Game 5. 2021 NBA Finals. Series tied at 2 a piece. Bucks up by 1. Suns ball. Under 25 seconds to play.
Ever play the worst case/best case scenario game? What's the worst thing that could happen? What's the best thing that could happen? My mind tends to hang out in the worst case scenario world.
Devin Booker is looking to score for the Suns. He doesn't see Jrue Holiday come to double team and strip the ball from him. The worst case scenario of the Suns pulling ahead is eliminated. Holiday leads a fast break but only has to keep possession until the clock runs out. Giannis sprints down the floor, looks at his teammate and points to the sky. Holiday lobs the ball towards the basket, Giannis catches and throws it down, all while being fouled.
The Bucks lost the first two games of the Finals that year, but this play marked the changing winds of that series.
Why do I share that story other than to talk about the Bucks again? I think that when looking back on the past two months of ministry, I can't help but think about how unbelievably clutch God has been. When thinking about raising $300,000 for a building, having never been done in our history before, yes it is nice to imagine what success looks like, but it's almost too easy to assume it won't happen. One thing I realized when looking back at those few months was that our faith got stronger and more resilient the less we knew how it would happen. When things are so out of our own control, I believe that is when God wants us to get the ball out of our hands, and trust him to complete the alley oop dunk.
In case you do not follow 2nd Mile Ministries on facebook or instagram, we got the building! Our building campaign is set up into two phases. Phase 1 was to raise $300,000 by mid November to purchase the building. This phase had a quick deadline, and boy did God use unexpected places to bless us. Phase 2 is to raise another $300,000 for renovations with no deadline, a lot less stressful if you ask me. Currently, we've given the old owner some time to clear out the building so we can make plans to get to work.
At 2nd Mile, we've been blessed to win some grants that help fund a good chunk of our program expenses for the next few years. At the two:fiftytwo After School Program, students have weekly Bible lessons, weekly social and emotional learning exercises, special guests sharing about their careers, talking circles, and a monthly focus like science, art, cooking, etc. The students also have written job applications, conducted job interviews, and have little jobs at the program to get paid "money" and go to the "bank" or "store" and learn about saving and spending. At the BLOCK Middle and High School Program, students took some career quizzes online to see what jobs could fit their passions in the future, they went downtown to paint the scenery, constructed ginger bread houses, and helped plan, advertise, design, and decorate for our Christmas party. I wish I could spend separate blog posts about each activity we've done, because I feel that each of them plays a small part in who these kids will grow to be one day.
As we enter the year 2024, look for updates on building progress, new added roles to 2nd Mile, and new projects at the garden and at our programs.
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| Kids surprisingly got really into these career tests |
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| Dereon (6th grade) building an edible house |
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| BLOCK painting downtown (go to block_brentwood on IG for more) |
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| 3rd grader made Moses parting the Red Sea |
