Here's the 252 crew. students ranging from Kindergarten to 6th grade, grown-ups ranging from high school to, well, my age. Each kid has so much glow emanating from them. I want to know more and more what God sees when he looks at each one of them, full of wonder, life, laughter, frustrations. I've enjoyed getting to know these kids this year. They have yet to frustrate me (which I'm sure will happen at some point).
They are always so excited to help with anything we throw at them. Pull weeds, sweep the path, water these beds. A couple weeks ago, I wondered why vegetables weren't growing so well. A neighbor and myself discovered our irrigation system's batteries died and the plants may not have gotten daily water like we thought for perhaps longer than a month. Face palm. With seeds of cucumbers, squash, spinach, radishes, carrots, and some wild flowers, we hope to see the positive effects that a working water system has on their plants.
I'm hopeful that a partnership with the Brentwood Library will prove fruitful for both parties. I met with the branch supervisor to discuss how we could help each other. The above picture is an initiative the library has started, not even knowing there was a nutritional garden three blocks from them. Beginning a seed library while sharing books on planting will hopefully "plant the seed" for people to want to start growing themselves. We hope to utilize a little library at our garden to promote reading as well as encouraging visitors to check out more books and stories about plants and gardens at the library, and the library is willing to promote any events we have at the garden in the future.
I have to shout out my BLOCK students. Cordell and Lydia (left, 9th graders) and Quran (right, 8th grade) have been so faithful in attending the program. The three of them have been in 2nd Mile programs a combined 19 years throughout their lives. Their friendships have grown and I'm excited to see where their personalities and passions take them in their lives. Cordell is already starting to learn how to drive, and it seems like yesterday that I saw newborn Quran being carried around by her mom back in 2010. Crazy. This past month, we've harvested sweet potatoes and baked them, we've choreographed a dance together with absolutely zero dancing experience, and we've explored the river walk downtown for a nice getaway. I pray that these shared new experiences will help them grow in courage, in confidence, and in wisdom.
Once every month, I take a personal retreat day, or a PRD. This is a chance to reflect on the past month and how I've been doing with my life goals. Honestly, my current life goals have become slightly vague like, "Be a good husband." "Be a good dad." "Be conscience of eating and exercising." It's hard to grade myself each month when it all seems to fly by and the days tend to meld together. In October, I spent my PRD at Hanna Park very early in the morning when really nobody else was there. We usually come here to either go to the beach, play on the playground, or I play 9 holes of disc golf in the woods, but this time was different. I walked an unfamiliar path around one side of this lake, finding hidden trails that were new to me, but seemed well known to others. The water was like glass, the birds were oblivious to human presence, I even saw a gator slowly floating near the shore. These moments where I feel absolutely alone on the earth alongside nature are the most healing for my brain. The stress of everything going on outside of this park seemed to reveal the minute importance that it truly was. Each step, each breath, reminding me a my creator and my savior. Getting to interact, serve, and love people for a living is a huge blessing and privilege I realize. If you have a day to yourself in the next month, turn off your phone, go out to nature as early as you are able, be safe, and just soke it in.
We had our annual Family Fall Festival on October 21st. We had somewhere between 500 and 600 people attend. The music, the dancing, the food, the community vendors, and the neighborhood showed up for a safe and fun experience with games and candy too. Max loved it. Despite not being able to eat much candy, he loved winning candy for his mom and dad (how sweet he is). I do feel that 2nd Mile is growing in connections and partnerships with other organizations in our community. I do hope that these relationships will translate into some real felt presence and service by our neighbors in the community. Please pray that we never lose sight of our purpose to love and serve those that live here. I think there are times when people and organizations can fall into the trap of feeling well-known and important but their influence is no longer about others but about themselves. Lord, keep us humble. And lastly, thank you to those who donated for water! It was a huge blessing for all who attended!!
The last thing I will share about October is about these two knuckleheads. I've known Ferrell (bottom left) for 13 years. 13! He is now technically an adult. I've known Christian (bottom right) for almost 9 years. Whenever we have an Action Day, these two come help almost every time, and we grab lunch somewhere in the neighborhood afterwards. I've got a real love for these two, much like I feel Jesus's disciples must've had for each other when do ministry together. Ferrell has already spent much of his spare time working and saving up for his matte black dodge charger that he's wanted for years. Christian is super smart and has probably my favorite sense of humor. These two's bond is stronger the brotherhood, it's too hard to explain, and it's a blessing to witness. After we ate lunch, they wanted to come back to the church, after doing manual labor for 3 hours, and just play some basketball.
Have a great Thanksgiving in a couple weeks. Thank you for your prayers and support in this ministry that is helping to mold and shape lives. For God's glory!
