Archive for May, 2010

While visiting the new/in process of being remodeled 1321 MLK offices I had a few moments to chat with Cheryl Jones, Executive Director of Allen Renaissance, our landlord and partner in the building.  She smiled as she looked around continue

The fifth graders were sitting with their principal discussing the exciting reasons that next year’s incoming 5th graders should be excited about attending Narrows View Intermediate!  Ideas were shouted out!  ”Teachers.”  ”Extra-curricular Activities.”  ”Lunch.”   One enthusiastic student added to the list “CAMPUS LIFE!”  That was unexpected…

It has only been 2 months since we began Campus Life at Narrows View and already we are experiencing the fruit of this ministry site.  It is always a challenge to develop trust between the staff and students and to create an environment where students not only feel comfortable with the Campus Life team, but find our message of following Jesus credible.

When the students themselves become the “cheerleaders” for Campus Life, that shows me that trust is being developed and that we are creating the environment where kids not only enjoy being together but see Campus Life as a positive and enjoyable part of their school experience.

There are only a few weeks left in this school year.  We are already making plans for next year, how we can enlarge the involvement of the student body, and have a greater impact upon the families and the school community.  Yet, in the minds of kids, it is the “fun” factor that opens the door and enables us the opportunity to begin the conversation about being Jesus followers.

Okay, so the title was meant to grab your attention and no, Tacoma YFC isn’t vacating our Center and M Street offices…but we do have a great opportunity to expand into some new space on Tacoma’s Hilltop.

For the past several years our City Life ministry team has been doing some fantastic collaborative outreach work with Allen Renaissance, Incorporated (ARI)– a non profit borne out of Allen A.M.E. church– and ARI has become a key ministry partner.  As the Lord continues to open new doors, continue

By Amy Jonson

Maybe it’s not surprising because I’m a mother of two young children, but more and more my greatest joys in life come from being a “Mama.” But this mama has kids ranging from 16 months to 21 years (even though I am only 29). The range of circumstances I’ve encountered differ from giving pregnancy tests to informal nutrition talks about the importance of vegetables and what a healthy portion of cheese looks like to conversations about race, poverty and what it means to want to “better yourself but not lose your culture.” I really love all of it.

This weekend, Doug and I experienced a full but fairly normal 48 hours of sharing life in the Hilltop with our community of mainly kids and young adults, and I felt inspired to share it.

         Friday, 6:30pm
My kids (Tobey and Lucy) and I arrived at the People’s Community Center to help with Sozo Kids, a grade-school late night outreach program that is a partnership between Metro Parks, Tacoma Youth for Christ, and City Central Church. Over 50 5-11 year-olds came to run around a gym, jump rope, play video games, and hear a message from John 2 about Jesus turning the water into wine. Doug and I helped start Sozo Kids 3 years ago and it’s wonderful to still see kids excited to bring their friends. Rarely does a night at Sozo Kids go by without at least 5 new kids coming. After Sozo Kids, Doug and I were up late talking with our friend De’Marko (who lives with us and also works at Sozo Kids) and his 14-year-old brother, Armond, who usually stays with us on the weekends.

Saturday, 8:45am
Doug and Lucy were already driving over to Tacoma’s Eastside to pick up Nathaniel to take him to the making of a film that some friends of ours are submitting to the Tacoma Film Festival. Nathaniel’s goal after high school is to pursue acting and attend a community college that offers classes towards that goal. In less than 6 weeks, Nathaniel will graduate from high school at the age of 19. Two months into this school year, Doug made a deal with Nathaniel that he could come over for dinner every week that he had perfect attendance. As such, Nathaniel usually shares at least one meal a week with our family, and we are so proud of him for persevering in school!

Saturday, 10am
Doug woke up De’Marko for a meeting at our house with our Sozo Kids adult leaders and 3 youth leaders. We have an amazing team at Sozo Kids, but De’Marko has definitely become one of our most responsible leaders as well as one who really engages the kids each week.

Saturday, 4pm                                                    
We were awakened from a family nap to Nathaniel knocking on our door. He was done with the filming and ready for his weekly dinner. While I’m cooking, it is common for Nathaniel to stand by me in the kitchen and ask various questions about health and nutrition, relationships, and what the Bible says about different topics. Doug and I are regularly amazed at how hungry Nathaniel is to learn and how much he loves family life. He loves it when Tobey comes to him with a book for him to read or Lucy sings “A Whole New World” for him. 

Saturday, 7:30pm       
While Doug was taking Nathaniel home and helping 3 of our youth—De’Marko, Justin, and Corasia (who are now paid staff with Metro Parks)—I was putting our kids to bed when I saw 6 elementary school kids from Sozo Kids playing in the alley by our house. I decided that was a worthy cause to delay Lucy’s bedtime and we ran outside to play relay races, tag, and do cheers with those 6 kids and two neighbor kids. In that 30 minutes of play, one of the girls thanked me several times for how much fun she had. Isn’t that so telling about the innocence of childhood and the importance of spontaneous life-on-life interactions?

Sunday, 11am-7pm
Our family spent most of the day worshiping at a local Hilltop church. Then the rest of the afternoon we had family time with De’Marko, Armond, and Allie (De’Marko’s girlfriend). De’Marko watched popcorn kernels pop for the first time from an actual popcorn popper.

As I look back on the weekend, I cooked meals for 15 people in addition to our family, used 20 eggs, and vacuumed three times. And this is a fairly typical weekend off for us! But I really can’t imagine changing any of it. Last night I couldn’t fall asleep because I kept thinking of the precious kids I had played tag with, and how grateful I am for moments like that with 5th grade girls who will be attending junior high next year. There are definitely moments when it feels difficult to choose to give my time away, but more often I am so grateful that God has made me to feel most alive when I am surrounded by opportunities like this. Thank you, Jesus, for making me as a Mama and giving me so many to love in addition to my own children!