YOU AIN'T HYPE!

In little over 44 hours, God willing, about 60 kids will walk through the doors of "the yellow church" and start their five weeks of the summer day camp learning about God, playing Challenge Circle, dancing, singing, arts and craftsing, and having fun.  As many people working the camp would probably agree, we're not really sure what to expect at camp.  How many kids will show up?  Will rainy days mess up plans?  Although there are many unknowns, we wait and trust that those God would have be in the camp would be changed in a very positive way.

Decorations are finally finished.  A cardboard castle was erected, stone walls made, tissue-paper torches "lit", and giant scrolls unrolled.  Our theme this year is "The King and Me" and we hope that all of our Bible lessons and instruction will point to the King of Kings and how He rules over all.  Please pray that in all the planning, and in all the fun, we as staff remember to point the kids to Jesus and how great He is and not how fun and exciting we appear to be.  It's not about us.

One of the favorite cheers at our camp is when the person running Challenge Circle (a circular relay race game) yells "You Ain't Hype" at a specific team and they, in unison, yell back "You Ain't Hype!"  The team that shows the most energy wins points.  Also, during the relays races, teams are awarded points by winning the races but also for being the loudest encouragers of other teams.  There is so much tearing down of other people that happens in the community and we hope that God will work in the kids' hearts.

More updates to come.....

Two In the Books

Year number 2 of the after school program is in the books.  Done.  It reminds me of the end of a track race.  During the race, I try to conserve energy and push to the finish and expend all the speed I can before the finish line.  As the finish enters my vision, I anticipate rest despite feeling tired.  The closing moments are usually the most painful but then when I finish, I can look back on the race and the sport that I love and get excited and forget about the struggles.

I know there have been times this year that the struggles and pain were more illuminated than the triumphs, the positive growth, and the hope I can reflect on now.  In our end-of-the-year evaluations of the two:fiftytwo After School Program, I was very grateful for the section labeled "Highlights."  It had been awhile since I'd really only focused on the positives of the year.  I think the intent of this section was to discuss in what ways the program functioned better this year than the previous year, the first year.  What God brought to my heart were not aspects or changes to the program, but memories. Memories?  I wasn't expecting that.  As I look at some of my top 10 moments from the year, some include just simple interactions with the kids.  Challah laughing uncontrollably when I impersonated an old man, Michaella getting so excited to show us her loose tooth, Diallo's face lighting up when he was asked to explain the gospel to the younger kids, Mekhi going from running around and not being able to sit still in a chair, to sitting quietly, absorbing every piece of educational information, and even opening up more to the adults when before he just seemed very sad all the time.

I thank God for all the ways that this year was harder than the last, in that, we had the "opportunity" to undergo difficult situations in order to obtain more experience and also to thank God for the times that He shows up and works in the kids' hearts.

Here are some of my favorite photos I took with my ipod this school year, looking back.

Diallo and Ferrell cheating during a keep-the-cone-on-your-head relay race

Chassidy and Charity pretending to drive Mr. Marc's car when we took them home.

Diallo, Mr. Andrew, and Ferrell in the van on our way to a field trip

Haha, my sister's Christmas gift to me, face in the snow.

Field trip to the arboretum.  Da boyz

At the beach with my beautiful girlfriend Missi and visiting-sister Erin

Challah wrote a story where I was the Merman (male version of mermaid) King where I helped her find her magic shell.  Dreams do come true

In light of the end of the school year, most all teachers and students get a few well-deserved months off in the summer from all the planning and brain-growth.  In order to foster this "brain-growth" in kids over summers, many people around the country have baseball leagues, tennis lessons, summer camps, and other programs that keep the kids focused.  I heard an interesting study done for white, middle-classed kids versus black, under-privileged kids.  Both groups learn at the same rate during the school year, but there's a significant drop-off in knowledge and remembering facts during those summer months.  Therefore, many black kids return to school having lost much of what they learned previously.  We at 2nd Mile Ministries in the process of planning for our sixth ever Summer Day Camp (SDC), and it's coming quickly.  I will hopefully tell you more details about the different aspects of the camp next week so stay tuned.

Last week we spent two days just decorating for the camp in which the theme will be "The King and Me" (a grammatically correct version of "The King and I").  We want the kids to know that God is the King of Kings, so the idea of His throne will be hammered into the this summer.  Here are some beginning decorations.

Along with SDC preparations, this past weekend we put on our annual rummage sale at Eastside Community Church, where all money that is raised goes towards the summer camp.  This rummage is HUGE!  Tools, furniture, old TV's from way way back in the 90's with VCR's attached, toys, books, clothes, you name it.  It was a ton of work.  It was as if we set up a huge thrift store and then closed it down the next day.  There was some very interesting stuff including this bike helmet with some billiards balls on them.

After lots of sweat, organizing, and hauling furniture, I can look back and see that all the hard work paid off, quite literally too.  We pulled in about $4,500 for camp which will hopefully cover most of what we need to run a successful camp.

Please pray that all the new responsibilities would not overwhelm me, that the planning for the camp is thorough and seeking to serve God by loving the kids, and that those on staff with 2nd Mile would be able to find at the end of these small races (school years, big events, etc.)

Growing Pains

When I was a freshman in high school, there were few that were shorter in height.  By some miracle, my height didn't prevent me from making the basketball team, but did hinder my playing time.  I believe it was right before the basketball season that I began to feel pain in my knees and upper shins.  It wasn't enough discomfort to go to the emergency room, but I did get it checked out when I had my physical.  "Probably growing pains," the doctor declared.  It's about time, I thought.  Walking through the harsassment-filled hallways of high school as a tiny little freshman became a greater challenge than normal, especially now that the pain in my legs caused me to disguise a slight limp.  (For those of you worried out there, I never really got harassed, I didn't tried to draw any attention to myself).

It turns out, I didn't hit my growth spurt until two years later when I had already given up on organized basketball and started running track and cross country.  Relating to basketball, I used to always handle the ball well.  Being lower to the ground, I could dribble quicker and have better control.  I used to guard the other team's shortest or weakest player since there wasn't much expectation for me to rebound the ball.  Nowadays, with my tall appearance, I've had to "guard up" and defend people much bigger and stronger than I.

Although this type of physical growth is normal for pretty much everyone, it doesn't take away from the fact that it can be uncomfortable and hard to deal with.  Growth is sometimes hard to see, especially when you see someone almost every day.  When I go home and I see my nephews are 8 inches taller and their voices are lower, I'm filled with awe at first ("Dang, you grew!") and then I think about the fact that I'm getting older as well and, supposedly, getting more mature and grown up.  I was asked recently, "What ways have you seen yourself grow this year?"  Honestly, I didn't want to answer that question because I wasn't sure I had.  This past school year, I've had more frustrating days at work and been put in many situations that have left me unsure how to handle them.  I think in regards to the after school program, the fact that I can so easily point out what is going wrong reflects on what I choose to focus on; the negative.  This kid talks back to adults now when they didn't before.  That kid never used to call people names.  It's so easy to see what's wrong and try to fix it.  I think one reason I've had more frustration at work is because when I see little or no growth in the kids, it reminds me of my own frustrations with myself not growing the way I would want.

But God has a plan.  Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."  When I look back and seek the positive memories of the year, I see that the biggest growth has been relationships.  The kids at our program are pretty much best friends with other kids in the program, they are more and more trusting of us as their authority figures.  As you may know from the previous blog, we have made an effort to spend time with the kids outside of the program at the parks or at organized Boys and Girls Days.  Sometimes, I feel like a part of their families, someone closer than just a teacher or babysitter.

What got me so in love with serving Brentwood in the first place was imagining these kids in 5, 10, or 15 years down the road, where they'll be, what plans God has for them.  Yesterday, I was at the park playing basketball and throwing the frisbee around and I saw Breon, a once 14 year old boy who came to our summer day camp back in 2010 who had a huge effect on me.  He is now 17, as tall as me, and asked me to play him one-on-one with him.  He still refers to me as DJ Andrew, my name at camp since I helped out with the music selection.  Another kid in the park, when we'd ask him a question, he'd reply with sir or ma'am, even though we are only in our lower to mid 20's.  It was a reality check with being 25 and not in high school or college anymore.

With my grandmother's passing back in March and only one grandparent still alive, it's been strange to think about losing a generation of your family.  This life, although slowly, continues to move forward and all of us grow, mature, get stronger, weaker, wiser, older, and eventually begin their eternity at death.

Have you ever walked in a cemetery?  Alone?  It's extremely humbling.  Suddenly, that TV show you love to watch becomes pointless, friends and family become more important, a fixation on the fragility of your life comes over you.  As a snake sheds its skin in seasons, and a hermit crab moves from shell to bigger shell as it grows, as the dead skin on my back peels after a wicked sunburn attacked the hard-to-reach places on my back, something new emerges.  My older brother is now a dad, even though I still see him as my buddy who I grew up with.  It's crazy to think about.  Look at your life, where you came from.  Generations back, generations forward.  The ol' days.  These new changing times.

It turns out the kids I've invested in this year are growing, and God is a huge part of that growth.  Although it's hard to see the day-to-day growth, the changes are more evident when I think back to the beginning of the school year.

Here are some pictures my sister found for me of my childhood.

 

I think I've grown up (
?)

These things have been on my mind.  Thanks for reading.  Hopefully you've taken some time to contemplate your life and all the characters in it, the people that God used to shape you.