Miracles

So.....

I believe that everyday there are little miracles if we will just open our eyes to see them.

Today I was working in the garden with some wonderful volunteers and discovered some "volunteer" tomato plants. These plants likely came up from seeds of tomatoes that fell from last years plants and decomposed. It was incredible for many reasons, one of them being that last year I only planted around 15 tomato plants, and this year there were around 100 volunteer plants that sprouted up. I gave a few of the plants away tonight and am going to take many more to plant at the homes of some of the families that I know who are interested in growing some of their own food.

The coolest thing though, is that Jesus says, " Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it cannot bear fruit." It is just so amazing to see that passage come to life. There was one spot where 16 tomato plants where all clustered together, clearly being from seeds of one tomato. That one tomato fell to the ground and died, but it produced 16 plants which will each produce many tomatoes. Beautiful.

So many more thoughts about the gardening experience tonight but will just note a couple quickly.

1. The kids got to pick a strawberry from the few that have grown- the rinsed and ate them with the biggest smiles on their faces!

2. The kids cut a lot of lettuce(yet just a small portion of all that is ready to harvest). They were thrilled about rinsing, and even eating it! So exciting.

Non-Profit

I have been thinking quite a bit about starting a non-profit. There are several reasons for doing this, the main reason being the ability to raise funds for community development projects in the First Indian community. I have really struggled with a name for the new ministry because I believe that it will include several programs to people of different ages. I just happened to be sitting in my living room about to begin reading a book, and it came to me.

THE JUBILEE PROJECT.

Jubilee is a concept that is found in the book of Leviticus, a concept that says all debts shall be released. This is a concept that fits directly into my vision for the First Indian Community. In our community there is a significant need for release of debts- debts that we have individually and communally accumulated. The debts or chains of poverty and addiction are just a few.

Part of the working mission statement is something like this: Our mission is to see redemption and justice in urban Oklahoma City.

Some of the programs in the organization will be:

-Mentoring program (this has already started with a relationship at Capitol Hill Elementary and several mentoring relationships with students from the church)

-After School Program (this is already taking place, the goal is to focus on redeeming the importance of education in our community by helping students to graduate from high school)

-Employment- micro-businesses

-Recovery programs for those recovering from drug and alcohol addictions, as well as recovery from lifestyles of prostitution

WOW...This is all in the works...having a name in mind is a huge blessing, that is what has been holding me back for the last couple months.

Im so excited about the potential that The Jubilee Project will have. Please pray!

LONG, LONG Time No Post

Well friends, I can't believe that I haven't posted anything to this blog in almost 6 months! I can't begin to state all that has gone on in the last several months. We opened the Youth Center on September 13th and have really enjoyed the safe and spacious place to hold our children and youth activities. We started SALSA( Succeeding And Learning Skills After school) on September 14th. SALSA has proven to be a blessing to the children and their families, it allows us to spend time with the children during the week and to help them with their homework and other academic and life skills.

The following is a bit of my personal journal entry for today...I had a beautiful day with friends in the community.

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God’s faithfulness and beauty are such that I can’t help be continually be overwhelmed! Wow…where to begin…

My day began by picking Judy up to get groceries from Jesus House. It was a new experience, I didn’t even know that Jesus House has a food pantry. There were so many people lined up in the 20 degree weather to receive groceries, some waited outside over an hour I’m sure. It was good to spend some time with Judy and to see Melvin as well.

Next off to the Beatnix café for a meeting with Joe and Tim…

We discussed non-profit stuff, specifically community development and micro-business. We have been in conversation about starting a lawn mowing business to provide employment for people in the community. This morning Joe mentioned that it has been on his heart to start a coffee shop in the area that would serve as a place for the suburbanite community to engage with the urban community. Tim stated that the two areas of micro business that have been on his mind are lawns and coffee shops.

Fast forward to this afternoon at SALSA….

It was a beautiful day (the first in a couple of weeks) so we played kickball in the backyard of the youth center. We all had so much fun! The rest of SALSA went so well, the kids were very well behaved and respectful. Robert and Marcus both had their report cards… Robert has moved from below level in reading to ON LEVEL! This is hugely wonderful news! When Marcus showed his brother his report card Robert looked at me and said, very saddened, “he has an ‘F’ in reading.” I told him I knew and encouraged Robert to help Marcus with reading at home. A few minutes later, when Robert was finished with his homework, he volunteered to read with Marcus. Robert put his arm around Marcus’ shoulders and sat very close while guiding him through The Three Little Pigs. It was so beautiful to see Robert stepping up to help his little brother.

When Alicia came to pick the kids up she began filled me in on what has been going on with her in the last couple of weeks. She mentioned that she has been talking with Josh about her desire to open a pastry shop…and he shared with her his dream to open a coffee shop…then encouraged her that they could have a coffee and pastry shop together…and she mentioned to me that she wanted to have a homeless day or something to be able to include the homeless because she has a heart for the homeless.

Now… Beatnix café conversation…Alicia conversation. WOW. Need I say more? I hope and pray that the opportunity here is for Alicia and Josh to start a coffee and pastry shop that we can help to support.

I couldn’t help but cry when Alicia told me this. Of course, she looked at me very seriously and said, “ DON”T CRY!” To which my response was, “ I CAN’T HELP IT!” I informed her of my earlier conversation with Joe and Tim and told her that I believe God is starting something with all of us…He is stirring our hearts and minds in the same direction.

So I came home and conveniently ran into Tim as soon as I walked in the door, so I shared with him what Alicia had told me. Then I preceded to enter my room, fall on my knees and give glory to God.

I began reading in Isaiah.. starting in Isaiah 55 with the promise that God had given me while serving in ABQ.

Then I read Isaiah 58:6-12 which says,

6 “Is this not the fast which I choose,

To loosen the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the bands of the yoke,

And to let the oppressed go free

And break every yoke?

7"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry

And bring the homeless poor into the house;

When you see the naked, to cover him;

And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

8"Then your light will break out like the dawn,

And your recovery will speedily spring forth;

And your righteousness will go before you;

The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;

You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am '

If you remove the yoke from your midst,

The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,

10And if you give yourself to the hungry

And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

Then your light will rise in darkness

And your gloom will become like midday.

11"And the LORD will continually guide you,

And satisfy your desire in scorched places,

And give strength to your bones;

And you will be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

12"Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;

You will raise up the age-old foundations;

And you will be called the repairer of the breach,

The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

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It was most definitely a beautiful day!