good start

Praise be to God!!! Where do I even begin? Well, first I should start off by thanking Hannah Groves for providing me with a username/password to access AT&T WiFi at McDonalds so I won't have to pay everytime I use the internet here.
Other than that, lots have happened... let me try to organize this. Okay, first... a follow up report with Yvette (the woman who went from saying she was going clubbing to passing out bibles/gospel tracts the next day). Before I came back up, I cleaned out my room and brought lots of clothes, games, and books to donate to the Salvation Army. A couple books I found were those "Chicken Soup for the ____ Soul." So I thought I'd give those to her--give her some encouraging stories to read as a mother. So I walked over and gave those to her (she really appreciated them), but then she kind of spilled her heart. She told me that since the gospel rap shows, she's had to tell her friends "no" to lots of things because, as she put it, she "don't feel right doing it anymore." The spirit of God is moving her. However, the power of Satan is attacking her. Since those nights, she has had numerous bills come her way that she is unable to pay (she is a Nurse's Assistant, but they only schedule her for weekends). She is struggling to make ends meet and they are threatening to cut off her electricity and water. Please pray that God meets her needs... As a matter of fact, if you would like to help in some way just call me (859) 539-7838. I will talk with our pastor to see if the church can help somehow. I am currently getting her an application to work in the after school program with our church--hopefully a position will open up for her. Pray for her.

Okay, next on the list: Sunday services! At last, my fourth time here and I finally was able to make it to a Sunday service. We had a turnout of 20 or so (they tell me the attendance is 60 when it's not summer)--but this crowd of 20 was a blessing to me... I was given the chance to testify to what God had me doing and my plans for the summer. I am proud to tell you that one member is going to donate lots of water to aid my basketball ministry! I also have a father who wants to get together with me to talk and hang out and all the others were so kind to me, welcoming me as family. I especially want you to pray for Amani (I don't know how to spell his name)... he must be about 10 years old and he came to church on his own will--he had no family or friends with him. Then when I talked about starting a discipleship group with young adults, he asked where and when cause he wants to come!!! That boy there is going to be a leader for Christ in this community, pray for him. We also had the Soup and Salvation service this afternoon at 3. At this service we had about 35-40, all adults who are homeless, alcoholics, drug addicts, etc... Many of these are currently in rehab and a volunteer picks them up from the center to bring them. We have a group come in, sing songs and give a message and then we feed them. Interestingly, of these 40 or so people, only 3 were women (something to think about). I had the privilege to meet Frank (his first time there because one of the ladies was walking behind him on the streets and told him to go!--imagine that, look what happens when you talk to people, haha!). Frank shared some burdens and we got to talk about some spiritual matters and then I gave him a ride home--hopefully there will be more rides home to come.

Don't stop reading yet, this is where my main ministry comes into play. There's still so much more to say! I have seen my "target group" a few times this past week. I open the gym every night and some nights they come, some nights they don't. Occasionally I get a call from one of them to go play ball with them. So the relationships are being established. However, I wish there was more consistency--but I'm sure that will come. Okay, now I want to explain a little scenario. Every thursday another church uses our gym... this guy John has a group of about 13 kids come in to play and he tells me he's been trying to start a league. Well... twice now I've had "my gang" in to play when they've been there and they scrimmaged. So I talked to John and said, "let's make it official! Let's start the league next Thursday!" So, first games are this Thursday. I hope to have 2 teams and he will have 2 teams. I have also been gathering contacts with surrounding areas/churches so I can get them to put a team together and I will go to other parks nearby to start teams (well, really just one other park I know is a big hit). I plan on getting jerseys for my teams, something they can have pride in and feel unity (the second time they scrimmaged, one of the guys told me at the end "they've been getting our hopes up about this league for nothing."--getting jerseys will show them how serious I am about being intentional with them, etc.). To do that, I know I will have to sacrifice some things (limit how often I buy drinks to use as ministry at the parks, etc... I don't have the funds for everything... if you still want to donate, not too late!) I also need to get a scoreboard or somthing like that to make it as much of a "recreational league" as I can. So... how am I going to tie all this into ministry? Glad you asked! I'll break from this part to explain my "bible studies."

I currently have 3 bible studies in the making:
1) "Journey of a Disciple"--learning what it means to be a Disciple of Christ (the call, the cost, the change, the commitment and life that follows). This starts Wed. June 11 at 6 PM and is for members of the church. Originally I was targeting young adults, but I've had some older age and younger age at church this morning wanting to go... so it'll be interesting to see the age range that comes! I hope to equip them with a "Great Commission" attitude to take to the streets.
2) "Walking in Your Salvation"--This is for the youth that dedicated their life to Christ at the gospel rap concerts. Neat story... Karen, a worker at the church and young lady who drove all these kids to the show, told me that they were all upset she didn't pick them up for church last week (it would have been their first time there). So I'll be coordinating with her to start this bible study for them. This will be about growing them in Christ, understanding what it means to be a Christian, having Christ at the center of your life, etc.
3) "Who is Jesus?"--Discovering who Jesus is through encounters people had with Him and the claims/confessions about him. This was my favorite bible study I've covered (lead by Tommy Johnson, my campus minister), so I will use it to be a seekers study for non-Christians. This is the bible study I hope to begin with "my gang" and through that basketball league starting up, I hope to use that as a venue to my bible study--taking time before the game or before any open gym to do a 45 min bible study with them. PRAY PRAY PRAY for them and for that study. On the note of this bible study, check out what just happened an hour ago:

So I went to Franklin park (my original park and where the heart of my ministry is) a couple hours ago and found a whole new gang (most came from 8 blocks away). So I played with them and really got to know a few guys, specifically Mark. I start to tell them how I'll have the gym open at night if they want to play (they loved that idea--some of these guys are tryng to stay out of trouble so it gives them something to do at night). And then I told them about the league. Well Mark's cousin is a co-pastor at a church and so Mark called him up and his cousin wants to help out! I've got his # and I'll be calling him tonight. But even better, I proceeded to tell these guys I'm starting a bible study if they want to join right before playing ball at the church. Guess what? Our first study is Tuesday at 8:00 PM. I had one guy say, "Man, I need something like that." So, I'm going to do the "Who is Jesus" with them and try to integrate "my gang" into it... PRAISE GOD, can I get an "AMEN"? AMEN!

Now, I don't know yet how to upload pictures onto here, but as soon as I find out, I will... I've taken pictures of the church and I will take some of the neighborhood so you can get an idea of where I am and what kind of place I'm in.

If you want to make a donation, check out my blog title: "how to donate"... I guess that's all until next week!

P.S. I couldn't tell you how many times I've heard "you're in a very dangerous place... you know what you're getting yourself into?" Well, I hope my mom and my fiancee don't read this! It's crazy where God will put you when you dare to make a difference and to carry the cross... heck, my brother is going to Darfur Sudan in November! It's all good though. :) PRAY PRAY PRAY