I have been home for a little over a week now and already miss being there.... this summer went by real fast, as I was only there for 4 weeks compared to my 10 weeks last summer. But I take great comfort in the fact that I was only there for 4 weeks because that means much ministry was done through the league without me. I am now quesoning if God is calling me to another city... over the past few years, God has been laying Detroit on my heart--I repeatedly "encounter" Detroit in many different ways. I feel like Paul, who said to the Romans "I long to be there with you, but it is not yet time." For the past year I have longed to go to Detroit, but knew it was not yet time, and it may be nearing that time. Pray with me please as I pursue that calling.
This summer ended well. The two undefeated teams faced off in the championship game and Diamond Street prevailed over Da Hoagies in OverTime! Though I had to miss the final 3 games, I did get to hand out trophies. For many of us involved in sports (recreation or competively) trophies are not only things we take pride in, but are common. Which makes it even more special when you have a 19 year old who's been playing basketball his whole life say, "I get a trophy? Wow... I've never gotten one before." But more exciting than that, we have taken the next step to directing this league to more than just "basketball, bible studies, and devotions." We had been brainstorming ways to make the players in our league more "responsible members of their community" (hopefully through the church primarily) and we came up with the idea of having a Kids' Basketball Camp. With just a week to go, we threw together a one day camp for kids ages 6-12, but the cool part... it was run by players from the league. The week leading up to camp, I got guys who were inerested to sign up to be coaches/instructors/mentors for a few hours on a Saturday morning. Though it was a small turnout (7 kids, 4 players from the league), the kids LOVED it and the guys realized what a role model they could be (especially when they realized that some of these kids come and watch their games--this league has been a "family event" as some parents bring their kids to watch the games--whether related to a player or not). The players ran the whole thing--set up drills, taught them, and then split them up into 2 teams and served as their coaches for a couple 3 on 3 games. Afterwards, the kids got a Christian Rap CD (one that was made for all the players in the league as well) and t-shirts--next thing you know, the kids are asking the older guys to autograph their shirts. It was a great experience for all of us and the start of something bigger. Next year we hope to start a kids' league where they are coached by someone from the older league and maybe have a game every other week for them.
But of course, we may not be able to manage that if we can't find more volunteers. This continues to be our biggest challenge. I owe a big thanks to the wives who allow their husbands to work extra late nights to keep this ministry going. But if we cannot find more help, then this ministry cannot grow--we are at our capacity. However, I know God will provide and he grows his Kingdom as he sees fit. But pray for connections... every connection that looks promising falls through... It is disheartening to see how many fail to follow through, but we will look on! So please pray for more help and with extra funding.
If you wish to get a DVD of this past year (will include photos, video shoots, and interviews with players of how they've been impacted) or you wish to donate, please e-mail salvation.league@gmail.com or call 859-539-7838.
Oh... and we did have one more commitment to be baptized! And Tony Spain (baptized last year and now does Christian Rap--I've talked to him before) had his first baby last night!
Until next year, God Bless!!!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
The Muslim Fad
Title: The Muslim Fad
After facing some aggression from Thessalonica, Paul and Silas moved on
to Berea to preach the Gospel of Christ; this is what was said of the
people of Berea: "These were more fair-minded than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and
searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Therefore, many of them believed..."--Acts 17:11-12a
I am basing tonight's pre-game devotion on that passage. Since my
return, I have learned (and observed) that being a Muslim is a "fad" on
the rise. I say fad, because many of the young men here do not seem to
adhere to the Muslim principles, and for some it seems more of a fashion
statement (many of them wear white caps with a white blouse-like shirt;
sometimes even white pants). It just seems to be "the thing to do,"
which obviously saddens me. We do have some Muslims who play in the
league, and though almost all participate in the prayer and devotion,
there are one or two who refuse. In my quiet time, I read this passage
and I thought "how true for the guys here (and not only here, but
everywhere)." After our All-Star events (which was awesome as always),
we passed out church fliers and bibles; one of them refused, saying "I
don't believe in your Bible or your God." At least this guy had an
opinion; many don't seem to have one at all. I hope to stress that they
must discover truth for themselves. Just as the people did in Berea
(searched the Scriptures to see if these things were true). It's a
shame that we are having to fight a trend to win souls to Christ (and
maybe even a bigger shame when being Christian is the "trend" as opposed
to a true conversion to follow hard after Jesus). Nonetheless, I do have
one exciting story to share:
You may remember a blog last year when I explained how a player from the
league left Open Gym (we will call him P) and returned with a suicidal
girl (who is still doing fine; Mary talked to her on the phone this
week). This girl had driven 45 minutes to the K&A area to pay someone
$3,000 to take somewhere to be killed. P was the first person she
asked. Instead of taking the money, )P brought her to me, and she was
lead to Christ. Earlier this week, P shows up at the Salvation Army,
banging on the door looking for me. He had been crying and kept saying
"I need to talk to you in private, it's urgent, it's urgent; pray for
me, etc."--this kept going on till I could calm him. We found a room and
started talking. He tells me that ever since that night he brought
Katie to me, he had been having suicidal thoughts himself. This had
been going on for a year and he said it came to the point where he could
no longer control it and was losing sleep. Wow... Satan tried to kill
Katie that night, and when P took that away, Satan came after him. We
talked about spiritual warfare and we talked about how it was clear that
God has destined him for greatness (if Katie had met anyone else, they
probably would have taken the money). We talked about the daily
struggles that he will continue to face as he seeks out God. At the end
of our meeting I asked him if he could pray and he said he only knew how
to pray in Spanish! I don't know what he said, but it was emotional...
there is much I could say about our meeting, but what I wanted to get at
was how hungry he was to know God. He was adament about coming to
church... and not only did he come to church yesterday, he brought
family--his wife, daughter, cousin, brother and his brother's
girlfriend. Next week, he is bringing his mom! He got some Spanish
bibles and he's reading the book of John... praise God!
Other than that, the only thing I want to hit on is that next summer I
am going to go "back to my roots." I will put Open Gym on hold, and go
back out to parks with Gatorade--I think God gave me that message this
past week.
Pray for me to have strength this week... all summer we have been having
3 games on Mondays and 3 on Tuesdays. This week we finish the season
with 4 on Monday and Tuesday, then we begin Tournament with 4 games on
Wednesday and Thursday! I'll be exhausted! Here are the teams:
East Division: Diamond St, Wild Cards, North Philly's Finest, Bomb
Squad, Re-Born, Mascher Park, 4th Street, Dynasty
West Division: Da Hogies, Legends, The Future, Battle Ground, The
Savers, Street Sweepers, Next Level, Underdogs
Tonight and tomorrow's games will be intense because only top 6 teams
from each division get into the playoffs, and 4-5 teams in each division
are in the bubble!
Results of All-Star
3-Point: Danny from Dynasty beat Oscar from Re-born in 3 extra rounds
All-Star game: West 110 East 87 (MVP went to Rese from Savers)
Dunk Contest: Black (for 3rd year in a row) from Da Hogies
All this stuff was recorded on film and we plan to put that in our DVD!
After facing some aggression from Thessalonica, Paul and Silas moved on
to Berea to preach the Gospel of Christ; this is what was said of the
people of Berea: "These were more fair-minded than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and
searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Therefore, many of them believed..."--Acts 17:11-12a
I am basing tonight's pre-game devotion on that passage. Since my
return, I have learned (and observed) that being a Muslim is a "fad" on
the rise. I say fad, because many of the young men here do not seem to
adhere to the Muslim principles, and for some it seems more of a fashion
statement (many of them wear white caps with a white blouse-like shirt;
sometimes even white pants). It just seems to be "the thing to do,"
which obviously saddens me. We do have some Muslims who play in the
league, and though almost all participate in the prayer and devotion,
there are one or two who refuse. In my quiet time, I read this passage
and I thought "how true for the guys here (and not only here, but
everywhere)." After our All-Star events (which was awesome as always),
we passed out church fliers and bibles; one of them refused, saying "I
don't believe in your Bible or your God." At least this guy had an
opinion; many don't seem to have one at all. I hope to stress that they
must discover truth for themselves. Just as the people did in Berea
(searched the Scriptures to see if these things were true). It's a
shame that we are having to fight a trend to win souls to Christ (and
maybe even a bigger shame when being Christian is the "trend" as opposed
to a true conversion to follow hard after Jesus). Nonetheless, I do have
one exciting story to share:
You may remember a blog last year when I explained how a player from the
league left Open Gym (we will call him P) and returned with a suicidal
girl (who is still doing fine; Mary talked to her on the phone this
week). This girl had driven 45 minutes to the K&A area to pay someone
$3,000 to take somewhere to be killed. P was the first person she
asked. Instead of taking the money, )P brought her to me, and she was
lead to Christ. Earlier this week, P shows up at the Salvation Army,
banging on the door looking for me. He had been crying and kept saying
"I need to talk to you in private, it's urgent, it's urgent; pray for
me, etc."--this kept going on till I could calm him. We found a room and
started talking. He tells me that ever since that night he brought
Katie to me, he had been having suicidal thoughts himself. This had
been going on for a year and he said it came to the point where he could
no longer control it and was losing sleep. Wow... Satan tried to kill
Katie that night, and when P took that away, Satan came after him. We
talked about spiritual warfare and we talked about how it was clear that
God has destined him for greatness (if Katie had met anyone else, they
probably would have taken the money). We talked about the daily
struggles that he will continue to face as he seeks out God. At the end
of our meeting I asked him if he could pray and he said he only knew how
to pray in Spanish! I don't know what he said, but it was emotional...
there is much I could say about our meeting, but what I wanted to get at
was how hungry he was to know God. He was adament about coming to
church... and not only did he come to church yesterday, he brought
family--his wife, daughter, cousin, brother and his brother's
girlfriend. Next week, he is bringing his mom! He got some Spanish
bibles and he's reading the book of John... praise God!
Other than that, the only thing I want to hit on is that next summer I
am going to go "back to my roots." I will put Open Gym on hold, and go
back out to parks with Gatorade--I think God gave me that message this
past week.
Pray for me to have strength this week... all summer we have been having
3 games on Mondays and 3 on Tuesdays. This week we finish the season
with 4 on Monday and Tuesday, then we begin Tournament with 4 games on
Wednesday and Thursday! I'll be exhausted! Here are the teams:
East Division: Diamond St, Wild Cards, North Philly's Finest, Bomb
Squad, Re-Born, Mascher Park, 4th Street, Dynasty
West Division: Da Hogies, Legends, The Future, Battle Ground, The
Savers, Street Sweepers, Next Level, Underdogs
Tonight and tomorrow's games will be intense because only top 6 teams
from each division get into the playoffs, and 4-5 teams in each division
are in the bubble!
Results of All-Star
3-Point: Danny from Dynasty beat Oscar from Re-born in 3 extra rounds
All-Star game: West 110 East 87 (MVP went to Rese from Savers)
Dunk Contest: Black (for 3rd year in a row) from Da Hogies
All this stuff was recorded on film and we plan to put that in our DVD!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Return to Ministry -July 2010
"Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.'"--Acts 15:36
This being my 3rd summer here, it's interesting how my ministry differs from past trips. My ministry has gone from personal evangelism/witnessing to following up. A few weeks ago I had the privilege of going to Huntington, WV with First Baptist Church of Bowling Green, KY. In the past, their youth group had gone to a summer camp known as CenterFuge and M-Fuge. During this camp, they would go on certain service projects but this time around they wanted to do their own and ended up in WV. A close friend of mine from the church (who used to take me fishing during my years in college) brought me along to do what I did in Philly--play ball, pass out gatorade, and share the gospel. While there he told me he would love to go to the same place every year. We talked about how many church groups go somewhere different each year, as if the mission trip is more for themselves than for the community they witness in. I personally see this a lot--we go in, develop relationships and get things going, leave after one week, then that's it. But as seen in Acts, and in many encounters with Christ, there is follow-up involved.
I have been so blessed to be able to come back every summer and follow up. It's been amazing to see the growth from several people. There are guys in the league that have been around since day one who used to be hot heads... not anymore. They kept their attitude under control and were very respectful and took a lot of pride in the league. Many are stepping up to help set up on game nights, help score keep, etc. (which is great since it has been so hard finding volunteers). Joey even said to me, "It's amazing to see how these guys have progressed." And there has been so much joy seeing these guys again, especially when they show excitement to see me again (many do not know when exactly I'm coming back, so it's a surprise for them once I'm there). One of the guys I've gotten to catch up with is Tony Spain who used to run in the streets and became a Christian through open gym/league. He told me a little more about him coming to Christ--he remembered the first time he saw me at the park and thought "who is this white guy?" And he admitted he stayed away--then some of his friends prompted him to come to open gym...since then he has given his life to Christ, performs Christian rap, and is now involved in Joey's church (Bridge of Hope, our partners) and is married with a wife 8 months pregnant! It has been a blessing to see how he has journeyed with Christ since my last visit, and recently his brother accepted Christ. I must also share about Sergio, who God, in his infinite wisdom, arranged "a reunion" so I could follow up with him. Last year I met twins--Sergio and Jose who came to many open gyms and joined the league, and were the most fun guys I had been around. They were a huge blessing to me and came to several bible studies. They were not walking with Christ, but were certainly interested and always asked that I pray for them to "quit smoking weed." Well during the year, we kept in touch, but then they got a new phone # (which I deleted before saving!) and I never heard from them again. Well... I went out to dinner with Danny and his girlfriend (Danny is the one who came to KY to visit) and I asked him about the twins. He told me he hadn't really talked to them in a long time. I was really upset because I was really missing them and just had to get in touch! We left dinner that night and stopped to
get gas; after filling up, we are waiting to pull into the street and suddenly Mary yells, "Jeff! That's Jose! That's Jose! Jose!!" Now... we know about 20 Jose up here, so I'm screaming "which one? Which one?" But I finally spotted who she was talking about--one of the twins (it was actually Sergio--on the back of their arms, Jose tattooed a "J" and Sergio tattooed an "S"). Of the 5.149 million people in the Urban area of Philadelphia, Sergio, who just 30 minutes before I was talking to Danny about wishing I could see him again, was sitting in his car right in front of us. I popped my head out our door, "Jose!" (didn't know it was Sergio yet)... he look at me like "what the heck do you want?" I shouted "You remember me?"... "JEFF! What up man?" (he actually used a different word than "man"--starts with an "n") He pulled into the gas station and we got to catch up. He is about to get married and he informed me that has become heavily involved in church. He attends a church every Friday and Saturday (even bypassed my open gym on Friday to go to church!). It was so blessed to hear how he was doing. However, his twin, Jose, is not in church, so please pray for him. I'll be getting together with him throughout the summer.
I mentioned earlier how my ministry is somewhat different now. While it will still be important for personal witnessing (as there are still plenty of new faces), there has been more focus on investment. From all the "incarnational ministry" I have become so infused into the community and culture here that I am being invited to baby showers, birthday parties, dinners, etc... I am one of them! I've had the joy of seeing Danny finally get a job (he had been asking me to pray for awhile) and he has decided to go back and get his GED, and he has made me a part of that journey. This year I am really focusing on investing and getting them plugged into a church... Other than that, the league is going well. We have 16 teams this year (up from 12 last year)--in my next post I will give more specifics about the actual league, I think this is enough for now.... before I go--special thanks to my new church in Shelbyville, KY (Christ Community Church). They raised the money we needed for two mega fans to put in our gym. When it reaches 102 degrees outside, and there's no AC in the gym and windows are drilled shut, having fans is a big deal. We mounted them yesterday and it was a big help!
This being my 3rd summer here, it's interesting how my ministry differs from past trips. My ministry has gone from personal evangelism/witnessing to following up. A few weeks ago I had the privilege of going to Huntington, WV with First Baptist Church of Bowling Green, KY. In the past, their youth group had gone to a summer camp known as CenterFuge and M-Fuge. During this camp, they would go on certain service projects but this time around they wanted to do their own and ended up in WV. A close friend of mine from the church (who used to take me fishing during my years in college) brought me along to do what I did in Philly--play ball, pass out gatorade, and share the gospel. While there he told me he would love to go to the same place every year. We talked about how many church groups go somewhere different each year, as if the mission trip is more for themselves than for the community they witness in. I personally see this a lot--we go in, develop relationships and get things going, leave after one week, then that's it. But as seen in Acts, and in many encounters with Christ, there is follow-up involved.
I have been so blessed to be able to come back every summer and follow up. It's been amazing to see the growth from several people. There are guys in the league that have been around since day one who used to be hot heads... not anymore. They kept their attitude under control and were very respectful and took a lot of pride in the league. Many are stepping up to help set up on game nights, help score keep, etc. (which is great since it has been so hard finding volunteers). Joey even said to me, "It's amazing to see how these guys have progressed." And there has been so much joy seeing these guys again, especially when they show excitement to see me again (many do not know when exactly I'm coming back, so it's a surprise for them once I'm there). One of the guys I've gotten to catch up with is Tony Spain who used to run in the streets and became a Christian through open gym/league. He told me a little more about him coming to Christ--he remembered the first time he saw me at the park and thought "who is this white guy?" And he admitted he stayed away--then some of his friends prompted him to come to open gym...since then he has given his life to Christ, performs Christian rap, and is now involved in Joey's church (Bridge of Hope, our partners) and is married with a wife 8 months pregnant! It has been a blessing to see how he has journeyed with Christ since my last visit, and recently his brother accepted Christ. I must also share about Sergio, who God, in his infinite wisdom, arranged "a reunion" so I could follow up with him. Last year I met twins--Sergio and Jose who came to many open gyms and joined the league, and were the most fun guys I had been around. They were a huge blessing to me and came to several bible studies. They were not walking with Christ, but were certainly interested and always asked that I pray for them to "quit smoking weed." Well during the year, we kept in touch, but then they got a new phone # (which I deleted before saving!) and I never heard from them again. Well... I went out to dinner with Danny and his girlfriend (Danny is the one who came to KY to visit) and I asked him about the twins. He told me he hadn't really talked to them in a long time. I was really upset because I was really missing them and just had to get in touch! We left dinner that night and stopped to
get gas; after filling up, we are waiting to pull into the street and suddenly Mary yells, "Jeff! That's Jose! That's Jose! Jose!!" Now... we know about 20 Jose up here, so I'm screaming "which one? Which one?" But I finally spotted who she was talking about--one of the twins (it was actually Sergio--on the back of their arms, Jose tattooed a "J" and Sergio tattooed an "S"). Of the 5.149 million people in the Urban area of Philadelphia, Sergio, who just 30 minutes before I was talking to Danny about wishing I could see him again, was sitting in his car right in front of us. I popped my head out our door, "Jose!" (didn't know it was Sergio yet)... he look at me like "what the heck do you want?" I shouted "You remember me?"... "JEFF! What up man?" (he actually used a different word than "man"--starts with an "n") He pulled into the gas station and we got to catch up. He is about to get married and he informed me that has become heavily involved in church. He attends a church every Friday and Saturday (even bypassed my open gym on Friday to go to church!). It was so blessed to hear how he was doing. However, his twin, Jose, is not in church, so please pray for him. I'll be getting together with him throughout the summer.
I mentioned earlier how my ministry is somewhat different now. While it will still be important for personal witnessing (as there are still plenty of new faces), there has been more focus on investment. From all the "incarnational ministry" I have become so infused into the community and culture here that I am being invited to baby showers, birthday parties, dinners, etc... I am one of them! I've had the joy of seeing Danny finally get a job (he had been asking me to pray for awhile) and he has decided to go back and get his GED, and he has made me a part of that journey. This year I am really focusing on investing and getting them plugged into a church... Other than that, the league is going well. We have 16 teams this year (up from 12 last year)--in my next post I will give more specifics about the actual league, I think this is enough for now.... before I go--special thanks to my new church in Shelbyville, KY (Christ Community Church). They raised the money we needed for two mega fans to put in our gym. When it reaches 102 degrees outside, and there's no AC in the gym and windows are drilled shut, having fans is a big deal. We mounted them yesterday and it was a big help!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
ending life vs. finding life
With my laptop stolen, I only get 30 minutes at the library to make this post and do other errands on the internet, so this note may be even sloppier than previous notes! Here's what I want to update on in this note: What happened with the robbery, why it happened, and any other random small things.
Last week once the last game was over, an employee of the church went to put fans away in his office (it gets hot in that gym so we have fans everywhere)... he came back up and informed me that his office was broken into. People enter through the parking lot and they have three options of where they can go... right into the gym, up one more flight of stairs to the viewing room, or downstairs to get to the bathroom. Whoever broke in, went through the downstairs doors during the last game and went toward the back of the building and used a crowbar to break into one room to steal 9 computers and that was all we really knew at that point. So we called the cops and waited, and waited, and waited... finally, Mary and I had decided that while waiting we would go on up to our bedroom and get some clothes together to sleep with friends.
If you had been reading this blog from the beginning, you would know that this happened last year as well--12 computers were stolen while I was sleeping in the church. What I never mentioned was that they tried to crowbar their way onto my floor (you can see the damage done to the metal door). Luckily, the way the doors are made, it's impossible to break in and the elevator requires a key to get up. This gave my wife comfort, and as we were waiting on cops to show, she told her dad "I still feel safe sleeping up there if we had to." Not 20 minutes later as Mary opened our bedroom door did we realize that our door had been kicked through (they stole my laptop and $600 cash--Bridge of Hope reached out their arms as a church body and gave us 200 the other day! The beauty of the Body of Christ). At this point, I really don't want to discuss the next 30 minutes. Her one sense of protection she had, was shattered at that moment, and not knowing if the intruder was still in the building (and possibly still in our bedroom), she was terrified. I ask that you pray for her, for peace, comfort, sleep, etc.. as she continues to have occasional nightmares related to that event. I mentioned last year how God had protected me because it was the one night all summer I decided to wait till morning to shower. He did the same for my wife. Mary had planned on skipping all the games and going to bed early (those of you who know her, knows she likes to get to bed by 9 if she can!). I praise God that 4 volunteers were unable to make it, and because of that Mary had to keep score. Never underestimate the minor ways in which God protects us.
Unfortunately, two nights ago after league was over, they broke in again and stole the church's 300 lb safe and petty cash from another office. They had clipped several wires to the alarm system and appears as if they entered by climbing through a window. I feel like the church has gone through a makeover. There were already lots of security protocols, but now we are doing anything and everything to prevent this from happening again. I even have to search out extra volunteers so we can have guards at the entrance for league games and guards at the viewing room to make sure people aren't wondering all the way upstairs! But we are getting loads of support from players in the league. Many of them upset that people would steal from the church and from us after all we have been giving them. Many shocked that we haven't closed the league, as they figured it was expected. And now this is why I think it has happened:
Just the week before we had amazing salvation reports. Derrick came into my gym office during an open gym night and asked if we could talk. We had never met, but he was a player on the Street Kings (he had come to me because he had heard from others in the streets all that I've been doing for the area). "I know you don't know me, but could we talk in private?" We sat in my office and he began to cry--just wanted me to say a prayer, that's all... so I began praying, then stopped... "Is it confidential or can you tell me what I'm praying for?" It was his girlfriend, she no longer had a home and was living on the streets and he couldn't pay for a room until his next pay check came (he works as a security guard at Pathmark). "How much is a room?" $75 for one week--so I gave him $100, then asked if he knew Christ. He said he believed in God, but was not a Christian. As I explained the $100 gift, I explained the gift of the cross. He decided to accept that relationship that night and then he came to my first bible study, and now we are meeting one on one. But it gets better....
4 days later, Cumba leaves open gym... then he comes back with a girl. The girl had pulled up next to him in her car, offering $50 (and had up to $3,400 she was willing to pay) for him to take her somewhere she could get killed. She drove 40 miles to Kensington to end her life! Instead, Cumba (who had been at my open gym since last summer) brought her to me. "Listen to him, he'll help you... he helps all of us, listen to whatever he says" (I still kind of chuckle at that). Next thing she says, "I don't know why I'm here." "I do," came my response. What followed was a 2 hour chat, then my wife came out and chatted and then we prayed over her at the foot of the cross and she invited Christ into her life. She came to Kensington to end her life and left finding true life (she kept saying "I ran into the wrong person!"). Well as she was leaving, she refused to leave without giving us a gift. From her $3,400 stash, she gave us $200. So four days earlier, we gave Derrick 100, and then we got 200 back. We have been in touch with her by phone, and she is doing great. Hopefully we will get together for lunch.
So, as Major Wittenberg said, "Satan saw a lighthouse in a very dark neighborhood, so he ordered an attack." Plain and simple: I think that's why the robberies happened when they did. After league games, I do a walk through with Joey and a baseball bat in my hand. "Who would have thought it would come to this?" "I don't even think Satan did." Because I think Satan expected us to close everything down by now. Bottom line is, light is shining, people are being helped, being reached, being saved, and no matter what counter attack there is, we will just fight back harder. So continue praying for His good work... I only have five minutes left, so gotta jet.
Last week once the last game was over, an employee of the church went to put fans away in his office (it gets hot in that gym so we have fans everywhere)... he came back up and informed me that his office was broken into. People enter through the parking lot and they have three options of where they can go... right into the gym, up one more flight of stairs to the viewing room, or downstairs to get to the bathroom. Whoever broke in, went through the downstairs doors during the last game and went toward the back of the building and used a crowbar to break into one room to steal 9 computers and that was all we really knew at that point. So we called the cops and waited, and waited, and waited... finally, Mary and I had decided that while waiting we would go on up to our bedroom and get some clothes together to sleep with friends.
If you had been reading this blog from the beginning, you would know that this happened last year as well--12 computers were stolen while I was sleeping in the church. What I never mentioned was that they tried to crowbar their way onto my floor (you can see the damage done to the metal door). Luckily, the way the doors are made, it's impossible to break in and the elevator requires a key to get up. This gave my wife comfort, and as we were waiting on cops to show, she told her dad "I still feel safe sleeping up there if we had to." Not 20 minutes later as Mary opened our bedroom door did we realize that our door had been kicked through (they stole my laptop and $600 cash--Bridge of Hope reached out their arms as a church body and gave us 200 the other day! The beauty of the Body of Christ). At this point, I really don't want to discuss the next 30 minutes. Her one sense of protection she had, was shattered at that moment, and not knowing if the intruder was still in the building (and possibly still in our bedroom), she was terrified. I ask that you pray for her, for peace, comfort, sleep, etc.. as she continues to have occasional nightmares related to that event. I mentioned last year how God had protected me because it was the one night all summer I decided to wait till morning to shower. He did the same for my wife. Mary had planned on skipping all the games and going to bed early (those of you who know her, knows she likes to get to bed by 9 if she can!). I praise God that 4 volunteers were unable to make it, and because of that Mary had to keep score. Never underestimate the minor ways in which God protects us.
Unfortunately, two nights ago after league was over, they broke in again and stole the church's 300 lb safe and petty cash from another office. They had clipped several wires to the alarm system and appears as if they entered by climbing through a window. I feel like the church has gone through a makeover. There were already lots of security protocols, but now we are doing anything and everything to prevent this from happening again. I even have to search out extra volunteers so we can have guards at the entrance for league games and guards at the viewing room to make sure people aren't wondering all the way upstairs! But we are getting loads of support from players in the league. Many of them upset that people would steal from the church and from us after all we have been giving them. Many shocked that we haven't closed the league, as they figured it was expected. And now this is why I think it has happened:
Just the week before we had amazing salvation reports. Derrick came into my gym office during an open gym night and asked if we could talk. We had never met, but he was a player on the Street Kings (he had come to me because he had heard from others in the streets all that I've been doing for the area). "I know you don't know me, but could we talk in private?" We sat in my office and he began to cry--just wanted me to say a prayer, that's all... so I began praying, then stopped... "Is it confidential or can you tell me what I'm praying for?" It was his girlfriend, she no longer had a home and was living on the streets and he couldn't pay for a room until his next pay check came (he works as a security guard at Pathmark). "How much is a room?" $75 for one week--so I gave him $100, then asked if he knew Christ. He said he believed in God, but was not a Christian. As I explained the $100 gift, I explained the gift of the cross. He decided to accept that relationship that night and then he came to my first bible study, and now we are meeting one on one. But it gets better....
4 days later, Cumba leaves open gym... then he comes back with a girl. The girl had pulled up next to him in her car, offering $50 (and had up to $3,400 she was willing to pay) for him to take her somewhere she could get killed. She drove 40 miles to Kensington to end her life! Instead, Cumba (who had been at my open gym since last summer) brought her to me. "Listen to him, he'll help you... he helps all of us, listen to whatever he says" (I still kind of chuckle at that). Next thing she says, "I don't know why I'm here." "I do," came my response. What followed was a 2 hour chat, then my wife came out and chatted and then we prayed over her at the foot of the cross and she invited Christ into her life. She came to Kensington to end her life and left finding true life (she kept saying "I ran into the wrong person!"). Well as she was leaving, she refused to leave without giving us a gift. From her $3,400 stash, she gave us $200. So four days earlier, we gave Derrick 100, and then we got 200 back. We have been in touch with her by phone, and she is doing great. Hopefully we will get together for lunch.
So, as Major Wittenberg said, "Satan saw a lighthouse in a very dark neighborhood, so he ordered an attack." Plain and simple: I think that's why the robberies happened when they did. After league games, I do a walk through with Joey and a baseball bat in my hand. "Who would have thought it would come to this?" "I don't even think Satan did." Because I think Satan expected us to close everything down by now. Bottom line is, light is shining, people are being helped, being reached, being saved, and no matter what counter attack there is, we will just fight back harder. So continue praying for His good work... I only have five minutes left, so gotta jet.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Amazing Stories Will Have To Wait
This is Jeff's mom blogging for Jeff via the telephone.
"Though there are amazing stories to share from the past week, I am sorry to report that during games last night, several rooms throughout the church were broken into, including ours . My computer, along with 9 others were stolen. I will be unable to post a detailed blog until I can get access to another computer. We are ok. We have moved out of the church into temporary housing. More details to come. Please be praying. Grace and Peace...Bracken"
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
"You're Always Doing Bible Studies"
Salvation League has kicked off! The jerseys look incredible and the guys love them (thanks go out to Gregg Farrell and Greg Lindhart for all their help with that)... After one night, here's the update (sorry I don't have scores with me)
DBB lost to Dynasty
Rebels lost to Next Level
Deep N Pack lost to Too Easy
The overall attitude and sportsmanship was FAR better than last year. Myself and some others volunteering had a meeting last week to discuss how we can limit arguments/anger/anything that could escalate to fighting, etc. and so far it seems to be working. Our first night of devotion was given by Joey Rodriguez, pastor of Bridge of Hope (he came up with the verse for the league so we thought it appropriate that he give the first devotion over that verse). The league verse is Joel 2:32--"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." He talked about how they did not have to pay anything for the jerseys, they were all paid for. In the same way, we do not pay for our salvation; it was paid for by Jesus Christ himself on the cross. Amen to that message! The next set of games for the other 6 teams are on Thursday; then it's every Monday and Tuesday after that. We are currently in the process of getting a banner made to hang in the gym; once we get that we will take team pictues under it and I will post them on here!
Open Gym is back to having 30-40 guys a night and back to being open until 1:30 AM--not all guys who come to open gym are in the league either! Some of these guys from open gym even came early yesterday to help me set everything up, and when I had a malfunction with the new basketball I just bought, one guy let me use his for the night. New relationships are developing--they appreciate what is being done for them (one guy even commented how the people "beg" for things like this). In the midst of these new relationships, I am finally reconnecting with old ones I have not seen in a while. Kenny and Elvin are two Puerto Ricans that I considered good friends and they confided in me last summer. I've talked about Elvin before (his brother was shot and killed over a year ago)... Well Kenny called me out of the blue a couple nights ago--he said he had forgotten that I left my phone # inside a bible I gave him (which he confessed was buried under things). Kenny's brother has also been going to Joey's church these past couple months, so I talked to him about how he needs to READ his bible, and should check out Joey's church with his brother. I look forward to continuing conversations with him. I've also reunited with some PUC guys (though there are still many I have yet to see) and that's where the title for this blog comes from. I was sitting in the gym office when I heard someone yell "BRACKEN!" It was Ken, from PUC... we got to talking and when he asked about the gym schedule, I mentioned that bible study would be starting on Friday... "You always doin' bible study," was his reply... that's nice to know.
The kid's ministry is exciting and depressing. Last week an incident happened right around the corner from the church. A man followed an 11-year old girl on her way to school, pulled her down an alley and raped her. Surveillance footage caught who the man was, and when his identity was released, the father quoted, "I hope the neighborhood finds him before the cops do." He got his wish... hours later the suspect was beaten so badly by a group of men that he was in critical condition in the hospital for a few days. As a result, some parents are not allowing their daughters to leave the house. At our first Kid's Bible Club, I asked an 11-year old boy why his girlfriend didn't come, that was his reply: "Parents won't let her out." If there is a kid that needs to go home and does not have a group to go with, Mary and I will walk that child home. The other depressing part is the fact that Mary and I have to clean the church playground every week--not just because of trash, but to make sure there are no needles or drugs lying around. In our first sweep, we did not find any needles/drugs, but we did find a bullet shell casing. It really reminds you of the power of the ministry we have to these kids now. The fact that they can come over to the church and have somewhere safe to play and be kids and GET ALONG, is a wonderful ministry for welcoming kids to the Kingdom of God. I thank God for Mary every day because of the service she is providing these kids; I could not have done it on my own. I thank God that he gave me a woman to marry who was willing to make sacrifices and live a place of potential fear/danger--but we trust in God's protection. Before we left KY, her mom took her out to buy a pair of sandals that had thick soles. I told her of the importance of this because she could potentially step on a needle--at that point, I knew that my wife was something special. This has been God's plan from the beginning, and Mary has grown much in her strength and courage being here since day one. Please pray for protection and for love for all. Also pray for the daily homeless people who come by for food and help--pray that God protect them.
Well i'm having problems posting pictures... guess it will have to wait
DBB lost to Dynasty
Rebels lost to Next Level
Deep N Pack lost to Too Easy
The overall attitude and sportsmanship was FAR better than last year. Myself and some others volunteering had a meeting last week to discuss how we can limit arguments/anger/anything that could escalate to fighting, etc. and so far it seems to be working. Our first night of devotion was given by Joey Rodriguez, pastor of Bridge of Hope (he came up with the verse for the league so we thought it appropriate that he give the first devotion over that verse). The league verse is Joel 2:32--"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." He talked about how they did not have to pay anything for the jerseys, they were all paid for. In the same way, we do not pay for our salvation; it was paid for by Jesus Christ himself on the cross. Amen to that message! The next set of games for the other 6 teams are on Thursday; then it's every Monday and Tuesday after that. We are currently in the process of getting a banner made to hang in the gym; once we get that we will take team pictues under it and I will post them on here!
Open Gym is back to having 30-40 guys a night and back to being open until 1:30 AM--not all guys who come to open gym are in the league either! Some of these guys from open gym even came early yesterday to help me set everything up, and when I had a malfunction with the new basketball I just bought, one guy let me use his for the night. New relationships are developing--they appreciate what is being done for them (one guy even commented how the people "beg" for things like this). In the midst of these new relationships, I am finally reconnecting with old ones I have not seen in a while. Kenny and Elvin are two Puerto Ricans that I considered good friends and they confided in me last summer. I've talked about Elvin before (his brother was shot and killed over a year ago)... Well Kenny called me out of the blue a couple nights ago--he said he had forgotten that I left my phone # inside a bible I gave him (which he confessed was buried under things). Kenny's brother has also been going to Joey's church these past couple months, so I talked to him about how he needs to READ his bible, and should check out Joey's church with his brother. I look forward to continuing conversations with him. I've also reunited with some PUC guys (though there are still many I have yet to see) and that's where the title for this blog comes from. I was sitting in the gym office when I heard someone yell "BRACKEN!" It was Ken, from PUC... we got to talking and when he asked about the gym schedule, I mentioned that bible study would be starting on Friday... "You always doin' bible study," was his reply... that's nice to know.
The kid's ministry is exciting and depressing. Last week an incident happened right around the corner from the church. A man followed an 11-year old girl on her way to school, pulled her down an alley and raped her. Surveillance footage caught who the man was, and when his identity was released, the father quoted, "I hope the neighborhood finds him before the cops do." He got his wish... hours later the suspect was beaten so badly by a group of men that he was in critical condition in the hospital for a few days. As a result, some parents are not allowing their daughters to leave the house. At our first Kid's Bible Club, I asked an 11-year old boy why his girlfriend didn't come, that was his reply: "Parents won't let her out." If there is a kid that needs to go home and does not have a group to go with, Mary and I will walk that child home. The other depressing part is the fact that Mary and I have to clean the church playground every week--not just because of trash, but to make sure there are no needles or drugs lying around. In our first sweep, we did not find any needles/drugs, but we did find a bullet shell casing. It really reminds you of the power of the ministry we have to these kids now. The fact that they can come over to the church and have somewhere safe to play and be kids and GET ALONG, is a wonderful ministry for welcoming kids to the Kingdom of God. I thank God for Mary every day because of the service she is providing these kids; I could not have done it on my own. I thank God that he gave me a woman to marry who was willing to make sacrifices and live a place of potential fear/danger--but we trust in God's protection. Before we left KY, her mom took her out to buy a pair of sandals that had thick soles. I told her of the importance of this because she could potentially step on a needle--at that point, I knew that my wife was something special. This has been God's plan from the beginning, and Mary has grown much in her strength and courage being here since day one. Please pray for protection and for love for all. Also pray for the daily homeless people who come by for food and help--pray that God protect them.
Well i'm having problems posting pictures... guess it will have to wait
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
"You're saving people"
So Mary and I just arrived this past Friday to our "Honeymoon Suite"! We have really found some friends in Christ in my time here over the past few years. The women who work at the Salvation Army (Nancy, Karen, and Robin) have put together a bedroom with a bed, night stands, dresser, and mirror in a room on the top floor of the church. They even decorated it with candles, chocolate, etc and put up "Honeymoon Suite" signs. It was especially nice seeing all the work they put in and the comfort it gave Mary! On top of that, our first night there we already had our friends from Bridge of Hope church provide us a specially made Puerto Rican meal (you can't beat their pork chop and rice). Things are really kicking off ministry-wise too. Started open gym right away, league is starting next week (12 teams), doing a lot with children now, and looking to start a cooking class (Mary and some others from Bridge of Hope, not me!). A couple nights ago at open gym, a new comer named Ty who has been out of prison for a few months now and trying to "stay out of trouble and away from the wrong people" told me, "I don't know if anyone has told you this, but you're saving lives doing this." Little does he know that lives are being saved in a greater way than he knows! The past few days Mary and I have been doing cleaning and organizing, so now we can really get into some personal witnessing and relationship building. Pray for the league that's starting next Tuesday; as a matter of fact, pray for each team:
DBB
Next Level
Jewtown
Dynasty
Rebels
Warriors
Street Kings
Deep N Pack
Too Easy
Flamers
Good Fellaz
Businessmen
On top of the league, we have discussed other things with Bridge of Hope (we will be partners all summer long)--they already do a bible study with some youth, so we are looking to merge guys from open gym to that bible study on Friday nights (starting next week) so be in prayer for that. Also, we have raised enough money to reach our minimum goal! We have raised $9,910 so far, so we will be looking to do a rap concert, youth trip, buying lots of toys for the kids (the city is closing 65 pools and parks, so we will get some inflatable pools for the parking lot and lots of other fun stuff to basically do VBS... EVERY WEEK!
On a final note... a Philadelphia Eagles linebacker came to my open gym the other night... He played for Auburn and was drafted in 2008--and his sister plays basketball for UK. His name is King Dunlap--so that was pretty cool! A picture of him is at the top!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
some final pictures
First 3 are from our trip to Six Flags... the group (minus one guy), some of the prizes won from a 3-point shooting game, and then the favorite ride--Kingda Ca! The last three are Billie (I talked about him a bit in the post--he's the one who had never been in a church until my open gym and we had some good spiritual conversations)--that's a picture of him reffing a game for me--when WKU donated some shirts to me, I gave them to my 2 volunteer refs to wear as the official ref shirt... next picture down is just a picture of some of the "Puerto Rican shooters" as they became known... the last picture is another pic of the league night--the crowd watching from the top grew bigger every week!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
One last post
Well I have been home for a week and a half now, but still busy as ever (visiting old friends, preparing for my teacher's certification test, etc.) so now I am finally settling down to post my final update...
Good news is I finally got a team picture of each team in the league and the bible study group--they were my favorite pictures of the summer. Bad news is, as I was setting up for my all night event I noticed my camera was missing. Looks like someone snatched that during the work day (looks like yet again, it was an "inside job"). So I am without those pictures and I am still upset about it.
So my last week went well. The final bible study had the same 20 for the 3rd straight week, which was very encouraging. Afterwards I had one ask me to pray over him and for his family for safe travels to Puerto Rico. Pastor Wittenberg stayed late that night to share a few words and make himself available and the group heard from the fellow Christians that have been helping me about their "Next Level" ministries. Tough part is... continued ministry to these guys will be tough now that the gym is not open every night (only the league continues). Pray for new openings there. My last night with the league was depressing and a relief at the same time. It was hard knowing it was my last night with many of these guys, but still... many of those guys are very tough to deal with--I had a lot to deal with that night! So when it was all over, it was relieving. The last night of league season games was last Thursday (so I missed that and will miss the tournament)--it was nervewracking at first because 2 teams didn't show up for the first two games, but then the next 4 did... So, after a full season the record is as stands:
Dynasty 6-1
Jewtown 5-2 (forfeited last game)
Next Level 5-2
DBB 4-3
P.U.C. 3-4
Tioga Heights B 2-5
Unforgettables 1-7 (forfeited last game)
Tioga Heights A 1-7
Playoffs start this week! Oh, but one more thing about the league. I forgot to mention this story... Remember my statments about the free CDs that were made to pass out? Well before one game as I was saying we had free CDs for them, one of the guys asked if it was me rapping on the CD. I responded with, "Me? haha, nah I don't rap... I'm a white boy from KY!" And he responded with, "Well no one thought you could ball, but you can." So... that made me feel good!
And so then came Friday--my final thing. What a blessing that night was. Chuck Malloy came to the rescue again! He made a generous gift of 12 Pizzas, 6 bags of chips, and lots of soda. We were able to start off the night with a feast and a reminder of the gospel, then we started with the 3 on 3 tournament (6 teams)... after a few rounds we got started on the 3-point contest, probably the fan favorite and the most ghetto thing I've put together. WKU sent me 5 red-and-white Western Kentucky University basketballs, so those were the money balls, and then Elvin (the one who's brother was shot and killed) had his mother-in-law donate about 12 basketballs from her company (Sunoco--gas station), and then I had other basketballs to come up with a total of 25! We had 5 racks, did it just like the NBA... only the racks were a combination of wheeled carts, baby crate, etc... But they LOVED it. And Elvin brought his DJ stuff, so we blared music throughout (and Joey brought by many Christian rap CDs to use)... it was a lot of fun watching contestants dance on the floor, and dance as they shoot. Round 1 had 20, then 10, then 4, then 2... the winner was Billie, the one whom I talked to one-on-one about making a decision for Christ. Then we moved onto the dunking contest. WOW... that was a blast. I printed out a bunch of papers with #s on each so we could do it just like fans do in the NBA contest. I had 5 judges appointed... we had 7 for Round 1, 4 for Round 2... and then it didn't go any further because everyone quit after we all saw Koran's dunk. Koran is a 5'9" guy who can do a 360, through the leg dunk on 10 ft and the contest we had the goal at 9' 3"... he did one dunk and the crowd went crazy--several taped it using the phone, so watching people crowd around the phone to watch the replay 5 times over lets you know it was exciting. It is supposed to be posted on youtube sometime--when it goes up, I'll post it on here. People were so pumped about it, that they just let him do a 15 minute dunk show and didn't even bother finishing out the 3 on 3.. the prize for all of the winners was a WKU bball and a WKU shirt. Basically, the night was a great way to end it all. Guys stayed till 4 AM just chatting and hanging out and helping me clean up. They really expressed their thanks for everything and for keeping them off the streets (which makes it harder knowing I had to leave them with no open gym... at least for now). I will admit, as I locked up the gym for the last time, I teared up.
Yet still, even up to my last week, I was learning more about some horrors of this neighborhood. Jose took me to get a real "Philly cut" (hair cut) and on the way we ran into a crime scene where a murder had just taken place, and then once we get to "Bout Time Barber Shop" we learn that one of the barber's cousin was shot and killed earlier that day... that day there were 2 murders and 3 shootings just within a few miles of the church. Jose told me that from 2007 to 2008, Philadelphia had over 365 murders, more than one a day. The next day Pastor Wittenberg and his wife (Susan) took me out to lunch where I heard some more stories. Susan told me a story when a group of kids got out of school, put animal masks on, and attacked a random guy on the street--Susan had to drive up on the street blaring her horn to scatter the kids as the old man lay there brutally beaten. I had seen a couple school riots from my 2nd floor window, but I did not realize it was a very common thing... and actually, it's hearing that that encourages me even more to teach inner-city... just pray for this area, for change, for God to be glorified.
Some of you all may be wondering: Have you still kept in touch with them? Answer is: some, yes... some, no. Remember, K&A is one of the most poverty stricken neighborhoods... many of these guys run out of minutes on their phone fast. So I can call some and can't get through--it's because they have no minutes--so then I have to wait a couple weeks. But I have been able to talk to some since I've been home. A group of them even plan on coming here to visit and attend my wedding. Pray that works out!
If you have any questions, just ask! (859) 539-7838 or jeffrey.bracken@wku.edu
I will post a few more pictures later tonight (pictures from the Six Flags trip and others).
Good news is I finally got a team picture of each team in the league and the bible study group--they were my favorite pictures of the summer. Bad news is, as I was setting up for my all night event I noticed my camera was missing. Looks like someone snatched that during the work day (looks like yet again, it was an "inside job"). So I am without those pictures and I am still upset about it.
So my last week went well. The final bible study had the same 20 for the 3rd straight week, which was very encouraging. Afterwards I had one ask me to pray over him and for his family for safe travels to Puerto Rico. Pastor Wittenberg stayed late that night to share a few words and make himself available and the group heard from the fellow Christians that have been helping me about their "Next Level" ministries. Tough part is... continued ministry to these guys will be tough now that the gym is not open every night (only the league continues). Pray for new openings there. My last night with the league was depressing and a relief at the same time. It was hard knowing it was my last night with many of these guys, but still... many of those guys are very tough to deal with--I had a lot to deal with that night! So when it was all over, it was relieving. The last night of league season games was last Thursday (so I missed that and will miss the tournament)--it was nervewracking at first because 2 teams didn't show up for the first two games, but then the next 4 did... So, after a full season the record is as stands:
Dynasty 6-1
Jewtown 5-2 (forfeited last game)
Next Level 5-2
DBB 4-3
P.U.C. 3-4
Tioga Heights B 2-5
Unforgettables 1-7 (forfeited last game)
Tioga Heights A 1-7
Playoffs start this week! Oh, but one more thing about the league. I forgot to mention this story... Remember my statments about the free CDs that were made to pass out? Well before one game as I was saying we had free CDs for them, one of the guys asked if it was me rapping on the CD. I responded with, "Me? haha, nah I don't rap... I'm a white boy from KY!" And he responded with, "Well no one thought you could ball, but you can." So... that made me feel good!
And so then came Friday--my final thing. What a blessing that night was. Chuck Malloy came to the rescue again! He made a generous gift of 12 Pizzas, 6 bags of chips, and lots of soda. We were able to start off the night with a feast and a reminder of the gospel, then we started with the 3 on 3 tournament (6 teams)... after a few rounds we got started on the 3-point contest, probably the fan favorite and the most ghetto thing I've put together. WKU sent me 5 red-and-white Western Kentucky University basketballs, so those were the money balls, and then Elvin (the one who's brother was shot and killed) had his mother-in-law donate about 12 basketballs from her company (Sunoco--gas station), and then I had other basketballs to come up with a total of 25! We had 5 racks, did it just like the NBA... only the racks were a combination of wheeled carts, baby crate, etc... But they LOVED it. And Elvin brought his DJ stuff, so we blared music throughout (and Joey brought by many Christian rap CDs to use)... it was a lot of fun watching contestants dance on the floor, and dance as they shoot. Round 1 had 20, then 10, then 4, then 2... the winner was Billie, the one whom I talked to one-on-one about making a decision for Christ. Then we moved onto the dunking contest. WOW... that was a blast. I printed out a bunch of papers with #s on each so we could do it just like fans do in the NBA contest. I had 5 judges appointed... we had 7 for Round 1, 4 for Round 2... and then it didn't go any further because everyone quit after we all saw Koran's dunk. Koran is a 5'9" guy who can do a 360, through the leg dunk on 10 ft and the contest we had the goal at 9' 3"... he did one dunk and the crowd went crazy--several taped it using the phone, so watching people crowd around the phone to watch the replay 5 times over lets you know it was exciting. It is supposed to be posted on youtube sometime--when it goes up, I'll post it on here. People were so pumped about it, that they just let him do a 15 minute dunk show and didn't even bother finishing out the 3 on 3.. the prize for all of the winners was a WKU bball and a WKU shirt. Basically, the night was a great way to end it all. Guys stayed till 4 AM just chatting and hanging out and helping me clean up. They really expressed their thanks for everything and for keeping them off the streets (which makes it harder knowing I had to leave them with no open gym... at least for now). I will admit, as I locked up the gym for the last time, I teared up.
Yet still, even up to my last week, I was learning more about some horrors of this neighborhood. Jose took me to get a real "Philly cut" (hair cut) and on the way we ran into a crime scene where a murder had just taken place, and then once we get to "Bout Time Barber Shop" we learn that one of the barber's cousin was shot and killed earlier that day... that day there were 2 murders and 3 shootings just within a few miles of the church. Jose told me that from 2007 to 2008, Philadelphia had over 365 murders, more than one a day. The next day Pastor Wittenberg and his wife (Susan) took me out to lunch where I heard some more stories. Susan told me a story when a group of kids got out of school, put animal masks on, and attacked a random guy on the street--Susan had to drive up on the street blaring her horn to scatter the kids as the old man lay there brutally beaten. I had seen a couple school riots from my 2nd floor window, but I did not realize it was a very common thing... and actually, it's hearing that that encourages me even more to teach inner-city... just pray for this area, for change, for God to be glorified.
Some of you all may be wondering: Have you still kept in touch with them? Answer is: some, yes... some, no. Remember, K&A is one of the most poverty stricken neighborhoods... many of these guys run out of minutes on their phone fast. So I can call some and can't get through--it's because they have no minutes--so then I have to wait a couple weeks. But I have been able to talk to some since I've been home. A group of them even plan on coming here to visit and attend my wedding. Pray that works out!
If you have any questions, just ask! (859) 539-7838 or jeffrey.bracken@wku.edu
I will post a few more pictures later tonight (pictures from the Six Flags trip and others).
Monday, July 14, 2008
Bad News for the Church
Many of you may know already, but I wanted to let all know that the church I live in here was robbed last night. Details are a little hazy, but it seems clear that there were definitely at least 3 involved in stealing 12 computers from the Kids' program computer lab and it appears that these people knew exactly what they were looking for. A drill was used to get into doors and take off a deadbolt lock... a lounge room was broken into where they could have stolen a TV, DVD player, Game Cube, etc. but all they took was one water bottle. They escaped by passing the computers through a window (computer room was in basement so windows were at top of room, along ground level outside) and then snuck them out through a fence that had been cut.
How they got in is another mystery... while the Pastor was examining the fence, a mother walked over with her 2 sons and gave him a set of keys that her son found in the alley (the cut fence leads into the alley between our church and another building)... the keys were keys for the church, including a key to get into the front door. At this point, we don't know what to make of that.
Wishart Avenue is the street right behind our church and its the street that it was obvious where the "get away" car was parked to load the computers. Wishart Avenue is also packed with people who stay out extremely late... Unfortunately, it is very unlikely we will get any information--they don't even say anything for a murder (so I was told). Even as cops came to investigate, they yelled out the code word to let the block know cops are on the street. Please lift the church up in your prayers... But let me tell you where it gets really good.
#1: My shower sits across from the Computer lab... I shower every night (and it's always late--usually past midnight once guys are gone from the gym). For some odd reason or another, I just did not feel like showering last night. All day I have been thinking about that, and I'm telling you... God intervened--God made that decision for me to not shower. Knowing the neighborhood I'm in, if I had walked in on them doing that, I would have been left dead. Praise God and praise all of you for your prayers--Mary told me that her co-worker had her church pray for my protection yesterday morning... well God answered that prayer with His protection that night. (Though still, knowing it all happened while I was in the building kinda angers me ya know?)
#2: Hearing Major Wittenberg's response to all this was very encouraging to me. All he cared about was my safety. When he got the call that everything had been stolen, his first instinct was to know if I was okay. Then he simply said "stuff is stuff... who cares?" One of the church members was quite upset about it, and Major asked "Are you really surprised?" He proceeded to explain that when he heard it, he wasn't all that surprised. He said to make ministry happen in this area, you ahve to be willing to take risks. He'd rather have the church packed and risk losing stuff, than to hold on tightly to everything and have no one there. He explained that he blessed my ;ministry knowing we were gonna have to shut off the alarm system; knowing that I would have some rough bunch in and out; etc. "If you want your stuff to be safe, then go to a wealthy suburban church," he said, "otherwise, to minister in this neighborhood, you gotta learn to deal with it..." That was encouraging to hear. Stop being safe, live life on the edge for Christ. Dare to move.
Thank you again for all the prayers. One last thing to pray for: since this has happened some of "my guys" have found out--I've asked them to find out any information they can (since they're from the streets); but I pray that it happens without violence!
How they got in is another mystery... while the Pastor was examining the fence, a mother walked over with her 2 sons and gave him a set of keys that her son found in the alley (the cut fence leads into the alley between our church and another building)... the keys were keys for the church, including a key to get into the front door. At this point, we don't know what to make of that.
Wishart Avenue is the street right behind our church and its the street that it was obvious where the "get away" car was parked to load the computers. Wishart Avenue is also packed with people who stay out extremely late... Unfortunately, it is very unlikely we will get any information--they don't even say anything for a murder (so I was told). Even as cops came to investigate, they yelled out the code word to let the block know cops are on the street. Please lift the church up in your prayers... But let me tell you where it gets really good.
#1: My shower sits across from the Computer lab... I shower every night (and it's always late--usually past midnight once guys are gone from the gym). For some odd reason or another, I just did not feel like showering last night. All day I have been thinking about that, and I'm telling you... God intervened--God made that decision for me to not shower. Knowing the neighborhood I'm in, if I had walked in on them doing that, I would have been left dead. Praise God and praise all of you for your prayers--Mary told me that her co-worker had her church pray for my protection yesterday morning... well God answered that prayer with His protection that night. (Though still, knowing it all happened while I was in the building kinda angers me ya know?)
#2: Hearing Major Wittenberg's response to all this was very encouraging to me. All he cared about was my safety. When he got the call that everything had been stolen, his first instinct was to know if I was okay. Then he simply said "stuff is stuff... who cares?" One of the church members was quite upset about it, and Major asked "Are you really surprised?" He proceeded to explain that when he heard it, he wasn't all that surprised. He said to make ministry happen in this area, you ahve to be willing to take risks. He'd rather have the church packed and risk losing stuff, than to hold on tightly to everything and have no one there. He explained that he blessed my ;ministry knowing we were gonna have to shut off the alarm system; knowing that I would have some rough bunch in and out; etc. "If you want your stuff to be safe, then go to a wealthy suburban church," he said, "otherwise, to minister in this neighborhood, you gotta learn to deal with it..." That was encouraging to hear. Stop being safe, live life on the edge for Christ. Dare to move.
Thank you again for all the prayers. One last thing to pray for: since this has happened some of "my guys" have found out--I've asked them to find out any information they can (since they're from the streets); but I pray that it happens without violence!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
bad news for me
Well, with one week to go I now have to watch all basketball from the sidelines as I hold on to my new set of crutches. Unfortunately during a open gym Wednesday night I busted my left knee. It is unsure of the diagnosis (we know for sure it's not bone-related) but I did get an MRI yesterday afternoon to look for any torn ligaments. Because I drive stick shift, my parents and I are in the process of figuring out how I'm going to get home! Please keep me and my injury in your prayers... Though I must admit, having this injury has shown me how many people here have come to care about me, both in the church and out of the church. Many of those who witnessed the fall that night took care of me immediately after and have been intentional in following up with me, making sure I'm okay and helping me clean the gym each night. But the church staff has also taken great care of me. Nancy, the secretary has done so much for me--she drove me to my appointment, took me out to eat, went and got groceries for me, etc... A volunteer, John, has brought me several movies to watch and with Nancy's portable DVD player and occassional gifts of double stuffed oreos and Raisenettes I have myself some fun movie nights! I should probably also mention the fact that Karen, the bookkeepr (whose office is right next to my room) has helped me all year, taking me to places, keeping me company some late nights (along with her kids). And Pastor Phil Wittenberg has been a wonderful blessing (though he was gone on vacation for 3 weeks!).
Despite all the care, it's still tough on me, knowing that I may not be able to play basketball for a while, I may have to reschedule my Praxis test (test for teacher certification) to have surgery, and may have to hobble around Greenwood HS while I student teach! And it is definitely a bummer considering that I may not get to play in my own 3-0n-3 tournament this upcoming Friday-Saturday (my teammates think I'm going to recover by then--hey, I still believe in miracles, :) ). This upcoming weekend is my final big outreach event. I have open gym from 8 PM on Friday to 6 AM on Saturday. There will be a 3-on-3 tournament (currently with 14 teams), a 3-point contest (the max # of 20 have signed up) and a dunking contest (currently 10). Currently, I am working on getting a guest speaker from Ephiphany Fellowship--if that falls through, I suppose I will. Another cool thing about this event, is that Elvin (the one who's brother was shot and killed Oct. 7, 2007) said he is a DJ and doesn't mind bringing his equipment to DJ the event--sounds like we gonna have a party! By the way, I also met Elvin's wife last night and they would like to get away from Philly for a week or so, so they may be visiting me back in KY in the next year. For all of you who read this from KY, I know you can think of ways we can treat them to a good time (some southern cooking, the lake, anything else?). Anyways, be in prayer for this event, it'll be my last one.
As for other things... I took a group to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ this past monday. With buy 1 ticket, get 1 free coupons, I had a group of 10. When I first asked these guys if they wanted to go, it didn't sound like it meant much to them. No real excitement, no talking about it, nothing really. Honestly, I think some of these guys have learned not to get their hopes up about anything. Because it wasn't until they were actually in the van and on the way there that they got real excited. They couldn't stop talking about it the whole way there... and the next day at bible study they were still talking about what a great time they had! Only a couple of them had been to this particular park before, and about half of them have never been to an amusement park period. So this trip was really something for them. We had planned on leaving at 9, but we had too much fun. We stayed till 10:30. Of course, I made it more than just fellowship and fun... I shared with them 2 Corinthians 5:14--"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died." I basically used that verse to show that if I wasn't a Christian, if I didn't have the love of Christ in me, then I wouldn't be in Philly and if I was, I certainly wouldn't care about them. Instead, because of the love of Christ that is in me, it compels me to pour out that same love to them--it compels me to act and to express God's love through different things. I think they got the point :)...
As for this past week's bible study, I am glad to say I had 18 of same crowd as the week before, plus 2 new oens. I have a consistent group who are enjoying it and tell me they are learning. It's great because they do not rush to get it over with so they can play ball. They ask questions, we get in discussions, we relate it to life on the streets. You can easily notice in their eyes that all this is sinking in. Unfortunately, I only have one bible study left--and it will be very focused on a general altar call. Fortunately, through the Christians I have met and talked about in previous blogs, there will be continued discipleship through what's called the "Next Level." Pray for that ministry and those leading it and for those who have been coming to my bible studies to continue in it.
Moving on to the league and the continued impacts that is having:
Well, the two undefeated teams (Next Level and Jewtown) squared off and Jewtown came out on top. This past league night was a fun one to watch, considering I saw 10 dunks on the night and a couple very close games! Here are the standings:
Tioga A 0-5
Tioga B 1-4
P.U.C. 2-3
DBB 3-2
Next Level 4-1
Jewtown 5-1
Dynasty 4-1
Unforgettables 1-4 (But this team has never lost a game by fewer than 4 points or somethin like that)
There is a growing fan base that watches from the work out room (including family members) and the teams finally have their jerseys (though they did not turn out as hoped... there were some complications)... For the devotion this time I pulled from Matthew 7:21-23 about when Jesus says "Not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of the Father who is in heaven, will enter..." I've noticed that many of these might tell me they believe in God, they are Christians, etc... but they continue to live in drug dealing, personal gain, anger, etc... I hoped this would be a wake up call for them (I expanded on it a little more). Also, remember the picture of the CD I posted? 47 of the 50 have been passed out and we had good responses. The very next day I had someone tell me he didn't know what to expect... that usually when "church people" put something together it's corny or they don't know how to relate... but he said he listened to it from the first song to the last and loved it. He said he related to all the songs in every way and got a few more to give to his cousins. PJ, the one who put the CDs together, made a few others for him to have. I also had Chris from P.U.C. (who is on probation right now) tell me, and I quote "Jeff, excuse my language, but that sh*t is hot." I put that in to show that here's someone who has come to respect me enough to the point that he'll even excuse his language in front of me (which I found humurous and cool at the same time) and it's good to know that God is using the lyrics and music to reach out...
There's really just one last thing I want to mention. What about girls? At the start of the summer I had thought to myself about I was neglecting ministry to girls--my ministry was providing a way for guys who play basketball (which is also exclusive for guys who don't play--but then again, I was not starting a church... I was carrying out my mission called from/by God)... But, after several weeks, I had some girlfriends come in and out of the gym. One girl, her name is My, would always come and just sit and watch for hours... that is until I found out she loves to color and draw so I got her crayons and coloring books. She'll come and sit in my office and doodle, and I kid you not... almost everytime I'll walk in later and I'll find her reading my Bible. She just picked it up and started in the beginning--Genesis... I suggested she read the book of John (next time I walked in, that's what I saw her reading). I also got to minister to Elvin's wife who is a Muslim, but admits she's not really into the Muslim deal--she was more so born into it... So I explained the main difference between Muslim and Christian and she went home with a bible, ready to read. I've also had a girlfriend come to a bible study... so I thought I'd mention those things too... cool stuff, ya know?
OH! one last thing... so I've been having this guy come to open gym and bible study for a few weeks now... and it wasn't until last week that I was told he uses ASL! I knew he was Deaf, but from what I observed I thought he relied on lip reading and hand gestures (that's what I saw his cousin doing) and he knew I was Hard of Hearing, so I figured if he knew ASL, he would ask if I did! Man, was I ignorant! How cool is that? I had spent my past 2 years involved in Deaf ministry in some way, and I was sad about leaving Deaf camp this summer... but look at what God placed in my way! I recently found this out, and we talked a little more... I plan on sharing the gospel with him next time I see him. Pray for him! (his name is Kiko)
Well, that covers it... Because I cannot drive my car, I could not use my computer at McDonalds for wireless, thus... I cannot upload pictures onto here (have some from Six Flags, league, etc.) Well... God bless!
P.S. If you're wondering how my missions money held up... it's taken me right to the end. I have $40 left and a week to go :) (I'd like to raise money again to get the scoreboard taken care of!)
Despite all the care, it's still tough on me, knowing that I may not be able to play basketball for a while, I may have to reschedule my Praxis test (test for teacher certification) to have surgery, and may have to hobble around Greenwood HS while I student teach! And it is definitely a bummer considering that I may not get to play in my own 3-0n-3 tournament this upcoming Friday-Saturday (my teammates think I'm going to recover by then--hey, I still believe in miracles, :) ). This upcoming weekend is my final big outreach event. I have open gym from 8 PM on Friday to 6 AM on Saturday. There will be a 3-on-3 tournament (currently with 14 teams), a 3-point contest (the max # of 20 have signed up) and a dunking contest (currently 10). Currently, I am working on getting a guest speaker from Ephiphany Fellowship--if that falls through, I suppose I will. Another cool thing about this event, is that Elvin (the one who's brother was shot and killed Oct. 7, 2007) said he is a DJ and doesn't mind bringing his equipment to DJ the event--sounds like we gonna have a party! By the way, I also met Elvin's wife last night and they would like to get away from Philly for a week or so, so they may be visiting me back in KY in the next year. For all of you who read this from KY, I know you can think of ways we can treat them to a good time (some southern cooking, the lake, anything else?). Anyways, be in prayer for this event, it'll be my last one.
As for other things... I took a group to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ this past monday. With buy 1 ticket, get 1 free coupons, I had a group of 10. When I first asked these guys if they wanted to go, it didn't sound like it meant much to them. No real excitement, no talking about it, nothing really. Honestly, I think some of these guys have learned not to get their hopes up about anything. Because it wasn't until they were actually in the van and on the way there that they got real excited. They couldn't stop talking about it the whole way there... and the next day at bible study they were still talking about what a great time they had! Only a couple of them had been to this particular park before, and about half of them have never been to an amusement park period. So this trip was really something for them. We had planned on leaving at 9, but we had too much fun. We stayed till 10:30. Of course, I made it more than just fellowship and fun... I shared with them 2 Corinthians 5:14--"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died." I basically used that verse to show that if I wasn't a Christian, if I didn't have the love of Christ in me, then I wouldn't be in Philly and if I was, I certainly wouldn't care about them. Instead, because of the love of Christ that is in me, it compels me to pour out that same love to them--it compels me to act and to express God's love through different things. I think they got the point :)...
As for this past week's bible study, I am glad to say I had 18 of same crowd as the week before, plus 2 new oens. I have a consistent group who are enjoying it and tell me they are learning. It's great because they do not rush to get it over with so they can play ball. They ask questions, we get in discussions, we relate it to life on the streets. You can easily notice in their eyes that all this is sinking in. Unfortunately, I only have one bible study left--and it will be very focused on a general altar call. Fortunately, through the Christians I have met and talked about in previous blogs, there will be continued discipleship through what's called the "Next Level." Pray for that ministry and those leading it and for those who have been coming to my bible studies to continue in it.
Moving on to the league and the continued impacts that is having:
Well, the two undefeated teams (Next Level and Jewtown) squared off and Jewtown came out on top. This past league night was a fun one to watch, considering I saw 10 dunks on the night and a couple very close games! Here are the standings:
Tioga A 0-5
Tioga B 1-4
P.U.C. 2-3
DBB 3-2
Next Level 4-1
Jewtown 5-1
Dynasty 4-1
Unforgettables 1-4 (But this team has never lost a game by fewer than 4 points or somethin like that)
There is a growing fan base that watches from the work out room (including family members) and the teams finally have their jerseys (though they did not turn out as hoped... there were some complications)... For the devotion this time I pulled from Matthew 7:21-23 about when Jesus says "Not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of the Father who is in heaven, will enter..." I've noticed that many of these might tell me they believe in God, they are Christians, etc... but they continue to live in drug dealing, personal gain, anger, etc... I hoped this would be a wake up call for them (I expanded on it a little more). Also, remember the picture of the CD I posted? 47 of the 50 have been passed out and we had good responses. The very next day I had someone tell me he didn't know what to expect... that usually when "church people" put something together it's corny or they don't know how to relate... but he said he listened to it from the first song to the last and loved it. He said he related to all the songs in every way and got a few more to give to his cousins. PJ, the one who put the CDs together, made a few others for him to have. I also had Chris from P.U.C. (who is on probation right now) tell me, and I quote "Jeff, excuse my language, but that sh*t is hot." I put that in to show that here's someone who has come to respect me enough to the point that he'll even excuse his language in front of me (which I found humurous and cool at the same time) and it's good to know that God is using the lyrics and music to reach out...
There's really just one last thing I want to mention. What about girls? At the start of the summer I had thought to myself about I was neglecting ministry to girls--my ministry was providing a way for guys who play basketball (which is also exclusive for guys who don't play--but then again, I was not starting a church... I was carrying out my mission called from/by God)... But, after several weeks, I had some girlfriends come in and out of the gym. One girl, her name is My, would always come and just sit and watch for hours... that is until I found out she loves to color and draw so I got her crayons and coloring books. She'll come and sit in my office and doodle, and I kid you not... almost everytime I'll walk in later and I'll find her reading my Bible. She just picked it up and started in the beginning--Genesis... I suggested she read the book of John (next time I walked in, that's what I saw her reading). I also got to minister to Elvin's wife who is a Muslim, but admits she's not really into the Muslim deal--she was more so born into it... So I explained the main difference between Muslim and Christian and she went home with a bible, ready to read. I've also had a girlfriend come to a bible study... so I thought I'd mention those things too... cool stuff, ya know?
OH! one last thing... so I've been having this guy come to open gym and bible study for a few weeks now... and it wasn't until last week that I was told he uses ASL! I knew he was Deaf, but from what I observed I thought he relied on lip reading and hand gestures (that's what I saw his cousin doing) and he knew I was Hard of Hearing, so I figured if he knew ASL, he would ask if I did! Man, was I ignorant! How cool is that? I had spent my past 2 years involved in Deaf ministry in some way, and I was sad about leaving Deaf camp this summer... but look at what God placed in my way! I recently found this out, and we talked a little more... I plan on sharing the gospel with him next time I see him. Pray for him! (his name is Kiko)
Well, that covers it... Because I cannot drive my car, I could not use my computer at McDonalds for wireless, thus... I cannot upload pictures onto here (have some from Six Flags, league, etc.) Well... God bless!
P.S. If you're wondering how my missions money held up... it's taken me right to the end. I have $40 left and a week to go :) (I'd like to raise money again to get the scoreboard taken care of!)
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Bible Study, league, and fireworks
Okay folks, I'm going to try this again... but it has now been 3 weeks since the last legitimate update! Hopefully I remember everything I typed up last time when it lost it all... and still have room for what's happened since.
Okay... Let's begin with bible study. For the first few weeks I had about 12 guys coming, but thing is, only 3 were consistent. On the plus side, out of the 24 Bibles donated from the Christians I met here, I only have 6 left... On the downside, well... I was just hoping the same people would come every week. BUT, as of this past Tuesday, I suppose I am beginning to have a consistent group, plus more. I had 20 come! It was a great night because one of my consistent attendees is leaving for the Army on Wednesday, so as a going away party, I used the McDonald's gift card my older brother got me for Christmas (to be used here in Philly) and bought 20 double cheeseburgers and 20 fries--they did enjoy that. But what's even better is... they're enjoying bible study. They really do get into it, and if someone gets distracting, everyone is telling him to shut up! Haha... We get in some good discussions and some guys are opening up to me on their own. With that said, pray for Elvin, who's brother (older by 1 year) was shot and killed Oct. 7, 2007... he said ever since that day it's been real hard for him--he said he's a Christian and after that incident he got a tattoo of a cross on his arm with the sign written "king of the jews"; yet it's been hard for him to really take hold of faith. He admitted that he likes to come to open gym because it gives him something to take his anger out on. Someone else who opened up is Chris, who just got back from prison for possession of a gun and dope--he said he's definitely opened his eyes and stays away from it (he hated prison), but let's pray he takes it the next step and lives for Jesus. He also admitted to me just the other day that they don't want me to leave and that no one would mess with me because of the level of respect there is for me! Welcome to incarnational ministry... that and the Lord has granted me His favor. Lastly, pray for Billie. Billie has just lost his job and is on the verge of homelessness. The cool thing about Billie though... coming to open gym was the first time he's ever stepped foot in the church. His first bible study here was his first time hearing about Jesus. After this past Tuesday, he thinks he's ready to make a decision for Christ and get baptized! I'm meeting with him later today (along with John and Jose who might be leaning toward making a decision as well) to talk more about it (oh... and this guy is really good at bball... he was roommates with Jayson Williams at a 5-Star High School Camp back in the day).
But, like I've said before, this isn't the only Bible Study. I also have the bible study on Wednesdays with some church members. This one is focused around understanding what it means to be a DISCIPLE (thanks to Tommy Johnson for teaching me the importance of it!)... Now this has been unique for me because any Bible Study I have lead, it has been with college age students. For this study, I have Nolan (9 yrs old), his brother Nigel (14), their mother Anissa and her boyfriend Greg, then Karen (30 yrs), and Gina (middle-aged).... What's really cool is that the main reason for the family coming is because Nigel wanted to know more about the Bible... and now they have embarked on a mission to read their Bible more and understand more of what God wants of them... the spaghetti dinners and studies I have with them have been great... and I know God is using the experience to carry them into their work force, school, neighbors, etc...
Now... as for the League. Wow, that has come a long way. First, let me update you on the records:
Tioga A............... 0-4
Tioga B............... 1-3
Next Level.......... 4-0
Unforgettables... 1-3
P.U.C.................. 1-3
DBB.................... 2-2
Dynasty.............. 3-1
Jewtown............ 3-1
I wish all of you could be here to watch these games--even the teams with the 1-3 records are really good (their losses are always within 4 points... almost all games are close and I've had 2 overtime games!). I should have a picture of each team up by next Saturday. The ministry has been going well too. Before each game there is a devotion and time of prayer... this past Thursday I invited Chuck Malloy to provide our devotion and he talked about how our single biggest problem we face as the human race is death... and he used that to introduce Jesus who overcame death, and how that same resurrection is offered to us. Chuck is someone who is now a dear friend to me because we have mutual friends from KY (and they put me in touch with him)... Chuck has helped provide Gatorade, whistles, etc... But I think he enjoyed doing that devotion the most! And I think it got a clear message to some of these youth. League night has become a hot spot, as the work out room becomes crowded with fans watching the games (Next Level and DBB bring the most).
Let me explain something else about this league... I had a goal when I first arrived in Philly over a year ago (at least a goal I made up by the end of the week)... that goal was to bridge neighborhoods together through bball. Well... the league has helped accomplish that. I have a few teams from different hoods, and it's been cool seeing how they interact now--from seeing each other at open gym to seeing each other outside of the church (a play from Unforgttables talked about how he met someone from Jewtown and they talked about the league!). Another goal was fostering team work and leadership. Well... if you notice, the Tioga teams have not been doing well. That's because they are about 5 years younger than all the other teams. Though they get spanked at their games, I have seen a player from the opposing team gather them together afterwards to encourage them and give them tips. I've see another guy invite a few of the younger ones to open gym so that he could help train them and work with them. In a neighborhood where no one sees any good happening, I see God making it happen.
It's funny... I came back this summer expecting to spend the whole summer doing what I did before--ministry at the parks... but it has shifted to this league and open gym (guys say they'd rather play there than on the streets... actually, one time some guys came by wanting to use my air pump, and I told them if they came back in 30 minutes I'd open the gym for them... one of them said "Yeah, we want that... rather play there than on the streets".... in the next 30 minutes that guy was already out fighting someone).... God has totally taken this trip and set me on his course--i've just followed where he's taken it. I must say though, I miss going to the park... there's some guys I haven't seen since I last played ball there. But with all this said, PRAY that God continues to bless the league; some are worried it will fall apart once I'm gone... pray for those who take over.
Well, I think that covers enough.... By the way... please, everyone be jealous of me. Last night I sat on the roof and watched incredible Philadelphia fireworks--the entire sky all around me was lighting up all night. It was quite a sight :)
Okay... Let's begin with bible study. For the first few weeks I had about 12 guys coming, but thing is, only 3 were consistent. On the plus side, out of the 24 Bibles donated from the Christians I met here, I only have 6 left... On the downside, well... I was just hoping the same people would come every week. BUT, as of this past Tuesday, I suppose I am beginning to have a consistent group, plus more. I had 20 come! It was a great night because one of my consistent attendees is leaving for the Army on Wednesday, so as a going away party, I used the McDonald's gift card my older brother got me for Christmas (to be used here in Philly) and bought 20 double cheeseburgers and 20 fries--they did enjoy that. But what's even better is... they're enjoying bible study. They really do get into it, and if someone gets distracting, everyone is telling him to shut up! Haha... We get in some good discussions and some guys are opening up to me on their own. With that said, pray for Elvin, who's brother (older by 1 year) was shot and killed Oct. 7, 2007... he said ever since that day it's been real hard for him--he said he's a Christian and after that incident he got a tattoo of a cross on his arm with the sign written "king of the jews"; yet it's been hard for him to really take hold of faith. He admitted that he likes to come to open gym because it gives him something to take his anger out on. Someone else who opened up is Chris, who just got back from prison for possession of a gun and dope--he said he's definitely opened his eyes and stays away from it (he hated prison), but let's pray he takes it the next step and lives for Jesus. He also admitted to me just the other day that they don't want me to leave and that no one would mess with me because of the level of respect there is for me! Welcome to incarnational ministry... that and the Lord has granted me His favor. Lastly, pray for Billie. Billie has just lost his job and is on the verge of homelessness. The cool thing about Billie though... coming to open gym was the first time he's ever stepped foot in the church. His first bible study here was his first time hearing about Jesus. After this past Tuesday, he thinks he's ready to make a decision for Christ and get baptized! I'm meeting with him later today (along with John and Jose who might be leaning toward making a decision as well) to talk more about it (oh... and this guy is really good at bball... he was roommates with Jayson Williams at a 5-Star High School Camp back in the day).
But, like I've said before, this isn't the only Bible Study. I also have the bible study on Wednesdays with some church members. This one is focused around understanding what it means to be a DISCIPLE (thanks to Tommy Johnson for teaching me the importance of it!)... Now this has been unique for me because any Bible Study I have lead, it has been with college age students. For this study, I have Nolan (9 yrs old), his brother Nigel (14), their mother Anissa and her boyfriend Greg, then Karen (30 yrs), and Gina (middle-aged).... What's really cool is that the main reason for the family coming is because Nigel wanted to know more about the Bible... and now they have embarked on a mission to read their Bible more and understand more of what God wants of them... the spaghetti dinners and studies I have with them have been great... and I know God is using the experience to carry them into their work force, school, neighbors, etc...
Now... as for the League. Wow, that has come a long way. First, let me update you on the records:
Tioga A............... 0-4
Tioga B............... 1-3
Next Level.......... 4-0
Unforgettables... 1-3
P.U.C.................. 1-3
DBB.................... 2-2
Dynasty.............. 3-1
Jewtown............ 3-1
I wish all of you could be here to watch these games--even the teams with the 1-3 records are really good (their losses are always within 4 points... almost all games are close and I've had 2 overtime games!). I should have a picture of each team up by next Saturday. The ministry has been going well too. Before each game there is a devotion and time of prayer... this past Thursday I invited Chuck Malloy to provide our devotion and he talked about how our single biggest problem we face as the human race is death... and he used that to introduce Jesus who overcame death, and how that same resurrection is offered to us. Chuck is someone who is now a dear friend to me because we have mutual friends from KY (and they put me in touch with him)... Chuck has helped provide Gatorade, whistles, etc... But I think he enjoyed doing that devotion the most! And I think it got a clear message to some of these youth. League night has become a hot spot, as the work out room becomes crowded with fans watching the games (Next Level and DBB bring the most).
Let me explain something else about this league... I had a goal when I first arrived in Philly over a year ago (at least a goal I made up by the end of the week)... that goal was to bridge neighborhoods together through bball. Well... the league has helped accomplish that. I have a few teams from different hoods, and it's been cool seeing how they interact now--from seeing each other at open gym to seeing each other outside of the church (a play from Unforgttables talked about how he met someone from Jewtown and they talked about the league!). Another goal was fostering team work and leadership. Well... if you notice, the Tioga teams have not been doing well. That's because they are about 5 years younger than all the other teams. Though they get spanked at their games, I have seen a player from the opposing team gather them together afterwards to encourage them and give them tips. I've see another guy invite a few of the younger ones to open gym so that he could help train them and work with them. In a neighborhood where no one sees any good happening, I see God making it happen.
It's funny... I came back this summer expecting to spend the whole summer doing what I did before--ministry at the parks... but it has shifted to this league and open gym (guys say they'd rather play there than on the streets... actually, one time some guys came by wanting to use my air pump, and I told them if they came back in 30 minutes I'd open the gym for them... one of them said "Yeah, we want that... rather play there than on the streets".... in the next 30 minutes that guy was already out fighting someone).... God has totally taken this trip and set me on his course--i've just followed where he's taken it. I must say though, I miss going to the park... there's some guys I haven't seen since I last played ball there. But with all this said, PRAY that God continues to bless the league; some are worried it will fall apart once I'm gone... pray for those who take over.
Well, I think that covers enough.... By the way... please, everyone be jealous of me. Last night I sat on the roof and watched incredible Philadelphia fireworks--the entire sky all around me was lighting up all night. It was quite a sight :)
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
pictures of the park
Remember the whole deal with getting baseball equipment donated to that school? The picture you see at the top is their field (notice any dirt?)... the field is at the same park where it all started for me. That's what all these pictures are--the wall of grafitti that runs along the side of the court, and the court itself from different angles. The third pic you see is just another example of what you saw with the PUC grafitti picture. Jewtown is one of the teams in the league... in case you're wondering, they are not Jewish; that's just the name of the hood/park they're from... A few of those guys have been to a bible study.
I do have time to post pictures
Theres the scoreboard I make do with... and my fiancee, Mary (her and her friend in picture above came to visit me a couple weekends ago), is holding the timer... the dumb battery died with 1 minute and something to go in the last quarter of a game where Next Level won on a last second 3-point shot (who knows if we put too much time up or not enough!)Okay... this makes no sense... any picture I post AFTER the one with the scoreboard and timer, gets placed above them and I can't move them!!! makes captioning the pictures hard... anyways, at the top you can see me running along the wall! (I'm reffing...) And the CD cover you see is a Christian hip-hop album some Christians here put together for me to pass out to the teams... good stuff!
Remember how in a previous post I mentioned a team named P.U.C. (Problems Under Control)... well I came across some of their "marked territory" at the park (however, I don't consider them a gang)... Picture under that is the team Jewtown warming up before a game. Notice the workout room above? We get a solid crowd now... people sit up there to watch the games!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
It's on!!
Yesterday I had some things I wanted to post for today, but now I don't even remember what they were. I need to start writing things down! What I do know is that it is hard to concentrate right now because I'm listening to a 5 year old girl rap in the middle of McDonalds...
Where to begin? Well, I had my second bible study with the guys from the streets. The first one I had 3 guys, this time I had 11. Of those 11, 5 were from another church supporting me, 4 were not Christians, and 2 don't really know what they are. We had a great discussion about Jesus' encounter with the rich man and distinguishing Jesus between Lord and teacher. It was a great discussion and a lot of bball afterwards! One of the guys admitted he didn't understand everything (he has never been in a church, so knows nothing about the gospel, pray for him... his name is josh). Josh stayed in the gym the next night until 12:30 AM--for the last 45 minutes it was just us 2, so we got to talk about his life (particularly his future). And from my discussion with him, and some others, I've realized that these people have dreams and skills. Josh is attending Temple University in the fall and wants to major in something that's uncommon and wants to try to walk on the basketball team. Some guys who come through will get on the piano and drum in the chapel and improv music that blows me away! Yesterday, I saw kids who BUILT THEIR OWN STEREO SYSTEM for their BIKES! I was riding with a guy (Jose) to get all the shirts for the jerseys and saw these bikes with a stereo system (including mini-subwoofers) attached to the back of their bikes... I asked Jose where you buy something like that and he said these kids don't--they make them themselves. Unfortunately, most of them are high school drop outs. High School dropouts are building their own stereo system for their bike that sound better than what you can buy for your car--that's potential right there. These kids have dreams, these kids have skills, so what has gone wrong? Of course, you could come up with several answers--but I say this to let you know that there is hope... and as i pursue my career to teach in inner-city, my goal is to get these kids to see their potential and that they can be successful in life.
Now, about Jose, the guy who took me to get the shirts... God has blessed me tremendously with some believers my age to provide friendship and support. Jose, Joey, PJ, Jose #2, Mark, etc... just a handful of guys from a church that meets in their home (I mentioned their church/group in my post last week) who have done nothing but lend a helping hand. They help me come up with ideas, they help get these jerseys made, they help by bringing some water/gatorade, they help by bringing me 24 bibles, they help by checking up on me to make sure I'm safe, they help by making Christian rap CDs to pass out for outreach, etc. This is exactly what they said, "We here to serve you man." They tell me that they've been wanting to do something like this, but have never been able to wrap their finger around it... My prayer for someone to take over after I'm gone has already been answered. These guys are going to continue the league and continue the bibe study--funneling the guys into a program they're going to call "The Next Level." Point is, God has blessed me with these people and it's a sign that this ministry is being taken to "the next level."
And now you probably want to know how the league is going... It's awesome. These guys are so excited to have something like this, and they're always asking when the jerseys will come in. I have gotten all the gym shorts and all the shirts (and now I'm down to $130)... so now all that is left is to get the shirts screen printed--once these teams have their jerseys I'll be sure to take team photos and post them on here. My fiancee is visiting this upcoming week, so I'll be able to have her take pictures as games are going. This past Thursday was the first night of games... we made do with a portable scoreboard (with flip #s), my phone for a timer, and an air horn for the buzzer... and did not keep track of fouls because we had no #s. But to make you feel more a part of this ministry, I'll update you with the scores!
Game 1:
Tioga Heights A--34
DBB--68
Game 2:
Tioga Heights B--44
Next Level--52
Game 3:
Dynasty--63
Unforgettables--38
Game 4 (OT):
P.U.C. Da Movement--41
Jewtown--45
It was an exciting night, and you know the league is off to a good start when the last game of the night goes into overtime!
PUTTING THIS LEAGUE INTO PERSPECTIVE:
Let me provide another reason as to why this league is advancing the Kingdom... When I took that ride with Jose, he took me to the court he played at when he was younger. He explained to me that this court was run by drug dealers and every summer put on a tournament... they paint the court, get jerseys, get trophies, etc.. the whole deal. So drug dealers can do things for the community too... But I can offer the SAME thing PLUS living water that comes from Christ. I give them basketball, but then they get prayer and devotionals before each game and a bible study on tuesday nights. That's what this ministry is about... getting to them before the evils of this world does. As my brother Dan put it, I'm doing a "preventive ministry" as opposed to the numerous "recovery ministries."
Continue your prayers!!
With love and blessings from Christ,
Bracken
Misc. news:
1) Chuck Malloy called while I was writing this to let me know that his mother-in-law bought some cases of gatorade for me, and he is going to buy some as well for me to pick up Tuesday--Thank you Lord Jesus
2) I continue to hear over and over how I need to not trust anyone, I'm in the ghetto, watch your back... etc. Thing is, when you have an incarnational ministry and you build relationships, these guys in the ghetto will watch my back for me
3) So far the worse that has happened: the brand new game ball I bought got stolen. During one of the games, the ball went through the windo and into the playground outside... I didn't have a key to the gate, so apparently by the next morning someone had jumped the fence and took it.... Oh well
4) I hope I didn't forget anything!
Where to begin? Well, I had my second bible study with the guys from the streets. The first one I had 3 guys, this time I had 11. Of those 11, 5 were from another church supporting me, 4 were not Christians, and 2 don't really know what they are. We had a great discussion about Jesus' encounter with the rich man and distinguishing Jesus between Lord and teacher. It was a great discussion and a lot of bball afterwards! One of the guys admitted he didn't understand everything (he has never been in a church, so knows nothing about the gospel, pray for him... his name is josh). Josh stayed in the gym the next night until 12:30 AM--for the last 45 minutes it was just us 2, so we got to talk about his life (particularly his future). And from my discussion with him, and some others, I've realized that these people have dreams and skills. Josh is attending Temple University in the fall and wants to major in something that's uncommon and wants to try to walk on the basketball team. Some guys who come through will get on the piano and drum in the chapel and improv music that blows me away! Yesterday, I saw kids who BUILT THEIR OWN STEREO SYSTEM for their BIKES! I was riding with a guy (Jose) to get all the shirts for the jerseys and saw these bikes with a stereo system (including mini-subwoofers) attached to the back of their bikes... I asked Jose where you buy something like that and he said these kids don't--they make them themselves. Unfortunately, most of them are high school drop outs. High School dropouts are building their own stereo system for their bike that sound better than what you can buy for your car--that's potential right there. These kids have dreams, these kids have skills, so what has gone wrong? Of course, you could come up with several answers--but I say this to let you know that there is hope... and as i pursue my career to teach in inner-city, my goal is to get these kids to see their potential and that they can be successful in life.
Now, about Jose, the guy who took me to get the shirts... God has blessed me tremendously with some believers my age to provide friendship and support. Jose, Joey, PJ, Jose #2, Mark, etc... just a handful of guys from a church that meets in their home (I mentioned their church/group in my post last week) who have done nothing but lend a helping hand. They help me come up with ideas, they help get these jerseys made, they help by bringing some water/gatorade, they help by bringing me 24 bibles, they help by checking up on me to make sure I'm safe, they help by making Christian rap CDs to pass out for outreach, etc. This is exactly what they said, "We here to serve you man." They tell me that they've been wanting to do something like this, but have never been able to wrap their finger around it... My prayer for someone to take over after I'm gone has already been answered. These guys are going to continue the league and continue the bibe study--funneling the guys into a program they're going to call "The Next Level." Point is, God has blessed me with these people and it's a sign that this ministry is being taken to "the next level."
And now you probably want to know how the league is going... It's awesome. These guys are so excited to have something like this, and they're always asking when the jerseys will come in. I have gotten all the gym shorts and all the shirts (and now I'm down to $130)... so now all that is left is to get the shirts screen printed--once these teams have their jerseys I'll be sure to take team photos and post them on here. My fiancee is visiting this upcoming week, so I'll be able to have her take pictures as games are going. This past Thursday was the first night of games... we made do with a portable scoreboard (with flip #s), my phone for a timer, and an air horn for the buzzer... and did not keep track of fouls because we had no #s. But to make you feel more a part of this ministry, I'll update you with the scores!
Game 1:
Tioga Heights A--34
DBB--68
Game 2:
Tioga Heights B--44
Next Level--52
Game 3:
Dynasty--63
Unforgettables--38
Game 4 (OT):
P.U.C. Da Movement--41
Jewtown--45
It was an exciting night, and you know the league is off to a good start when the last game of the night goes into overtime!
PUTTING THIS LEAGUE INTO PERSPECTIVE:
Let me provide another reason as to why this league is advancing the Kingdom... When I took that ride with Jose, he took me to the court he played at when he was younger. He explained to me that this court was run by drug dealers and every summer put on a tournament... they paint the court, get jerseys, get trophies, etc.. the whole deal. So drug dealers can do things for the community too... But I can offer the SAME thing PLUS living water that comes from Christ. I give them basketball, but then they get prayer and devotionals before each game and a bible study on tuesday nights. That's what this ministry is about... getting to them before the evils of this world does. As my brother Dan put it, I'm doing a "preventive ministry" as opposed to the numerous "recovery ministries."
Continue your prayers!!
With love and blessings from Christ,
Bracken
Misc. news:
1) Chuck Malloy called while I was writing this to let me know that his mother-in-law bought some cases of gatorade for me, and he is going to buy some as well for me to pick up Tuesday--Thank you Lord Jesus
2) I continue to hear over and over how I need to not trust anyone, I'm in the ghetto, watch your back... etc. Thing is, when you have an incarnational ministry and you build relationships, these guys in the ghetto will watch my back for me
3) So far the worse that has happened: the brand new game ball I bought got stolen. During one of the games, the ball went through the windo and into the playground outside... I didn't have a key to the gate, so apparently by the next morning someone had jumped the fence and took it.... Oh well
4) I hope I didn't forget anything!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
pictures of the Christian hip hop venue I organized and God blessed
top picture is a pic of me with the gospel rappers I flew in from Cali. From left to right: Brotha Ruff (aka Gospel Gorilla), N.I.C. (Noticed In Christ, aka Nicalodean), me, BFade, and Explicittrell (unfortunately, JNezz, minister and organizer of the Pray Area Movement in Cali is taking the picture)... the wall behind us with all the grafitti is actually the wall at the court I play at--I don't have a picture of the court yet, but I will!2nd picture is one of a few of the guys from my "Jasper St. gang"--this was right before the 2nd show we put on outside... at that point we were blarin music and grilling hot dogs for people walking by
3rd pic is us playing ball after the hip hop show was over...
4th pic is from the first night when we had the show inside... all those youth standing up there responded in some way (accepted Christ for first time or rededicated lives ,etc.... it is with these kids I am starting the bible study "Walking in Salvation")
Last picture is the rappers with Yvette, who talked a lot about in last week's post.
pics from "Sake of the Call"
top pic is Ed Bouldac, organizer of this event--it was great seeing different churches and what not coming together to bring the lost to Christ. 2nd pic is just a small fraction of the crowd there--they were spread out, sitting in chairs, on benches, on the ground... 3rd pic is my set up! the bottom and last one is a picture of those who responded to an altar call after a skit (some are Christians praying over the others)... I got pictures of all the skits, dances, musicians, etc... but I won't put them all on here! If you have facebook, it's all in an album in my profile!more pictures
Don't know if mentioned this before or not, but I got a lot of baseball equipment from WKU and my former high school (Dunbar) donated to this team at Mastbaum HS... the top picture is a pic of the school (see the fence at the top? Yup, there's a court on the roof!)... the bottom pic is a pic of some the guys from the team... my HS gets a new uniform every year and they always have 8 different varaitions of uniforms to wear for a game. What you see them wearing is what they've been wearing since before 1996
pictures
Here's the gym at the church and my room on the top floor of the church... I basically turned my room into an office as well!Week of networking and word spreading
In just a matter of one week so much has happened. Even just today there is so much to share. I just left a Community Outreach Event at Harrigate Park (about 6 blocks from my area of ministry). Early in the week, the S.A. (Salvation Army) got a flier about this event called "For the Sake of the Call"... it was an outreach event inviting any church to come out and set up an information booth to let locals know what is available to them. The event had live musicians (genres ranging from rap to R&B to a general praise and worship band), interpretive movements, skits, and all kinds of activities for kids (face painting, water games, bible stories, etc.), and good food and drinks! As a representative of the S.A. I provided brochures about the church, along with gospel tracks and pocket bibles (I had 200 pocket bibles donated by Gideonites from my Bowling Green church--First Baptist; I'd say about 100 are gone now :)). This park is along Kensington (I have mentioned that this is an area of extreme poverty) so it was a great outreach for prostitutes, drug addicts, alcoholics, etc... The guy who organizes it, Ed Bouldac, has been clean from drugs for 12 years and 5 months and leads a 12 step recovery program at a church nearby--throughout the day he held a meeting for addicts every other hour where "clean people" shared testimonies and prayed for each other and offered where addicts could get help. I got to hear stories of people who have been clean for as early as 32 days to as long as 31 years! God really moved today--I'll have some pictures uploaded in the next post.
Ok, so in the last post I mentioned how I met a guy who's cousin was a pastor of a church nearby and that he'd be willing to help with anything... well I met him (Joey) this past Monday, and he has been a big help. The next day his mom and dad drove over to the S.A. with Five 32-packs of water and five 28-packs of gatorade for my "Gatorade Missions." His dad also has a friend who will look at the scoreboard in our gym to see if we can get it working again. They will also be helping with the basketball league we have starting up by providing a team and hopefully some volunteer work on game nights. The league is becoming more and more of a reality and these kids from the streets are excited. We currently have 8 teams... I will be coaching/playing with my "focus group" (I call them my focus group because they are to me what Jesus's 12 disciples were to him I guess you could say)... their team name is P.U.C. Da Movement (stands for Problems Under Control). Another way Joey is helping is with jerseys for the teams. He told me that God has blessed them with equipment used for screen printing to make shirts (equipment that was just given to them out of the blue)... so as long as I get the shirts, they can make them free of charge! Games start this Thursday, so it's exciting... pray that it all comes together. I need to get jerseys together and get the scoreboard working; those are my primary needs. Also pray for Joey's church--2 weeks ago was their 2 year anniversary and they meet in his parent's home. It has grown to the point where people are squeezing for room upstairs! They have been praying for a building to move into and it looks like God may have answered their prayer. An Adult Video store has closed down, and they may be taking it over. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO SEE! An Adult store being turned into a church--that's progress :).
I have also been shifting my area of ministry from the outdoor courts to open gym at the church. I continue to have people tell me to "be careful," "don't get shot," "watch that your stuff doesn't get stolen," etc... but brothas and sistas, I have news... when you become an incarnational ministry and you connect, build relationships, and GO, you'd be surprised how God protects you and how much respect you get from others and the kinds of relationship that is built. I have a tremendous amount of respect from the guys in this area... I've had random people stop in and tell me they remember when they used to play in this gym years ago when it was a dollar to get in on Thursday nights. Now I have it open every weeknight for free and the guys love it! Word has spread and I now average up to 15-20 a night (last week it was around 10). Basically, with this open gym and bball league, I'm giving some of these guys the best summer of their life and I'm giving them somthing to do to stay off the streets at night.
Now... how am I connecting all this to ministry? Well, I build relationships with them, talk to them, and invite them to bible study. This past Tuesday was my first one (before I was getting 20 a night) and I had 3 guys come. Then when it was over, I had a few guys come (one that I had met from my first trip a year ago and hadn't seen since my trip 2 months ago) who said they heard I was doing a bible study and open gym and they want to come by. I also had some of my other guys say they wanted to start coming. This is the bible study I explained in my last post about "Who is Jesus?" My experience in ministry has been great because I feel like I'm doing the ministry Jesus did. He had his 12 disciples he taught in depth (I have my Jasper St. gang) and he ministered to the masses (I have been able to do some of that to the K&A area as a whole).
But God is good to me also. I had asked my older brother to pray for me that I would have some believers welcome me into their home and feed me every once in a while and just give me a change of scenes. Well, thanks to Barb Ellis and her contacts, my prayer was answered the next day. She had called a friend, Chuck Malloy, in order to help me with my ministry and the bball league. Well he called me and in the midst of our convo, asked if I would come over to his house for dinner somtime! AMEN! God is good!
I have learned today the difference between my ministry and other ministeries happening here. What I've encountered, between the S.A., the outreach event today, and what I've heard about other ministeries around, I discover that those ministeries target a truly hurting community, a community full of prostitutes, homeless people, addicts, etc. Today at the outreach event I saw people admitting that they're in pain and they need to change, etc. But my ministry has been with youth who won't admit they're in need of a spiritual healing. They believe they're okay on their own. Remember their team name? "Problems Under Control." Thus, my ministry is tough... pray that God uses me to get them to realize that they don't have control until God has control; that they DO need Christ in their life.
Well, that's all I can think of... oh, by the way, I have finally made it to a Phillies game. All the pastors of S.A. in the Eastern Penn/Del district got together for cheesesteaks, phillies game, and ice cream. What's neat, is the three wealthiest SA pay for everything (one for the lunch, one for the game, one for the ice cream)... As our pastor told me "In other words, we never have to" :) Phillies played the Reds... and though I wore a Phillies jersey, I still found myself rooting for the Reds!
Look for another update next week! God bless!
Ok, so in the last post I mentioned how I met a guy who's cousin was a pastor of a church nearby and that he'd be willing to help with anything... well I met him (Joey) this past Monday, and he has been a big help. The next day his mom and dad drove over to the S.A. with Five 32-packs of water and five 28-packs of gatorade for my "Gatorade Missions." His dad also has a friend who will look at the scoreboard in our gym to see if we can get it working again. They will also be helping with the basketball league we have starting up by providing a team and hopefully some volunteer work on game nights. The league is becoming more and more of a reality and these kids from the streets are excited. We currently have 8 teams... I will be coaching/playing with my "focus group" (I call them my focus group because they are to me what Jesus's 12 disciples were to him I guess you could say)... their team name is P.U.C. Da Movement (stands for Problems Under Control). Another way Joey is helping is with jerseys for the teams. He told me that God has blessed them with equipment used for screen printing to make shirts (equipment that was just given to them out of the blue)... so as long as I get the shirts, they can make them free of charge! Games start this Thursday, so it's exciting... pray that it all comes together. I need to get jerseys together and get the scoreboard working; those are my primary needs. Also pray for Joey's church--2 weeks ago was their 2 year anniversary and they meet in his parent's home. It has grown to the point where people are squeezing for room upstairs! They have been praying for a building to move into and it looks like God may have answered their prayer. An Adult Video store has closed down, and they may be taking it over. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO SEE! An Adult store being turned into a church--that's progress :).
I have also been shifting my area of ministry from the outdoor courts to open gym at the church. I continue to have people tell me to "be careful," "don't get shot," "watch that your stuff doesn't get stolen," etc... but brothas and sistas, I have news... when you become an incarnational ministry and you connect, build relationships, and GO, you'd be surprised how God protects you and how much respect you get from others and the kinds of relationship that is built. I have a tremendous amount of respect from the guys in this area... I've had random people stop in and tell me they remember when they used to play in this gym years ago when it was a dollar to get in on Thursday nights. Now I have it open every weeknight for free and the guys love it! Word has spread and I now average up to 15-20 a night (last week it was around 10). Basically, with this open gym and bball league, I'm giving some of these guys the best summer of their life and I'm giving them somthing to do to stay off the streets at night.
Now... how am I connecting all this to ministry? Well, I build relationships with them, talk to them, and invite them to bible study. This past Tuesday was my first one (before I was getting 20 a night) and I had 3 guys come. Then when it was over, I had a few guys come (one that I had met from my first trip a year ago and hadn't seen since my trip 2 months ago) who said they heard I was doing a bible study and open gym and they want to come by. I also had some of my other guys say they wanted to start coming. This is the bible study I explained in my last post about "Who is Jesus?" My experience in ministry has been great because I feel like I'm doing the ministry Jesus did. He had his 12 disciples he taught in depth (I have my Jasper St. gang) and he ministered to the masses (I have been able to do some of that to the K&A area as a whole).
But God is good to me also. I had asked my older brother to pray for me that I would have some believers welcome me into their home and feed me every once in a while and just give me a change of scenes. Well, thanks to Barb Ellis and her contacts, my prayer was answered the next day. She had called a friend, Chuck Malloy, in order to help me with my ministry and the bball league. Well he called me and in the midst of our convo, asked if I would come over to his house for dinner somtime! AMEN! God is good!
I have learned today the difference between my ministry and other ministeries happening here. What I've encountered, between the S.A., the outreach event today, and what I've heard about other ministeries around, I discover that those ministeries target a truly hurting community, a community full of prostitutes, homeless people, addicts, etc. Today at the outreach event I saw people admitting that they're in pain and they need to change, etc. But my ministry has been with youth who won't admit they're in need of a spiritual healing. They believe they're okay on their own. Remember their team name? "Problems Under Control." Thus, my ministry is tough... pray that God uses me to get them to realize that they don't have control until God has control; that they DO need Christ in their life.
Well, that's all I can think of... oh, by the way, I have finally made it to a Phillies game. All the pastors of S.A. in the Eastern Penn/Del district got together for cheesesteaks, phillies game, and ice cream. What's neat, is the three wealthiest SA pay for everything (one for the lunch, one for the game, one for the ice cream)... As our pastor told me "In other words, we never have to" :) Phillies played the Reds... and though I wore a Phillies jersey, I still found myself rooting for the Reds!
Look for another update next week! God bless!
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