Wednesday Morning Breakfast

I was blessed this morning...I got lucky. While the boys (Ron, Luke and John) were unloading 17,000 pounds of food, I had a chance to just be family with about 10 of the elementary kids.

They were all on the porch waiting when I got to work at 9. (They weren't supposed to be there til 10) Among them were a 2 year old and 4 year old asleep in a red wagon. Who knows how long they had been there just waiting. On days when I pull up to that, which is quite often, I always seem to get a big lump in my throat. So we went inside and "magically" there were just enough sausages and cinnamon rolls in the freezer to make breakfast for everyone. Some how I managed to cook it with the two wagon sleepers hanging on my back and a number of elementary "helpers" putting their paws all over the food. Afterwards we all just filled our plates and sat and watched cartoons.

For me, that was a typical Saturday and Sunday morning growing up. As I sat curled up on the couch with all of them I couldn't help but wonder if some of them had ever had hot breakfast. I also marveled at the PEACE. They were at home, glued to the t.v. with full bellies and the best part was that, unbeknownst to them, they were surrounded by the presence of God in Rock Island. There isn't a better place to be.

Preach it!-- Chandy

During the summer months we have a very busy schedule, every day with the Rock Island kids is designated for a specific event or task. Mondays are movie day, Tuesdays are work projects, Wednesdays are hang outs and Thursday are bible study. Each of those days is special in it's own way, but there is nothing like Thursday bible studies. I will admit, there are some days when the atmosphere is a little quiet and intimidating, but last Thursday was not the case. The Holy Spirit was so evident from the first words of the bible study, "Why did God invent mosquitos?" to the last moment when 5 kids stood up to ask for prayer for things going on in their life. Let me explain a little more.

Most weeks we have a specific topic we talk about, but this last week we decided to do an open day for questions from the kids about God, the Bible and life in general. We handed out bibles to all the kids and challenged them to try to find answers to their questions in it. We started with a prayer and then opened up the floor for the kids to ask questions. The first question was from a small 10 year old, "why did God invent mosquitos if they don't do anything but bite you?" Luke, Ron and I look around at each other and grin, but before we have time to even blink, the same 10 year old is reading the story of creation right out of the bible. A little time goes by and a few questions.... and then we get to the meat... the good stuff. But first I have to go back a little bit.

You see, a few years ago we had a kid in the neighborhood who was an acquaintance... we'll call him Michael. He walked by a lot and hardly came in, I gave him a few rides places but kept my distance... his ankle bracelet issued by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections was quite a deterrent to anyone getting to know him too well. Fast forward to two weeks ago.. we hadn't seen or heard from Michael in about 3-4 years. In he walks to Rock Island with a big grin on his face. Last we saw of him he was a prepubescent teen standing about 5 feet tall and weighing less than a hundred pounds. Now he's a man well over 6 feet. He didn't tell us much about where he had been and what he had been up to, but he made a point to tell me many times that he specifically came to Rock Island to get his life straight and stay out of trouble. Now we can go back to last Thursday.

I watched Michael the entire bible study as kids asked questions and he didn't say much, then in a pause I hear a question, "how can you believe in God when you can't see him and don't know he is there?" Crickets... crickets... crickets..... I throw out a few vacation bible school answers but know it isn't satisfying his real desire to know.. Luke says some things.. Ron does.. John does... but they are just words to him. He wants to know how there can be a God when all his brothers and sisters are spread out in foster homes all over Oklahoma and he has spent the majority of his childhood and life in jail. Then I hear from a voice, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." The kid reading the verse is a new kid who I'll call Nate.. we hadn't seen this kid since last summer and heard that he had spent the past year in jail... but he just happened to show up for bible study that day. After he reads the verse he begins to testify... and I mean TESTIFY about God's presence in His life and how he knows God has been there through abuse, jail cells, etc. He has the bible in his hand, he is waving it and he is preaching. And every kid in Rock Island is silent... dead silent. They are soaking up his every word like a sponge. I was in the corner just boohooing like a baby as this 17 year old preached about what REAL love and grace are. After he finished we didn't have much to say... so we just opened an invitation to kids who needed prayer. 5 kids stood up.. and these weren't kids that were our regulars.. they were newer kids that were rough and didn't seem like they could be cracked. They then stood still as other Rock Island kids stood around, laid hands on them and prayed over them. It was powerful. It was good.. and I was blessed.

Sometimes it's not the words of a pastor, priest or preacher that change a life, it's the words of someone who thinks they are ordinary empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Long time.. no see

Yes, I understand that we haven't blogged in over a month. I have received multiple emails and friendly reminders of that. We will try to be better, but I'm not making any promises. Here are a few little tidbits of our summer so far.

- We have a new intern named John from Dallas Theological Seminary. He's awesome and the kids love him. Hopefully he will blog soon.

- We went to camp 2 weeks ago and took 16 high school kids. It was just as life-changing as last year. (I'll put up pictures later)

- And lastly, here is our new summer schedule. We can always use extra volunteers or people that want to swing by and bring pizza or sandwiches for our lunches. I think the kids are getting tired of frozen corn dogs and burritos.

Summer Schedule
Monday
Mid/High Movie and Hangout 1:30-4:00

Tuesday
Mid/High Lunch and Work 1:00-3:00
Mid/High Work Out 3:00-4:00

Wednesday
Elementary 10:00-12:00
Mid/High Hangout 2:00-4:00
Mid/High Workout 4:00-5:00

Thursday
Mid/High Bible Study 12:00-1:00
Mid/High Hangout 1:00-2:30
Mid/High Work Out 2:30-4:00

I promise that we will try to write more very soon.

Futbol Fiesta

Today we wrapped up our second successful season of boys 15 and under soccer with what we like to call a "fiesta". Lots of authentic Mexican food, pizza, boys and several siblings and parents joined us at Rock Island to celebrate the end to a 6-2 season full of fun, team prayers, occasional practices and early Saturday mornings.

The team was entirely sponsored by an individual who offered financial support which allowed the boys to have their own jerseys (home and away), shin gaurds, soccer balls, practice cones, etc. The soccer team gives many of the boys a chance to play in an organized setting, receive coaching instruction, as well as behavioral instruction, and be with neighborhood friends, while also meeting new friends throughout the course of the season.

One of my favorite aspects of the soccer team is that it requires many of the boys to do something they otherwise would not be expected to do: be physically active on a regular basis and to be on some type of schedule. For the most part, the boys in this neighborhood are not necessarily expected to be timely to anything in particular(with the exception school and a few boys having to work). Because of this, most of the boys haven't come to appreciate the respect aspect that goes along with being on time or being where you say you will be, when you say you will be there. Being apart of the soccer team, along with field trips and the relatively new workout times, requires the boys to be on time, or be left behind.

With this being said, enjoy the pictures...

-Luke

Workout Videos...

Over the last several weeks the exercise/workout facility has been put to great use. We have girls and boys from the ages of 82-12 years old putting their bodies to work. On any given day 10-16 youth will exercise following a long days work at school. Most of them are eager to sweat, while several others were originally hesitant to look vulnerable in front of their peers. Over the last couple weeks the youth have been doing a variety of exercises to up their heart rate, burn some calories and learn some discipline through working out. It has been fun to see which kids would really take advantage of the opportunity to workout and apply themselves. Here are a few videos of what has been happening.
FYI, the last video is not a workout we have the kids doing, it was an obstacle course we made at the end of the workout to have a little fun. Anyone that can beat 3 seconds gets a years supply of bread from Cross and Crown.

Sunday nights

Sunday nights are special at the mission. We meet each Sunday night at 6 pm for a meal and worship service September through April. On our last Sunday night, (April 27) before our summer break, we watched this little slideshow to remind us of some awesome moments from the last year.

My Protector-- Chandy

This is a short little story... but I just couldn't pass up sharing it.

Last night we had our normal Sunday night worship experience at Cross & Crown. After worship I decided to have dinner with my parents. Instead of meeting them at the restaurant I just loaded up in the car with them and left my car at the mission. I didn't think much about it.

For some reason my phone was on silent during dinner, so I didn't notice that one of the Rock Island teens was repeatedly calling me. As I was riding back from dinner with my parents I happened to glance down at my phone and notice all the missed calls. Our dinner turned into quite long conversation and I didn't make it back to my car until a little after 9.

Once I got in my car and was pulling out of the neighborhood I returned the call. The teen was wondering where I was and why I had left my car at the mission. He informed me that I should never leave my car unattended at night in that neighborhood. And then the kicker..... he was worried about something happening to my car so he stayed and guarded it until his dad made him go home at 9.

In our neighborhood all the doors are chained at dark. The only people that go outside are up to no good and most likely heavily armed. But this 15 year old boy sat in the dark for over an hour just to make sure no one did anything to my car.

I know this story seems so insignificant and simple, but to me it spoke volumes. I'm not sure if I've ever had such a powerful gesture done for me.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13