Names and Numbers

Wild Bill was a short old man with a scruffy beard and said he was "residentially challenged."  This homeless man came to an outreach event put on by Shiloh Baptist Church yesterday morning in order to spread the love to those less fortunate where a Thanksgiving meal and clothes were given out.  Wild Bill was such an encouragement to me because he was not what I would call a normal homeless man.  He experiences so much freedom in his relationship with the LORD that he is confident that if he gave away his blanket, his clothes, all his money and possessions, that God would keep him and provide for him.  As he spoke to me, he made deep eye-contact with loving and concerned eyes and repeatedly pointed to my heart when he was telling me the importance of love and forgiveness.  He says that somebody like me can't reach certain people the way God has allowed him to reach people, being homeless.  I won't forget him walking away, short stature, smiling, pointing to his heart, and walking away.  May God continue to provide for him.  I also talked to an older gentleman from Jamaica who had gotten a meal.  His name, to my surprise was Andrew too.  Very nice man and claimed to have a relationship with the LORD. 
Here in Brentwood, there are many unique names, including the name "Unique".  Many hard to spell, pronounce.  Some here even change their names or go by a nickname.  One guy at the courts is nicknamed "V-I" since he's from the Virgin Islands.  I think of men in the Bible where God changed their names for them.  Abram was promised by God to be the father of a great nation, numbering greater than the stars in the sky and the sand on the shore.  His name was changed to Abraham, which means "the father of many nations."  For the rest of his life, his name would be a reminder of God's promise.  Sarai (Abram's wife) became Sarah.  Jacob became Israel.  Saul became Paul.  Many of these changes reflect a new calling or a description of what one has done or is destined to do.  My name is Andrew, given to me by my parents, meaning "manly" or "strong."  I don't think my mom gave birth and then thought, "Hmm, this looks like a strong and manly baby, let's name him Andrew," but I'm grateful for the name nonetheless.  I don't know if God will give us new names in heaven (there is some speculation about Revelation 2:17), but even if we don't, what name would God give me?  How does God see me?  How did He make me unique?  Around here, different people call me Andrew, Drew (two-yr old Jalen who can't pronounce Andrew), Mr. Andrew (two:fifty-two students), and lil Volms (fellow intern Tiara, or, T $ mini yo-yo) (inside jokes sorry).  Wild Bill was obviously not his birth name but is known by that in the streets.  When I hear the name of an old friend that I haven't seen or heard in a long time, I'm instantly transported in my memory of who that person was a factor in my life.
I love all the names I hear.  Even the names within our own after-school program are pretty sweet.  Rayshantia, Challah, Chassidy, Alexzandyr, Charity, Diallo, and Emery.  Unfortunately, Jovonta is no longer coming to the after-school program since she needed more time to do homework.  She is probably the one I'd be least worried about leaving since she works so well on her own anyway, but it's still tough to know she won't be as invested in as she was before.  I ask you if you'd join me in continuing to pray for her schooling and development and that Christ would reveal Himself to her.  So we are down to seven kids.  Seven.  (Also a name George Costanza wanted to give his first child).  Anyway, the number 7 has great significance in the Bible.  Often used for completion.(http://www.angelfire.com/az/rainbowbridge/seven.html)
Now, with my history of loving numbers and statistics, I feel I should be more concerned with the low number of students in our program.  I mean, Jacksonville is huge and we are investing in only seven.  Thankfully, the reduction has not concerned me at all.  More time can be given to each kid.  Also in the Bible, I think of how God uses small numbers and sizes to show his glory and power.  A few examples I can think of are David and Goliath (obvious).  The beginning of 1 Samuel 14 is incredible.  Jonathan and his young armor-bearer (2 people) go up against the Philistine army with faith that God has handed the army over to them and start their killing, causing confusion.  Moses, having a speaking problem, delivered Israelites from Egypt.  The list goes on.  2 Kings 6:15-20, a city was surrounded by horses and chariots ready to attack.  God, after Elisha prayed, made the oncoming army blind and led them elsewhere and then opened their eyes.  Most are familiar with the miracle of Jesus feeding the four thousand and the five thousand with just a little bread and fish.  God uses little to accomplish much.  He uses the weak to lead the strong.  I pray that the small number of students in our program encourages you and us to have a faith that is grateful that God is concerned for the weak and small and can work in huge ways.

Emery is the last of the kids that I have yet to introduce.  He is in fourth grade and is the nephew of one of 2nd Mile directors.  He might have the highest reading level of anyone, one of four 4th graders at proficiency at his school (highest level), grasps math very well, and has a vivid imagination.  This imagination, however, causes him to get easily distracted.  He loves dragons, yugi-oh cards, drawing pictures of dragons.  He is definitely unique in how God made him.  He's sensitive when others tease him.  He's a bigger (taller) kid and has a powerful kickball leg and baseball swing, but has pretty messy handwriting.  He uses capital letters randomly in words and spaces letters wrong.  He is capable, just not motivated to improve the things that he struggles with.  Who is?

                                                        (Emery winding up for a kick)

I leave you, praying that you have a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends.  Thank God for allowing you to even have family or friends.  If this is a rough time for you, just know that God is able and God is willing to lift you up, all you have to do is be still.  Exodus 14:14 is beautiful in saying, "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Love you all, and go packers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXQLYTQsWaE&feature=related

"Do you love it more when God makes much of you or when God enables you to make much of him?"
-John Piper

I was thinking about this question this morning before church.  Keep this question in the back of your mind.  A couple years back, I remember one time listening to a speaker at a conference once say, "You are not defined by the things you do, but by the reasons you do those things."  Two people can do the same exact thing, yet have two completely different motives, which define their character.  Read between the lines.  Don't judge a book by its cover.  Both common idioms (I had to look that up, I'm not that smart) we use over and over, yet sometimes don't think about their meanings in our own lives.  I'll tell you what I mean.  Upon first hearing about 2nd Mile Ministries (which by the way has nothing to do with the Second Mile at Penn State, in case you were wondering) and hearing the facts about the things that happen in the neighborhood, I was shocked.  Prostitution, drug-dealing, murder zone, fighting, cursing, LOUD arguments in the streets.  I still find these things to not be good things, but learning about the reasons for people doing these things, I could begin to understand how without knowing Jesus is an option, poor decisions are made but with respectable intentions.  Let me explain before you question this.

In middle class, the family structures are in most cases patriarchal (dad is the head) but in poverty the family is headed by the mother, or is predominantly matriarchal.  Many families here don't have the presence of husbands and wives in the same household, mostly just a mom.  If that mom has kids, she will need some sort of income (obviously) to survive and provide for her kids.  If she is lucky enough to have a job (many don't have the skills or education), she might not have a car or access to one, so she'll take a bus, which takes away time she could be at home watching the kids, keeping tabs on them.  In some rough cases, with no job, no food, no people to help, prostitution becomes an option.  Still with the good intentions of providing for family, the act is bad.  I'm not going to try to explain good intentions for drug-dealing or killing because I think they are non existant, but I do know that many reasons for making bad decisions have a lot to do with survival, but in every case, sin.

If I judge someone for what they do without taking the time to understand why they are doing it, what chance do I have of entering into a Christ-loving relationship with them?  Judgment creates barriers, distance, walls.  Jerry Bridges's book Respectable Sins is about the "little sins" Christians ignore or don't meditate on.  We might play sin down like it's not sin.  Some of the chapter titles are Ungodliness, Anxiety and Frustration, Discontentment, Unthankfulness, Pride, Selfishness, Lack of Self-Control, Impatience and Irritability, Anger, Judgmentalism, Envy, Jealousy, Worldliness.  Do any of those stick out in your own life?  Mine are bolded and underlined.  Some of the list surprised me.  Like, I know it's good to be patient, but a lack of patience is a sin? Whoa.  Bridges writes, "If we are honest with ourselves, we know that nearly every waking hour, we sin in thought, word, or deed.  Even our best deeds are stained with impure (mixed) motives and imperfect performance."   He goes on later to say, "It's easy for us to condemn those obvious sins (abortion, homosexuality, murder) while virtually ignoring our own sins of gossip, pride, envy, bitterness, and lust, or even our lack of those gracious qualities that Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit."  James 2:10 says, "Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it."  Although it seems obvious that there are different degrees of sin, sinning once makes you a breaker of God's law, not a breakre of one of God's laws.

Back to the opening question.  When God pulls through and blesses you in some way, is the gift more important to you than the giver?  Do you become prideful for the things that aren't even yours?  In what you do, is it to make much of you or make much of God?  What are your intentions?  Ask God to reveal the imperfections of your heart if you don't know the answers to these questions.  Maybe there's one that you've suppressed or ignored for so long that there is fear to face it again.  God is able to bring you through anything.  Just ask him, believe He can change you and never doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does (James 1:2-8).

Our prayer should be "Lord, have mercy on me, for I am a sinner."  He will hear your cry.  He will hear your cry.  Listen to this song by Fernando Ortega.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRhujopTr9k

Jovonta (juh-VAHN-tay) is in fourth grade and she has a very gentle way about her.  She is only 10 years old, yet is pretty big for her age, even taller than many volunteers.  She smiles a lot and is friends with Rayshantia.  That's how she was picked for the program.  Although they aren't siblings, that friendship is a connection we definition were grateful to have.  I haven't worked much with Jovonta with school work because she is probably the only student who is able to do their work on their own.  Many of the other kids need someone to help them or even just watch them do their work in order to stay motivated to actually do their work.  I'm glad she's in our program.  She keeps the general craziness level of the program down and that's something God will take credit for.  In a neighborhood that has ranking (making fun of others), I'm concerned for her next few years.  I don't know if she is a target for being made fun of at school or not, but it is high possibility in her future, just for how God made her, nothing she could control.

                                                              (Jovonta during kickball)

Please pray:
-That Jovonta feels loved and accepted every day at our program and that God would reveal Himself to her in a way that tells her how wonderfully and beautifully He has made her.
-That all the buzz about the Second Mile scandal in Pennsylvania does not taint the 2nd Mile Ministry effort here in Jacksonville.  They are two separate organizations and we aren't offiliated with them, in case you were worried.
-For God to reveal more of Himself in the staff's/interns'/volunteers' own individual relationships with God so when brought together to do two:fiftytwo, God would be praised and glorified.

Owned!

Have you heard of a man named Job?  What do you know about him?  Was he rich?  Was he poor?  Did he store his treasures on earth or in heaven?  Did he love God?

The past few weeks, I've realized that when I give a Bible lesson to the kids at two:fifty-two (after-school program), I ask a lot of simple questions to help get their minds going, similar to what I typed above.  I've also realized that this method of simplification has helped me in my own understanding of the Bible.  To answer the above questions, I want to tell you of a time I got owned!  "Owned" technically meaning to be made a fool of or proven wrong or embarrassed.  In my case, proven wrong.  Last Sunday at Shiloh Baptist Church, the pastor talked about Job.  One of the richest men to ever live.  Read Job chapter 1 and just imagine being in his sandals.  Loses his family, his workers, his animals, and what does he do?  Yes, he grieves, weeps, rips his robe, shaves his head, all understandable natural human reactions for his time.  Even Jesus wept when he was deeply moved in spirit by others' tears (which is incredible to think about all on its own that we have a God that feels our pain).  After Job grieved, verses 20 and 21 say "he fell to the ground in worship and said 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.  The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.'"  What?!?  How is he able to do this?  Job did not find his worth or identity in his blessings.  Satan accused him of following hard after God because he had tremendous wealth.  I've heard and learned this story before, but what hit me was when H.B. Charles (pastor) was saying that we came in the world with nothing.  Therefore, even if the only thing you accumulated in your entire life was a measly old penny, you would still come out in the positive.  

I had to think about that.  Everything I have was given to me, even if I bought it with money I earn from a job that I work for.  Job was blessed to still have God and continued to trust in him even when he had nothing.  Take some time and think about 5 things that you have, big/small/expensive/priceless, and think of where you got it.  Me:

1. The food I eat -- God gave my supporters a giving heart and the money to support me in order to buy what I eat.

2. My basketball shoes -- Someone that used to live at the green house (where I live) left them and they happened to be my size.  Thanks God.

3. My family -- God gave me a family that loves and supports me, which is an emotional resource that many in poverty do not have, which often determines education and knowledge and behavior.

4. A Steven's Point T-shirt -- God allowed my brother to go to the University of Wisconsin in Steven's Point and he gave me a basketball tee which I still have and wear.

5. The pen in my book -- Borrowed from the green house, it was bought at some point.  I don't know how it was given to me, I just know I didn't earn it myself.

In my possession are probably like thousands of things.  In poverty, there is much greater emphasis on sharing.  Ownership is not as important.  Survival is key on who you know and how you can mutual help each other based on what you have, whether it is physical or emotional or mental.......

Oct. 29th, we had 2nd Mile's annual Family Fall Festival where families enjoyed games, candy, hotdogs, nachos, costumes, apple bobbing, face-painting, and music.  It was put on by 2nd Mile and the Boys and Girls Club, with various churches volunteering the decorated trunks of their cars for a Trunk-Or-Treat event where kids can win candy playing different games.  We all shared in the excitement for three hours.  All eight of our two:fifty-two kids were there and it was awesome seeing them connect with each other amongst the sea of children.  To preface this, we handed out flyers around the neighborhood the week before the big event.  Oh yeah, and this was done at night which kind of freaked me out.  Constant suspense.  The worst that happened was getting chased by a little dog but other than that, we all came back safe.  Anyway, we had plenty of volunteers and supplies to make the event a success so thank you for your prayers.  It was cool to talk to people from the community who didn't even know 2nd Mile existed.  "Who y'all is?"  "We're a part of 2nd Mile Ministries."  "Where y'all at?"  "We live in different parts of Brentwood."  The whole point of this event was to show the neighborhood that we cared about them and hopefully God used the Family Fall Festival and continues to use it to ignite some hope in people that otherwise would go through life without much reason to hope.

If you admit that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you are saved by his grace.  That also means a whole lot of other things like, you are my brother or sister in Christ regardless of age or ethnicity or perferred music.  You were also purchased by the blood of Christ which means, in a sense, you are owned by Christ.  And that is something to be excited about, not embarrassed about. 

So much has happened in the past two weeks that I was too busy to blog last week.  I will make it up by introducing a couple more of our students.  The other siblings we have in our program are Charity and Chassidy.  Charity is in third grade and is probably the most participatory during carpet time and Bible time.  She loves to answer questions or read the memory verses, even when someone else is called on.  If you remember me mentioning little Moses during my support raising summer, these two girls are his younger sisters.  Charity will do anything to be a helping hand and it seems very genuine.  She wants nothing out of it.  She is very well-behaved and loves to learn.  She still needs work with reading (like most of the kids) but no doubt will improve by her hard work.  Chassidy is in second grade and is very tiny.  It's kind of a mystery as to what kind of day she's going to have.  She might be very focused and well-behaved one day, or disruptive and unmotivated the next.  I've had the privelege of working with her during homework time and reading time a lot in the past weeks.  "Mr. Andrew, can you help me with my homework?" is usually what I hear in a slightly demanding tone.  Out of everyone in the program, I would say with confidence that Chassidy has the best reading comprehesion skills.  She is learning new words so quickly.  Everything academic is improving for her and she has amazing potential.  She just needs to work on persevering and focusing if she gets disciplined.

Please pray:
-For us staff and volunteers to be consistent with discipline.
-For Charity to know when it is her turn to speak.
-That God would intervene when we inexperienced instructors have to teach and discipline.
-For my own personal relationship with God to be seeking Him with all I got.

                                                              (Charity playing Red Rover)



(Chassidy playing Red Rover while keeping her

root beer float from spilling)