Pearl's Before Mine: September 2022

I've never been a school teacher, but I'd imagine that getting a new group of students each year can feel simultaneously sad and exciting. Bonds you made the year before become memories, slowly fading, and a new batch of kids are there to be watered. The occasional interaction teachers have with former students, either in school or out of school, either the next year or years into the future when they're all grown, I'd imagine these are the unexpected and blessed interactions that validate a teacher's underappreciated career.

One of the best parts about 2nd Mile Ministries, is the fact that we get to watch students grow year after year in our programs. Those bonds get to continue each year that they return through our doors. However, since March of 2020, something happened in the world that disrupted this flow. It hasn't quite felt the same in ministry since. With the destruction to the Sanibel Island causeway (look it up) from Hurricane Ian last week, cars can no longer drive freely to and from the vacation spot. It felt like a destruction and disruption of a pathway that kids would go from our After School Program into our middle and then high school programs.

This school year, I've experienced glimpses of getting back to where we were pre-pandemic.

Tuesday, September 6th, about 3:30pm: I'm by myself shooting some hoops at the church when I hear shouts of, "Mr. Andrew!!!" coming from our rented van. Three of the students who had been in the program last year ran through the church to the back door to come outside and tackle me with hugs. I was happy to see them, but I was not really prepared for their excitement to see a familiar face. With faces changing so often each school year, teachers, classmates, it feels good to know that 2nd Mile can be a pillar of familiarity and equilibrium for the returning students. In contrast, "Who are you?" came from the little brother of the veteran students, probably confused as to why his big brothers came up to me so excitedly. Hopefully he will get to experience the growing bonds with us as well.

BLOCK Program - This is my fourth year leading the middle and/or high school program. The numbers have been low, partially due to losing connections during the pandemic and students moving away, but as we've been meeting in person more and more, I see friendships growing between the students. I hope to allow for shared experiences to create memories that will only strengthen these friendships. With our shiny new van, I'm hoping to go more off-site to do new things. Having only met three times so far this school year, we've left the church twice. The first time, we drove to Standard Feed, a place where gardeners and farmers come for seeds, feed, and in some cases, baby chicks, rabbits, or other birds. We picked out seeds to plant in our garden. The kids chose cauliflower (gross), cucumbers, carrots, and squash. The second time, we drove around Brentwood and did some vision casting, writing down things we saw that we liked, things we didn't like, and ideas we had for improving the neighborhood. We did the same thing for our garden. The students liked that there were lots of restaurants, corner stores, and churches. However, they agreed there was too much trash, too many stray cats/dogs, and too many abandoned houses. Ideas were to fix up the houses and clean up the trash. My prayer for this year is that we'd get more students, that each kid that walks through the doors feels loved, challenged to lead and grow, and would ultimately enjoy coming each week.

Two:fiftytwo After School Program - The day that 252 got to go to the garden was one of my favorite days this year. We created jobs for the students to do at the garden, and they were all excited to do them, no matter how mundane or boring the tasks may have seemed to be to me. Two planted seeds, one weeded, one got vines off the fence, one trimmed the grape vines, one trimmed the sweet potato plants, two watered the beds, and one was photographer. The below pictures were all taken by Zavier, 5th grader. He took dozens of great pictures, but below are my favorites.

Another thing I love about 252 this year is Talking Circles. Once a week, Mr. Fred comes and leads a discussion on whatever the kids want to share. The purpose is to be able to open up and talk about how to deal with emotions and certain situations that come up in their school or home life.

Please pray that bonds would be created with students. Please pray for Ahmad, the 252 Director. He's doing an amazing job and the kids love him, but he is also working full time and in school so I'm sure his energy gets depleted quite regularly. Please pray for BLOCK, for the right students to come that want to learn and grow. Please pray for our Family Fall Festival coming up in a few weeks. Follow