Hey everyone! We have just ended our fourth week in this beautiful place!
Sun Valley Church from Gilbert, AZ joined us for the week. These students were rising sophomores and Juniors, and were very eager to see progress on this house. Half of these guys were here last year, and desire to see the impact they saw last summer, here, on "the Hill". These students are hungry for God's Word, and they were so excited to teach the kids in VBS.
I realized I haven't said much at all about the VBS that is going on every afternoon here at the church. So here it is: The students have planned and run the VBS completely on their own. Its a great challenge, for these kids are, well, quite difficult! The kids that are coming to the VBS everyday are mostly the black kids from "the Hill". They are so hungry for attention and love from the students. For the past four weeks we have watched these same kids some every afternoon eager to be loved. Its been an incredible thing to watch. As each group finds their own way to show God's love and compassion to these students. This week, one of the students from SunValley church, Jordan, who was here last year, was able to meet back up with a little boy he'd become so close with the year before. I watched as Jeremiah, the little guy, walked into the room, recognized familiar faces and took off running looking for "JORDAN!" "Jordan, are you here??!!" and Jordan hearing him from the other room, saying "Jeremiah! I'm here!" They joined in this bear hug, and the two of them were inseperable for the rest of the week.
This week was such an encouraging week for me personally. We are really beginning to see these little kids that come to the VBS everyday come alive. As I get to know these kids a better and better every week, I really beg the Lord that he would break the cycle that runs in their family. Especially these sweet little boys. When you look at how innocent and sweet these guys are, and to think that in just a few years, the statistic that they will be going to jail is so high, it hurts my heart. Lord, can't You change the way these kids think? Won't You remove the blinders from their eyes, that they decide not to go down the same path that every black man in this community goes down? What about Elijah, Josalyn, and Justin? Or Jay, Tyfeak, and Tyasia? Will You please save these little ones?
The broken families and lack of fathers is so evident in the way these kids interact with others. I wish I could take these guys home with me. (Well, some days atleast! :)) This week on the 4th of July, the summer program that these kids go to was cancelled, so there were many kids hanging around the worksite that morning. They all wanted to help with the house! And I love that the relationship with them is so great that they felt comfortable to come and jump right in! We had kids sanding and mudding drywall, and the students loved teaching them.
The house is coming along. This week these high schoolers reached their goals... They finished drywall on the walls and ceilings and did such a significant amount on the mudding and sanding (it is a never ending job!). They demolished the kitchen and put up new drywall. They demolished the floor in the front room and laid the plywood down to be able to start flooring soon! Friday was so exciting to see the progress made.
Sun Valley Church from Gilbert, AZ joined us for the week. These students were rising sophomores and Juniors, and were very eager to see progress on this house. Half of these guys were here last year, and desire to see the impact they saw last summer, here, on "the Hill". These students are hungry for God's Word, and they were so excited to teach the kids in VBS.
I realized I haven't said much at all about the VBS that is going on every afternoon here at the church. So here it is: The students have planned and run the VBS completely on their own. Its a great challenge, for these kids are, well, quite difficult! The kids that are coming to the VBS everyday are mostly the black kids from "the Hill". They are so hungry for attention and love from the students. For the past four weeks we have watched these same kids some every afternoon eager to be loved. Its been an incredible thing to watch. As each group finds their own way to show God's love and compassion to these students. This week, one of the students from SunValley church, Jordan, who was here last year, was able to meet back up with a little boy he'd become so close with the year before. I watched as Jeremiah, the little guy, walked into the room, recognized familiar faces and took off running looking for "JORDAN!" "Jordan, are you here??!!" and Jordan hearing him from the other room, saying "Jeremiah! I'm here!" They joined in this bear hug, and the two of them were inseperable for the rest of the week.
(Jordan and Jeremiah)
This week was such an encouraging week for me personally. We are really beginning to see these little kids that come to the VBS everyday come alive. As I get to know these kids a better and better every week, I really beg the Lord that he would break the cycle that runs in their family. Especially these sweet little boys. When you look at how innocent and sweet these guys are, and to think that in just a few years, the statistic that they will be going to jail is so high, it hurts my heart. Lord, can't You change the way these kids think? Won't You remove the blinders from their eyes, that they decide not to go down the same path that every black man in this community goes down? What about Elijah, Josalyn, and Justin? Or Jay, Tyfeak, and Tyasia? Will You please save these little ones?
I love this pic, although so many are missing. We are averaging 40-45 kids a day!
The broken families and lack of fathers is so evident in the way these kids interact with others. I wish I could take these guys home with me. (Well, some days atleast! :)) This week on the 4th of July, the summer program that these kids go to was cancelled, so there were many kids hanging around the worksite that morning. They all wanted to help with the house! And I love that the relationship with them is so great that they felt comfortable to come and jump right in! We had kids sanding and mudding drywall, and the students loved teaching them.
The house is coming along. This week these high schoolers reached their goals... They finished drywall on the walls and ceilings and did such a significant amount on the mudding and sanding (it is a never ending job!). They demolished the kitchen and put up new drywall. They demolished the floor in the front room and laid the plywood down to be able to start flooring soon! Friday was so exciting to see the progress made.
More pictures to follow soon! Off to the worksite!
Also, thanks for praying, we are all back to full health after 4 weeks of crazy sickness. Please pray that Satan would stay away! "Lord, protect us, and help stay focused on the task at hand. May it be all for Your glory and have an eternal magnitude. Amen"
We love you all, and I hope to post more pictures off my camera in the next couple of days!
Lauren (for Robbie and Annabelle!)
