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Mr. Gus (orange shirt) as he shares his story with the MS teens.
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Recently at a middle school Club we hosted, they were asked what places they'd lived and the best and not so great parts of each location they have lived thus far. Briefly in passing, a student shared with me that he'd lived already in 8 places and was only in 7th grade. This also made the impact of being a military teen more challenging in the constant shift of home places. Over the next week, we also had them share favorite and not so favorite moments about their places they've lived. It was apparent that these students were passionate about their places and being heard from their peers and adults. Something brought to light was that we were empowering our students to have a voice, no matter what happened in their lives. This has been powerful for our teens.
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Mrs. Deb shares her story to the HS teens at Club.
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Let's not also forget the harvest we've seen in our first few weeks of meeting at the Harrold Youth Center on post as well. We've seen an average group of 40+ high school students and an incredible 35+ middle school students gathering together each week. The energy is high and the continued excitement for Club day rolls around when we enter the center and the kids there will say to us, 'see you tonight or tomorrow for Club!' Part of the blessing we've seen is the ability to reach our teens 'right where they are' in the youth center. We've noticed a great 10+ middle school students showing up weekly ever since they were invited to just hang out and join us one evening as we launched Club together. Ever since that moment of being included, they anxiously await to see us to say they're pumped for Club that week.
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A record crew at one of our HS Clubs!
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If those aren't things to celebrate, we ask you also to raise your arms in a great cheer as I (Phil) recently finished up 3 days helping Lansing Middle School in an incredible annual event hosted at the school for their 8th grade students. It's called Challenge Day. The easiest way to share 'what it is' would be to say that it's the closest ability to do Club in a school in one day with a huge crew of 75 teens and 20+ adults and to get them to get 'real' with one another and allow them to build relationships together. To say it changes schools would be an incredible shortfall. It brings students together in a way that breaks down walls in all the areas of struggles for students in the schools. Cliques are realized and sometimes dissolved; bullying is confronted in a gracious and loving way; students are allowed to see one another for who they really are in their hallways and finally they get to see what's really under the layers of just our exterior they see each day moving from class to class.
The best part of the Challenge Day was that I personally got to engage with a majority of the Lansing Middle School 8th grade class. It was incredibly amazing and I got to meet students of all types, cultures, backgrounds and many military teens who attended the school as well. Life was shared each day and my own was shared in 100% participation throughout the mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting day. However, I wouldn't exchange it for a moment in being drained so much. New friendships with adults who are passionate for these teens were built and we got to envision the idea of 'carrying the torch' after the event ended which meant a further involvement in the local school somehow. Only God knows, but if it's anything like what was experienced, I should probably get myself a LOT of rest and prepare big time!
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My view as I got to peacefully
enjoy mowing the lawn of our host family's yard. |
As we come to a close on our letter, pray BIG for what is on the horizon. A lot of things are moving within our sights which include praying and discerning small group development with our other staff person, SaraBeth. We also are preparing some girls and guys day events and also a camp which will be incredibly impactful in November. The semester is in full-swing and God's got us working toward something we've never imagined here before.
Join us in celebration:
- An amazing harvest of students attending middle school and high school Club
- Amy's part-time job working as a behavioral therapist with kids with autism
- The incredible amount of leadership team members interested in working alongside our teens in all capacities.
Please pray with us:
- We continue to press into the needs of our local community outreach on and off post, hoping to reach more military teens as possible.
- We are ramping up into a fast-paced season of events, weekly ministry and more, so pray for our endurance and that we slow down the pace to enjoy what God has for us even in the moments of doing absolutely nothing.
- We are still seeking a home God has in store for us to start an eventual family and ministry!
Phil & Amy
