My Jamaican Boys :)

O’Neil is a very special little boy who has been on my heart and mind a lot lately. He has only been in program for two years but from what I hear from my supervisor when he first came he was a very quiet boy. He would avoid conversation and sit alone; he would only get involved if he was playing basketball. O’Neil also has a younger brother who has equally been on my heart and mind. He is 7 and when he first came to camp very few people could understand him since he had such a thick Jamaican accent and was a crazy little boy who would random yet often be seen doing cart wheels on top of tables or walking on his hands across a full length room

Since those days there has been so much change in these two boys’ lives which is such a testimony to be able to hear experience and share. O’Neil is such a special boy who yes is pretty crazy but yet so good and sweet. He is twelve years old and carries so much responsibility for his brother and struggles so much in school. He is far behind and every day is told how stupid he is and that he cannot succeed. Just yesterday he came to camp very quiet and upset which is no longer normal for him, normally he is loud and full of energy but not yesterday. He sat alone in silence. I questioned what was going on and he told me he was having a bad day, that he had not wanted to go school and that his teacher doesn't like him and tells him that he is stupid. To cheer him up I suggested we play volleyball in the kitchen {the only free room in the building} and we had a blast, laughed lots and he later told me with smile on his face that he didn't want me to leave come May but that I should stay forever! O’Neil thrives off of quality times and just needs someone speaking words of encouragement and praise into his life for him to be able to succeed!

Germaine is such a crazy young man. He is never out of energy and continues to random scream at the top of his lungs and do cart wheels. Every day at 3:30 p.m. I walk across the road to the school and pick Germaine up from school, sometimes he yells at me for making him wait and other times he refuses to speak to me. It was a daily routine that I enjoyed and tried my best to use these 30 seconds to cross the road to pour into his life. I didn't think time meant anything to him but last Saturday I learn differently. I was going on a trip with my kids and so where the other leaders with their kids, Germaine went with them, yet he clung to my side as long as he could. When we all returned at the end of the day I was waiting on the church steps as they walked down the road towards the church when I could hear him screaming my name, he then ran across the road and gave me a huge hug which took me by surprise! His leader later told me how she has observed and that she can see just how much I mean to him and how much he loves me! And here I thought that 30 seconds every day didn't matter.

These brothers have a huge place in my heart and I love them so much. They both struggle in school so very much and are very behind with very little people in their lives who care enough to truly help them! Please pry for O’Neil and Germaine! I can’t imagine having to leave these boys but I know that God has a plan for their lives!

                                                                      O'Neil and Me

                                                                      Germaine and MC

Prayer Night

So the other day we had a prayer evening with the youth at camp victory. My co-leader and set up six different prayer stations including a poster to write the name of family members, instructions to think of specific ways to pray for your community, encouragement notes, private prayer time with God and praying for friends.

For the last station she had a bag of skittles for each group, the way it worked was that for every three skittles the kids ate they had to name one friend that they wanted to pray for and share why they wanted to pray for them.  I was leading a group of three boys who are very special to me. They have been a part of camp since I started back in June and I have gotten pretty tight with them. The one boy is particularly special since he hated me for the majority of the summer and then near the end I had a huge break through with him.

So anyways back to my story. I was doing the last station with these boys the one with the skittles and praying for their friends. To be honest they were way more interested in the skittles then in praying for their friends but as we got more into they also got more serious and honest. They started sharing names of their friends and reasons like, this kid is getting bullied, or this kid’s family doesn't care about him enough, they didn't even come to his graduation, other kids wants to be a cop when he grows up but the way he is living currently will mess up his chances of being able to become a cop, or this kid doesn't have very many friends at school, for the family that had just four days earlier lost their 15 year old son to gun crime. It was heart breaking to hear the sad situations of their friends but it was encouraging and amazing to hear them desiring to lift them up in prayer.

Continue to pray for the work that is happening here in TO and pray that we would continue to experience things like this in our kids!

Be the light of the world!

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16.

This is a common couple verses that most people know quite well. But do we really take the time to think about what this means? You and I, ordinary, generally normal people with nothing that really  stands out about us...... we are the light of the world. If you are like me this is not the first time you have heard this and hearing it sometimes sounds like when your parents tell you something over and over again. We have heard it so much that we just hear it without really listening to what we are hearing.

We are the light of the world. This world is dark place; we see that every day in the fallen state and brokenness in our own lives and in the lives surrounding us. I cannot help but think of the two shootings that happened in very close proximity of where I live. There is darkness all around us but sometimes we even become immune to that. If we are immune or used to the darkness we do not see the need for the light, and we are not amazed by the fact that Jesus calls us this light.

Why is it just a big thing to be called the light? Again if you are like me you may get really sick of the “Christian language”, seriously sometimes I just sit and laugh and how weird our conversations would sound to someone who is not familiar with the bible or Christianity. People running around declaring that they are salt and light, what the heck! But seriously it is a big deal, but why?

Well it’s because we need light, this world is darkness like we already talked about and we need light! But more importantly it’s because of what the light is, it is Jesus in us! Jesus in us, that is why it is such a big deal to be the light of the world. We are the ones bearing Jesus into this world, into the darkness, declaring light to the darkness and showing them how they also can be light. And this is nothing to take lightly (haha did ya catch my pun there?) seriously though, this is a big deal, we are the light and if we are not being light then there will not be any light, it will just be a world full of darkness.

Something more for you to ponder over, If we are not bearing this light to the dark world, if we are hiding it under a bushel or blowing it out according to the song. If this is you, do you really think you have the light?

Be the light of the world, be that city on the hill shining to all those around you!

In Christ

Woodworking

Just over a week ago and was thinking about ways to be able to connect better with the youth boys at camp. These guys love their basketball and they tend to play ever second that they are aloud too. Sadly I am not a very skilled basketball player (according to them), so my ways to interact with them can be pretty limited. While I was thinking I randomly spoke aloud that I would love to do a woodworking activity with them. One of the guys I work with overhead and was excited since he was thinking of doing something similar with the boys from the younger program. We quickly throw a couple plans together, sent a bunch of emails out requesting used tools and wood donations.

In only one week we were provided with the wood and a lot of tools we needed. We started the project on Tuesday afternoon, to build wooden boats together. We had previously sketched out a draft on pieces of wood so the boys simply had to saw along the lines we drew with a fret saw. We had a good group of boys interested and the first days was a lot of fun and we learned a lot to but extra rules to implicate in order to keep everyone safe!

Today was the third day in a row that the boys have worked on their boys, they are eager to start each day and rather impatient for when they can begin to very annoyed when we tell them it’s time to quit for the day.

The project has taken longer than we anticipated but we are excited to be able to continue working on their boats again next week. It has been so amazing to be able to teach these boys something they have never really seen done before. They are excited to be able to use a saw to begin with and also excited and proud to be able to be making something themselves.

It has given us time to be able to just talk with the guys as well. It takes time to saw out pieces of wood, three days so far and some of them are still not finished but it provides lots of time to be able to chat which is really big for a lot of these boys.

One moment I want to share with you happen this afternoon with a 10 year old boy. He was quickly growing frustrated with the fact that he was having trouble getting the saw into the wood and so I helped him get started but he continued to have a frown on his face until I told him to smile, he then mumbled something and I asked him to repeat it and he told me that the smile was just for me because I made him feel like smiling J

An overdue post!

It has been quite a while since I have been on here but I guess that testifies to just how busy I have been.

I am always busy and that is the way I like it but the last couple weeks have been busier than most! As the normal schedule continues we also have the pleasure and responsibility to completely planning March break camp. For the youth program we have the amazing opportunity to take about 60 kids from all three locations across Toronto up Muskoka Woods a Christian camp for four days filled with a lot of bible studies, games and fun that are currently being planned. J So lots of stuff going on.

Camp is still going very well this week included some memorable moments. Our kids got their report cards at the beginning of this week which can be good or bad depending on the kid. For one particular girl it was very difficult. She arrived at camp complaining she was sick so we sat in the office for a bit in silence since she didn't want to talk. I inquired about her report card and asked to she is but she told me she wasn't going to open it until she got home. As the day progressed we encouraged her to sit in the kitchen while we did our cooking activities. She sat and as time passed tears started rolling down her cheeks. She remained speechless, once again we sat in the office, me trying to get her talking or involved in anything while she remained the same. Having to deal with something else on hand I left her in the office but just before she left later that day she came to find me and handed me her report card. It was below the average…..she struggles in quite a few areas and was embarrassed to have the other kids know as well as upset with the fact her marks were low. As tough of a day as it was for her it was a huge growing day in the area of trust. After having the fear and disappoint that was sure to come from seeing her marks she decided to trust me and I was able to read off every good commend I could find on her report card which made her smile.

We also took a small group of kids skating down town on Friday night which included a lot of silly moments both on the subways and while walking. One particular little boy was just a barrel of laughs all night long, singing on the top of his lungs, walking directly behind a person mimicking the way they walked and leaping over signs. Skating proved to be fun but also very tiring as I pulled a lot of them around for the majority of the night but was defiantly worth every second!

As camp continues and as the end of my time here draws shorter and shorter it is hard to not get into the mind set of wrapping this up and slowing down and giving less effort. I have to remind myself that it isn’t over yet and that I have to give me all right till the very end. This week I am very excited to start woodworking projects with my boys. I along with another leader have decided to work together with both the younger and the older boys in teaching them basic woodworking skills as well as helping them accomplish building something that they are able to take home and keep and be proud of. I am really excited to begin this, boys are always a little bit harder to connect with and build deeper relationships since all they do is play ball but this is give opportunity for conversation as well as working on something together.

I also want to share a verse that has been a good reminder to me lately.
"Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts." Zech 4:6

A Friday evening!

It's after ten already on a Friday night, half of me wonders where this week went while the other half is falling asleep because i'm so tired. 

Today at camp we had a mystery dinner which meant the kids were given a menu consisting of three different courses as well as a list of items such as surf boards, umbrellas, beach towels and other Hawaiian items. They then had to select which three items they would like in each course. We would then take the menus translate the words to what they actually stood for and serve them their meal. 

This caused a lot of laughter as some kids only received a fork, cup and napkin for their first course while other kids received potato wedges, ice cream and veggies, yet were missing the tools to eat it with. 

During our wordup time my supervisor talked to the kids about taming the tongue. This kids were able to discuss the negative and positive sides of speaking and also the dangers of not being able to control it. We discussed how we left when others said positive or negative things to us and how much effect that could have on our day or what we do or how we do it.

The kids were asked to mention some times they left good about something some one had said and how it made them want to keep doing something. Two girls piped up to say that they left this way when Doodle (my fellow leader) had taught her how to draw while the other one said she felt that way when I taught her how to crochet. 

To finish then evening off we played a wide game and some basketball before it was time to kick them out the door and clean up the building. It was a good finish to another excellent week. It is amazing seeing the difference in the kids individually and also to see how my relationships with them have deepened so much since a couple months ago.