Speaking Team Update

The Speaking Team has made leaps and bounds since I first saw them about a year ago. Since last fall, the team has added a few 6th graders and one 8th grade student. Like I have shared before, each student uses their talents from God to bring their part to the team and together they work really well. I don’t want to say that I have a favorite leadership team because I really do love them all, but I ALWAYS enjoy sitting and watching the students at work on the Speaking Team. The energy in the room, though sometimes very, very high, is pleasing and I usually laugh every time I am with them. The students have been working on a play about the Big Bad Wolfe and the Three Little Pigs. Each student has a part which they have been practicing on for quite a few weeks now, and they have gotten quite good! Last time I visited they were working on things like projecting their voices, slowing down when saying their lines, and pronouncing their words clearly. After every read through the audience gets to give critiques, like speak louder and don’t look at your script all the time. Everyone was working really hard for their performance in July for the Kiwanis Club. I can’t wait to ask each student how it went, and then come back and tell all of you what I find out!

Remembering

Quite a few weeks back, the Social Justice team was talking about fun and practical ways to make a difference in the lives of others around the world. One of the students had shared about a website called freerice.com. Freerice.com is a site you can go to answer questions and after you answer so many questions correctly a bag of rice is donated to a third world country. I came across this journal entry from Cameron the other night.

Internal
Asset Category: Positive Values
Asset #: 27

“I will play on freerice.com (which donates rice to people in poverty) in my free time.” Cameron 6-8th grade student

I really thought it was neat to see the parallel between something Cameron had learned about a few weeks prior to writing this journal entry and apply it to his life. To me it was just another example of all the things these young students are retaining, it really does set in!

A Special Visit

A visit was made by three men and three women from Omaha, who came to see what City Impact’s Impact Leadership Academy is all about. These individuals work in ministry in Omaha and also attend Bridge church together.

They joined the 6-8th grade boy’s and girl’s classrooms, and later split up and attended different Leadership Teams. During worship Myron (works for Abide and also is on staff at Bridge church) asked students from each Leadership Team to stand and share a bit about what they are currently working on. Mercedez, Zach, Vadoll, CC, and Cameron all shared on behalf of their Leadership Team. They all did a wonderful job describing what each team does. Myron went on to ask some more detailed questions, and I was very pleased to see how respectful each student was when responding to each question he had.

It was fun to have the group from Omaha there with us on Sunday, and from what I could see the students enjoyed getting to know them a bit.

High School Boys learn about the gift of TEACHING

On Sunday, the High School boy’s classroom was quiet, only containing two students and one leader. Sometimes these small groups are the best kind because discussion can be deep and students get that one on one attention. It is also good because each student gets the opportunity to share, and feels as though what they are saying is important because it is not drowned out by others.

The topic tonight was Building Up the Church (gift of teaching and the gift of pastoring). Before I go any further, I just want to mention how awesome it is to see the commitment some of the student’s show by coming to ILA every week. It is very rare when you don’t see TJ or VaDoll in their High School Boy’s classroom.

These boys along with Mr. Ty (volunteer classroom leader) went over many questions concerning teaching. Questions like, “Who is a teacher who has taught you a new skill?” VaDoll shared that a man named Shawn Stewart taught him how to play drums. If you know VaDoll, you know that drums are something he is very passionate about. TJ shared about a teacher who taught him a skill to use in math to better understand it. Another question was, “Who has taught you something about life?” TJ shared that he was taught to not take anything for granted, and VaDoll shared that he was taught by his mother to not talk to strangers when he was young. When asked, “Who taught you about faith in Jesus?” VaDoll shared that Mr. Todd (6-8th grade boy’s classroom teacher) taught him that if you always believe in Jesus and believe he is with you, you will be saved.

The boys went on to talk about verses in Matthew and Mark, which talk about Jesus humbling himself to teach by not taking credit for his knowledge, but also teaching with authority so that people may listen. They also talked about Jesus teaching with compassion. The boys brainstormed how they might teach with compassion and TJ shared that you would need to teach with compassion to someone who has treated you bad. VaDoll pointed out that Jesus spoke from his heart and that he cared about these people he was teaching. Next week the boys will continue their discussion on the gifts of teaching and the gift of pastoring.

Later in the evening, I had the chance to grab TJ and VaDoll. I was hoping they would share with me what they had learned earlier that evening in class during their Bible study. They were both eager to share with me what they had learned. I asked them to share with me what they had learned and how they were going to use what they learned in their own lives. VaDoll shared, “I learned about the gift of teaching and how I can be a great influence on others, like helping them to build their confidence. If I were to teach I would teach someone drumming to carry on the legacy of drumming.” TJ shared this, “I learned how to separate teaching with authority and teaching with compassion. I would like to volunteer to teach younger children things that I enjoy like math and football.”

Pressing On

The Philanthropy team is still hard at work making efforts toward raising money to help fund the playground project for the Friendship Home. Currently the plan stands to raise money to provide matting under the playground, re doing the play house, padding around the sand box, and hopefully benches for the mothers to sit on while they watch their kids. The dress down day was a success and brought in $400.00. Students are still pushing the coin jars and plan to re launch the idea to get Bible Club students excited again. The students have written grant letter to Youth Inspire and later learned that at this time Youth Inspire can’t fund the $2,000 they were asking for, but did tell the students to please keep them in mind for help with future volunteer efforts. They did not let this discourage them, they got right back on the ball and are just finishing up another grant letter, which will soon be reviewed and sent off. A date in July has been set to stop all fundraising because they hope to start with the project in August. More to come later!

Encouragement through Stamps

From: Radious
To: TT

“You look very nice today and you are a great friend.”

From: Mrs. Miriam
To: Javaen

“I am so glad you came tonight! It has been a while since you have been at ILA and we have missed your smiling face! I hope your summer is going well and that we get to see you a lot.”

From: CC
To: Radious

“You look really pretty today in your little hoop earrings.”

From:TT
To: Mrs. Miriam

“Thank you for being such a great bible study teacher.”

From: Mrs. Bert
To: Radious

“It’s nice to see your smiling face. Your attitude brightens the room.”

UPDATE

Oh, do I love visiting the writing team, where personal experiences mix with feelings on pages of notebook paper.

The girls who are participating on the team are dedicated to the skill God has given them and are eager to write from the heart. God truly has given these students a gift, and it is so fun to see them put it to practice. Currently they are working on putting a magazine together. Their inspiration is a book, which they have been reading called Red (the next generation of American writers, teenage girls- on what fires up their lives today). This book is compiled of essays written by teenage girls on their own personal experiences. The pieces the students of the writing team are currently working on are, “Describing a family member” and “Various thoughts on beauty”. The girls have already written rough drafts and are working on reading and critiquing each others pieces. They girls hope to have their first pieces published in the magazine by the banquet in October. They would like to have it available to give to City Impact’s supporters, so they can share what God is doing through the writing team at the Impact Leadership Academy.

Stepping for God

If you were asked to do something for God that might outwardly embarrass you, would you do it?

The Dance Team is learning how to be bolder. Mrs. Angela (Dance Team Leader) wants them to get used to dancing in front of people, so on Sunday the dance team hit the sidewalks. They all marched outside, where they planned on practicing their step routine while walking down the sidewalk on 14th street. Can you imagine doing this while all those cars were driving by?! Well they did it, and from what I could see there was no complaining coming from the students. Later, I had the chance to talk to Radious (student on Dance Team) about dancing down the sidewalk. She said that Mrs. Angela had asked them before they went out if they would do anything for God, and most of the students said yes. Radious shared that Mrs. Angela emphasized the fact that the reason they are dancing and have the Dance Team in the first place is so they can use their talents for God!

Gift of Mercy

Currently the ILA Students are continuing their talk on spiritual gifts. I have really enjoyed sitting in on classroom study time. I have sensed that the students enjoy studying this topic and from what I can see the participation level is pretty high, at least that is what I noticed in the 6-8th grade boys classroom on Sunday evening.

Like I have said many times, Mr. Todd (6-8th grade boys Teacher) does a wonderful job teaching. He is always very organized, with things written on the chalk board and questions ready to be asked. This particular evening the boys were talking about the gift of mercy. On the board was written, “Gift of Mercy- bringing relief to the immediate needs of someone in need or hurting.” This was read aloud by Mr. Todd and after reading this he shared a story about his oldest daughter Teagan who is in the 4th grade. He shared that Teagan has a special love for the elderly. One time, the family went to visit a relative in the retirement home. Teagan walked into people’s rooms (who she didn’t know) and began talking to them bringing joy and relief to those who were older and not as mobile. After sharing this story, Mr. Todd asked the boys to help formulate a list of possible groups of people who are in need or hurting. The boys decided on this list (elderly, homeless, poor, abused, orphans, sick, those addicted to drugs, alcohol, the mentally ill and those who are widowed). Next, it was time to see what the Bible said about mercy. They dove right into the passage in Luke chapter 10, the story about the good Samaritan; 30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' After reading the passage, questions were asked such as, “What did the Samaritan do to show mercy?”
Here are some answers from the boys.
Cameron -“Bandage his wounds.”
Adam- “Paid for him to be in an inn.”
Zach- “Put the man on his donkey.”
Isaiah- “Paid for his long term care.”

After further discussing the details of the story, Mr. Todd ended by telling the boys that a point he would like to make is that the people who you would have thought would have helped the man in the story just passed by. It is not enough to come to ILA and say, “I am a Christian, I go to ILA.” It is important to act like it in your own life, outside of ILA.

Asset Journal Entry

External
Support
#2
Positive family values

I gave positive value to my cousin Amarion yesterday because he thought he couldn’t do a cartwheel and I told him that he could and he did it!

Jocelyn, 6-8th grade Girls

Asset Goal

Internal
Commitment to Learning
#22
School Engagement

Monday and until school is over I will try to pay more attention to school and the rules.I will do this because I want to do better in school and not go to recovery or time out.

Hope, 6-8th grade girls

Asset Journal Entry

Lately I have been wanting to go many places with friends and when I leave I noticed that my room and dishes I used are dirty, but I thought without my mom telling me to clean something maybe I should and then ask to leave.



Ashlee, 6-8th grade girls

Summer is approaching...

As many of you may have noticed, there have not been any stories posted on the blog for quite a few weeks. That was due to the fact that the writer, me, was away on maternity leave. Well I can say it is good to be back and I’m slowly getting into the swing of things.

Now that summer is creeping up on us, the mood begins to change a bit in the classrooms. Most students, after attending the Impact Leadership Academy regularly throughout the school year, become familiar and comfortable with their teachers, classmates and their overall surroundings. It is easy to become so comfortable that they can sometimes lose sight of what is being taught during lesson time. I am sure the leaders often wonder whether or not their students are indeed listening.

I was enjoying time back in the High School girls’ room where they were discussing thoughts brought on by the lesson entitled, “The Open Heart: The gift of mercy and the gift of hospitality”. I would like to briefly focus on the gift of mercy and how, from my perspective, I was able to watch this unfold.

Mrs. Anna (Youth Development director) and Mrs. Mollie (High School Girls classroom teacher) were talking about the verse Matthew 25:40. The girls in class on Sunday were Jessica, Mercedez, and Patty. Each girl was participating in their own way, but from what I could see they were a little distracted by other things, which seemed to be a bit more interesting. For instance, they were doodling on their study guides while the leaders were talking. Matthew 25:40 says,“The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Mrs. Mollie went on to share with the girls that she has a rough relationship with her sister, but she still knows it is important to love on her no matter what because that is what God wants. When he sees us doing that it makes him so happy he probably jumps for joy! I was surprised by what happened next. Mercedez, as she was doodling, asked, “So what if you gave me a pen, but I saw a homeless man and bought him a house, would God jump more? Wow, what an awesome question! This led Mrs. Mollie and Mrs. Anna into a deeper discussion of what God wants of us and how He looks at our hearts in a situation like that. Mrs. Anna shared that God is talking about seeing Him in those who we may not always be inclined to help, we need to see His face and serve for Him.

My point in sharing this with you all today is to tell you that Mrs. Anna and Mrs. Mollie displayed patience and mercy in the classroom. They showed the girls, who were having trouble staying tuned in, what God wants of us by not becoming outwardly frustrated. By doing this they were able to attain wonderful conversations and get feedback from the girls.

I am so privileged to watch from the outside, and I learned that even when you think a teenager is not listening they really might be. Be patient and see what God has in store.

Volunteer Care

Mr. Ty pictured in black shirt in front.


Goal: Volunteer Care
-Volunteers will be well trained and committed to the City Impact Mission.
-Volunteers will feel like a valued member of the CI Ministry Team.


I had gone around to pick up devotions for the evening and noticed that Mr. Ty ( High School boys leader) was absent from the High School boys room, which I found to be a bit odd as he usually never misses program on Sunday evenings.

After making myself comfortable in the 6-8th grade girls’ room I leaned over to ask Mrs. Bert (6-8th grade girls’ small group leader) if her husband Mr. Ty (High School boys classroom small group leader) was gone tonight. She said that he would be here shortly, but he would be late because last minute he went to get Patty (High School girls’ student).

Now you see maybe to someone else this would not seem like any big deal, but for me, my mind started to spin. I just could not stop thinking about Mr. Ty and his efforts to get Patty to ILA. Ty went outside of himself to ensure Patty made it to program on Sunday. It was more important for him to go get Patty than to worry about being late that night. My heart was just touched by Mr. Ty’s outward expression of commitment to get the students to the Impact Leadership Academy. It showed me that he values the program and feels that it is of top importance and priority to see to it that the students make it every Sunday.

Impact Journal from Dylan (6th grade ILA student)

Dylan pictured in Red.

What is one thing God helped me do lately, that I didn’t have to do, which showed kindness or sacrificial love to others?



“I helped my mom and dad with my baby brother like making bottles, cleaning bottles, getting diapers for my mom, getting wipes, getting my brother his pajamas for him.”


“I helped a person named Pete who doesn’t have any friends and I am helping him to be nice to others so he can have friends like the rest of us.”


“Today at School I was helping my friend Michael with math homework, when I wanted to finish my homework, but instead I helped him with his homework.”

At the feet of Jesus

At the end of the lesson time on Sunday in the High School girls’ room Mrs. Anna (Youth Development Director and High School girls’ leader) shared with the girls that after their discussion the previous week she had really been listening to the hearts of the girls and heard some of their thoughts on body image. Mrs. Anna proceeded to hand out an article she had printed; this article was about body image. Mrs. Anna also gave the girls two bible verses Proverbs 31:30 and Genesis 1:27. Mrs. Anna’s goal in doing this was to encourage the girls to seek what God thinks of them. Following this short discussion was a time of prayer. Prayers shared were of praise, thankfulness, forgiveness, and requests. The reason I share this is because one of the girls praised God for thinking she was beautiful and helping her to think well of her body image. She also asked that He would forgive her for the bad thoughts she has about the way she looks. It was so awesome to see her take what Mrs. Anna was saying and bring it right to God’s feet, asking Him for help just as He wants us to do. With the craziness of the classrooms I know it is sometimes hard for the leaders to think the students are listening, but when something like this happens I know they are.

Personal Responsibility

I have been excited to notice more and more that something is stirring in the minds of the ILA students. I am starting to see the reaping of the seeds which have been sewn.

On Sunday evening, while waiting for program to start, Jonha was busy decorating a card for his dad whose Birthday was that very day. I was just walking around observing his actions, as he was hard at work. But his hard work had turned the floor below him into quite the mess. I thought to myself, “Oh boy, another kid making another mess!” I was just thinking that I was going to be left cleaning up the mess once he went to class for the evening. I continued walking around and then sat down to speak with a few other students. All of a sudden, I saw Jonha dart out of the room only to return a few minutes later with the vacuum in hand. He plugged that vacuum in and got right to work! I could do nothing but smile all over and then felt bad that I had underestimated Jonha’s ability to show personal responsibility.

Wisdom Talk

If God came to you and said I will give you whatever you want, what would you want? This was a question that was asked by Mr. Todd to the 6-8^th grade boys on Sunday. With excitement Mr. Todd asked the boys to tell him what they would ask God for.

Zach- “New shoes.”

Jonha- “Eternal life in Heaven, and wisdom.”

Cameron- “Good health.”

Kenneth- “Mustang.”

Dylan- “Super powers.”

Mr. Todd went on to ask the boys if they knew that this really happened, and proceeded to lead them all to the story of Solomon in 1 Kings 3:4.

After taking turns around the class reading the story, Mr. Todd asked the boys to recall what Solomon asked God for. Dylan answered, “A discerning heart.” What did God think of that request? Jonha answered, “Thank you for not choosing long life, riches, and death to your enemies.” Mr. Todd then shared with the boys that when we follow God and obey God, He sometimes gives you more than what you had asked for in the first place. He wants us to pray to Him and ask for wisdom in our own lives. When we choose to do what He wants us to do, obey Him and follow His will, He will bless us. He wants us to obey Him. Even though I was only in the class for a short amount of time I was able to gather a little lesson for myself and realize that sometimes it does not take a lengthy lesson and lecture to get a point across. I enjoyed sitting in on the 6-8^th grade boys’ lesson time and look forward to the next time.

Meet Mrs. Michaela

My name is Michaela Mueller and I graduated from UNL with a degree in teaching. I am from Lincoln, NE and I grew up in a great Christian family, there are 6 of us, my mom, dad, 1 older sister and 2 little brothers. My favorite color is purple and I love donuts! In my free time I like to run, read, spend time with friends and family, and try new restaurants. My dad was telling me about City Impact and I love working with teens, so I visited one night and couldn’t wait to get started. A few past experiences like baby-sitting when I was younger, and going to college to be a teacher lead me to work at a place like City Impact. One of my favorite memories at City Impact is watching our teen girls mature and really take their faith seriously, and I love our prayer times together. I have been with City Impact for about 2 years and I am currently a small group leader in the 6-8th grade girls’ classroom.

A special time with Jazmine

On Valentines Day I had the opportunity to lead the Writing Team. Mr. Nate (writing team leader) was going to be gone and they needed someone to fill in. I have filled in once before and was looking forward to doing it again. Numbers were a bit lower than normal at ILA and I was a bit bummed when I found out that I only had one student for the Writing Team. Oh but doesn’t God always have different plans for us then what we are expecting for ourselves?

Jazmine gathered our things and headed up to the Writing Team room and decided to get started on the project for the night. Now the Writing Team is still working on getting things together for what it is they will be doing for the year, and currently they are working on writing poems. In the previous week Mr. Nate had shared a poem which he had written about his grandfather, and in the following week the students would be writing a poem about someone special to them. Well it just so happened to be that Sunday was Valentines Day. Mr. Nate had instructed that the Writing Team write a Valentine’s Poem to someone special to them. Jazmine decided she would write a poem about her mother and then later give it to her as a Valentine’s Day present.

Jazmine began to work on her poem and only asked for help with the very first bit, maybe even just one line. She did such a great job and I was so impressed with her participation and willingness to write. She was given 45 minutes to write the poem and then at the end she shared it with me. I was so touched to hear what she had written to her mom and wanted to share it with all of you.

“Today is the day of Valentine’s day, I wish you my love each and every day.

This is my gift to you to show you I love you so I hope you enjoy it today.

You are my mom and I wanted to let you know, that I care about you.

I hope you love my poem because I cherish you.

I just want to say that everything you do for me everyday is something I can never
forget about you.

It takes me back in the old days that you were there for me to say, I love you.

So that’s why I want to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did. Jazmine did such a wonderful job and I could tell that every part of this poem was from her heart.

Instant Replay

“The more assets you have the more resilient you will be,” Mrs. Anna (Youth Development Director)


One of my favorite things about starting a new year is what that new year will bring. In the case of City Impact’s Impact Leadership Academy, this new year is bringing forth the opportunity for students to get familiar and get connected with the assets in their lives. In the first week back from break, the students were introduced to the assets by taking a detailed survey, to see what and how many assets each one had.


There are two different groups of assets; there are external assets: (Support, Empowerment, Boundaries and Expectations, and Constructive Use of Time) and internal assets: (Commitment to Learning, Positive Values, Social Competencies, and Positive Identity.) The Impact Leadership Academy students are taking a break from the Impact Journals and have been given an asset journal, which will build into the students’ opportunity to gather and learn about their individual assets. Each asset journal is compiled of three sections: the first an asset goal section, the second their asset journaling page, the third an express it section. All of these sections will help the students better utilize their individual assets.


Mrs. Anna (Youth Development Director) has taken this project on full force, and from what I can see, she has done a wonderful job. Mrs. Anna has put together a lesson, which includes an activity to be done at worship time when all the students gather together. So far the lessons at worship have been so fun to watch and I know the students are learning! When Mrs. Anna asked what they had learned from the previous weeks asset lesson multiple students answered with naming exact assets. For example, Zach answered by naming the “Hope for your future” asset.

All of the staff and volunteers are hard at work trying to push the importance of learning and gaining assets and it is wonderful to see everyone working together. I cant wait to update you all with more!

Update on the Philanthropy Team

The students on the Philanthropy Team, along with Mrs. Chelsea (Philanthropy Team Leader), are hard at work getting things in place for their upcoming fundraisers.

There are students on different teams working together to get jars made, stickers designed, and a presentation together. They have been very productive and have worked hard at each task. The coin jar team is working to design labels for the jars which will be placed throughout the Bible Club classrooms as a way of getting the younger students involved with the raising of money for the Friendship Home Playground project. On February 14th, the Philanthropy team is planning to present to the ILA student body to let them know what and why they are doing this and how everyone can be involved. They will also be presenting the coin jar idea to the Bible Club students shortly after. The Philanthropy team also hopes to place jars at places like McDonald’s, each Wal-Mart, and various gas stations.

The Philanthropy team has continued to work on a dress down day. There are currently seven Schools whose staff has agreed to participate in the dress down day. Schools involved are Park Middle School, Scott Middle School, Culler Middle School, Mickle Middle School, Lincoln Southwest High School, Lincoln Northstar High School, and Lincoln Christian High School. There has been a team hard at work getting packets together for each school. Each student is a campaign manager for their school. There is a team of girls working together to design a sticker, which will be worn by each participating staff, at each school to show that they are in support of the fundraiser for the Friendship Home. The date has been set for February 19th as the official dress down day.

There have been exciting things come from this and everyone has been working hard using their own gifts. North Star has already stated that, along with participating in the dress down day, they would also like to work with the Philanthropy Team to do another fundraiser, separate from the dress down day! The Philanthropy Team will be hard at work this month getting all these tasks completed so they can move on to additional fundraisers. April is Child Abuse awareness month and the Philanthropy Team hopes to have everything together so they can do an even bigger fundraiser, something like a run for awareness! I can’t wait to see what happens next!

High School girls Apply

I really enjoyed my time in the High School girls’ room on Sunday. It was a blast getting to listen to them go over verses in the bible and see how interested they were with soaking it all up. With very few interruptions the lesson time moved along very smoothly.

The girls were looking at verses in Matthew 5:38-41. “You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'[a] 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”

Previous to reading the verses Mrs. Mollie (High School girls co-leader) had been up at the chalk board writing two things; the first being “eye for an eye” and the second “Jesus”. After reading the verses she drew a line between “eye for an eye” and “Jesus”. Then she asked the girls to focus on “eye for an eye”, then go up to the board and write a word or phrase of what they thought this meant. I would like to share with you what the girls came up with.

Diamond- revenge

Cequoia- face to face

Jessica- getting back

Anisha- Doing something in return

Patty- punishment

Mrs. Mollie was excited to see what the girls had written and agreed that all these things go along with eye for an eye. Anisha raised her hand and with a confused look on her face started to question the verse in Matthew where it talks about if someone slaps one cheek you should turn and allow them to slap the other. She was confused and said “doesn’t this go against an eye for an eye?” You should have seen the smile on Mrs. Mollie’s face! She was just tickled to hear the question because it provided a time for Mrs. Anna (High School girl’s teacher) and Mrs. Mollie to discuss what Jesus would do and how we want to reflect God daily. Following the discussion each girl was again given the opportunity to go up to the chalk board and write what they thought Jesus thought, would do, or be like.

Patty- forgiving

Anisha- Kill with kindness

Jessica- love them

Diamond- pray for them

Cequoia- bless them

The High School girls asked some great questions and gave Mrs. Anna and Mrs. Mollie some great opportunities to share their own life experiences and the love of God with each student. It really is neat to see God working through these young women; using the Bible lessons at the Impact Leadership Academy to shape them into the women He wants them to be.

Commitment to Learn

When I visited the High School boys’ classroom last Sunday, I was not expecting to walk out blessed like I did. Not only did I get to share in the wonderful prayer time with them, I got to talk to Mr. Ty about an asset goal they have all set together. You see, all the boys in the classroom found that after taking the assets survey they all were deficient in the area of “Reading for Pleasure”. So they have all decided that together, they will work on their commitment to learning (which is part of the internal assets) and read the book Holes. It was so fun to see Mr. Ty’s excitement because he said that even the volunteers and leaders were going to read the book. How wonderful to see everyone working together to accomplish something.

Upward.Inward.Outward

On Sunday evening, when it came time to pray, the High School boys switched things up a bit. They decided that each one would take one of the kinds of prayer and focus on that for their prayer time. TJ decided he would take outward, Victor took inward, and Tyree finished up with upward. Read below to see what each boy had to say, it truly touched my heart to hear teenage boys talk to our savior like they were.


TJ- “Ask for prayer for VaDoll (high school boy) as he is giving his speech. Pray that he does well. I pray that he will walk out and be proud of himself, I also pray that he will make it home safe.”


Victor- “Thank you for all the things you have given me, I just pray that the relationship I am in will go well.”


Tyree- “Thank you for all the things You have done for us, thank you for sending Your son to die for our sins. I just want to let You know You are so amazing, You are awesome God.”



I walked out of the room feeling very blessed that I had the opportunity to be a part of a heartfelt prayer time. You can really see the passion for God building in these boys.

Relationships Develop

From: Tyree (High School Boys)
To: TJ (High School Boys)

“When can we hang out? I would like to do more Christian raps with you, that last one with you was awesome, we should do it again.”

Meet Mrs. Miriam

I am 26 and currently attending Doane College. I am married and have one daughter who is 2 years old. I was born in Chicago, IL but raised in Aurora, NE. I now call Lincoln my home. I am the second oldest of five children. My mom was a single mother. My favorite color is red and my favorite food is Indian. I love to read, sew and crochet in my free time. I became connected with City Impact when a friend of mine from college volunteered with City Impact and knew I was looking for a place to get involved. Growing up in a single parent home I can relate to a lot of the kids that come to City Impact. If my family had lived in Lincoln while I was growing up we probably would have attended City Impact programs and shopped at the Gifts of Love store. I feel that my background has helped me connect to the kids on a different level. I also spent a year in New Orleans at Urban Impact Ministries and fell in love with inner-city ministry. My favorite memory from working at City Impact would have to be the summer I worked with the Job Club students. At the end of the summer a few students spoke at the volunteer banquet and it was a great way to watch all their hard work pay off. It was also a small glimpse of where City Impact was going and what led to the ILA leadership teams. I began volunteering 5 years ago, but was hired 3 yeas ago. First I worked with IRC, and then I was hired as the Social Justice Team Coordinator. I am currently the 6-8th grade girls ILA teacher as well the Social Justice Team Leader. In Social Justice Team I introduce the kids to different areas of injustice in the world. I show them what God’s view of justice is and give them practical ways that they can participate in righting the wrongs they see around them.

Spiritual Gifts

It has been a long while since I had the opportunity to sit in on the 6-8th grade boys’ class time. I was pretty excited to be in on the interaction during their Bible lesson time, and Mr. Todd (6-8th grade boys’ leader) always does such a great job teaching, I think it’s one of his spiritual gifts! Speaking of Spiritual Gifts, the Impact Leadership Academy students started a new study on Sunday. It focused on learning what Spiritual Gifts are and which ones God has blessed each person with.

I really enjoy the way Mr. Todd is organized with his lessons and how smoothly they seem to go. When I joined the class they were in the beginning process of going through each Bible verse together and then picking out the Spiritual Gifts listed in the passages. Here are the passages they read through Romans 12:6-8, Ephesians 4: 7,8,11,12, I Peter 4:9-11, and I Corinthians 12: 4-11 and 28-30. Mr. Todd had each of these verses written on the chalk board. He also left room to write up the Spiritual Gifts listed in each one.

After reading the verses and writing the gifts on the board, Mr. Todd took some time to ask some questions and look intently at a few of the verses. Mr. Todd asked the boys out of all the gifts written before them which one was the most important and which was the least important. I could sense a bit of confusion in the boys at the questions, but soon they all agreed that there was not one more important than the other and God has gifted each person differently. He also asked “If God gave you a gift, what does he expect you to do with it?” He expects us to use our gifts to serve others and to serve and grow His kingdom. They also learned that all the gifts they have come from God, and no one else. So there is never any reason to try and credit ourselves for the gifts God has given us. Mr. Todd told the boys that throughout their time learning about the different Spiritual Gifts they would be learning what those gifts might be that God has given them. Hear from some of the 6-8th Grade boys as they tell us what they learned from the lesson.

Kenneth – “We all have gifts.”

Icky – “We all have special purposes in life.”

Zach – “I learned that we are supposed to use our gifts to show how God affects us and teach people about him.”

Dylan –“I learned not to judge people by appearances, but judge them by their inner selves.”

All in all I was so impressed with the 6-8th grade boys’ participation and willingness to read, and raise their hands to answer the questions Mr. Todd was asking.

Meet Kenneth

Kenneth has been with City Impact since he was a 2nd grader. He is now a part of the Impact Leadership Academy as an 8th grader and also volunteers his time on Tuesday nights for Bible Club. Kenneth attends Park Middle School during the week. His favorite colors are red, green, black and silver. He loves his dad’s spaghetti, which is different because it has sausage and peppers in it. Kenneth has two brothers and one sister. He loves sports, wrestling in particular, and thinks of him self as being creative. One thing Kenneth loves about ILA is that it’s fun because you get to learn about God in a different way. I asked Kenneth what one thing he has learned about God this year and he said this, “I have learned how stuff in the Bible can relate to stuff today.” If Kenneth knew he only had one more day to live he said he would spend it by buying tickets to a Raiders football game.

Hear from the 6-8th grade girls as they tell us what they
did over the Holiday break to show Personal Responsibility.

Hope - “I cleaned my cousin’s house and I watched my sister so my mom could go to the store”.

Emilia -“At my dad’s house I helped my grandma make the turkey and then I washed dishes

after dinner was done."

Kayonna – “I have chores that I have to do and every time my grandma has to tell me

to do them, but this time she did not tell me I just did them."

TT- “I cleaned the whole house while everyone was still sleeping”.

CC- “I offered to clean up the dishes after dinner and I also helped with picking up wrapping
paper”.

Jocelyn-“Last night my brother and I we helped my mom by packing up some of our things for
our move even though she did not ask us to help”.

Cecily- “I helped do the dishes after Christmas dinner; it took a lot off my moms hands”.

Radious- “When my mom got stuck in her car I helped push the car.”

Update on the Dance Team

Has anyone been wondering what the Dance Team is up to? Well I know I have, that is why tonight I decided to drop in to see what was going on. Loud noises, talking, and lots of movement filled the room as I walked in. On most days I am sure this kind of commotion would have bothered anyone, but for some reason it did not bother me at all.

A while back when the dance team started getting together they talked a lot about what they wanted the team to look like and what they wanted to do together for God. They all decided that they wanted to use their own talents in some way. Some were going to use their love of music, some dance, and some acting/theater.

Tonight the noise was coming from the boys on the base drum and the dancing from the girls. If you know VaDoll you probably know that he is passionate about playing the drums, and if you know Tyree you know he can definitely keep the beat going whether it is with his mouth, drum, table, etc… Many of the girls are really wonderful at dancing and also are really willing to learn new things.

Currently the students along with Mrs. Angela (dance team leader) are getting together their dance for the Black History celebration. It was so fun to see what everyone was doing to work together to make things fun and run smoothly. VaDoll, Tyree, Victor, and Icky were all working together to play a steady, but fun, beat on the snare and base drums. TT, CC, Diamond, and Cequoia were working to perfect the steps to the dance. It was really fun to see everyone working together to keep things going.

I was so pleased to see all of the students enjoying hard work and using their talents which God has given them to make something beautiful. I can not wait to see them all perform at the Black History Celebration.

Meet Emilia

Emilia has been coming to City Impact since she was in the first grade. She is currently a 7th grader here at the ILA program on Sunday nights. She attends Mickle Middle School during the week. Emilia has two step-sisters, two brothers and a pet tea cup Chihuahua named Charlie. Her favorite color is purple and she loves to eat chicken enchiladas. One thing Emilia is really good at is dancing and volleyball. Emilia really enjoys the philanthropy team and worship time at ILA. If Emilia knew she only had one more day to live she would “Get saved, cause I would not want to go to hell.” Emilia is fun and loving and it is a joy to have her here at the Impact Leadership Academy.

Meet Ty Westover

Ty Westover was raised in Burwell Nebraska where he lived with a wonderful Christian Family. His dad, mom and two brothers also live here in Nebraska. Ty is married to Bert and has two children. His favorite color is green and his favorite food is “Bert’s casserole”. Ty enjoys using his free time to play sports, volleyball, basketball, ski as well as read books and play video games. Ty has been connected to City Impact from the beginning with Brad and Carma, and also Bert (his wife) has worked with City Impact for many years while Ty was still working with the youth at Berean. Past experiences like working at Maranatha Camp and with the Berean Youth group for many years has led Ty to work with the teens at the Impact Leadership Academy. Ty has been a part of the Impact Leadership Academy since it started last year and he works with the Senior High Guys and with the ILA Speaking Team. One of Ty’s “favorite recent memories from ILA comes from seeing the level of improvement and confidence that the Speaking Team has developed over the last year and a half”. We are all so thankful for the effort and time Ty puts into working with the Impact Leadership Academy students and love having him on the team.

Impact journal from Diamond

Today I have a choice:

Stay home and have fun with my brothers or go stay the night to babysit.

I really wanted to stay home and do fun things, but I also want to go help. It would be nice and sacrificial to go over there, and have fun with the kids. So, tonight I am going to watch the kids and have fun.