually consist of, "Hi everyone", "Please", "Thank you" and "I love you". If I could use a word to describe Thor, it would be meek. He is very loved.


He hasn't missed a Sunday night worship service, a Monday afternoon AA meeting or a Tuesday visit with the doctor to get vitamins in 6 years. So when we didn't see him on Sunday we got a little worried, when he didn't show up on Monday the AA leader drove the streets looking for him and when he didn't come into the doctor, we just knew. You see... it isn't uncommon for us to lose a few homeless men in the winter every year. Their feeble bodies just can't handle the cold weather and many freeze to death. So yesterday afternoon we got the call... he died alone sometime over the weekend in an abandoned house. But Thor wasn't alone.. Thor was a believer in Jesus Christ. So when his poor sick, cold body passed from this earth, he got to go to a much warmer place. Thor won't ever have to live through another cold winter. He is safe and warm in the arms of the King.



My favorite picture of Thor... kneeling at the foot of the cross to take communion.

Thanksgiving.

Yesterday I was reflecting back on this year and all the things I am thankful for ( I know it's cliche, but it's true) Here are a couple of things that popped into my mind.

The staff and volunteers- Did you know that there are only technically 5 full time staff members at Cross & Crown? But if you walked in on any given day you would swear there are at least 40-50 people working there. That's because they are. We manage to run a full time food ministry, clothing ministry, legal, medical and eye clinic. We also have just begun a community development project with properties in the neighborhood along with multiple youth ministries, childrens programs, addiction recovery and Sunday worship services (just to name a few) We do ALL this with 5 full time staff. That's because there are hundreds of volunteers who CHOOSE to show up on a daily and weekly basis. We are so blessed. I am thankful for the other full time staff members. They all have been given specific gifts that make them amazing at their job. Every day I am reminded of how well the Lord has molded us together for His purpose.

The neighborhood- I am thankful for the women who cook us lunch every day just because they want to, the homeless men who pick up trash in our grass because they want it to look pretty, the men in the neighborhood who mow when the grass gets to high without even asking, and the kids who come bombard my car and shower me with hugs when I get to work every morning. I never take for granted the graciousness of all the precious people who live and love in our precious community.

I am so fulfilled at this point in my life. There are days when I am discouraged, but when I look back on all the many blessings and miracles from this year, I can't help but be excited about the future.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.
Psalm 91:1,2

Is there such a thing as normal? Part II

Today's schedule for comparison...
8:45-10:30 Took a prostitute from the neighborhood to get a state id at Department of public safety
10:30-11:00 Prayer time with all volunteers and staff
11:00 Let in about 200 people for thanksgiving food baskets
11:15 Translated for neighborhood woman who decided to preach about thanksgiving to our entire waiting area
11:30 Carried out t-giving baskets
12:00 Returned emails and made phone calls
12:15 Filled out christmas info on additional families
12:30 Drove to Yukon to pick up video games for Rock Island
1:30 Ate expired Food Bank food for lunch
2:00-5:30 Rock Island after-school program (Lots and lots of Halo 3)
6:00 Drove home

I know that isn't very exciting to read... but I was just making a point to some people who had asked. There is no such thing as normal... and I love it.

What do you want for christmas?

Today my aunt came and videoed part of our elementary christmas rehearsal. She also came out on the playground and asked kids what they wanted for christmas... watch this. Thanks Aunt Dawn!



By the way... which part do you think made me get a little choked up?

Is there such thing as normal?

People always ask.... "What is a normal day like at Cross and Crown?" I don't know what normal would look like, but here is my day today in a nutshell.... I will blog tomorrow and tell you about my day and then we will compare the two. It's an experiment... I'm not sure what normal looks like.

8:30 Arrived at work to see around a hundred people lined up around the block waiting to sign our food list
9:00 Made coffee with Ron for the spanish womens bible study... drank 2 cups of coffee myself
9:30 Began sewing some of the costumes for the neighborhood Christmas nativity.
10:30 Had prayer time with entire staff... laid hands on and prayed for one of our neighborhood women who is in the middle of leaving an abusive relationship. Prayed for her and her teenage son who are basically homeless.
11:00 Opened the door and let in about 150 people for thanksgiving baskets
11:30 Had an intervention with our first 16 year old "youth group prostitute". Confronted her about her behavior and prayed with her.
12:00 Carried 10 billion pounds of thanksgiving food up and down the Cross and Crown stairs (not really 10 billion... but close)
12:30 Called about 30 different people about Christmas adoptions
1:00 Ate Chille Rellenos with homemade tortillas, beans and rice made by one of the neighborhood women
2:00 Burned (and edited) CD's with a few of the Rock Island boys
3:00 Had elementary rehearsal for the Christmas nativity.
4:00 Played outside and ate snack with elementary kids
4:30 Unloaded 50 thanksgiving food baskets and 50 turkeys delivered by my church (Northchurch)
5:00 Sat on the curb and visited with neighbors
6:00 Drove home


I guess you could say today was normal. No major drama. My favorite part... sitting on the curb at the end of the day talking to neighbors.... My least favorite part.... I don't really have one. Today was good.

Lightbulb moments.

Alot of people ask me, "is your job super stressful?' I always answer the same.. the only time I am stressed is when I bring it upon myself. People don't stress me out, tasks stress me out. I have just recently realized that in order to stay relaxed I live from one "lightbulb moment" to the next. A "lightbulb moment" is a little glimpse of success in everyday ministry. It's an alcoholic coming to an AA meeting for the first time, a little street kid memorizing John 3:16 or a prostitute knocking on the door to ask for prayer. The stressful times like fist fights, gang drama and drug dealers don't stress me out... because I live from lightbulb moment to lightbulb moment.

This weekend I experienced one of those moments....

Since the holiday season is fastly approaching, I am in pure christmas decor mode. But, I ran into a road block this past week. I have not a clue how to hang Christmas lights. I am a new home owner and growing up outdoor lights were not one of my chores. My dad and brother always did the outdoor stuff, the girls did the indoor stuff. So when I noticed my neighbors putting up their lights I rushed to my local Home Depot to join in the fun. I had a feeling putting up the lights by myself would be a disaster so I enlisted the help of two Rock Island boys. I made an assumption that because they were boys and mexicans they could put up christmas lights. (Mexicans use xmas lights year around!) So yesterday we made a valliant attempt...after 6 hours and another trip to Lowes... it got dark and we gave up. But that's not the good part...

After the boys spent so long trying, I felt bad and offered to take them to dinner along with two RI girls that had a slumber party at my house last night. One of the boys is very hard to get to know. The only time I have ever heard him speak is if he is one on one with me and no one else is around. When he does talk it is very quiet and in broken english. I have known him for about 5 years and have never heard him pray out loud, say anything about God or prayer, or pay attention during bible studies or church. He seems completely uninterested in the whole God thing. We'll call him D. They decided they wanted RibCrib. So we sat down and ordered. They were all kind of hyper and loud and we were just having a good time. When the food arrived we all started digging in.... and then I heard a mumble in my direction "Can we pray?".... I thought I misunderstood the boy so I asked again. And D said loudly "CAN WE PRAY?" Everyone stopped and stared.. we bowed our heads right there and prayed together. During the prayer I got a little choked up. I began to thank God for each one of them and the young men and women of God they are becoming. I was like a proud mother sitting there with them.

Not that we don't have our dark moments at Rock Island... we do! BUT... every so often we have a lightbulb moment that seems to light the path a little until the next moment comes along.

I'm not alone anymore.

In the past few months we have had over 20 baptisms, and I'm pretty sure I can remember the names of almost all those people, but I want to share a precious story about "Gena", because her baptism is the one that will stick with me for a long time.

A little over a year ago a young woman stumbled into our Monday morning spanish bible study. She looked worn out and had everything she possessed in her car with her, including her two sons. They had just escaped from a horribly abusive home and had absolutely no where to go. They had heard about the bible study from a friend of a friend and didn't know a soul. That very first Monday with her little boys sitting by her side "Gena" shared her story with the entire bible class, and that very first Monday the women in the class passed around a bucket and gave her everything they had. These are women that come to the mission to get food so that they can feed their family and they were giving all their spare change to a complete stranger... that is love.

That was a year ago, since then "Gena" has gotten back on her feet with a job and a home for her children and she hasn't missed bible study since. She has formed a special bond with Suzanne and always comes bearing gifts like cookies and chocolates. This past Monday "Gena" decided to commit her life to Christ and be baptized. There were around 50-75 women there to witness her special moment. Women who a year ago had been strangers, but today are her best friends and accountability partners. Moments before Gena stepped into the baptistry, she knelt before her two sons (ages 7 and 8) in front of the entire sanctuary and apologized to them. She apologized for letting them be abused and not standing up, she apologized for their physical and mental scars, she pleaded with them to forgive her and give her a fresh start... and through many tears the little family hugged and committed to a new life in Jesus Christ.

After every baptism Pauls asks people how they feel and then he writes it in the back of his bible. When he asked Gena she said, "I'm not alone anymore". What special words from a special person. It's amazing how the Lord works. He takes people who are coming to us for something physical (food, clothes, etc.) and He overwhelms them so much with his love that they can't help but leave completely changed. That's good.

An act of love in a home of hate!

I have more than a few favorite moments in the last year at Cross & Crown. Some are funny, some are sad. On January 1 I plan to blog about the top 10 moments from the last year, but for right now I wanna share a little story from one of those favorite moments.

Every Thursday morning the mission is closed and the staff meets for a staff meeting, afterwards we try to do one act of community service out in the neighborhood, such as mowing a neighbors yard, planting flowers or just visiting one of the older people that can't get out. 2 weeks ago during our staff meeting, our truck driver from the Regional Food Bank called. He had just dropped off 10,000 lbs of food the day before that we had ordered and paid for, but because of our relationship with him, he had another load of produce that was about to go bad that he wanted to give us. We were expecting a few boxes of tomatoes, but we were shocked when Dwayne (the driver) showed up in the biggest semi the Regional Food Bank owns. Full of milk, eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, onions, mushrooms and tortillas. ALL FREE! We were so excited and immediately began loading the mission trailer full of everything. It was like Christmas, Paul drove slowly down NW9th, 8th and 7th as Ron and I knocked on every door and delivered the gifts. All the neighbors were coming outside and were so excited. Some even followed us around the neighborhood and helped us give away everything. It was a precious time in community.... I tell all that to get to the real good story.

There is a house in our neighborhood that I am scared of. I think to some extent I'm a tough person and not much in the neighborhood frightens me, but this house does. It's painted with all the gang symbols of a particular white supremacist gang, has about 10 different pit bulls strategically placed on chains throughout the property, and in the 6 years I've been at Cross & Crown, I've never seen even one person come out during the day. So, when we reached that house, I was not jumping for joy to walk up and ring the doorbell, but one of their neighbors said there were kids there, so we should try. So Paul, being the great leader he is, got out of the van and stood in the middle of the street yelling at the front door, the dogs wouldn't even allow us on the sidewalk. After a few minutes of yelling, the scariest looking man I have ever seen came outside. He was huge and buff, wasn't wearing a shirt, was a skinhead and had what looked to be the letters 666 tattooed on his forehead. I didn't say a word, I just stared. Paul followed by saying that we heard he had kids and wanted to bless his family with free groceries. The man just held his ground in the middle of his porch and scowled at us. I was on the verge of running screaming in the other direction when the man stepped out into the street and in complete silence he began picking groceries of our trailer that he wanted. ( I forgot to tell you that we blew a tire 5 minutes into our delivery and had been driving on the rim for the last 2 hours) Just as he was about to head back in the house, he turned and said, "Hey, do you need some help with that tire? I've got one in the back you can have." And then he walked to the back yard and came back rolling his peace offering... a great big Firestone tire. You see... this man probably didn't know the way or words to say thank you, so he did the best thing he could. As we drove off, he still never smiled one bit, but I could see the Spirit of God in him, I could feel it. Despite those letters on his forehead and the hate in his eyes, I can sense that the Holy Spirit is hanging around that house... just waiting for the right moment. I don't think it's the last we will see of him... and that doesn't scare me anymore.

I am going to start driving by that house everyday and I will pray the anointing of the Holy Spirit... I pray that the light will penetrate the darkness and the chains that Satan has placed there will be broken and that the people that live there will finally be set free by the blood of Jesus.

Jesus....the most important part.

This Christmas we are doing something very special. Our first EVER Christmas live nativity. The children in the neighborhood are the stars. Last month at the CCDA conference I was struck by something one of the speakers said. He said, "if you invite parents to church they might never come, but if you invite them to see their own kid dressed up and singing or acting, they might never leave."

So that is my goal for the Christmas program... it's a way to get parents to show up, that might otherwise never step foot in Cross & Crown. The night will be great, complete with a Christmas feast afterward free to the whole neighborhood that my church (Northchurch) will be providing. I'm excited.

Even though I'm excited about the program, I was dreading this last week when I assigned parts to all the children. I was so worried that some of the children would leave thinking their part wasn't important.. I didnt' want to hurt feelings. So, I had Luke read the Nativity story to all the children and then I marketed each part the best I could... The shepherds are the best because they get to carry big sticks, the wiseman are the most important because they get to dress in sparkly clothes and carry big presents, the angels are the GREATEST because they get to wear beautiful white robes and pretty wings, etc. And gratefully, it worked. Most every child got the exact part they wanted. As I got to the end of the assignments I realized that there weren't any parts left and one of our little boys didn't have one. He is the smallest kid in the elementary ministry. He is in 2nd grade and about the size of a 4 year old. Everyone calls him Junior. I noticed he was kind of sitting in the back and wasn't saying much... I was frantically searching my paper for any blank space I could plug his name in to give him a part when his hand shot up, "Can I be baby Jesus?" I was shocked... and I kind of stuttered and said, "Junior, Why do you want to be Baby Jesus?" and he answered, "Because He is the most important part." Reality check Chandy.... why was I marketing all the different parts as the best part? Jesus is it... I should have been preaching that to them all along. Thank God for little Junior and his sweet words.

She will give birth to a son, and His name will be Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. -Matthew 1:21-

The land of the free... but not if you're Mexican!

Many people have been writing me emails and little notes asking the same question, "what do you think about all this immigration stuff happening in Oklahoma?" They have been waiting patiently for me to blog about it and the waiting is over.

The truth is... I have nothing to say. I don't even read the papers anymore, because if I have to read one more comment from Senator Terril about how the goal of HB1804 is too make it impossible for Mexicans to live here, I'm going to lose my mind. Am I the only one that thinks the part of 1804 that says it is "illegal to transport or harbor illegal immigrants" sounds like the Holocaust?

I know literally hundreds of people that are living in fear. They stay locked up in their houses hiding in utter terror because they are being discriminated against. This is racism in it's most evident form. The only alternative our government is giving these families who have lived here for 20+ years is to go back to Mexico and live in absolute poverty, uproot their children (who are citizens) from our schools and take them back to a place that not only has ZERO education system, but has no access to medical care.

So basically, not only are we deporting parents, we are sending AMERICAN CITIZEN children back to live in a country where they have a high chance of dying from malnutrition, and if that doesn't get them, then the common cold or flu might... because they have no access to health care. And what about all the orphans that are going to come about from this? What about the families that are being torn apart? Senator Terril doesn't care about human beings, he cares about making a name for himself so that when he decides to run for a higher political office, everyone will know who he is.

I have never wanted to get political, but I just can't help it anymore. I've cried too many tears over this and lost too much sleep. I will pray for our government and leaders and hope that someone has the sense to stand up for these people. I also need to pray that the Lord will soften my heart towards all the people that are discrimating against my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and who are preaching the message to MY CHILDREN that they are trash and don't DESERVE to live in the land of the free.



"So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and DEPRIVE ALIENS OF JUSTICE, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty."
- Malachi 3:5-

It's only Halloween and all I can think about is XMAS.

Christmas is just around the corner which means..... SUPER OVERLOAD at Cross & Crown. In years past we have done a full out Christmas store where parents come in and shop for their kids. They get so many points per child to shop with. This year we have decided to get the community more involved so we are doing family adoption. I'm pumped.

Since we are doing family adoption, we are going a different route with the Rock Island youth kids. We are having a Christmas party for our 20 most involved kids at my house. At that party we are hoping to buy each of our kids a nice hoodie (which is all the rage and they will wear out in no time) and then we are putting a bunch of good gifts in the middle to play dirty santa( for example, DVD's, video games, CD's, clothes) . I think it will be so much fun. This is where the blog community can get involved. And this is also the part we have a hard time blogging about.

We are thinking of averaging it out to spend about 75-100 dollars on each kid. I know this is alot. But this is the big time of year we do gifts and we want it to be very special. We are asking families that if they would like to sponsor a kid or know of an organization/company that would like to write a big check for all 20 kids... please let me know ASAP. Whoever sponsors is promised some pretty amazing pictures and maybe even some video clips from the party. So, even if your bank account looks like mine...don't feel bad...just put the word out to your friends with money. Ha! Next blog will be lots of photos from our Halloween hangout time on Wednesday. Blessings all!

Oh P.S. If you are interested in sponsoring the Xmas bash... email me at chandy.stout@mac.com

Empowering, not enabling!

We are trying to light a fire under some of the people in the community.. and it might just work. I've learned more and more that if we are going to make a difference, we need to be about the work of empowering NOT enabling. I don't want to march into the neighborhood and start trying to change things. I want to build relationship with people and then when they come into a relationship with the Lord, they will be the one's doing the changing.

So we're preaching a new sermon to the kids at Rock Island. In the past it has been, "get an education and work hard so that you can get out of this neighborhood." Now the message is, "work hard to lead a change in this neighborhood right now".

Our newest idea to accomplish empowerment is our neighborhood advisory board. We are inviting different leaders from the neighborhood, both young and old, black, white and mexican to form a neighborhood association that Paul will lead. Together they will meet on a regular basis to address needs in the neighborhood. Can you imagine what it is going to look like to have a 25 year old ex-felon, a 40 year old single mom of 6 that doesn't speak English and a 15 year old middle school drop out leading a community out of poverty and danger to a picture of stability and family values? Only partnered together with the Holy Spirit could anyone accomplish this.

This past Thursday night I sat outside on the grass in front of the mission talking with one of the teenagers. It was beautiful outside and there was a nice breeze. I felt so much peace being able to sit there outside and talk about God in the middle of the hood. It was getting pretty late though and had been dark for about an hour. As I talked more and more with the 14 year old girl, she was pretty jumpy and always looking around. We'll call her Sheila. Sheila is usually very skiddish, she has been in and out of DHS custody her whole life as her parents have been in and out of prison. She exhibits all the text books signs of a child with a past of abuse and neglect. But, she has such a sweet, sweet spirit. I could tell that Sheila did not feel safe outside in that neighborhood and so I began to tell her about a dream I had for a day when there would be no more gangs, prostitutes or violence on that corner. After I told her of the dream I asked her, "What will you do if this neighborhood is totally transformed like I dream?" and she said, "I'll lay in the grass on this corner every night". So we prayed together and I prayed that there will come a day when I'll drive by and see Sheila laying in that patch of grass... then I'll know we've done our job.

Community.

The CCDA conference was great. I really did learn so much from it. One of the best things we learned was about how to be a community together with the people. We also learned how to empower people in the neighborhood to stand up, lead, and better their community. We don't need to do it for them. My fear has always been thatwe would come to a point where we would seem like white, middle class people who just want to come down here and hand out stuff, and not really get to know and do life with people. That fear is definitely NOT reality. Yesterday at work my eyes were opened to all the ways we are having the opporunity to live in community with our friends and family in the neighborhood , here are a few simple examples from just the past week:

+ Yesterday started off with a neighbor coming in and asking for a referral for a plumber. I know that sounds simple, but she could have asked anyone, instead she came down and knocked on our door to ask what we thought.

+ One of the middle school boys who has been having trouble in school came sprinting down the street to show us he got a B on his 9 weeks social studies test. We were so proud!

+ At least 15 different kids rang the doorbell to see if we would buy chocolate candy bars they are selling for a school fundraiser, now that is definitely neighborly.

+ One of the men in the neighborhood who didn't have to work because of the weather came down and took out all our trash.

+ A father and son in the neighborhood noticed the lawn needed to be mowed while we were at the conference and so they mowed our lawn.

+ The local middle school invited Ron, Luke and I to play in the parent/teacher volleyball game.

+ And then there was yesterday... It was about 5:25 and we were just about to close down the after school program for the day. Ron and Luke were out back playing basketball with some of the kids and I was downstairs when the front door flew open and a little 8 year old neighborhood girl stood in front of me screaming, covered in blood. I usually pride myself in being in control during chaos here, but I must admit I panicked a little. I grabbed the girl and sat her on the couch, once I saw the bone in her chin exposed I yelled for Luke and Ron from the back. She had been playing on the stairs in front of Cross and Crown when she fell face first from the top to the bottom. It wasn't as bad as we first thought, but she did end up getting quite a few stitches. From all that chaos, the thing that stuck out to me the most was the little boy she was with when she fell. They didn't go running to their mom in the house across the street. They came running to Rock Island. And I remember the little boy saying over and over, as his friend cried, "We didn't know where else to go"....... WOW....... I truly believe that is how the Lord leads people to us here at the mission. We aren't going to be bible beaters or require them to quote the sinners prayer and be baptized before we help. We are going to be here regardles... and when they are truly feeling that they have no where else to go, they WILL ring the doorbell. And we'll be right here waiting.

I feel so privileged to be able to serve the Lord in this way.

Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7

You can find me in St. Louey!

Man....this is good!

For those of you who don't know. Our entire staff is currently in St. Louis for the annual CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) conference. It's a life-changer. I mean, it is so great to get together with other brothers and sisters who are called to do urban community family all over the nation and world just like us. We have been here since Tuesday and I have sat and listened to some of the best speakers I've ever heard. I had the privilege of sitting in a 5 hour class on Tuesday with Shane Claiborne (author of Irresistible Revolution). He is a radical... and I love it. Today I sat in a workshop about the Christian approach to immigration issues.. and perhaps my favorite part is the bible studies every morning with Dr. John Perkins... he is so full of passion and wisdom. At 77 years old he still speaks with such power and conviction it shakes the room.

The worship is great, the people are great and the knowledge is great.... BUT.... I miss all my kiddos. I'm so excited to take what I've learned here back to them. One of the great things I have learned is the need for empowerment. I don't want to preach to my kids, I want to teach them to preach so that they can do it themselves. So that THEY can revive their neighborhood with the Lord....not me or Ron or Paul or whoever. There have been amazing quotes all week, but perhaps my favorite is this...

" Go to the people,
Live among them,
Learn from them,
Love them,
Start with what they know,
Build on what they have:
But of the best leaders,
When their task is done,
The people will remark
'We have done it ourselves' "

Unexpected Comment.

I was having a really REALLY crummy day today, nothing could go right... but then a little 7 year old boy said to me, "you look different today...very pretty"... and then he just walked away. My day was immediately brightened. Sometimes the Lord knows just what to send to turn my frown upside down.

Grace like rain...

We started a new topic in our Rock groups this week. We're going to be talking about it for the next 3 weeks. It's a scary topic... one that is not to hard to explain at all, but very hard to grasp deep down. GRACE.

For those of us in an intimate relationship with the Lord, we shout for joy when we hear that word. For those of us who don't really understand it, it makes us nervous. Last night Ron brought an awesome DVD to explain the concept of grace. The narrarator was a father and he told a story about his son. He told about a time when his son got caught stealing and still denied it to his parents. But there came a point as he got deeper and deeper in the lie that he realized he was caught. So he ran and hid for a few hours before his dad finally found him. When his dad finally found him he said, "there is nothing you can do that could make me love you any less". And as the video clip faded out, the narrarator just kept repeating those words over and over. THERE IS NOTHING YOU COULD DO THAT WOULD MAKE ME LOVE YOU ANY LESS. The video went off and the room of 30 or so teenagers went silent.

We then split into our Rock groups. I started out my group by explaining what grace means to me personally. I told a story about a few months ago when I ran into an old friend from my freshmen year of high school. We exchanged hellos and then the person asked, "so what are you doing these days?" I replied, "Well, I'm an inner-city youth pastor". You should have seen the look on that person's face. "YOU are a PASTOR?" they exclaimed. They were shocked and although deep down I wanted to cry because I was embarassed at some of my past decisions... I just smiled and nodded. The person then said, "How did that happen?" I couldn't really think of any words to say so I just said...."Jesus saved me!"

Then I began to explain times in my life when I've made bad decisions and how when I finally reached a place where I came face to face with the Lord I wanted to say, "But God, what I've done is soooo bad, how could you ever forgive me?" and He would stand there with his arms open and not say a word. And I would say, "but God.. I'm so embarassed and ashamed" and He would stand there with his arms open. And I would keep making excuses and He would still stand there.

Then outside on the corner of 9th and Mckinley I got really fired up. I began to repeat the words over and over "there is nothing you could do that would make me love you any less". And I got louder and louder and then quieter down to a whisper. And when I reached the point I thought the 5 kids in my group were going to call me crazy and walk away I just kept repeating it over and over.... and the more I repeated it, the more glassy their eyes got and as we began to pray I could hear big sighs and sniffs... and then every single one of their broken voices prayed outloud.

That was a powerful moment... but I want more. Now that I know they feel the burden of theirs sins.. I want them to grasp how wide, long and deep is the love of Jesus. After they grasp it, I want to them to run to his open arms. I want every one of the 5 kids in my Rock group to accept Jesus by the end of the next 3 weeks. I've got a big goal... and it's scary, but it's possible.

I want each person reading this to make a commitment to pray this coming Thursday and the next around 7 o'clock. Pray that at that very moment the Lord will break down walls and the let the kids really FEEL the grace of the Lord raining down on them.

Putting the word out!

As many of you know, most all of our kids live in homes where money is low and need is high. From the age of 12 many of the hispanic boys get pressure from their family to drop out of school and get a job. We have been fighting this uphill battle for a long time. How do we encourage these boys to stay in school when they are being discouraged at home?!?!

I've been brainstorming about this for a while and there are 2 ideas that we are working on. One has already started. We have bribed them to get good grades. If they have no D's or F's they get a prize. This rule came into effect last week when they all got their progress reports. There are a few specific kids who REALLY struggle in school. One particular 15 year old boy has pretty much gotten all F's his whole life, but always manages to make it to the next grade. This kid has an amazing heart and great potential, he just doesn't work very hard because he knows that he doesn't need a high school diploma to work construction or landscaping. PLUS, his families need is immediate and he knows he will soon quit school to work full time. I talked to him many times over this past summer about at least starting the 8th grade year and trying to make good grades, but I really didn't think he would stick with it. So when he decided the third day of school to give it a shot, I was ecstatic. But I wasn't prepared for last week. He comes sprinting in the Rock Island house and whips out his report card with a huge grin. 4 A's, 2 B's and a C. I was sooo proud of him. I knew for a moment what a mom feels like when her child comes home with good grades. I think the prizes for good grades thing is going to work!

The second idea I have is creating some sort of work-study program for these kids. I'm trying to put the word out about after-school jobs for some of the older boys. I think that if they can still contribute financially to the family in some way, they won't be pressured to drop out. One boy is particularly on my mind right now. He is the one receiving the most pressure about making money so he can send it back to Mexico to the rest of his family. He DOES have papers so he can legally get a job. So I'm putting the word out. If anyone knows of someone that could provide some after-school jobs or even people that want to hire out odd jobs on Saturdays such as lawn maintenance, etc. just contact me and I'll be sure to hook you up with one of our kids. I'll make sure they have rides, bus passes, etc. If you have an idea of some people that might be interested, just send them my link (not that I want alof of people reading my poor grammar).

It's amazing how God is daily presenting new needs that need to be met. Yesterday the youth staff's job description was a chef, personal shopper, crisis intervention, money management, school teacher, lunch lady and prayer counselor. Today it might be a trauma nurse, janitor, electrician, computer technician, artist who is bilingual. You just never know... that's what I love about my job.

Oh Lord.. You heard our cries.

I don't think I can type anything that will do this story justice, but I hope you can sense my emotion as I write.

I remember my specific prayer this morning in prayer time at the mission. I prayed out loud ...

"Lord, I pray for the Hernandez family. I feel like I've lost all hope for them, but I know you are asking me to to pray without ceasing. So I will pray fervently and I won't give up because I can feel deep down you are at work, even at this very moment."

I have prayed without ceasing for 7 months now. I've prayed for the Lord to bring their entire family back so that they can go to school here and get a good education. I drive by their house every morning on my way to work and look for their suburban in the driveway. I've posted blogs about updates, but nothing has changed. They haven't shown up. So I confess that when the Lord called me to continue to pray on their behalf, I did it only out of obedience, not out of belief. I have been worn out with prayer about this.

After my prayer this morning I went on with my day. Our after-school program for the middle school/high school started around 2:30 and I was tired and a little bit cranky so I stayed upstairs away from the normal craziness and just played pool with one of the kids. Around 4:00 I heard screaming downstairs and, as always, I assumed there was a fight. BUT, when I went downstairs I was not prepared for what I would see. Standing in the front door were Osvaldo, Lorena and Jose Javier with huge grins on their faces. For those of you who know me, I rarely cry, but I was completely overcome with emotion and started shaking and sobbing. As I hugged each of them I'm pretty sure they thought I was never going to let go. Even typing this, I've got tears running down my face. I am AMAZED and overwhelmed at the Lord's goodness and faithfulness.

I don't really know what else to say but this, if you are praying to the Lord for a healing or miracle then just keep on praying. Pray without ceasing, because the Lord hears your cries and He is faithful to those who earnestly seek Him.



" In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears."
-Psalm 18:6-

"Rock Groups" rock!

Tonight was a first for Rock Island. After much prayer, we decided to take a new approach to Thursday nights... discipleship groups. We are calling them, "Rock Groups".

Anytime we try something new I'm always a little nervous to see how the kids will handle it. I wonder if it's going to scare them off and they'll never come back or if it will be a huge failure in another way. I really need to get rid of this pessimistic attitude. The good side of this assumption is that I'm always pleasantly surprised and rarely let down. Tonight was no exception.

We had about 30 youth kids tonight. We split them into 4 different groups. We didn't start an indepth study for the first time out, we just split up and talked about what groups will be like. I spent some time splitting the groups based on age, peer group, race, and gender. When I say I split them by that, I mean that I integrated. Most kids ended up with other kids they barely knew. When I started telling the kids whose group they were in, there were some big sighs and bad attitudes. Noone wanted to be with other kids they didn't know, kids from rival gangs and especially kids with another colored skin from their own. But we just told them to suck it up and get over it, if they wanted to stay, they had to go to the group we assigned.

My group seemed to be going okay. There were 8 of us. It took a while to get the kids to talk or say anything, I was feeling a little discouraged. But when it came time for prayer requests, the good stuff began. One of the girls shared that she was struggling with missing her brother who was sent by DHS to a boys home 3 weeks ago. As she began to share, she began to sob. Families being split for various reasons is very common in this neighborhood, so I thought it was a unique opportunity for the other kids to share their common experiences of family splits and how they dealt with it. One boy talked about a brother getting sent to boot camp, one was a mother in prison, another was a brother running away from home and another was losing a best friend/brother to deportation. As the kids began to share their stories and how they dealt with it, I began to see my dream become a reality. In that group were guys and girls from every race, age and background, yet they were sitting there relating to each other and giving advice. I even saw some quivering lips as they sympathized with the girl and almost began crying with her. At the end we all got in a circle and layed our hands on her, some sweet prayers were said. One girl, who I've never heard pray outloud, prayed that angels would surround the brother, wherever he was.

I think "Rock Groups" are going to be a success. Pray that some true discipling will get done in these groups and that the Lord would break down the walls that some of these kids put up!

Sunday night kickoff!

Last night was our first night back for Sunday worship after taking the summer off. We thought it would take a while to get up to our normal numbers but we were surprised as all our neighborhood friends and families were right there waiting as we opened the worship doors. Praise God!
Everyone is invited to join us every Sunday night. We have dinner together on our back patio at 6:00 and worship at 6:45.

I'm going to be a mommy!

JUST KIDDING.... bet I scared you. Here's the real story. Every Tuesday one of the young moms from the neighborhood,"Maria", who I would consider a close friend, comes in to clean Rock Island for us. She does it voluntarily out of the goodness of her heart and I think it's great. Tuesdays are usually the highlight of my week, not because Rock Island gets cleaned, but because her 1 and 2 year old daughters spend the day with me. I'm not going to lie, they can get in the way a little bit with my job, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I love those 2 like they were my own.

This past Tuesday "Maria", who is 24 years old with 4 kids, came in to talk to me with a heavy heart. She then began to sob and tell me the story of what had her so upset. It seems immigration officers have made their presence known in the neighborhood in the past 2 weeks. Last weekend they actually picked up 62 illegals and deported them. Most were caught because of their affiliation with a local latino gang, but it's still scary for all the illegals in the neighborhood. "Maria" is concerned that she will be next. She is being evicted from her apartment on Oct. 1 because of her illegal status and really feels the time is coming when she will be sent back to Mexico. So she wants to make some preparations with me before that day comes.

"Maria" is in the same boat as many illegal immigrants. They don't have papers to be here, but their children were born here and therefore are U.S. citizens. Her 7 and 8 year old boys were born in Mexico and don't have papers, but her 1 and 2 year old girls do. The "preparations" she needed to talk to me about were the adoption of her 2 children. She wants me to take the 1 and 2 year old as my own. Now before I say anything about that... I must say. There will come a day in the future, very distant future, that I know I will adopt a latino baby. I also have always known the possibility of me taking one home from the mission at some point in my life is probable.

BUT, I am 23 years old and single, with no possibility of not being single in the near future or probably distant future. I had 3 questions when she sprung this request on me. The first was, "Don't you have other family here?" Her answer, she does, but she told me that most are all alcoholics and cocaine addicts. The second, "why not take them with you?" Answer, when she goes back to Mexico she most likely won't have running water or electricity and disease is running rampant in her home town. She doesn't want to take her daughters back if they can legally be here forever. And my last question, "why me?". Her answer, "because I want them to be like you". GULP... after that answer and a few tears I immediately wanted to say, Ok, where do I sign, hand em over. But, the thought of hauling them around in one of those baby backpacks at work and the look on my parents face when I told them they would be getting 2 more grandchildren this week (my sister had a little boy last Friday), kept my mouth shut and my mind running.

I didn't make any promises to "Maria", but I did tell her that I'll pray. Mainly I'm going to pray that she doesn't get deported. But I also will pray that God will give me the wisdom to know what to do with these two little girls, as well as the many children in the area who might soon be orphaned due to immigration laws.



"Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us." James 1:27 NLT

I guess no news is good news!

The reason I haven't updated Osvaldos story is because I don't have a clue. I keep hearing from family and friends in the neighborhood, "he'll be here tomorrow", "he'll be here in two weeks", "they are tying up loose ends in Mexico". So I'm staying optimistic and praying everyday for the miracle to continue. I ask that you do too. I will make a point to blog at least twice this week about things that are going on with the children and youth. I've been bad about that... sorry.

Maybe I should be praying that the Lord will make me a better blogger!

PRAY!

Today is the 21st...that means everyone please say a prayer for the Hernandez family. Today is their appointment with immigration and they are travelling back from mexico. Pray that the Lord will open the eyes and hearts of the INS officials involved. Also, pray that the family gets back safe. I'll post pictures when I have them.

"Call to me and I will answer you"

Before I share about my day today I want to share two quotes from my blog yesterday:

"The summer began with us losing one of our most involved kids to deportation. I didn't know that my heart would ever heal for that. It's still a tough subject."

""Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" Ephesians 3:20"

Now on to my story.... you're going to need to sit down for this one. To understand this story fully you need to go back and read "Chandy...we got our miracle" that I wrote on March 9 of this year. To sum that blog up, last March the family I am closest to at Cross & Crown, the Hernandez', were torn apart by deportation and I had to say goodbye to them all, including 14 year old Osvaldo who was the heart and soul of our Rock Island ministry. The hardest thing I've had to do since coming into full-time ministry a little over a year ago. On May 6 I wrote a blog titled "Viva la Mexico". In that blog I wrote about the plan I had to go see the Hernandez family for Osvaldos 15th birthday that is coming up on September 13th. Now that you're up to speed I will go on with my story.

On Sunday night I had a dream about Osvaldo. I dreamed he was walking towards me in a white t-shirt with a huge grin on his face, he told me he was coming home. On Monday morning when I got to work I told Luke & Ron about my dream and told them that I just had to go to Mexico and follow through on my promise for Osvaldo's birthday. I was actually considering taking a bus down there by myself. So I pretty much prayed all day yesterday for the Lord's guidance in what I should do. I knew He was telling me something about Osvaldo and I couldn't figure it out.

Today was the second day of the school store and after a long day of handing out close to 200 backpacks the staff was exhausted. I was tired and weary and ready to head home. The doorbell rang and Paul went to get it. A few seconds later I look up and in walks Luis, Osvaldos 22 year old brother. Luis stayed here when his family got deported in order to keep a job and send money back to Mexico. Luis has only been to Cross & Crown a few times, he is kind of shy and has never really acknowledged us as someone who loves and cares about his family, so the fact that he was standing in the middle of the sanctuary shocked me. Immediately my heart sunk into my stomach and I thought something was the matter. I wasn't prepared for what he told me next.

He was heading to Mexico this evening to pick up his family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Their mother has been given an appointment to renew her papers at the immigration office in Texas. THEY ARE COMING HOME! All of them...including their mother Maria and newest baby brother (who I've never met) Ezekiel. Osvaldo had called and asked Luis to come down and tell us. He also asked Luis to make sure we saved a backpack for all of them. They are getting back in time to start school. My immediate reaction was to start crying, which I did for a while... and then I remembered my dream.. the Lord wasn't telling me to go to Mexico, He was telling me that they are coming home. Never has Ephesians 3:20 rang so true. He truly is doing immeasurably more than I have asked or imagined.

To end this... I ask everyone to pray for their family. Specifically on the 21st. That is when Maria has her appointment with immigration. Pray that the Lord intervenes and brings their family home safely as soon as possible. Tell everyone you know to be praying all day on the 21st. The Lord is so very faithful to those who believe. And He says,

"CALL TO ME AND I WILL ANSWER YOU" -Jeremiah 33:3

Summers end....just the beginning!

This morning on my way to work I was thinking back on this summer. This is the first summer of our full-time youth ministry and to say it was exhausting would be an understatement. But when I thought back about this summer I began to cry. The Lord has truly done some amazing stuff that I didn't even think possible. I can't imagine what amazing things He is going to do during the school year.

The summer began with us losing one of our most involved kids to deportation. I didn't know that my heart would ever heal for that. It's still a tough subject. But soon after the Lord started bringing kids from all over Oklahoma City who have now become a family. We had our share of hard times: the youth center was broken in to about 5 times, one of our kids got stabbed, a few of our kids spent and are spending some time in jail, there were a few gang encounters and as recently as this week, 3 of our youth kids are enduring the death of a parent. But then there is the good stuff: camp was life changing for so many of our kids. About 10 accepted Christ for the first time and had their first encounters with the Holy Spirit. We did slip and slide in the front yard of Rock Island, played basketball in the rain, watched tons of movies, had many pool tournaments, had watermelon eating contests, and ate lots of ice cream and pizza.

I remember a few weeks ago during a particularly tough time asking myself what in the world I am doing. I think I ask myself that at least once a week. I love what I'm doing, but sometimes I wonder if I'm equipped. The Lord then reminded me of a prayer I prayed months ago. I said, "Here am I, send me". That is a bold prayer and it still scares me, but I dare anyone to pray it. The Lord not only will overwhelm you with predicaments, but he will open the flood gates to His blessing. As we near the closing of our exciting summer and the kids head off to school I can't help to be excited about what's going to happen next and thankful I get to be a part of it.


"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" Ephesians 3:20

AND HE HEALED THEM.

The very last picture is of a kid named Julius. I met him at Sister Teddy's school. It is a boarding school (if you can call it that) run by a former nun. She used to only take in deaf, blind and crippled. Now she also takes in former LRA members who have escaped. She has about 120 kids, half are LRA and half are handicapped. We spent 4 days at Sister Teddys... the very first day I was drawn to Julius. He didn't socialize with the other kids or smile. He just sat in the corner with a sad look on his face. Julius is 14 and when he was 12 he had to witness his dad (who was going mentally crazy from AIDS) chop up his little brother with a machette and then turn on him. Someone intervened before Julius was killed. The brain damage left him deaf, mute and paralized on his entire left side. I knew from the moment I met him that the Lord would heal him: body and spirit.

The last day a few people in our group decided to lay hands on Julius and pray for him. We spent more than an hour just calling out to the Lord. I was literally sweating I was in such a spiritual battle for this child. I could feel the battle surging and must admit I was about to give up when.... I felt something. My hand was on his back and I began to feel the vibration in his voice. That's when one of our team who was on the front side of him cried out that he was talking, a few moments later we communicated with him and discovered he was hearing.... we knew there was only one thing left to do. Keep battling and wait for the Lord to heal his paralysis. So we began calling out to the Lord again and a few minutes later his body started to shake.... he started straightening his hand on his left side. I've never seen anyone healed in front of my eyes... I've heard of it, but never seen it. I had no idea what to do. So I just sat and stared as he marveled in his new healing. This teenager had been mute, deaf, and paralized for 2 years and now the Lord had intervened. HALLELUJAH!

This picture was taken after his healing...look at that smile. As we left the school compound for good we looked up to see Julius standing at the gate waving bye... he had the biggest smile and just as he was shutting the gate we saw him jog over and kick a soccer ball with the other boys. OH PRAISE HIM...

"Then the news about Him spread throughout Syria. So they brought to Him all those who were afflicted, those suffering from various diseases and intense pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralytics. AND HE HEALED THEM"
-Matthew 4:24

Hola from Africa...except they don't say Hola!

Greetings from Kampala Uganda. We arrived here early this morning. It has now been 6 airplane meals and 3 days without a shower since I stepped foot on American soil. Kampala is in the capital and I just paid a dollar to use a computer in a little print shop for 30 minutes. We whitewater raft the Nile tomorrow and then it's off to the village of Kitgum for the rest of my 2 week stay.

One of the more funny things about my trip so far is my frequent slippage of the Spanish language. For some reason, when I'm around people that don't speak English I switch straight to Espanol mode and start spitting out "holas" and "como estas's". Nevermind that they might speak French, Portugese or Acholi. I have slipped so many times and feel like such a dork.

My 30 minutes is almost up. But I just wanted to let everyone know I'm here safe and please pray for my trip. Pray for everyone on our team and that God would open our eyes and ears to his purpose here. Blessings.

When you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. - Hebrews 4:7

Last night we took some of the Rock Island kids who are 15 and older to a pre-screening of a new movie called, "Miss HIV" It was very interesting. Much of the movie was about the AIDS epidemic in Uganda. This caught my attention, considering I fly out for Uganda in less than 24 hours. After the movie we took all the kids to dinner. It's always special when we can eat a meal together.

After we got back to Rock Island I ended up giving one of our youth girls a ride home. We'll call her "Ava". Ava came into our office on Wedesday night in tears over several issues. One was family issues at home, one was being picked on by other girls (it's a jealousy thing, Ava is very beautiful) and the last was that she is desperately seeking the Lord and all her friends are dragging her down. She is trying to find a way to get away from all the negative influences around her. After giving her some female advice, Ron and I laid hands on her and prayed for her. One of the things I prayed for her was that she would come to really KNOW God, not just about Him.

Okay, back to the ride home. So last night (Thursday) I'm taking her home and she asks if she tells me something weird, will I think she's crazy. I tell her of course not, everyone thinks I'm crazy anyways. So she goes on to tell me that the night before (Wednesday) she woke up in the middle of the night from a dream where God had told her to read Psalms 27:1. The interesting thing is that because of her lack of biblical background she didn't even know how to say Psalms, it was just spelled out in her dream so she spelled it for me and asked how to say it. She said she got out of bed, found her bible and read the scripture and then prayed. It's really hard to explain to kids about the voice of God but that was definitely it with "Ava". I just encouraged her not to ever feel weird and to listen when she thinks the Lord is speaking to her. I am excited about this knew breakthrough with "Ava" and I pray that she will have more intimate experiences with the Lord. I also pray for these experiences for all our kids. I don't want the bible to just be this book that has big words and confuses them, I want it to be ALIVE.


"The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

Empty Streets

Rock Island doesn't normally meet on Wednesday nights, but last night we had some of our friends we met at Youth for Christ camp over to hang out for pizza. We had a great time.

This is just a quick group picture we took last night of some of our kids. Some nights, when we have lots of kids, I get kind of overwhelmed. But just think... every kid in this picture voluntarily spent their night at a Christian youth center. NW 10th, 9th and 8th streets were empty because all the kids were in Rock Island. That's a good feeling.

Update

It occured to me that none of the Rock Island staff have blogged in a very long time. Ron is on family vacation right now in Florida and Luke..well we all know he doesn't blog much. I leave for Africa a week from tomorrow. The day after I get back from Africa I close on my new house (July 31), so that is my excuse. I've been making an attempt at being organized for those two big events.

Here are a few updates:

- Last week some of the youth kids informed me that we need to take more field trips. With camps and stuff like that we only scheduled one to White Water in August. I told them to make me a list of stuff they wanted to do. Some items listed in the list of about 50 things were build a pool in the back of Rock Island and go to the lake. Ha. I then had to explain to them why it would be unwise to take 20 kids who can't swim to the lake and how if we put a pool behind Rock Island there wouldnt' be a basketball court. They quickly erased those things. They had some good ideas like camping, fishing, putt putt and Redhawks game. We are going to make an attempt to fulfill some of those wishes in the few weeks of summer left.

- We are starting a new girls bible study this week at Rock Island. I'm leading an in-depth study of what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman. I've been reading Proverbs 31 every night for about a month as a refresher. It's good for me...helps me to know areas I personally need to work on.

- This coming Wednesday we are going to do lice treatments on all the elementary kids. There is an outbreak and I'm pretty sure at least 20-30 of them have major infestation. I'm surprised I haven't gotten them in my 5 years working at the mission.

- We started language tutoring this month. It's just the beginning of this program. We are using the Let's Start Talking format which uses the book of Luke as a textbook. We are starting with only 3 students and 3 tutors. I'm sure it will grow alot in the months to come. Pray for Olga, Socorro and Ana as they attempt to learn English for the first time.

Blessings to everyone!

Comfortably Numb

Right now I'm sitting in the Rock Island office in complete silence. This is a very rare occasion and I'm loving every minute of it. All the youth kids are in the big room watching "Blood Diamond". Every Tuesday we do movie day. We invite all the middle school/ high school kids from the neighborhood in to eat popcorn/candy and watch a popular movie. Last week we watched "Freedom Writers" and the week before was "Stomp the Yard". After the movie is over we usually ask the kids what they saw in the movie that might apply to what they know about God. I have liked many of the answers we have gotten in the past few weeks. I wonder what comments they will have after the movie today. If you haven't seen Blood Diamond, it's a great flick.

At Northchurch, my pastor Rodney is doing a series called "Comfortably Numb". I have really enjoyed it and this subject has gotten me thinking. I have been here full-time for just over a year and in that short time I feel as if I have become comfortably numb with some of the surroundings.Yesterday was a prime example of this. Early in the morning I was standing out on the corner in front of the mission talking to a neighbor when a car sped by and a man came tumbling out of the passenger seat onto the street ... the car kept moving. He was bloody and screaming and one of the neighbors called 911, a few cops and an ambulance showed up. I came to find out that the man had picked up a prostitute who pulled a knife on him and stole his car. The whole time all this is going on, I'm just sitting in the grass playing hand-clap games with some of the kids, trying to keep the away from the cool people in uniform. I didn't really think anything of it and chalk it up to another day in the life.

As I go inside the mission everyone is wondering what is going on. They wondered why I didn't run in to get help and let everyone know. I had a moment after that when I realized. Wow... I am so numb to some of the chaos in this neighborhood. I just sat in the grass and played with the kids while all this went on around me. I felt a little guilty. Then I realized. There is one good thing and one bad thing about my lack of freaking out at chaos. The good thing is that... I don't freak out. I don't really feel like I ever panic in the day to day situations here and that is a good quality for inner-city work. On the bad side.... I might be comfortably numb. I hope that I don't ever miss an opportunity of people hurting because I'm used to it. I hope I don't ever reach a point when someone's pain will be unimportant to me because it seems "normal". I hope I never reach a point where I am unable to be broken. I hope that God continues to break me here... because that is when He gets to sweep in and save the day and HE is glorified!!! I hope I'm not ever comfortably numb.

Our version of church!

God likes to give us gifts.

Often I blog about how I have a major goal to let the kids in the neighborhood, just be kids. Yesterday I was given that opportunity and it was a day to remember. In light of the recent scorching weather, we decided to incorporate the most sophisticated and brilliant childhood water toy ever invented into our elementary ministry time.... SLIP'N'SLIDE!!! I probably haven't had the chance to partake in the fun of this great invention in the past 15 years. In those years the slip'n'slide has evolved from a long peace of plastic to a construction project complete with a fountain, built in sprinkler and water pit at the end. I was impressed!

After we set up two huge slip'n'slides in the front yard of Rock Island, the children began to flock. In a matter of minutes there were around 20-30 pushing and shoving in line for a chance to race down the slide. Most kids just wore their play clothes from the day, but there were a select few who wore something different. I got sidetracked for a while trying to set up a water toy and after my project I glanced up to see a group of 4 and 5 year olds who had decided that panties and undies were the best water apparel. It was funny to see cars drive by, it was obvious they were puzzled why a bunch of little brown children were slip'n'sliding in their undies in front of a church.

My favorite moment came at the end of the day. A little 4 year old, "Emma", decided she was cold and so we walked to the back yard to lay out on the dry concrete in the sun. After a few minutes she began to see shapes in the clouds and started pointing them out and naming them (in spanish, of course). There was "gato" (cat), "serpiente" (snake) and my personal favorite, "angel". She then asked me why the clouds made shapes. I paused wondering what my answer could be (I get these kinds of trivial questions often) and said "God does it". She then said the sweetest thing I've heard, in her broken four year-old Spanish she said "They are gifts, God likes to give us gifts"....... WOW! SHE GETS IT! What a perfect ending to a perfect day, in the midst of mud, water and sprinklers, a child points out a most precious message. God likes to give us gifts. Amen.

God's entourage!

Meet Leslie, Yadira, Adrian, Adamary, Lorena, Ricardo and Emily. Ron calls them my "entourage". I don't know about that, but I love their mamas. They live down the streeet from the mission and ring the doorbell at the mission everyday around 3 just to say hello and give me a hug and kiss. It's always the best part of my day! Can you see why?

I really hope these 7 little kids grow up to be strong women and men of the Lord. It's sad to think that at some point in their lives this neighborhood might pollute some of their innocence. I don't have the power to be there every second as these children grow up and guard their little eyes, ears and hearts. But I do have the power to call on someone who can do that. That's why I pray for angels... every day. I truly believe that at this very moment there is a host of angels watching over each of these little ones.

For the Lord says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do no know" (Jeremiah 33:3)

Tamales por todo!

Last night on the way to our Rock Island activity I stopped at one of the neighbors to say hello. She has kids in the Rock Island and Underground program and we've become very good friends. When I walked into her house I could smell something amazing so I quickly made my way back to the kitchen. There was a wonderful sight. My friend along with her two sisters and sister-in-law were slaving away in the kitchen. They were cooking tamales and when I asked what for they said...for Rock Island. They got up early yesterday morning and spent their own money to buy the supplies, then they spent all day yesterday cooking over 200 tamales. Just because they love us.

These women are on the very bottom of the poverty scale in the area surrounding the mission. Yet they took what money they had and their talent to bless others. So precious. I told a few of our teens last night that they could learn from this women. Many of our teens feel like they have nothing to offer, yet they could use their talents to bless others. I wonder if they will put that lesson into practice this week and do a good deed. I'll update on the outcome.

I love my job!

CAMP PHOTOS