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!