Back in J'Ville

In the movie Avatar, the main character in the movie is a paraplegic Marine named Jake Sully who is recruited to live among the native people of the planet in order to learn about a power source that the humans hope to take control of.  To be disguised in an Avatar body, Jake Sully lays down in a chamber that puts him to sleep and activate a tall blue body.  While Jake's human and handicapped body goes to sleep, his Avatar body wakes up and is able to move and run in ways that Jake could only dream of.  Among the other Avatars, Jake begins to learn about this strange people and their ways of living.  When it becomes time for the Avatars to sleep, Jake's Avatar sleeps but then his human body wakes up.  As Jake learns more and more about the Avatars, he begins to love it and desires less to complete his mission to help destroy these people.  He begins to believe that his human life feels like the dream instead of his reality.

I've lived in Wisconsin for most of my life.  How I was raised, who I've made friends, what I've learned, all Wisconsin.  When I came to Jacksonville in the summer of 2010, it felt like a dream.  Who are these people?  What can I learn from them?  Wisconsin, my family, and my friends I'm familiar with.  When I began learning about poverty in downtown Milwaukee, this new world I never knew before, I began a journey of transitioning my heart to this place of underprivilege and neglect.

Last Sunday, I arrived in Jacksonville to begin my staff job with 2nd Mile Ministries.  I had a whole 45 minutes to put my bag in my room, take a 30 minute nap, then rushed to my first ministry meeting of the year.  Although it was already a long and tiring day, I was revved up for all that was said.  2nd Mile has been busy this summer with planning and loving on the Brentwood neighborhood.  I apologize if the rest of the blog kind of spills out and makes a mess but I wanted to at least keep you updated on progress.

Church

2nd Mile Ministries has been praying and seeking to plant a church in the Brentwood community.  Last year, they secured a pastor who is willing to lead this new church with his wife along side him.  We don't have a building for the church yet, but that's okay "the church" is a group of people, not a building.  Starting on Aug. 28th, there will be weekly Bible studies at Marc's house (where I'm living this year) for anyone that'd like to come.  Diallo and Challah's mom (two kids in our two:fiftytwo After School Program) heard about the Bible study and quickly stated, "Y'all are inviting me.  I need me some Jesus in my life.  What color is the pastor?"  She is a character.  Definitely never boring around her.  In case you'd like to know, the pastor is black.

Staff

As you might've heard from my mouth this summer, I will be on staff along with two other full-time staff members.  Something I found out at our meeting last Sunday is that there will also be two part-time staff members joining this year!  Dani, a former intern who does alot of work with designing our website, editing videos, and so so much more.  Deirdree, a substitute teacher in the Brentwood neighborhood who was a huge help last year volunteering and helping us inexperienced teachers know better ways to teach and discipline kids.

Kids

We had 10 students last year at our program and I'm pumped to get to see them again.  I've been told a few of our kids may not be back this year because they've either moved or switched schools.  Please pray that they would be safe and continue to grow in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)  Also, pray that God would lead us to the right students and families to recruit new students for the program.

Building

The church where our after school program is held owns a two-story building next door that since spring break has had a lot of work done on it.  I took this picture today as Marc, Ernest (friend from the neighborhood), and I moved so many boxes and furniture out of the Green House and into this building and the church office for storage.  You can see that when it rains, the roof leaks, electric things are hanging from the ceiling, pipes are coming up from the ground.  It still has a lot of work to do but it sure has come a long way.  If you want to see more pictures of it's progress this summer, check out http://www.2ndmile-jax.com/photos/building-progress-walls-coming-down/. 

My Responsibilities
A year ago, my jobs consisted of planning rec time (games every day), being at the program every day, and teaching the Bible lessons.  This year, my tasks include planning rec time again, coordinating the Fun Friday activities (science experiments, field trips, cultures, dance, music, art, special guests, etc.), and constructing a better system for all the books for reading time.  It's a lot of work but I'm actually super pumped to plan and do busy work (weird that these things have become fun for me).

Mission Statement
This summer, the staff members spent hours in brainstorming, meetings, and prayer to come up with a clearer and excitement new mission statement.  We are seeking to see the gospel renew lives and communitites so they are transformed in every way.  In every way.  Not just helping the kids get better grades, but building relationships with all people and organizations, seeking to be a blessing and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I feel as though I hit the ground running since Sunday.  Had three straight days of meetings and planning.  Spent most of the day today walking up and down flights of stairs with a bunch of boxes possibly more heavy than my body should handle.  No more Green House.  I think the bank is going to buy it out.  Memories are still there but life's momentum is still rolling.  In this new world, I'm ready to be an active part of it.