The last couple weeks have been filled with visitors we have 2 different groups from Portland come to town on short term mission trips. It is always refreshing to watch them as they discover the city for the first time. Watching them uncover the depth of God's love and goodness here in such a heavy place reminds me all over again why I love living here.
Running has been going fairly well, though getting up at 6am to run has definitely been a challenge. I have been trying new routes and have even gotten lost a few times, but I have enjoyed this new build up in training. I can see the goal of my half marathon getting closer and closer, and though I'm still pretty nervous I really think I may be able to pull it off.
We leave for camp in just 2 weeks, which seems impossible, but it is here already. I will be spending 3 weeks up at Diamond Arrow with different groups of kids. First our little guys, then the jr. highers, and finally the high school kids. I am excited for all the kids we are bringing from crossroads and the chance to get them out of the city for awhile. Plus it will be a whole new running world for me--I'm trading sidewalks and streetlights for hills and pine cones, I'm not really looking forward to it to be perfectly honest, but the training must go on and so I will.
See You at the Finish Line
Heather
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Moving
Sorry for the delay in posting...things around here have been moving right along, and I have been thinking about the best way to capture all that has been happening, and all that I can say is God's timing is truly perfect.
Memorial day weekend we had a group of volunteers com visit from Twin Lakes Church in Santa Cruz. They have been an awesome source of support and encouragement to us over the last few years and we were excited to play host to their team once again. They fixed our back landing, patched some rough spots in our ceilings, and finished painting our basement. It was so nice just to fellowship with them, and quite a few of them even signed up to be new supporters of the extra mile project (woo-hoo!) That brings my grand total of official sponsors up to 17, so I still have a long way to go, but every new sponsor is FAB-U-LOUS!
We spent the beginning of june celebrating all sorts of graduations, from kindergarten right on up to our girls graduating from high school. It was so awesome to celebrate their achievement knowing that we have played a part in their successful journey through high school and on to college (yes!). The fist friday in June was the last day of school and of course cause for great celebration, and originally we had planned a big BBQ for all the kids and families at our building; but when we got word that our friends down at United Playaz had a BBQ planned with an awards ceremony, we decided to combine events and spend the evening at the U.P. building. It was a great night, and I ended up leaving a little early with all 4 girls from my Jr. high small group for an impromptu movie night.
Summer had officially begun; but sadly the neighborhood wouldn't be able to celebrate for long. Around 9pm that friday night, gunshots rang out through the alley next to our building and in a flash of bullets a young man lay critically injured next to our parking lot. Adam, or A.D. as he is known to most people in the neighborhood, is a young man who spent some of his teenage years in and out of City Crossroads and this wasn't the first time he had found himself tangled up in the violence of the street. He was rushed to the hospital and still there now (12 days later) in stable condition. The waves of shock and sadness flow over me still as I type this. Our neighborhood has never been the safest of places, but this act of gun violence at our doorstep is a humbling reminder of the reality of where we are.
And yet, it is through this act that I am also reminded of just how great the God we serve truly is. Each Friday night we are open for our teenagers until 9pm. We send them out the door, walking home or to the bus stops, and many of our staff head out back to take out garbage cans and take cars home. Had we kept our BBQ as scheduled, instead of having an empty building, The sidewalk and alley around our building could have potentially been filled with kids, parents, and staff. Yet, through God's grace our building was nearly empty and thankfully there were no youth or children on the street that night.
Monday morning we left bright and early for a tent camping trip with the teens. The word about Friday's shooting was still buzzing around the neighborhood, and all in all the city felt like such a heavy place. Thankfully we would not be in the city long, we took most of our staff and about a dozen teens to spend 4 days at lake del valle in livermore. It was beautiful and the kids loved swimming, fishing, playing football, and roasting marshmallows. It seemed as if the problems of the city were a million miles away. And the best part was getting a chance to listen to our student leadership team as they taught the bible study each night around the campfire.
Cameron asked the kids how they felt about all the stuff going on in the neighborhood, and after a few quiet moments some said "well, I'm kinda used to it" then came several murmurs of agreement. It broke my hear to hear 12 and 13 year old kids admit that somehow this kind of violence had become such a regular occurrence that it was hard to feel anything about it. Cameron challenged the youth to think about what they wished 6th street could be like, and then he told them that the choices they make now are what is going to make the difference for the future. Some of the same young adults who they watch sell drugs and run the streets, were on this same camping trip not too long ago, and none of them would have said they were going to end up hustling on the streets; but the choices they made at a young age sent them down that road. In the same way, guys like Ray and Robbie (who are two of our most dedicated volunteers) made different choices, and now they have very different lives. I was so blessed to hear the kids pray this night as they prayed for their community and that they would be able to make the right choices to make 6th street a better place.
Its been a week since we got back from camping, and I'm still sort of taking it all in. Things are still pretty heated around the neighborhood as we all wait to see if there will be more retaliation and violence. We have been open as usual and taking field trips with the kids, it has been a good start to summer, and I am glad to see that through everything that is going on God is moving in the hearts of these kids. Its definitely good motivation to keep going that extra mile whether its running this race or finding more sponsors, or simply being on my knees for this neighborhood.
See You At The Finish Line,
Heather
Memorial day weekend we had a group of volunteers com visit from Twin Lakes Church in Santa Cruz. They have been an awesome source of support and encouragement to us over the last few years and we were excited to play host to their team once again. They fixed our back landing, patched some rough spots in our ceilings, and finished painting our basement. It was so nice just to fellowship with them, and quite a few of them even signed up to be new supporters of the extra mile project (woo-hoo!) That brings my grand total of official sponsors up to 17, so I still have a long way to go, but every new sponsor is FAB-U-LOUS!
We spent the beginning of june celebrating all sorts of graduations, from kindergarten right on up to our girls graduating from high school. It was so awesome to celebrate their achievement knowing that we have played a part in their successful journey through high school and on to college (yes!). The fist friday in June was the last day of school and of course cause for great celebration, and originally we had planned a big BBQ for all the kids and families at our building; but when we got word that our friends down at United Playaz had a BBQ planned with an awards ceremony, we decided to combine events and spend the evening at the U.P. building. It was a great night, and I ended up leaving a little early with all 4 girls from my Jr. high small group for an impromptu movie night.
Summer had officially begun; but sadly the neighborhood wouldn't be able to celebrate for long. Around 9pm that friday night, gunshots rang out through the alley next to our building and in a flash of bullets a young man lay critically injured next to our parking lot. Adam, or A.D. as he is known to most people in the neighborhood, is a young man who spent some of his teenage years in and out of City Crossroads and this wasn't the first time he had found himself tangled up in the violence of the street. He was rushed to the hospital and still there now (12 days later) in stable condition. The waves of shock and sadness flow over me still as I type this. Our neighborhood has never been the safest of places, but this act of gun violence at our doorstep is a humbling reminder of the reality of where we are.
And yet, it is through this act that I am also reminded of just how great the God we serve truly is. Each Friday night we are open for our teenagers until 9pm. We send them out the door, walking home or to the bus stops, and many of our staff head out back to take out garbage cans and take cars home. Had we kept our BBQ as scheduled, instead of having an empty building, The sidewalk and alley around our building could have potentially been filled with kids, parents, and staff. Yet, through God's grace our building was nearly empty and thankfully there were no youth or children on the street that night.
Monday morning we left bright and early for a tent camping trip with the teens. The word about Friday's shooting was still buzzing around the neighborhood, and all in all the city felt like such a heavy place. Thankfully we would not be in the city long, we took most of our staff and about a dozen teens to spend 4 days at lake del valle in livermore. It was beautiful and the kids loved swimming, fishing, playing football, and roasting marshmallows. It seemed as if the problems of the city were a million miles away. And the best part was getting a chance to listen to our student leadership team as they taught the bible study each night around the campfire.
Cameron asked the kids how they felt about all the stuff going on in the neighborhood, and after a few quiet moments some said "well, I'm kinda used to it" then came several murmurs of agreement. It broke my hear to hear 12 and 13 year old kids admit that somehow this kind of violence had become such a regular occurrence that it was hard to feel anything about it. Cameron challenged the youth to think about what they wished 6th street could be like, and then he told them that the choices they make now are what is going to make the difference for the future. Some of the same young adults who they watch sell drugs and run the streets, were on this same camping trip not too long ago, and none of them would have said they were going to end up hustling on the streets; but the choices they made at a young age sent them down that road. In the same way, guys like Ray and Robbie (who are two of our most dedicated volunteers) made different choices, and now they have very different lives. I was so blessed to hear the kids pray this night as they prayed for their community and that they would be able to make the right choices to make 6th street a better place.
Its been a week since we got back from camping, and I'm still sort of taking it all in. Things are still pretty heated around the neighborhood as we all wait to see if there will be more retaliation and violence. We have been open as usual and taking field trips with the kids, it has been a good start to summer, and I am glad to see that through everything that is going on God is moving in the hearts of these kids. Its definitely good motivation to keep going that extra mile whether its running this race or finding more sponsors, or simply being on my knees for this neighborhood.
See You At The Finish Line,
Heather
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