Apple Crisp

Time to share a quick little story.

So on Tuesday it was my turn to find snack for the kids during the after school program. 

We had a bunch of apples that were starting to go soft and brown so of course I thought apple crisp!

I whipped together a couple trays, got them cooking and crossed 

my figures hoping the kids would like it.

I added a small scoop of ice cream to each dish to make it look for appealing before I handed

 them out.There were quick a few complaints as is normal for our kids, 

who can be quite ungrateful at times but with some very clear warnings from 

their leaders they all managed to thank me for it.

There were also a handful of kids begging for the recipe which felt really great.

The next day I over heard one of the ten year old boys bragging to another kid who had missed

 camp the previous day about the amazing snack that he missed out. 

When they noticed me they begged to have apple crisp which put a huge smile on my face.

Then today again as I scanned the kitchen to see what we had 

I found another box of slightly brown soft apples.

I started chopping again and the kids were thrilled to hear that we again would enjoy warm apple 

crisp with a little scoop of ice cream.

Its been a huge hit with the kids, although a few of them will still scoop the apples out into the 

garbage can when no one is watching but I take great pleasure in making something that the 

majority of my kids are so excited to receive!

Who knew it could be so easy :)

Happenings

It has been awhile since I have posted an update, but I am sitting here trying to think 

of what to write and nothing is coming to mind.

I am tired but that is turning into a regular and normal thing. 

Camp today went very well, I splurged and made apple crisp for the kids for snack today since we had a box of apples there were all getting soft spot.

The kids were not all overly thrilled as some of them tend to be super 

picky but it went over good enough.

The weather is starting to get chilly but we have yet to have snow stay on the ground.

I am growing more jealous of Barrie by the day as they already have a few inches of snow it just doesn't seem like the last week of November yet without any sign of snow.

Something to pray about would be that a young man would receive his SIN card and get his papers figured out so that we can officially hire him as a street leader.

We are in great need of another male leader since we are out numbered 4 female to 1 male leader. 

This particular young man hung out today and did an amazing job with the boys.

It was a huge help to have an extra guy around to bring competition and excitement. 

So please pray that everything gets figured out so that he can start very soon!

My mind is fading and so this is were this post is going to end!

Enjoy the rest of Nov 2012, its going fast!

Here's my heart!

Prone to wonder Lord I feel it

prone to leave the God I love, 

Here's my heart oh take and seal it,

seal it for thy courts above.

How many times do we feel like we are wondering from the God we love?

Normally it is more of an after thought where we can look back and see how we did wonder from the God we love. It is a quiet Sunday evening and I don't have much to say about the previous statement, was just something i was thinking about, but I do want to share a few other things with you.

This week has been one full week, a lot of amazing times at camp and a lot of difficult time as well.

To many late nights and and very little time left me completely exhausted on Saturday.

Yes, it was Saturday but no i did not get to sleep in.
Met 4 young boys at 9:15 for a Saturday trip to Ikea. I was exhausted, they had a lot of energy.

It was fun but I was relieved when it was time to go home.

Next i had to travel across town to finish planning and running a kids program at a  out reach evening at a Chinese church.

I sat trying to focused as i planned, it honestly felt like it was 2 in the morning and I had no idea how I was going to make it through the evening. 

Thankfully God intervened through a few amazing individuals at this church. They asked a ton of questions about me, my life and what Urban Promise did. They were overwhelming thankful for my help even though I felt like I was doing nothing. 

I was able to join them for a authentic Chinese meal and then headed down stairs with the kids. 

Compared to the general vibe of our kids at my camp these kids were so easy. 

When I told them to sit they sat, when I said sing they sang.

I led the bible story and then assisted through activities and snack time.

It was such a blessed evening to be able to help out and be appreciated so much even though it felt like I was doing very little. 

At the end of the evening they thanked me a million times for my help and offered to drive me all the way which is a huge deal since it's all the way across town but which was a huge blessing to me.

I got home and was blown away by how much I was blessed by being able to help out at this program.

I went into it exhausted and worn out and come out of it blessed and energized in God.

I am blown away by how God works at times. As I sat and listened to my favorite song {Come thou Fount} this afternoon I am reminded as to how weak and pathetic we are, how we wonder and stray from this Father who so graciously love and cares for us and yet how faithful He remains as he continues to cares and do the very best for us even if we wonder away from His love, He always calls us back to Himself!

Father take my heart and seal it for they courts above!

Making Gak.

As I tried to get more creative and make camp more fun this week I found a sick 

recipe to make Gak aka silly puddy.

It is  super simple recipe using only glue, borax, food coloring {or kool aid} and water.

I first started this activity with a few of my girls from the youth program but they chickened out as soon as I told them to get their hands dirt, this didn't matter as the youngest kids and camp where more 

then eager to take part.

These two were having a blast making a mess and playing with goop.

Best expression ever!

This activity was a ton of fun and I would defiantly suggest the idea to do with any age.

So that was a tiny peak into my day at camp.

Little Friends

This week has been the best week so far with my time with Urban Promise. Today I realized how many little treasured friends I have at camp and just how precious they are to me.

This was shown to me through many little ways. When I was at school this morning helping outside during recess and was attacked from behind with hugs from over a dozen little friends calling out my name Jello.

When a 7 year old boy asked me if I would come and pick him up after school and walk him over to camp, and when I arrived at school to meet him and other kids latched onto my hands and beg me to walk with as well.

Sitting with a little girl who had been hurt by her sister’s unkind words as I sat and making gimp with one of the quieter girls or when I colored a picture with our little 5 year old man.

Moments when I am cooking in the kitchen with 6 over opinionated pre-teenager girls or afterwards when I am trying to get them to help with the cleanup.

When I sit with a young boy who tells me what it feels like to be bullied, or when I can getting competitive during a game of ball with the boys.

When kids are excited to show us their report cards even if they are not doing the greatest, or when I see a child’s face light up just because they see me.

Moments like these remind me just how blessed I am to be able to be a part of so many great young lives and what an opportunity I have to be able to speak into these lives. They remind me that what I have is a million little blessed all piled up on each other.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  James 1:17

Monday night reflections

It is Monday evening and I am winding down for the day. As I look back and reflect on the past week certain moments stand out to me. Such as the amazing Mama Pipes opening her home to us all, the 

2 hr hike we were able to take on a gorgeous Friday afternoon, attending a newly started youth group and the random trips to the art store. This past week was a lot of fun and was refreshing to take a break from the normal routine BUT……I have missed camp more than I ever thought I would.

I really missed the kids and every aspect of camp and I really missed the feeling of being useful and doing something worthwhile! As much as I enjoyed this past week I am so very glad that it is finally over, that I can move on to this week and get back to camp! I am excited to see my kids again tomorrow and have spent the majority of today thinking of new activities to do with them or planning bible studies. This week really helped me to be able to take the time to think about how I can do, what I do, even better then how I have been doing it in the past. Sometimes we get too stuck in a pattern of business that we don’t see how we can improve things. Just taking a break can show us the areas that we can improve in and for that I am very thankful!

Be still my soul

Be still my soul seems to be a big theme for me this week, to be able to be quiet and slow down enough to really focus on God outside of all the business.

This week due to the staff of Urban Promise going to Camden, New Jersey this week to get together with all the Urban Promise’s around the world we have no camp. Because of this we have to take a break and Urban Promises strongly believes in retreating and spending time with God to be enabled to serve better.

As many of you know this I not my style as I like to stay busy at all times but I am thankful for the way that God is working through Urban Promise to make me slow down and spend time with Him.

I was also able to be blessed this weekend to get together with a friend and have some down time which after the fact I realized I needed.  As well as just spending time chilling with a few of the guys yesterday it seems like a repeating theme of God telling me to slow down and spend time talking of Him and about Him and growing in Him.

So please pray for a good a couple days of relaxing and spending time in fellowship and with God and for the amazing Pipe family for opening their home to all of us!

And just before I leave I want to say a very huge thank you to the blessed church of Ivy. You are one amazing congregation as you allow God to use you to bless me and everyone else at Urban Promise. I cannot express how much I have been blessed by your faithfulness. Looking forward to soon being able to be with you and share in person of the greatness of our God!

God`s grace in my life

First off I really struggled coming up with a title for this post. It`s a little bit of everything and i figured that God`s grace is involved in all of that so thus the name.

Secondly I want to apologize for the horrible spelling that has been very present in my blog posts lately. My only explanation for this is due to the fact that I am normally trying to write after 10:30 p.m. and I am usually pretty wiped at that point of the day.

Also my keys on my laptop are starting to stick so every time I hit the “S” key I actually need to check to make sure it shows up. But moving on, this week has been a very busy week.

I am not sure why it has felt busier than most I guess mostly due to random things that have made it more complicated or exciting. Hurricane Sandy came through causing a lot of wind, rain and nasty weather. Camp was able to continue as it normally does which was a blessing. As the weeks progress relationships continue to be formed and we as a team are learning daily of how to improve camp and activities.

Camp can get pretty crazy some times to the point where it feels out of control. Some days we get more kids then we predicted and they have more energy than we imaged and it can be difficult to keep them all busy.
This week we have really tried to work towards making camp more structured in the sense that certain activities start at certain times so that those crazy moments of confusion are kept limited.

Reflecting back on this week there is nothing that really stands out in my mind to do with the kids. It was one of those weeks that you just push through the hardness of their hearts, pass the distrust and wait for the break through to happen.

It’s in these times that what I do can become tedious or pointless and pushing forward remembering why I am here and doing what I am doing I for a bigger purpose then what I can see.

Just upon thinking a moment does pop to mind that I had with a very young child. He is only 5 years old and on Thursday afternoon I was in charge of walking him along with a few others back to their homes. He did not want to leave camp and wanted very badly to have something to eat. I was able to convince him to walk home with me and when he got there I would give him a yogurt tube that was in my coat pocket. He clasped my hand and we headed out, he was pretty silent the whole way home except for when I asked him a question.
This little boy had come out going door to door collecting candy with his leaders the night before and was exhausted after a long day. He stumbled as we held my hand and made the way home. When we got about 10 feet away from his door he started whimpering, I encouraged him and gave him his reward. This little guy is adorable but he also has a really tough life. He lives with his grandmother and brother and sometimes his mom but does not receive the love and care a little boy of this age should have. He does not get the help he needs in school and without Urban Promise would be very lost and along.

Sometimes it hard and it hurts that we cannot do more for kids who are stuck in such sad situations, but realizing the things we can do to better their future is what we strive for. Please keep this little boy in your prayers!

Side note of thanks giving, God provided in a huge way for me this week as I was finally able to sell my car!!