When the Jonas Brothers visited Urban Impact

When I first felt led to join Urban Impact I knew I would spend time building relationships with young men, live in the inner-city and talk with them about Jesus.  One thing I did not think of a year and a half ago was teaching 18 1-5 grade girls.

Now every Thursday, I teach the elementary drama class.  18 little drama princesses convene for fun, Bible study, acting, and whole lot of smiling.  From my perspective it's a hour and a half of Bill Cosby's Kids Say the Darnest Things and me thinking, "Dear God,  please help me."  Fortunately, God does hear my pleas and knows I don't have a clue when it comes to nine year old girl with a sassy attitude.  Because of this every week I have some amazing story of what God is doing in the class despite my inexperience.  The past few weeks it has been awesome to see the girls get incredibly curious every time we start our Bible study.  This year Sheri and Karen, two volunteers, have written a "Special Agent" theme study.  The young girls are members of the CIA: Children in Action and get "codes" found in the Bible which tell them about the KOK, LOL, and the POP (King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace).  This may sound like your standard Sunday school study but Sheri and Karen have blended James Bond-ness, Disney Princess, and Jesus to make something that these young girls love.  And when I say love,  I'm thinking about changing the class name to Elementary Awesome Bible Study and Some Acting Stuff.

Last week the CIA code was Isaiah1:18 "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow."  With the code came a big box of snow, which the girls took handfuls of and held it up to the light to let it sparkle.  This of course provided much giggling and some oo's and ah's, but nothing like the reaction of what was yet to come.  In the snow laid another box with a code on top.  This code read: Isaiah 62:3, "You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God."  I slowly opened the box and pulled out...  SCREAMING, instant, high pitch, Jonas Brothers concert type, screaming.  And in my hands lay a small, little tiara. All the girls took turns setting the tiara on each other's head and announcing to the anxiously awaiting class that Quiante, Samira, Emily, Mycah, etc. were each a crown of splendor to the Lord.

At first I thought the reaction was hilarious and a bit much.  Yes, it might have been, but each one of those girls they realized they were precious, beautiful, and sparkled like the tiara and the sun hitting the snow.  That deserves a reaction.

Prayer Request:

• April 8th PAA Performance Night
• Getting ready for new Shakespeare summer program
• A former student who recently got sent to prison
• Praise for what God is doing in the PAA Bible Studies
• New Ministry Associates and Support Raising

All of you who pray for Laura and me,  you rock more than the Jonas Brothers.

Resolutions

I don't really have any New Years resolutions because I think, "Why wait for the new year to have a resolution?"  I realize this sounds a lot like my dad who is often crabby around Christmas time saying, "Why only give gifts on Christmas?"  To which I reply, "That's what Birthdays are for."  (FYI mine is February 18th.)  But back to the thought of resolutions.  

I have now been involved in Urban Impact for over a year, and through this time I have been privileged to be a part of and run many great programs.  Because of this I have been able to befriend and get to know a lot of young kids, but I know the need is much greater than friendship.  The kids of the North Side have a bunch of friends.  Many of them are great, but most pin each other down with expectations set by past generations: Welfare, drugs, and lots of sex with all of its consequences.  This reminds me of what Principal Rick, one of the founders of the UI: Choir, told me, "Our kids don't need friends, they have enough of those.  They need people to keep them out of jail and off of each other."  We went on to talk about what really makes a difference.  Urban Impact programs keeps kids off the street, tell them about God and the great rescue through Jesus, teach them skills, and feed them.  Not a bad list,  actually pretty good,  really good, down right snazzy, but what in that list helps them beyond choir or basketball practice?  Yes, you might answer Jesus and I wouldn't argue with you, but have you ever heard of a Sunday Christian, the guy who goes to church, sings, sits, listens then goes home and forgets.  It's no different with our kids; they are Program Christians except when they go home and forget they sell drugs and guns.  What makes it stick?  How can our kids take what they learn and put it into practice instead of throwing it into a Proverbial trash can?

If you have the answer to this let me know.  Until that time we have found that we must live the life of an incarnational  missionary....  What!?  Despite incarnational not being a real word I believe it means that I need to walk in the shoes of those to whom I minister.  I know I'm not black and there is no way I'm going back to high school, but I do want to be a part of my kids' lives.  I want to be there when they are making the hard choices, to help them with home work, and show them God at work in me and them.  This will be tough, but it doesn't always have to be.  A couple weeks ago I took a group of guys to hunt zombies at a local church youth event (they had a biblical metaphor of those who were truly living as opposed to the walking dead) and last week Laura and I had a Super Bowl party and had them all over to our apartment.  The only thing tough about those was getting up off my cow derriere and doing it.  So, if I challenged myself to a New Year's resolution I would say it's walking the walk with the kids to really make an impact.


Prayer Requests and Praise:

• Praise for the volunteers who have stepped up to help in the Performing Arts
• Praise, one our students made it into CAPA (the best public high school)
• Prayer for the Performing Arts Academy
• Support raising for Urban Impact's Ministry Associates
• One of our PAA kids who is going through some "stuff"
• Continued challenge for myself and others to get more involved with our student's lives

Thank you all for your prayers and continued support.

You're Number 9 on the Waiting List

The need is so great here in the inner-city with at-risk youth, but it is amazing how quiet the response has been. It seems like every program we create gets completely filled, and Urban Impact is not the only one creating programs in Pittsburgh. Many local churches, the Heinz Foundation, and other organizations have programs to help youth. I'm sure these are getting filled as well. The thing that really amazes me is who isn't helping.

Last week was the first day of the Spring Performing Arts Academy. Student registrations have poured in for the program ever since the last day of the fall semester. Parents and children are still asking how they can get in the classes. I'd like to think this is because I rock a putting together a program, and Urban Impact is ridiculously popular, but that isn't it. Students have few other options. The can't afford acting or art lessons in the downtown cultural district. Quite frankly, many families can't/don't pay our $20 registration fee for the whole semester, and that's okay. What is not okay is having parents come into our offices out of breath because they ran to make sure their students weren't put on the waiting list.

You may ask, "Why have a waiting list?" At Urban Impact we know the arts, basketball, education, soccer are all great but, try as they might, will not transform, renew, and redeem a person. Basically, the only thing that does all those amazing things is God through his son Jesus, but I digress. (If you want to know more about God or Jesus read the Bible, go to church, or ask your token passionate christian friend.) So, in order to really change lives Urban Impact wants to mentor kids holistically by caring for them physically, educationally, emotionally, and spiritually. To do this we stick to a 1:6 ratio of adult volunteers to students. Urban Impact has found that if this ratio is not kept students are not helped but hidden in a group.

We have a waiting list because volunteers are not responding. And when I say not responding I mean they are not returning my emails or calls. It is easy to say, "Yeah, what you're doing sounds awesome. I want to volunteer." But actually doing it, that takes a little initiative. I am guilty of this as well. (Sorry for not returning your emails.) It does take effort to volunteer, but the reward trumps the effort, stress, and frustration ten fold. Having kids you barely even know run up an hug you in the grocery store or teens yell at you across the public library is ridiculous, embarrassing, but most of all heart warming. I don't want to turn any child, teen, or parent away. I don't want a waiting list. Please pray for volunteers, instructors, and mentors to find their way to Urban Impact.

Matthew 9:37...

Prayer Request:

• Urban Impact Volunteers
• Spring Semester of the PAA
• Mentors for Ty, Ahmad, DJ
• Meghan Peterman (Just left Urban Impact to work in the slums of India)
• New Urban Impact Missionaries raising support
• Laura and I as we try to follow God the best we can.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. I hope to update you next week on the Urban Impact Zombie Killing Team.

Urban Impact Choir: Click Here for Video

This is a great little video that one of our volunteers put together. It is of the Urban Impact Choir at Atria's, a local North Side restaurant that sponsored our Choir Christmas party. I hope you enjoy it!

Prayer Requests:

• PAA Students auditioning for CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts school)
• Grant writing for the PAA and UI Choir
• Finishing strong the Fall PAA semester and gearing up for the spring semester.
• Praise for great volunteers

Thank you all for your support and prayers!

Top Secret: Please Read Aloud

One Bible story that has constantly stuck out to me throughout the process of working with Urban Impact is Matthew 25:14-30. In this passage Jesus tells a parable of a Master who goes on a journey and leaves three workers in charge of certain shares of his business. Two go out and invest what was given them and the other basically stuffs it under his mattress. Later the Master comes back and asks how the business is going. The two investors doubled their money and the Master says, "Well done my good and faithful servant!" This good mood does not last long though. The Master soon turns and sees his last employee returning only what was given to him. Of course the poor guy tries to make up some excuse about why he didn't do anything with it, but the Master will not have it. Some harsh words are thrown back and forth and what the guy put under the mattress is taken from him and given to an investor.

This is good financial advice, but I think Jesus' parable symbolizes more than money management. I was thinking about this the other morning and wondering, "Am I acting as a multiplier or a bum on a log?" Then I realized I am very blessed and continually blessed and very busy and continually busy. I know I could invest my time better, but it is very encouraging to know God has not given up on me yet and still challenges me everyday. If God continues to challenge me it must mean he hasn't taken away his investment from me... Blah, blah, blah and now for the --

PAA Story of the Week:

We last left off with the Elementary drama class learning a little cheer that I'm pretty sure is not found in the Bible. Since then the class has been going really well with the occasional escorting of students to "Mean" Principle Kelly. The other classes in the PAA are also going well, each with their own small hurdles and fun stories. Musical Theatre has a really strong class who are all getting along very well and bringing up some of the deepest questions during Bible study. Elementary Visual Arts has gone well with the exception of some splattered paint mishaps. (Washable Paint: check.) Middle/High School Visual Arts has three boys in the class and they love to paint, draw, and create beautiful pictures of wars, armies, and other people with guns. Improv is improv. I have know idea how or what dancing is doing, but it looks good. And Miss Laura runs a tight ship with the Middle/High School Acting class. She has many stories to tell of her own exciting PAA adventures.

My favorite story happened last week in my Elementary Drama class. Don't worry it is short and sweet. In the class Miss Karen, a volunteer, has been receiving several Top Secret letters and packages, which she ironically opens reads aloud to the entire class. Each package has a different color paper and verse (think Sunday school beaded bracelets). Over the weeks these verses and color have illustrated how God loves us, created us, sent his son Jesus as a sacrifice for us to conquer the sin/ooey, gooey, icky, nastiness in our lives. Last week marked the end of the Top Secret packages and everyone received their own bracelet as a reminder of the gift that God has given them. After we reviewed what the bracelet meant, we closed in prayer and 9 girls accepted the gift and asked Jesus into their hearts! For those of you who don't realize this is awesome let me just tell you how awesome it is... Oh wait, I can't; it's that awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome. But the real kicker and cherry on top was after the class when one little girl came up and said she already accepted Jesus into her heart, so prayed for those who were accepting Christ instead. And she's only eight. That sure beats ending class with a skirt shakin' cheer.

Prayer Requests:

• Our students who will audition for the Creative and Performing Arts School (The best public school in Pittsburgh)
• The 9 young girls who recently accepted Christ into their hearts
• Praise for sending some great volunteers to the PAA!
• Dec. 17th PAA Parents' Open House
• PAA Grant Proposal that they have asked me to write (EEK!)
• The North Side families this Thanksgiving and Christmas Season

I am thankful for all of your prayers they mean so much to so many.

Happy Thanksgiving...

"My name is Eric, and I'm here to say..."

I humbly apologize for the long absence of blogging. The past month has been a busy time for Laura and I, but God has been so good in making sure we have time to sleep most weeks. Lets get everyone caught up:

• Wrote an Urban Impact Musical Theatre Camp Proposal to the Pittsburgh Public Schools: It's long and not to fun to read, but hopefully something will come of it.
• Started the fall semester of the Urban Impact Performing Arts Academy: I now administrate the academy and also teach Improv and Elementary Acting
• Spoke at Laura's home church: We had a wonderful time in Westfield and Laura made Apple sauce
• Helped with and went on the Urban Impact Choir Retreat: Nothing like spending the weekend with a cabin full of gassy middle school boys.
• Said goodbye to a few Performing Arts staff as we welcomed on new staff and friends.
• And have now almost, possibly, may have, fully raised most of my support! This is still depending on few things, but it is so exciting.

Since the Performing Arts Academy has started back up so has the PAA story of the week!

This story happened on first day of class at the beginning of October. I was finishing up with what had been a very long but productive day. The academy had just about finished up its first week as a success. At this time I was teaching the elementary class and we were reviewing what we had learned in class that day. "We are all God's creations,"said several of our little kids. One girl read her memory verse and another said, "We don't have to be afraid of who we are especially on stage." And I think one girl even said, "It's fun to create characters just like God created us."

By this time I am beaming. I look over at the other two volunteers, Mr. Rick and Ms. Karen, and I can tell they feel the same way I do. The feeling of using your gifts to bring glory to God's name makes all the stress and running around of the busy day worth it. If only I'd closed in prayer and sent them home right then, but for every mountain top there is a valley.

We had a little extra time at the end of the class so as we were about to close in prayer two of the little girls in the class asked if they could go on the stage and perform a cheer. "Yeah, sure why not?" I thought, "This is what acting is all about, performing." WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. Silly ol' me thought they would get up and say a cheer like "Here we go Oliver! Here we go! Woot! Woot!" or even "Bump, set, spike", but no.

The girls got up whispered to each other around the corner and then came on to the stage to perform. One little 1st grader stood at the front of the stage look forward out into the audience and starts cheering:

My name is Madea

And I'm here to say

I'm gonna shake what I got

In my skirt today.

I'm gonna turn around

And drop it real low

And shake what I got

In my skirt today.

This of course has spinning and twisting moves to it and repeats and the other 1st grader joins in the singing. I am in shock and really have no idea what to do. I look over at Mr. Rick and he is staring down at an empty chair and Ms. Karen has her jaw slightly dropped probably very similar to my own. Thankfully it stops before everyone starts to shimmy and shake. The two little girls on stage want to do another cheer, I say it's time to pray.

I learned my lesson, but the damage was done. Instead of going out talking about how God created them and how they can create characters, the students left humming "Shake what I got in my skirt today."

Prayer Requests:

• The Proposal to the Pittsburgh Public Schools
• The last itty, bitty, tiny bit of support raising (this is also a big praise!)
• The next step for this past Summer's Young Men's Bible Study
• The Performing Arts Academy

North Side Neighbors

Laura and I are finally moved into our apartment! We are now in the process of unpacking ,organizing and reorganizing and reorganizing. Within the first few days of living on the North Side we had a few very interesting observations: Trash trucks sometimes operate very loudly at 3:00 in the morning, one way streets are merely suggested, and people (for the most part) on the North Side stop and say, "Hi." The last observation interests me quite a bit. Already Laura and I have interacted more with our neighbors in our building than we did our entire time at our previous apartment. Lola, a little old black lady on the floor below us, showed us how to correctly carry a desk up the stairs, Fransisco, the nice Hispanic man who lives above us, has a bad back, and the lady who lives beside us stopped us when we were moving in and apologized for her boyfriends music. It's pretty amazing to think that even though we have moved into a high crime area with boarded up buildings all around that people on the North Side are more interested in saying "Hi" then the "nice family" borough of Pittsburgh. Another perk of living on the North Side, I now live close enough to walk to Urban Impact. In the short ten minute walk I get to pass by several different bus stops and corners where people congregate. At each of these places it's nice to stop and visit; I hope to be able to use even these short moments to build relationships.

At Urban Impact things are shaping up really well for the fall. The choir continues to grow and the Performing Arts Academy, which I am now in charge of administrating, has more students pre-registered than ever before and we still have a month left. The day after we hung posters around the North Side a mother came into our office and started crying. She had seen a poster in the local barber shop and wanted to get her kids involved but couldn't pick them up after class. At this time Meghan, our dance instructor, simply said she could take her children home after class and the mother broke down in tears and made Meghan give her a hug. The Performing Arts Academy starts October 1st.

Prayer Requests:

• For volunteers for the PAA
• Final planning for the PAA
• Nate, Shiniqua, Shiquala, Breann, Valarie and Alicia as they start college and associates school
• As we look for a new staff member to fill in for Principal Rick
• To finish strong with support raising

Thank you all for your prayers and come and visit anytime in Pittsburgh.