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!