Life grows in the winter (December 2021)

You're 8 years old. You're given a $100 bill and told you get to spend it on anything you want in Walmart. What do you get?

We had the privilege of getting invited by a Cops and Kids initiative where a cop walks around the store with a kid or two and helps them picks out presents for themselves. $100 (including tax) was their budget. We arrived in the Walmart parking lot, the kids got their names checked in, they were given a juice box and a snack, and waited in line as patiently as they could to be escorted by a cop to pick out gifts. In my group, I went with an officer and three of our After School Program students. Jon, a 5th grader whose football team made it to the championship tournament in all of Florida, went straight for the football gear (an arm sleeve, mouth guard) and some nice new headphones. Philipp went for some nerf toys. Victor, a 3rd grade boy, had a difficult time thinking of what he wanted. Jon and Philipp had almost already maxed out their $100 before Victor got picked anything.

Me: What kinds of things do you like?

Victor: I want to get a gift for my mom?

Me: That's nice of you. What do you think she might like?

Victor: A pancake maker.............and a candle.

Philipp: Oooh, I'm gonna get a candle for my mom too!

I see this a lot in this neighborhood. When given an abundant supply of fill-in-the-blank, generosity is almost second nature. It was very touching to witness, and he did find that pancake maker and a lavender-scented candle. Naomi, our 5th grader, took the longest time because she used that $100 to do her Christmas shopping for her mom, dad, sister, and two brothers.

This is the first time we've taken a field trip to a store to have the kids pick out toys. It was encouraging to me to see a few of the kids in the beginning of the shopping a little tense being walked around by a stranger, let alone a cop. Philipp's first words when we started were, "I don't really like cops, they're scary." I've gained a lot of empathy for this response over the years and hope and pray the kids are given the right wisdom and instruction on how to behave around cops while being black. I pray they understand their rights, they understand the fear that cops may have just because of the way they look and also the power that few may use to keep them down. I grew up seeing cops as all nice people that will hand you baseball cards if asked. I understand that my experience is very different than others here, and I definitely have no right to tell them that their experiences, history, or defense mechanism is wrong, or less than.

Another cool partnership we've had over the years has been with Zaxby's (a chicken restaurant for the non-southern readers). They've given us laptops in the past and this year they hooked us up with basketballs and kickballs (pictured below).

We had another Action Day in December and it was unusually warm (yes, I know Florida is normally warmer in the wintertime than other places, but this year it's warmer than normal). If you have any experience with gardening and enjoy it a lot, you get to plant things all year round. The types of things you plant will vary, but there are things that can grow in Florida in the wintertime including onions, kale, collard greens, and many types of herbs. We had about 20-25 people come out to help weed, plant, and clean. We are hoping to do more neighborhood events in the future to encourage the neighbors to use, enjoy, plant, meditate and know that they own this garden, they can come enjoy it as their greenspace. Studies show that well kept green spaces have a positive effect on mental health and have a ripple effect of less crime near these places. Pray we receive this grant we applied for that will allow us to build new garden beds (ours are rotting after many years of use) and make it look even more appealing to passersby.

For those wondering, our big ask for $30,000 to help towards purchasing a new van is at around $26,000. Thank you for those who have donated! God is faithful!

November - Building Rhythm

" 'A child, a child, shivers in the cold. Let us bring him silver and gold.' How 'bout a blanket?!? How 'bout some soup?!?" -Tim Hawkins

I don't know about you, but I have some major pandemic fatigue. It's easy for me to feel emotionally and mentally numb and want to withdraw from people, responsibilities, as well as the push to get back to normal. I don't know if it has do to with getting older, but I get more sensitive to changes that happen, no matter how small. I like to get in a rhythm with life, but the metronome always seems to be broken.

It was an adjustment to get used to Max going to "big school" as he calls it. After a few months of rhythm, there was a teacher shortage at his school, requiring his awesome PreK teacher to move up and teach 1st grade instead, thus combining the PreK classes into one.

It was an adjustment to get the after school program back in person. After a month of rhythm, three high schoolers were hired through Goodwill to help volunteer. After a month or two of this new helpful rhythm, their work program suddenly and unexpectedly came to a close, which will leave us with less help (hopefully only for a time).

I've always been a "look before you leap" kind of guy, but also a "do we even need to leap?" guy. Needless change feels counterproductive and foolish at times. I think I'm just desiring something to stay the same, something to build off of, to look back and go, "Yes! That was worth it!"

This year of the two:fiftytwo After School Program has felt very similar to that first year we ever did the program back in 2011. The program director is new. Most all of the kids are new. It feels, in a way, like a blank slate, starting over. The program can take shape in a new way and most assuredly will form into a product from all the good days and bad days to come.

The BLOCK Middle School Program, however small, has been very enjoyable thus far. Most of the students started the year very shy, quiet, and very much in their own shells. As they've played games together, had discussions about God together, and even volunteered together, true friendships have been developed and I'd like to believe that leadership is taking root and starting to grow.

Pray for the Christmas break to re-energize us on staff at 2nd Mile. We see God working in our lives and using us to impact others. With all the things life brings us, please pray for our hearts to dwell on his word (Colossians 3:16), to be strengthened by him (Isaiah 41:10), and for the work of our hands to be established (Proberbs 16:3).

I shared this last December and thought it'd be a good idea again.

Easy way to help us this holiday season: Do you shop on Amazon? Did you know that if you designate 2nd Mile Ministries as your charity of choice, Amazon will donate to us a small percentage of the amount you spend? It's no cost to you and it helps us out in a big way!

How to set it up is just a few clicks.

1. Go to Account & Lists and look for AmazonSmile Charity Lists

2. Click Get Started at the top or bottom of the page.

3. Type in 2nd Mile Ministries and select the one located in Jacksonville, FL.

4. Boom! All done.

It's important to note, IF YOU SHOP ONLINE AT AMAZON.COM, THE DONATION WILL NOT GO THROUGH. YOU NEED TO SHOP ONLINE AT SMILE.AMAZON.COM AND THE DONATION WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE GENERATED. You'll still be able to purchase the same exact things as before, only now Amazon knows to designate a little of their money to our ministry through your purchases. Easy peasy.

Lastly, if you haven't received a newsletter in the mail or an email, we are also trying to raise money for a new van. Our old one is just that....OLD. You can make a donation at our website, 2ndmilejax.com, or just click HERE to go directly to the giving page.

If he's this excited for fake snow, just imagine if he saw the real thing!

Here are a few replies from my question of the month.

Question: "What Bible verse do you find yourself going back to again and again?"

Colossians 3:1-4 "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Philippians 4:6-7 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

 

Oooh this is getting good!

Only one month ago: apple sauce, goldfish, cheetos, and apples.

In the past month: bananas, carrots, apple juice, yogurt, pears, blueberries, pancakes, pumpkin bars, potatoes, peas, broccoli, meatballs, and of course apple sauce, goldfish, cheetos, and apples.

These are the foods Max has been willing to eat or try. We are hoping this will translate to the beginnings of calorie-counting and slowly removing the amount of milk he needs via food pump. Keep him (and us) in prayer.

BLOCK Middle School Program - We've had a small number of kids coming so far this year but the connections and relationship building have flourished. Out of the kids, I'd say most are soft-spoken, shy, and introverted. However, after a few weeks of playing games, their friendships have been forming and growing. Who knew it would only take a little Wipeout on the Wii. In connecting with the Young Life coordinator, we were invited to attend a showing of Hamilton downtown at the Times Union Theatre. Despite being late on a Wednesday night and getting the students back home around 11pm, we had a blast. It was long, yes, but the kids couldn't stop talking about their favorite songs and characters. King George was a favorite for sure.

We have also started doing some Bible lessons while watching The Chosen. The free tv show takes a deeper dive into the disciples of Christ. Spoiler alert about the first episode. You can skip down below the picture of "Jesus" if you don't want to know. Episode one follows Mary from Magdala and how Jesus met her at her lowest point. We only see Jesus for maybe the last couple minutes of the episode, but with the music swelling and her life about to change, one of our students said, "Oooh this is getting good!" The show has been very powerful in my recent life. It is not a replacement for the gospels, but it does make the people from the Bible feel more accessible and relatable to us today.

Family Fall Festival - We were able to have our Family Fall Festival this year! Last year we cancelled it due to covid and we were debating whether to give it another year, but with covid cases trending downward in our area, we gave it a shot. With social distancing practices in place, we had about 20 trunk or treat games and 20 health/community vendors come out to hand out candy and connect the people with different resources in their community. At the end of the day, we had over 500 people attend! Although it was smaller than previous years, I saw so much joy from the first-time volunteers, from former students who came to help out, and from the families who came to dance to the music, collect some candy, and have a great time. The Jacksonville Free Press even wrote an article about the event! You can click the link below to check it out.

https://jacksonvillefreepress.com/fall-festival-reignites-community-transformation-and-empowerment/

Unfortunately I was very busy the day of the festival and did not take many pictures of the event. If you want to see pictures of the event, you can either go to the 2nd Mile Ministries page on facebook, or you can follow 2nd Mile Ministries on instagram.

Follow block_brentwood on instagram to see this cup stacking competition play out.

Here We Go!

two:fiftytwo After School Program - New kids, new director, new safety protocols, and of course, new challenges. We hired a brand new After School Program director who is new to 2nd Mile. His name is Holden and he has previous experience as a middle school teacher. It seems that each new week of school, he has more students signed up to participate in the after school activities. As we get to know and learn about the new students, there are already some good signs as far as the value of this program. Each day, the students journal about their feelings, energy level, and a gratitude for their day. Some of the students ask for the spelling of the adults' names that help out to put down as their gratitude, others write down "being here" as their gratitude. There's no doubt that having safe spaces where students receive extra attention and love is highly valued by kids and their families. Pictured below is an activity where students made paper rockets that would be launched off of a straw with their breath. Pray for Holden as he adjusts to 2nd Mile, adjusts to more and more students, and prepares for a long but fun-filled year of smiles, tears, and laughter.

BLOCK Middle School Program - Back in the building in person, I'm excited to invest a lot of time in these kids, growing them into leaders and giving them a greater understanding of who they are and who God has made them to be. So far we have a solid five students and the years they've been a part of 2nd Mile are 7 years, 5 years, 4 years, 3 years, and 2 years. It's been great to see the kids in person. Our current project has been constructing a new ping pong table we got for the program. The kids learned about different tools, tool safety, and working as a team. One of the kids who is obsessed with Legos has really taken to working extra time on it. Hopefully, when it gets finished, the kids will have much more appreciation of it knowing they had a hand in building it. In a few weeks, three of these students and I will be going to see the musical Hamilton as a part of a potential new partnership with an organization that I'll share more about below. This past month I had the privilege of celebrating Jabarie's birthday at Top Golf. Jabarie has been with 2nd Mile since he was in 2nd grade. He is now in 7th grade. He is a perfect picture of resilience and has got a good heart. I'll just say he's been through a lot more than any kid his age should have to go through. It's good to see him still smiling.

Young Life - Pray for this to be a good partnership for 2nd Mile. Because of our small staff, the number of events involving high school students is down. Doing virtual programs during the pandemic and having nothing in person was a major blow to being in touch with those students. Thankfully, we had a meeting with someone in charge of the Northwest Jacksonville region of Young Life. I know Young Life is a Christian organization all over the country. As of right now, they have students, staff, the program, just no physical space to operate due to restrictions with extra curricular activities in the public schools. Rather than 2nd Mile reinventing the wheel, we are hoping to help be a part of something God is already doing with this organization, hopefully being able to provide the space for high schoolers to have fun, grow, and be safe.

Exciting things coming up - We are having our Family Fall Festival October 23rd! We missed last year due to COVID, but we're hoping to bring back the excitement in community with lots of trunk games, candy, food, music, and raffles. One thing we definitely could use help with is candy. If you would like to donate candy to 2nd Mile, you can ship it to:

1650 Margaret St. Suite 302, #339, Jacksonville, FL 32204

Or, you could make a donation on our website at 2ndmilejax.com and in the comments write, "candy for Fall Festival".

Other ways to get involved or even see more of what's going on with 2nd Mile.

-Check out our facebook page (2nd Mile Ministries)

-Follow 2ndmileministries on instagram

-Follow block_brentwood on instragram (our middle school program)

Unexpected fruit

Last night (this morning) at 3am, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I had gone to bed at 7pm with a big headache and I guess my body had had enough rest. Having recently watched some gardening videos on youtube, I perused the home page and a video on dragon fruit was suggested to me. "Why not? Maybe this will help me sleep." From seed to fruit, dragon fruit can take as long as 7 years! Even if dragon fruit was someone's favorite food in the world, why would they spend all those days, weeks, months, years watering, pruning, tying up, protecting, watching, pruning, protecting, watching, etc.? Going down the youtube rabbit hole, as one does, I eventually happened upon a video of a huge dragon fruit farm in Vietnam where they had so many of this fruit growing. It was incredible! In case you want to join the rabbit hole with me, here's the vid.

To have those first few years of work with slow growth but no fruit, I can imagine the discouragement and countless times a grower may want to throw in the towel. Imagine if that plant gets a disease, dries out, or stops growing just before the fruit was about to come. The gardener can only do so much to ensure fruit comes. This reality is probably why it is suggested to plant many seeds of dragon fruit or to replant the mature cactus stems so that you don't put all your hope in one seed, one stem.

In this last decade of ministry, there have been months, years of amazing fruit, growth in individuals, in relationships and then all of a sudden, some of those people for one reason or another, are gone from our lives. In many cases, this is due to those students and families moving away. The past 18 months of the pandemic have really tried to throw a wrench in the spokes of how we've done ministry in the past. With new variants to the virus popping up, it's uncertain when things will go back to some sort of normal. 

However, one of my favorite occurrences in ministry has been when students return after a long time gone to either rejoin our programs or just come back and say hi. Last week, I walked in through the doors of the church and saw a somewhat familiar face walking out. This face had a mask on but I could see his eyes smiling. Honestly, at first glance I thought he was someone else that I worked with at camp a few years prior. This young man had facial hair, was about my height, but had the same boyish charm he had had when he was in our after school program as a 4th grader. He is now 19. That day I had a lot of work to get done, but he challenge me to one on one, and whenever someone challenges me to one on one, I will almost always accept that invitation to connect via a game. He was in our program in 2011, the first year of the after school program. He even came to our middle school program for some months but has since been off the map. We reminisced about that first year. "That was the best year of my childhood," said this barely-adult adult. After our game, he video-called his younger sister and brother, who were also both in the program that first year. I was surprised at how quickly they recognized who I was and how joyfully the memories flooded back to their eyes.

As we start this school year, we hope to be able to build into whoever walks through our doors. We pray they experience the love of God for years to come. It was a tremendous encouragement to me to see this family again.

Prayer request: With the two:fiftytwo After School Program starting next week (with a program director new to 2nd Mile and students new to 2nd Mile), and the BLOCK Middle School Program also beginning next week, pray that God would bring exactly the right people and the right number through our doors in order to do his work. 

Another prayer request: Max has started Pre-K! (I know, right?). The bus systems all across the country are out of whack with shortages in drivers. Two of Max's drivers already quit, making transportation and balancing mine and Missi's work schedules a difficult road to navigate and make routine. He goes to a school about 15 minutes away (the closest school with a qualified nurse to administer his tube feedings), so travel gets annoying with all the miscommunications going on between buses, schools, and us. I blame no one, it's just an unfortunate circumstance. Pray that God would provide reliability in the bus system enough to allow both of us to continue our jobs without disruptions.

First day! Pre-K!

Work Hard. Play Hard.

 

I’m sorry. This blog will be about sports. You have been warned.

Take a moment to remember a time when you worked so physically hard that afterwards you were so worn out that you were dripping sweat, sucking air, and could barely move. What was the activity that caused this reaction? What was the reason behind throwing your body into such self-destruction? Say your answer out loud to yourself.

I used to run track and cross country in high school, and continued to play basketball recreationally in college. However, since college, I’ve lost most, if not, all of my physical endurance. I’m still active, but for much shorter periods of time. I guess that’s somewhat to be expected with age. This past February, wanting to do something different, I went out for a run. I went to a park that had about a two mile loop bordering the edges. I could barely “run” a couple minutes before being out of breath and stopping to walk. Thoughts of “Well, I guess running’s not for me” ran through my head, and at a much more convincing pace than I was I might add. The more I forced myself to run, the more I could see the progress. I’ve been able to play with Max longer, able to do more work, able to play more 1v1 basketball games at the church.

This past month has been an amazing month for viewing sports for me. First off, the Milwaukee Bucks. Wow! Regardless of your own team allegiances, this was huge for the city, local small businesses, the franchise, and in my opinion, the NBA. One thought that crossed my mind was that it was 50 years since there first championship. 50 years! That’s ten years longer than the Israelites wandered the desert before making it to the promised land. If that victory can arouse an entire city to celebrate something as trivial as being the best in the world at a child’s game, imagine the joy and jubilation from the anticipation and eventual coming of the Messiah for God’s people back in the day! I’ve dwelled on the word “hope” a lot in regards to the Bucks. “Calm down Andrew, it’s just a team.” No, YOU calm down! Just kidding. In my life, I’ve gotten used to the Bucks being just good enough to get kicked out of the first round of the playoffs each year. Them winning a championship in my lifetime, especially them being a small-market team where any all-stars tend to leave Milwaukee to join bigger teams with bigger money, seems unlikely, seemed improbable. What I love about this team is just how hard they play…on every possession. I understand why Giannis takes so long at the free throw line, to gain just a few more seconds of rest.

I might get some flack for this, but I have enjoy watching the CrossFit Games way more than the Olympic Games this year. I’ve never done CrossFit, never plan on doing CrossFit, but I have a tremendous respect for the athletes that do it on a professional level. If you’re unfamiliar, the point of the CrossFit Games is to crown the fittest man/woman in the world, not the strongest, the fittest. Athletes from all around basically compete in exercising. Sounds silly, but when you watch an athlete just absolutely crush weightlifting just as easily as handstand walking, jump roping, swimming, biking, running, you tend to wonder what they can’t do. They compete in about three or four workouts/competitions each day and gain points based on their results. Each event ends the same way, athletes race to cross the finish line and then lay flat on their backs gasping for air, hands on heads, trying to recover as quickly as possible before the next competition. Why? Why do this to yourself? In many interviews, these athletes will talk about the desire to push the limits of what humans are capable of.

This year's CrossFit Games winner

There is something beautiful, even spiritual, in how struggles produce strength. The longer a tree withstands the elements, the stronger the trunk gets, being able to take on more. The more pressure and work your put on your muscles, the more they are able to withstand in the future. A vinedresser cuts away the branches that don’t produce fruit and casts them into the fire, while the ones that do, he prunes to become more fruitful. Those that have gone through a tragedy in their lives tend to be the most capable of comforting those who will go through the same thing. I can only hope and pray that when this pandemic is over (and it will eventually be over) that we come out of it stronger than we were before. I feel the stages in the life cycle of brokenness and struggle is:

1.      1. Breaking

2.      2. Broken

3.      3. Healing

4.      4. Healed

5.      5. Strengthened

6.      6. Strength to heal others

I feel many are still in stages 1-3 of this pandemic. The difference between this pandemic and a successful athlete is that one of them happened to us unexpectedly and the other was a taken-on struggle. Both hurts will produce strength. One reaps mourning; the other, glory.

Are you letting life happen to you or are you making life happen? In what ways has God equipped you in your life to help strengthen others? Who do you have the capacity to encourage, love, and acknowledge today? Spread the love. Do you yourself feel empty, alone, broken, in need of encouragement, love, and acknowledgement? Tell God about it, ask him for healing. It will not fall on deaf ears.

Romans 5:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Thanks for reading! I promise there will be a more update-like blog next month.

Summer Day Camp and Open Court

Who knew screaming at kids is what I needed to make me feel more alive?

Although other programs including Tapestry Talks and As We Gather have been going on, what has consumed my work life this past month has been Summer Day Camp and Open Court.

Notable facts about Summer Day Camp:

-This is 2nd Mile's 12th year of camp (started way back in 2009)

-This is the 2nd year where a former student has been the director (shout out to Ahmad!)

-My role at camp is leading Challenge Circle (teaching kids different cheers, games, and chants, hence all the screaming and yelling)

-Camp is six weeks long

-This year's theme is the different continents

-Almost 100% of the campers are new to 2nd Mile, allowing for developing relationships with families in the future.

-Kids love water day!

Fun facts about Open Court:

-It rains almost every day in Florida, at least a little bit, which means that the first 3 open court Fridays have had lots of rain, forcing a lot of game time indoors.

-Kids don't care if it's raining outside. They will keep playing unless told otherwise.

-Despite the rain, we've still had a good turnout.

-Music, concessions, basketball, football, dancing, Connect 4, chess, and Uno are all favorites at Open Court.

-Hopefully, we will get to have a dry (please pray) Friday with lots of hoopin'.

Ministry in the summer is a lot different than during the school year. It's a sprint vs. a marathon. It's strength vs. endurance. It's an energy drink vs. coffee.

Please pray for energy and endurance.

More to come in the future.