City Impact-ILA

Speaking Team Update

2010-08-13T14:06:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-06T14:47:00.002-05:00

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

2010-07-27T18:52:00.001-05:00

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

2010-07-16T13:40:00.003-05:00

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

2010-07-13T15:55:00.002-05:00

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

2010-07-08T13:48:00.001-05:00

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

2010-07-05T08:59:00.007-05:00

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

2010-06-23T20:27:00.002-05:00

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

2010-06-17T08:56:00.003-05:00

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

2010-06-07T17:51:00.001-05:00

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

2010-06-03T07:48:00.003-05:00

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

2010-06-01T12:13:00.002-05:00

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...

2010-05-29T09:22:00.003-05:00

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

2010-03-26T13:53:00.002-05:00

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)

2010-03-23T08:25:00.001-05:00

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

2010-03-18T13:00:00.001-05:00

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

2010-03-15T14:52:00.000-05:00

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

2010-03-13T12:07:00.002-06:00

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

2010-03-10T08:59:00.004-06:00

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

2010-03-04T14:11:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-02T10:12:00.001-06:00

“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

2010-02-26T10:32:00.001-06:00

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

2010-02-22T17:22:00.000-06:00

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

2010-02-19T16:27:00.003-06:00

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

2010-02-16T15:39:00.000-06:00

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

2010-02-11T10:16:00.000-06:00

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

2010-02-08T18:13:00.000-06:00

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

2010-02-04T15:38:00.002-06:00

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

2010-01-29T10:15:00.000-06:00

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.

2010-01-26T15:19:00.002-06:00

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

2010-01-20T19:28:00.001-06:00

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

2010-01-18T17:55:00.000-06:00

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

2010-01-13T12:52:00.001-06:00

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

2010-01-07T14:28:00.000-06:00

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.

Topic at ILA making an Impact

2009-12-22T08:17:00.000-06:00

The high school boys are really taking to heart this topic of sex and dating. A few weeks back I shared a highlight with all of you about the high school boys giving up their turn to go through the line first at our Thanksgiving meal. For the past few weeks the high school boys having been hard at work putting together a rap to share with all the girls of ILA. Tonight we got to see the finished piece of work, and boy was it good!

See the boys had spent a lot of time writing a rap after Romans 12. VaDoll has a gift for playing the drums and so he held the beat for the other boys who rapped. Tyree started them off, and then TJ and Victor jumped in. Lastly VaDoll read the last verse. This rap was centered around Romans 12:9-12 read below to hear how it went.

I had the opportunity to ask Tyree what one thing he hopes the girls will take away from hearing this tonight. “For my verse you should not like evil things like the devil and then God is what is good so cling onto him wherever you are at.”

“Tyree- Listen up girls this is something you should hear. Romans 12:9 says your love must be sincere. Hate what is evil cling onto what is good even if your at church ILA or in the hood.

TJ- yeah we stompin on the devil like you cant see me Romans 12:10 says love each other deeply

Victor- Listen up girls this is something that is real Romans 12:11 says never be lacking in zeal.

VaDoll- read Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

It was so fun to watch the boys and the girls just loved it! I am so proud of the high school boys and their passionate hearts and their willingness to take to heart what is being taught.

Opening Up

2009-12-17T09:53:00.002-06:00

For a while now I have been picking up TT and CC (twins) for ILA every Sunday and it has been a struggle for me to connect with the girls on any sort of personal level. It is awfully awkward in the car on the way to and from ILA and it’s a great desire of mine to connect on a level where the students I come in contact with feel comfortable with me. Though we may have not gone through the same life experiences, I know that in many ways the trials God has walked through with me were not suffered in vain and that I get to share those with teenagers.

On my way to pick up the twins I began praying asking God to open up doors to share and discuss with the girls. I was not asking for anything specific to talk about; just to talk and get to know the girls. As I was almost to their house I could feel myself getting a bit nervous wondering if they were going to talk or if it was going to be another awkward car ride. I knew that I just needed to lay everything in the Lords hands and just trust him.

I pulled up to their home and waited in the car for a few minutes. Finally, I saw TT walk out of the house first and I noticed that she was holding something in her hand, something blue. I was wondering what it was, but then again I thought it was probably just her devotional folder. Both girls got into the car and we exchanged hellos and I asked them about their weekends and we talked about the three snow days that they had last week. Then the silence came, but I was not about to settle for a long silence so I asked TT (who was sitting in the front with me) what the blue notebook was. She told me it was her notebook of poems, which she was bringing to share with the writing team tonight. Freely she shared that the poem she was planning to share that night about self esteem. I asked her if she liked to write often and she said that she really did. I was so impressed with how open she became and how much and fast she began to talk about her passion to write.

I was hooked on asking her more questions, I wanted to keep this going as long as possible! We began to talk about the poem she was sharing tonight and how it was about self esteem. She shared with me that she does not like the way she looks. I was just gasping and so quickly began to tell her how beautiful she was as I was thinking to myself “how can she think this?” I asked her why she did not like the way that she looked and after a bit of hesitation she shared that “it is basically my head that I don’t like.” She said that she does not like her teeth, and said that she will soon be getting braces. I was giddy as I shared that she was lucky that she was able to get braces so young, because I had to wear them in college and I remember how embarrassed I was! Then she shared that she did not like her hair and I asked why and she said because it is too thin, well there you go another thing we had in common. I asked her if it was hard to think about liking herself when it is so apparent these days that looking good is very important to this world. She didn’t seem to think that was case and I just know that being a teenager can bring about a lot of those thoughts of not liking yourself. I was then very privileged to talk to TT about what God thinks about her and how beautiful God knew she was going to be when he created her just the way she is. I was so thrilled to talk to her about these important things and I told her I could not wait to hear her poem. Our conversation stopped when we arrived at the church and I was hoping that would not be the end of it!

After ILA was over and we were walking to the car I asked TT how it went reading her poem to the writing team, she shared that she did not read it out loud but typed it up on the computer. She told me that the writing team is thinking of putting a book together of all their poems and short stories. I was just so excited to talk to her again and especially about something I knew she loved.

Earlier in the evening on the car ride to ILA TT told me that she does not ever let anyone read her poems she only reads them because she thinks that someone might not understand what she is writing about. Well to my sweet surprise TT turned to me and said “you can probably read it if you want.” I felt honored and told her that I would love to hear it but she would have to read it to me because I would be driving. While on the way home TT read her poem to me and it was beautiful, she is really a talented writer. I can see the buds of a relationship beginning and it really makes me excited!

Highlights

2009-12-11T14:54:00.006-06:00

We all had the opportunity to join together for a wonderful thanksgiving meal. Before we began eating a prayer was said for the food and then everyone was ready to eat. Mrs. Anna had explained to the students that after the prayer she would dismiss each table. The students were all sitting according to their classrooms and Mrs. Anna asked the High School boys to get up and go eat. After a bit of whispering from their table the boys told Mrs. Anna that they wanted to give their turn to the High School girls. Everyone “oooed” and “awwed” because that was really a sacrifice for those boys!

After the festivities of dinner, Mrs. Angela (Substitute Teacher for CI) did a one person monologue about sexual purity for all of the students. In the beginning of the story Mrs. Tasha (Assessments Coordinator) played the role of God who was creating a girl named Monica, and he was saying out loud all the things he was filling her heart with. Then, we jump to Monica on her first day of High School and followed her throughout as she gave her heart to too many boys. She ends up giving too many pieces of her heart away and when she finally meets the man she wants to marry she only has one small piece left to give him. This story told about how important it is to keep our hearts whole because God created them to be whole! And if He has called us to marriage he has already picked out that person so we don’t have to go along giving pieces of our hearts away. Mrs. Angela (Substitute Teacher for CI) did such a wonderful job and was hilarious! All the students loved watching her and gave good feedback at the end.

Meet Zach

2009-12-08T19:37:00.001-06:00

Zach has been a part of City Impact for 4 or 5 years now and is currently in the 8th grade at our ILA program on Sunday evenings. Zach attends Culler Middle School and he has 5 brothers! His favorite color is blue and he loves any kind of corn bread. One thing he has learned about God since he has been coming to ILA is this “if you pray for it, it will come to you in some kind of way”. Zach’s favorite thing about City Impact is the GFG (Gifts from God) store because “you get to buy things for you and friends and family”. If Zach knew he only had one more day to live he would spend the day at Champions riding go- carts! I had to ask him, “Why go-carts?” He told me that he would not have gotten the chance to drive, so he would want to ride the go-carts to get that driving experience!

Devotional

2009-12-04T09:11:00.004-06:00

TJ- On the left

Jasmine- On the right

Matthew 4:1-11

1-Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
2-Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and nights. After this, he was very hungry.
3-The devil came to Jesus to tempt him. The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.”
4-Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘A person does not live only by eating bread. But a person lives by everything the Lord says.’’
5-Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem. He put Jesus on a very high place of the Temple.
6-The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off. It is written in the Scriptures, ‘He has put angels in charge of you. They will catch you with their hands. And you will not hit your foot on a rock.’”
7-Jesus answered him, “It also says in the Scriptures, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’”
8-Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain. He showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all the great things that are in those kingdoms.
9-The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”
10-Jesus said to the devil, “Go away from me, Satan! It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him!”
11-So the devil left Jesus. And then some angels came to Jesus and helped him.

Day 1

1. Read Matthew 4:1-11.

2. Turn to the Bible verses on the first page and underline any repeated words or repeated phrases.

3. Who are the people in this story?

Jasmine- God, Jesus, Devil

TJ- Jesus, God, Satan

4. Where does this story take place? Be sure to write down all the places.

Jasmine- Kingdom, Desert, Jerusalem, Temple

TJ- The desert, Jerusalem, the kingdoms of the world

5. When does this story happen?

Jasmine- 40 days and nights

TJ- When Satan tempted

Day 2

1. Read Matthew 4:1-11 again.

2. Make a list of the three ways the devil tempted Jesus?

Jasmine- Tell the rocks to become bread, jump off the highest temple, bow down and worship him.

TJ- The devil tells Jesus to prove his loyalty, he tells Jesus to jump of the temple of faith, the devil took Jesus to the high mountain and told him to bow down to him

3. What was Jesus’ answer to the devil’s temptations? Or, How did Jesus respond to the devil each time he tempted him?

Jasmine- A person does not live with bread alone, he has put angels in charge of you, you must worship the Lord your God.

TJ-He injured him and told him whats right

Day 3

1. Read Matthew 4:1-11 one more time.

2. The devil used natural needs- like hunger (remember Jesus hadn’t had any food for 40 days!) and natural desires-like power & authority (lots of people like to be in charge)to tempt Jesus. What are the needs and desires that you have? How do you think the devil could tempt you using these things?

Jasmine- helping someone the devil would tell me not to help.

TJ-clothes, and electronics the devil tempts me by bringing new stuff out

3. What things can you do to resist the devil when he tempts you? (hint-look at how Jesus responded).

Jasmine- By ignoring him, and by asking God for help

TJ- I could try to focus more on my faith

4. Read verses 1-3 again. Jesus was sooooo hungry and at a weak spot physically. When we are at our weakest we are extra vulnerable to the devil’s attack. The devil is sort of like a lion who goes after the sick or young or old or injured – they are easy to catch. So when are you at your weakest? (its good to know so you can be aware of the prowling lion).

Jasmine- When I am tired, sleepy

TJ-When I am real sick because I don’t think a lot.

Angela's Dance

2009-12-02T15:38:00.002-06:00

Written by Angela Pillow; ILA Dance Team Coordinator

When did I know I loved to dance....probably in heaven, before I entered my mothers womb. When I entered this world, dancing became my middle name. I am one of four children the 2nd girl. My mother was raised as a Pentecostal (that’s a religion) and as Pentecostals; we lived a life led by the law. No make up, no colored nail polish, no jewelry, and for a woman, no pants and never under any circumstances could you forget NO DANCING! The bottom line was CHRISTIANS DON”T DANCE! I got popped or pinched in church quite a few times for snapping my fingers to a favorite tune. Church was the life…4-5 days a week. We had to wear dresses to the floor and as for physical education class in school, bloomers or gauchos. Those were the days. I’m sure it is needless to say, we were not very popular with our age groups growing up and there were no Nike or name brand gauchos (Gauchos in my opinion is best described as a skirt on each leg, or in my case a STIFF skirt on each leg looking at the fact they were corduroyed). Coming off my soap box, the great news is while on a long journey of coming into the knowledge of Christ my mom soon discovered the revelation that “not wearing pants” could not get us into heaven and wearing pants could not keep us out, so at the age of 18, we were released! We were free!

Now I am on my own and older able to do what “I” wanted! I can DANCE! I faithfully went to the dance clubs in the city of Lincoln every weekend. This life of partying was not fulfilling and often led me to doors that I did not want to venture…for instance; drugs, bad men, and at one time I even met a group of girls that tried to recruit me into the lifestyle of “exotic” dancing! I know God was with me at that time because I had no money and these girls were my age and already owned a home, and they had plenty of money. The explained to me,”Black girls are really needed! They get paid MUCH more!” Now I can say, “Thank you Jesus for keeping me and for my mother teaching us to NEVER sell or bodies in any way, shape, or form.”

Back then at 21 years old I became a single mother and I had a beautiful daughter my mother named, Diamond. Now tired of the party lifestyle I lived which was dull and empty, I moved to Hastings Nebraska and went to school while working and I knew I wanted a change in my life. I wanted the “real thing.” I began the exciting journey of “seeking the truth!” I was determined to find it. Each day of the week I spent time studying with a different religion. I met with the Mormons’ one day, the Jehovah witnesses another day, I went to a catholic church with my landlord/neighbor and attended the first church you see when entering the city, Assembly of God church. I can say now I was just running an interview to see which religion fit the lifestyle I wanted to live. My focus question was “Is it still ok to listen to worldly music and ok to dance?” Then I realized I was picking and choosing the “religion or beliefs,” that I wanted. “This can’t be right. If this is the case, anyone can find what ever God they want, depending on how they want to live. That just can’t be right.” I prayed to the lord that day to find the truth and so began the journey. I remember the prayer and I surrendered my dances for the world to the Lord but praying if there be anyway I could still dance, to please allow me to do so and I would dance for him instead. This was before Kirk Franklin and LaCrae albums came out. I often think that prayer I sent up is the real reason we now have some of the praise music we have today.

Time goes by and my search for the truth continues. I eventually move back to Lincoln again and found a church. All the while this dance is still inside me. I made some good choices, some GREAT choices, some bad choices, and some worse choices along the way, but I never stopped seeking. Here in Lincoln we have a Juneteenth celebration and once a year a large group of kids from Omaha come down and dance. They were an awesome Drill team. Shortly after their performance, a swarm of children from Lincoln bombarded me stating they wanted a drill team here and they would like me to be a part of it. I already had the same idea, so of course I said I would be honored. I made it very clear to them all we MUST glorify God and they agreed. We made a sign up sheet passed around and before the afternoon, there were about 60 names and phone numbers of interested families. We quickly started the drill team and the Lord gave me the name; PREVAIL with the motto/logo ALL GLORY BE TO GOD. We were blessed to do several performances including the Lincoln Star City Pre parade pre show, Omaha Days parade and competition, and we were able to perform for a few companies. Things were beginning to thrive and flourish and I not only had practice at Malone Community Center we also met at Salvation Army with a whole new set of children. Going back to one of those bad choices I spoke about, I made it when I was 24 years old and it was an attempt of a good deed.

Along this walk I befriended a couple of young ladies that were also my neighbor, members of my church and PREVAIL. They were very dear to me so my older sister and I both took them under our wing. We even call them our little sisters to this day. I have been there for the birth of their children and we remain close even now. They were 12 and 13yrs old when I first met them. When they were attending junior high I started working with them and encouraging them in their studies. They worked very hard and as a reward I agreed to have a slumber party at my house on their behalf. The night of the slumber party, one of the girls drove to my home with her mom in the passenger seat. She had a learner’s permit, and all the girls were impressed she could drive. Later that night we needed more snacks from the store from around the corner and this young lady asked if she could she drive. I reluctantly agreed thinking it would be ok as long as I was in the front seat with her. Next another girl wanted to drive so I stayed in the front seat and we all laughed and giggled as she slammed on the breaks being that she was very unfamiliar with driving. Of course another girl wanted her turn and we did this in a in an empty parking lot. Soon, all the laughing stopped because one of the girls hit a pole. (My little sister) Everyone was ok and no one got hurt, physically. God was definitely watching over us all! I now had a child neglect charge on my record, I lost my job the next day and I now had no car (It was totaled) but we were alive and that’s all that mattered. Thank you Lord!

One day I heard of an opening at Carol Yokum Center looking for someone to run a dance workshop and I applied. To my surprise, I got the job and this would be for pay! Wow! That would be like getting paid to eat ice cream! The last step in the interviewing process was to go through a background check. Due to policies and guideline procedures, I could not be hired due to the “child neglect” charge on my record. With this happening, I knew it was important to let my peers know as well at the directors at the Malone and Salvation Army. Crash! I was devastated. I had no idea this would affect so many things. I now had no dance outlet in effect. We were all sad, but I encouraged the youth and my last words were “Through Christ…I will prevail!”

I continued seeking the truth and I kept going to church. One day, there was no church. My church was no longer a church, it basically disintegrated. My life started to take a quick dive. With all the past mistakes I made, I had learned a lot, but I still had much more to learn. I did just that, even though the bad company and drugs crept in slowly again, I still desired a peace that surpassed all understanding. I braided hair in the community and ended up braiding the hair of an old acquaintance and she was not the same. I had to know what changed her. She and told me of her love of Christ and she invited me to City impact. I started going. Just before this I met a young man by the name of Ken, a single father of 3 boys and he went also. Once again God rescued me. I heard the gospel in a way I had never heard it before; through my kids! Both Ken and I began to seek this peace together and not long after this journey began, we were married and seeking like never before. We did find a church and through the week we attended bible study while our kids went to bible club. We loved it and our kids loved it too!

Of course I still desired to dance. I volunteered at City Impact to chaperone a dance project introducing the children interested in dance to different types of dance, like ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop. We ALL had a BLAST! We were given the opportunity to see performances at the Lied Center and I had NEVER seen anything like it! I was SUPER inspired and of course, I had a record holding me back. I prayed for God to make a way to clear my name and through MUCH prayer and supplication I trusted God on my name being removed from the Central registry as “Child Neglect.” As of May 2009 my name has been cleared and I am clear to PREVAIL! Thank you Jesus! November 1st was my first day with the children at ILA with City Impact, and now we will look to the Lord to order our steps and develop into what ever God wants us to do! ALL GLORY BE TO GOD. My story is simply: I love the Lord, I love to dance, and I have danced for the world long enough. I now praise dance to and for my heavenly father and I will bless his name as I proclaim He is worthy to be praised, and I have a lot to PRAISE GOD FOR! I have no idea what God is going to do through dance at ILA and no agenda of my own. I do know I trust the Lord and my expectations come only from him, but I know he is able to do exceedingly and abundantly over and beyond anything I would ask. I only ask for his “guidance” through this new development. Have your way Lord…..Have your way.

Hear from the ILA students on the evenings topic

2009-11-24T08:37:00.001-06:00

Sunday night kicked off with a video called “The Role of Dating” and then led into separate classroom discussions on the topic. Many things were talked about including girls’ and boys’ perspectives on dating. Questions like, “Can people change for good and bad in a dating relationship” and “Can a dating relationship become an idol?” Good points were made for instance, “when you are only concerned with the relationship it can become our priority over God” and “our goal is to be whole people in Christ; complete with full well balanced lives!” Many good and important issues were addressed, and next week the students will dive into God’s word and see what he has to say about “The role of dating”. For now lets hear from a few students as they tell us what they learned from the lesson tonight and how they will be using what they learned in their own lives.

Radious (6-8th grade girls) - 1. “I learned that sometimes a boy can keep you away from
friends.”

2. “To listen to your friends.”

Jonha (6-8th grade boys) - 1. “People can change from bad to good and good to bad, and
it is harder for people who believe in Christ to pull
someone who does not believe in Christ up.”

2. “Probably should date someone who believes in God
because it is easier for you to pull them up.”

Jasmine (6-8th grade girls)- 1. “That boys keep you away from friends.”

2. “By not having a boyfriend.”

Each time I find more and more that the students are really interested in making different decisions and that they recognize that it is for God!

The New Addition

2009-11-19T16:32:00.000-06:00

I am so excited to share with you the newest addition to City Impact’s ILA program. A few Sundays ago during worship, Mrs. Ashley told all the students that there was a very special person who really wanted to use their passion to lead a dance/arts team with any ILA students who were interested. Mrs. Ashley then called Mrs. Angela Pillow to come to the front and she began to share.

Mrs. Angela is the mother to three of the students who participate in City Impact’s ILA program, and she shared with all the students her passion for dancing and how her purpose now is to dance for the Lord. She has a very strong calling to share this passion with other students who are interested. There were many students who were interested and they were told that if they wanted to be a part of this new team, they needed to show up the next Sunday at 5pm.

When Sunday came and there were a great number of students who showed up, fourteen in all! They started by talking about what they wanted to be as a team, and together they dreamed up a list of ideas. Here are some of the ideas: dance, think of nick names, uniforms, step, skits-message, drill, line dance, jump, hula hoop, beats-make own, cooking, hair, art, painting and many more things. When you ask these students to dream and think big they have amazing ideas!

When the list was completed Mrs. Angela asked the students what they wanted to start working on and all of the students decided that they wanted to work on step.

Mrs. Angela then took some time to share with the students that she believes in God and it is because of him that they are on this team, and because of this everything they will be doing will be for God alone!

Next, Mrs. Angela taught the students 2 scripture cheers, the first was Phil 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” and the second Phil 2:14 “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” She then explained that if anyone says “I can’t” then they will have to do the Phil 4:13 cheer twice and if anyone complains or argues they will have to do the Phil 2:14 cheer. Then Mrs. Angela talked to the students about how important it is to stretch before doing physical activity. So Mrs. Angela led a time of stretching along to some upbeat Christian music. When they were finished stretching they got together in a circle and began to help each other come up with some step moves.

After all the students had left, I stuck around to ask Mrs. Angela a few questions. We talked about why she wanted to get started doing this and she shared that she knows we are able to move and breathe because of Jesus and she wants to do this for him. Also, she wants to make sure this is being done to share a message, and she shared that a lot of prayer has gone into this and she is just trusting God.

It really was so exciting to see all of these students enjoy what they were doing and even better that they are being taught by someone whose passion is to do this for the Lord! Mrs. Angela brings a lot of knowledge and I know she is so excited to see where this all will lead.

Goal: Relational Development

2009-11-17T14:47:00.003-06:00

• Youth will develop and maintain long term, meaningful, and authentic relationships with adults and peers

Worship on Sunday began with the verse for the day and then led into a song called “Imagine Me” by Kirk Franklin. I really encourage everyone take some time and listen to that song; to really pay attention to the words! I know it really touched a special place in my heart and from the looks of it on Sunday it touched the hearts of others. After sitting in my chair in the back row of the fellowship hall listening to “Imagine Me”, I happened to look over at Mercedez and her body was bent over with her head in her hands. You could tell she was really upset. Without hesitation 3 or 4 other students immediately put their hands on her to comfort her. As the song went on the students continued to comfort Mercedez and soon after that one of the youth leaders came and sat by her and put her arms around Mercedez. Here at City Impact our core values and goals are worked on all the time and God willing they are achieved. Tonight was one of those nights where I saw a goal being reached and a student feeling the warmth of caring peers and adults at program.

Social Justice Team

2009-11-13T11:55:00.002-06:00

It is so fun to watch Mrs. Miriam teach the Social Justice team, because I know she is very passionate about Social Justice. I knew it would be a good night to sit in on the Social Justice Leadership team meeting because they were going to do an intriguing activity and start discussing a new topic. While we were walking up the stairs to the classroom, I over heard Diamond say to herself “I love Social Justice, it’s the best team”.

First off, I would like to tell you who is participating in the Social Justice team for this semester of ILA. The students are Diamond, Dillon, Sevahn, and Cameron. Each of these students brings a special part of their hearts to the team and I know Mrs. Miriam is glad to have every one of them.

On this particular evening, the Social Justice team was starting a new unit on “Access to Clean Water”. To begin, Mrs. Miriam asked the students to think of all the things you use water for in one day from the time you wake to the time you go to bed. The students came up with things like (take a shower, brush teeth, use bathroom, drinking water, wash dishes, wash hands, for cooking, and lots of other things). The students were then told that the average American uses 150 gallons of water a day, and the average person in a developing nation struggles to use 5 gallons! Most of the students were just staggered at the thought, I know I sure was.

Mrs. Miriam had taken the time to write all the things that were thought of for the use of water on a piece of paper in the front of the classroom. The students were then asked to work together to prioritize what things on the list they would do if they only had access to 5 gallons of water each day. After much debate on what would be necessary to use the 5 gallons of water for, the students decided on these things: to brush teeth, to drink, to cook, wash face, and wash dishes.

After the discussion, the students gathered around Mrs. Miriam’s laptop to watch a power point about sanitary water. I was able to help Mrs. Miriam out with an activity by taking 4 glasses of clean water and making one of them look like it had dirty water in it by mixing different colors of food coloring in the glass. The students were watching the power point in the dark and so when each student got their glass of water they could not tell if their water was clean or dirty. She was really trying to drive home the point “What would it be like to not have access to clean and sanitary water?” Dillon actually ended up with the glass of dirty colored water and let me tell you he was not about to drink it! It was really gross looking; a very dark murky green color. Even though Dillon did not drink the water, I know he got the point of the activity.

When the power point was over the students discussed some questions. I would like to share a few questions and responses with you.

Question 1 “Which facts make you sad?”

Diamond- “One in 6 don’t have a choice of what they drink.”

Sevahn- “All the people who die.”

Question 2 “How do these facts change the way you look at water?”

Diamond- “No more long showers!”

Dillon- “Stop using as much water as I am using now.”

Mrs. Miriam then shared ways that her family has saved water. I really thought it was a good introduction into the new unit and I know all the students were interested because they participated in all the discussions and activities. I can’t wait to see where all this will end up!

A journal entry from Tyree

2009-11-10T11:50:00.001-06:00

My friends have seen how much I have changed how I follow God and what he mean’s to me and how much I talk about him. When I am with them they always ask me “Tyree what does all this mean?” So I tell them that the Lord does great things you just got to trust and believe in him and that he is your savior and that he died on the cross for all of our sin so we may have eternal life.

Now all of my friends who were not following God go to Church to learn about him. I can see the changes in some of them and that tells me that the Lord is a part of their lives.

Meet TT and CC

2009-11-05T17:45:00.001-06:00

For awhile now many of you have been meeting the Bible Club students one by one, little by little, and now it is time for you to meet our ILA students.

When I picked who I was going to do a mini bio on I wanted to do the Hite twins separately, but when I sat down to interview them they were sitting together and when I began to ask questions to one the other would chime in and so I decided I would do a bio of them together!

Vontesaya (T.T.) and Vontesa (C.C.) are twins and 8th graders here at the ILA program. These girls are not only faithful to come on Sunday evenings, they also come on Tuesday evenings to volunteer for Bible Club. I asked T.T. and C.C. how they got their nicknames and they told me that when they were about three years old they just started calling themselves T.T. and C.C.

Both girls attend Park Middle School where they are in the 8th grade. They were born on April 29. They have 3 sisters and one brother. C.C.’s favorite color is blue and T.T. loves pink. When asked what their favorite food is they both said pizza! T.T. and C.C. love track and both participate in the 100m dash and the 4/100 relay. The person they love most here on earth is their mother.

I asked the girls if they knew they only had one more day to live how would you spend that day and this is what each said; C.C. “go shopping, have a party and invite everyone I know!” T.T. ‘spend it with all my family, and I would eat a lot of food cause you never want to die hungry!”

Philanthropy Team Update

2009-10-29T09:18:00.001-05:00

The Philanthropy team is still pushing forward with the motivation to get enough money raised for the playground, which will be built for the Friendship Home here in Lincoln.

Currently the Philanthropy team is getting ready for a fund raiser, which is a “dress down day” for local businesses. In order to participate in the “dress down day”, employees will have to pay $5 to “dress down” on November 4th. All of the proceeds will go towards building the playground.

The philanthropy team has been split into two teams; one the advertising team and the other the calling team. The advertising team is working on literature which can be given to businesses to promote this “dress down day” and the calling team is working on calling 28 businesses throughout Lincoln with the hopes of getting them to participate.

Second, the team is working on getting a presentation put together so when they are asked what they do they will be prepared to share. Ultimately, they would like to share what they are doing with all of the other leadership teams and potential public crowds.

I have been very pleased to see all the students working together to make this project a success. They are all excited about building the playground! Along with being a part of the team, each student is learning how he/she can use the special skills that God has gifted each of them with. I can’t wait to see what happens in the end.

6-8th Grade Girls Impact Journals

2009-10-27T10:29:00.003-05:00

"What is one thing God helped me do lately,

that I didn't have to do,

which showed kindness or sacrificial love to others?"

Today I helped Rhonda and her sisters get their younger 1’s inside and when Rhonda (the youngest) came out I picked her up and kept her warm in my coat. I could tell that Rhonda and her sisters were glad cuz of the smiles on their faces. I felt glad too cuz I was trying to help their younger sister not catch a cold.

Javaen

What I did this week to show sacrificial love was yesterday my friend Alyson called me because she wanted to take me to some pumpkin patch/haunted house place and I really wanted to go but I told her no because I wanted to spend time with my older sister because it was her Birthday.

C.C.

My baby sister and I were running around the house and apparently she had cheerios in a little bowl and she turned around and ran to the bathroom door and poured cheerios on the floor and my mom ran out and saw what she did and my mom was mad and I told her that I would clean it up instead of her cleaning it up all the time.

Jasmine

Impact Goals

2009-10-16T14:48:00.003-05:00

During the first part of the class time on Sunday the 6-8^th grade girls worked on setting impact goals for the week. Each girl got right to work; they were all very quiet and respectful as they let each other work.

When the time was up Mrs. Miriam asked if the girls would share their goal for the week. The room was quiet and there were only a few who offered to share.

Emilia- “On Wednesday I will help my friend with her math homework.”

Jocelyn- “I will help my friend with her problem in school.”

Javaen- ‘I will apologize for the way I acted to teachers and authorities’ on Wednesday when I go back to school.”

I am always eager to hear goals the students are setting for the week, and I was glad at least a few were willing to share.

Mrs. Miriam used the end of sharing time as an opportunity to do a little “teaching”. She pointed out that there were not too many ladies who were willing to share. She said that she would never force anyone to share, but really encouraged the ladies to share. Mrs. Miriam said they should be proud to share their goals because it will encourage other students. Mrs. Miriam also explained that some of the others may have a hard time knowing what it looks like to show sacrificial love to others and when you share your goal they might get ideas of how they can show sacrificial love to others.

I was really glad that Mrs. Miriam took the time to do a little “teaching” and did not let the opportunity slip by. I really think more of the girls will share next time!

Speaking Team

2009-10-07T20:30:00.003-05:00

The Speaking Team started this year with a new project. The first week the students were involved in reading the skeleton of a story, the second week they learned what it would look like to add in lots of details, and the third week (which is the week I witnessed) they worked on telling the story they had written, using lots of expression and motions! The looks on their faces seemed to say, “Now how do you suppose we’re going to do that?”

In preparation for the task at hand, the students played a game. Mr. Ty (Speaking Team Leader) asked one student at a time to come up in front of the class. He showed them a phrase or word and the student would have to try (without words) only using gestures and facial expressions, to get the others to guess what the word/phrase was. Each student took a turn and did very well.

When the game was finished Mr. Ty passed out each student’s story, and informed them they would need to break up into groups to practice telling their stories, while adding in what they had learned from each week.

I had the opportunity to partner up with Zach and was very pleased at the effort he was showing to add in facial expressions and gestures. Zach did a great job and seemed to be excited to be the first to get up in front of the students to tell his story. After each student presented their story the rest of the students had the opportunity to give positive and corrective feed back to each other. The students were very respectful and gave great feed back.

All in all, it was a great night to sit in on the Speaking Team. They have a great group of students who are learning so much. After the students had left I was talking to Mr. Ty and we were agreeing that the students had come a long way from just a few months ago, especially of the new students who just joined the team in August. We also talked about how important it is to learn to speak in front of people and most times it can be hardest to speak in front of peers. The students involved in the speaking team are learning a skill they will be able to take with them forever.

6-8th Grade Boys Jump Right Back Into the Swing of Things

2009-10-01T13:32:00.006-05:00

ILA started again on Sunday after a 3 week break. Often after breaks it can be hard to pick up where we left off and students can be a little rowdy, but this was not the case on Sunday. I had the opportunity to sit in on classrooms and observe the events of the evening and could not have been more blessed with the outcome.

I was hoping I could catch the 6-8th grade boys Impact Journal time and when I walked into the class room I was just in time. All the students were sitting quietly with heads bowed and Mr. Todd was just finishing up praying for the evening. (I really appreciate how Mr. Todd has a way of teaching principles; what I mean is, Mr. Todd was talking to God through prayer and asking that he would guide the students as they write in their Impact Journals.) God tells us to pray on all occasions and I have found that praying for something right before I do it makes a big difference in how I perform.

The students split into two small groups and I joined up with Mr. Brandon (6-8^th grade boys leader), Kenneth, Cameron and Zach. The boys had the opportunity to begin writing in their Journals starting with their goals. I was just so amazed to see how these boys reacted by getting right to business writing. They were sitting so quietly and concentrating on what they were doing, they were especially respectful of each others time and did not talk. When it came time to share, once again the boys did not hesitate. Cameron was the first to share and began by telling us that his goal was to help decorate for his sisters birthday party on Saturday, Zach said he was going to help a friend all week at practice “practice catching” because they are on the same football team, and Kenneth was going to clean his room and keep it clean for 2 weeks! Each boy seemed to be excited to share what they had set as a goal for the week, and I could not be more excited to experience their participation.

Highlights

2009-09-03T16:05:00.002-05:00

I can usually tell when the City Impact essentials and the other things students learn start to stick. I was sitting in the 6-8th grade girls room during dinner and was enjoying conversations with various girls. I overheard Tabitha (new 6th grader to ILA) ask Mrs. Miriam if there were any ribs left. Mrs. Miriam informed Tabitha that if there were any left she was more than welcome to have them. Tabitha got up from her seat and went to check on the status of ribs, she returned with a little stack of what was left of the ribs. Right as Tabitha sat down next to Emilia she immediately offered all her ribs to her. Emilia was very hesitant at first but Tabitha insisted that she take the ribs! It was so fun to see this act of kindness coming from Tabitha.

As the 6-8th grade boys were searching the scriptures from the lesson on Sunday night I noticed a few boys having trouble finding the particular books of the bible and the verses. From across the room I noticed that Icky had his bible open to the correct verse, but he was staring at Se’vahn who was frantically flipping the pages of the bible in his lap. Icky suddenly got up walked across the room to Se’vahn and took the bible out of his hand and handed Se’vahn his bible. Icky then turned around and went back to his seat where he sat to find the scripture in the bible he had taken from Se’vahn. I was just so pleased to see that Icky did all of this on his own, Icky saw a need and met it.

Important Lessons on Understanding God's Unknown and Known Will

2009-08-31T19:57:00.004-05:00

I get very excited when I think about how much of a positive influence a person can have on young men and women. Figuring out God’s will for us is a question we will constantly be asking ourselves and ultimately Him. To learn the benefits and ways of seeking God’s will at a young age is vital to the beginning of a relationship with Christ.

Mr. Todd did a wonderful job of laying this out for discussion in the 6-8^th grade boys room on Sunday. I would like to share this model with all of you, I found it to be helpful to my own walk with God and the way it was talked about with the students I could tell they were getting it. As you know, a big part of City Impact’s curriculum is written with the intent to be in the word; I mean physically getting a bible and finding scripture to read. Here is the model I was talking about.

I. Figuring out Gods known will

2 Tim 2:23-24- Don’t Argue, Be kind

James 1:19-20,26- Slow to anger

I Thes 4:5-5- Purity

Col. 3:23-24- Work hard

II. Figuring our Gods unknown will

Rom 12:1-2 and James 4:7-8- Submission

Phil. 4:6-7- Pray

Proverbs 20:18- Advice

Proverbs 3:5-6- Trust

The students really seemed to be engaging Mr. Todd in conversations over this topic. Mr. Todd had the opportunity to discuss all the short phrases listed in God’s known will and God’s unknown will. All of the points Mr. Todd brought out of scripture are vital to each one of us in our walks with God.

I think it was wonderful that these boys were able to learn about why it is not good to argue, and how we should be slow to anger, and how important it is to work hard and keep ourselves pure. This lesson provided multiple opportunities for students to gain understanding of how they can best live according to Christ.

Social Justice Team Update

2009-08-27T17:51:00.003-05:00

As ILA was gearing back up, each leadership team did an activity to welcome new students to the teams and set the tone for the new year.

Mrs Miriam, the Leader for the Social Justice team, heard of an idea for an activity from another staff member. This idea came from an organization called “World Hunger” and it’s called a poverty simulation. A poverty simulation requires various people to participate in a dinner. Some of the people are treated to a fancy sit down meal, and the others are told to sit on the floor and eat rice and beans. After hearing about this, Mrs. Miriam thought she would do her own poverty simulation with desserts.

When the students arrived to Mrs. Miriam’s class room she asked for two volunteers to be team captains. After the two team captains were selected those captains selected their groups. There was 2 in one group and 3 in another group. Those two groups were then led into another room where they were presented with a beautiful spread of fancy bowls, ice cream, brownies, and lots of wonderful toppings! Team 1 was told to go over to the table and sit down and then Mrs. Miriam served the team their choice of ice cream and toppings. Team 2 stood by the door and watched as Team 1 was treated to dessert. Then, Team 2 was told to go sit on the floor and they were able to pick just one little animal cracker and eat it!

Mrs. Miriam said that they all sat there for 10 minutes and it was very awkward in the room and the students could definitely feel the tension. One student in particular, Cameron who was on the team of ice cream eaters, sat in what Mrs. Miriam described to be as pure agony. Mrs. Miriam said that Cameron had a look on his face like “ you are not going to make me eat this in front of people!” Finally, after sitting there not eating anything Cameron sighed and ate the ice cream. Mrs. Miriam explained to me that she did not say anything to the students while all this was going on, because she really wanted them to “feel” what was going on.

When their time was up they headed back into their classroom to discuss what was going on. Mrs. Miriam started asking questions as to what they felt about the situation they had just come from. Cameron said it was very awkward and said that he felt guilty and wanted to give his ice cream to those who did not have any. Diamond, who was on the team of animal cracker eaters, said that it was unfair that one team got to eat ice cream. Mrs. Miriam asked the team captains how they felt about the groups they chose. Donte felt good about picking the group that got to eat ice cream, but Dillon said he felt guilty for picking the group who only got to eat animal crackers.

Mrs. Miriam was able to talk to the students about how the decisions they make every day affect those around us. She also talked about how people in poverty must feel like those who ate just the animal crackers every day! She also had the opportunity to talk about unfairness and gave a definition of Social Justice as righting wrongs. She then went into introducing what Social justice would be looking like for the new year. Mrs. Miriam introduced 3 main points Now-looking at what is happening now, New- Gods perspective, and How- How we can live out Gods perspective.

Mrs. Miriam feels that it is very important to find practical things that these students can do to affect those around them. I could not have been more excited to get this story from Mrs. Miriam, I hope you are as touched as I was.

High School Girls Servant hood

2009-08-20T14:00:00.004-05:00

Last semester, the HS girls group had become very small in numbers. Most times, throughout the summer there would only be one student. More often than not I chose another class room to sit in on and therefore missed the opportunities to visit the High School girls’ room. I decided to make a goal for myself to visit the High School girls’ room when we came together again for our first ILA meeting at First Baptist Church.

I was so excited when I walked into the High School girls’ room on Sunday because I saw not just one but three students! In fact, there are 7 high school girls are the roster, but a few were unable to make it the first night! Mrs. Anna is also a new addition (not to City Impact) but to the High School girls’ classroom and will be co- teaching along with Mrs. Mollie.

As many of you readers know, City Impact places a good amount of importance in each student setting weekly impact goals. Impact Goals are ways the students can bless others during their week with God’s help and grace. On Sunday, Mrs. Anna began by talking about how this summer the Lord taught her a lot about having a servants heart, she stated that “sometimes no one notices your acts of service, but God does”.

Mrs. Anna went on to share with the girls a passage from the Bible in John 13 where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. She was able to relate a story from her trip to Costa Rica this summer; she talked about how no matter what kind of shoes you were wearing your feet would get dirty, very dirty! She also talked about how in Jesus’ time there would be servants at each home who would wash the feet of whoever would enter the house.

Mrs. Anna went back to the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and talked about what an ultimate act of service this was for Jesus our creator, the king over the entire universe; He stooped down and became a servant and washed the dirty feet of his disciples. All this to say, talking about this story lead into talking about Journals and how they are the students personal journey of how God is shaping them to be servants “you are learning how to wash the feet of others every week”.

I have heard that story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples many, many times, but never had I heard anyone describe so beautifully the act which Jesus did. Mrs. Anna really wanted to emphasize how important it is to think of their Journals as a spiritual endeavor, not just something they have to do.

After all the talking the girls dove right into writing their goals for the week. On Monday, Patty decided she would set her alarm and get up early enough to make Kiesha’s bed. Diamond said, that on Monday she was going to help out at home by cleaning and clearing out the living room and the bedrooms for a garage sale, she wanted to do this because her mom usually does all the cleaning and clearing out of things. Mercedez is going to rub her dad’s feet and back on Tuesday when he gets home from work because she knows after a long hard days work he will appreciate it.

I left that room that night with a new understanding of what Jesus has done for me.

Grand Opening

2009-08-18T08:30:00.001-05:00

Tuesday August 11 was marked down in City Impacts history as a very special day; a day which will change the ins and outs of how Bible Club and ILA program look.

For quite a few years, City Impact had the opportunity to host the Bible Club and ILA programming at Middle Cross Church (also known as Central Alliance). As we know, our plans are not always God’s plan and within the past year City Impact received news that they would no longer be able to use Middle Cross as their place for hosting Bible Club and ILA. After a long process of seeing where God was going to lead them in the search for a new building, God led us to First Baptist Church here in Lincoln.

On Tuesday August 11th, First Baptist opened up its doors and City Impact welcomed new and many old families to the Grand Opening. Being in the position I am at City Impact allows for me to just sit back and observe the flow of things, especially when events take place. This night was filled with tours of the student’s new classrooms, great food, and a live magician.

Mrs. Ashley had approached me a few days prior to the Grand Opening event and presented an idea, this idea would consist of me taking family photos of all the families who attended the Grand Opening that evening. I was so excited and agreed to do it. When the time came on Tuesday, I set up my backdrop stand and my tripod and began to snap away. Taking the pictures was such a great idea and we plan to give each family a copy of the photograph.

During the evenings activities I was able to observe many students and their families having a great time, it is truly a wonderful thing to witness first hand what God is doing through City Impact.

Committed- Zach & VaDoll

2009-08-06T15:18:00.004-05:00

Zach

VaDoll "V-Diddy"

I have been attending the ILA program meetings as an observer for a few months now and have been struck every time by how dedicated some of the students are to the ILA program. Particularly, I am speaking of two students Zach being one and VaDoll the other. Zach is an 8th grader in Mr. Todd’s classroom and VaDoll is a 9th grader in Mr. Ty & Adam’s room. The reason I am speaking of these two boys is because over the short period of time I have been with City Impact I have noticed dedication by these boys to attend not only the program on Sunday evenings, but also other activities which correspond with helping ILA.

For instance, one Sunday the philanthropy team (who is working towards raising enough money to build a playground for the children of the Friendship home) held a carwash from 12pm – 4pm. Both Zach and Vadoll, who are not even on the philanthropy leadership team, were at the car wash helping out their peers. I am talking about this because I noticed that even though they spent all afternoon outside working, they still chose to come to the evening program from 6-9pm! Then, they did the same thing again the next weekend!

This really made me take notice and these boys, so I did some investigating. You see, Zach and Vadoll come to ILA with Mrs. Precious (who is the reroute coordinator) and so I was just thinking that she made them come. I decided to find out from Precious what the truth was. After speaking with Mrs. Precious I found out that Zach and Vadoll have been involved with City Impact for the past 5 years and every bit of it has been important to them. I asked Mrs. Precious if Zach and VaDoll come because she encourages them to or by their own choice. I was informed that because City Impact means so much to them they are always willing to help out in whatever way possible to give back to City Impact. --Evian Schindler, Youth Program Communications Coordinator

ILA Love Languages

2009-08-04T15:22:00.003-05:00

Recently City Impact welcomed Tasha to the team as the new assessments coordinator, and I thought it was about time I stopped in to see how things were going in her department. Now, if you are like me you may not know exactly what the assessments coordinator does. As I began to speak with Tasha I couldn't have been more excited to learn about what she was currently assessing.

Currently, Tasha is working with students one-on-one and having them take a test from the book The five Love Languages of Teenagers by Gary Chapman. The test the students are taking helps them identify their top Love Languages and in turn helps us better fit the need of these students. Love Languages are ways the student feels cared about and valued. For Example, some students feel loved by receiving gifts, while others need a hug or high five, some feel special when someone serves them, or by simple words of encouragement.

After talking with Tasha a bit more about this test she pointed out that in most of the tests she has noticed that "acts of service" is in the top three of most students love languages. She went on to tell me that after the student takes the test, she spends time explaining to them what those love languages mean because she does not want the students to feel like they are just taking a test, but really feel like there is a reason behind it.

Tasha expressed to me that she feels as though a big part of the students ranking "acts of service" in their top three love languages has to do with their participation in ILA. Tasha plans to send a copy to all parents of students who have taken the test, because she feels it is important for them to know how they can better love their child. We also plan to distribute each student’s love languages to their ILA classroom & small group leaders.

Having read Gary Chapman's The five Love Languages myself I know how helpful it was to me to know what my love languages were, I think that is why I was so excited to see that City Impact was taking the time to assess the love languages of the students.

Writing Team- Learning to Give Godly Advice

2009-07-30T09:22:00.005-05:00

Update on the Writing Team

I had not yet had the opportunity to visit the writing team and so I made it a point to get in on their time on Sunday at ILA. Time and time again I am just blown away by the impact City Impact is having on these young men and women who attend the Impact Leadership Academy.

The writing team is working on practicing what to do when situations arise where they will have to give other teens advice. The time began with Mr. Mark (who is the writing team leader/teacher) giving the girls a little rundown of what they were going to be doing with their time that night. He began by asking if they remembered the article they had read the last time they had met and then went on to say they would be reading another article this week and then writing a letter to the author of the article, all in practice for their advice blog which these girls have created to help other teens.

The article is titled “Desperate to Fit In” and It is written by a young teenage girl named Colleen. After the article was passed out to everyone they took turns reading out loud. I want to give you a little taste as to what this article entails

Colleen is a young freshman girl who finds herself desperate to fit in, she begins the article by telling us how she does not know when everything started and then takes us back to a memory of sitting in a police car. Colleen becomes accustomed to drinking and she is a bulimic binger. When high school comes she really wants to fit in and meets a very popular girl Kathy who leads Colleen into a crowd she should not be in. The drinking and binging worsens and Colleen is caught by her parents when they find a wine bottle in her closet. A friend calls Colleen’s mother to tell her about Colleen throwing up all the time and then at her lowest point she is caught shop lifting. Colleen states that secretly she wanted to get caught, but she desperately wanted to fit in. She later states that the friend who called her mom did one of the best things she could have done for Colleen. When she hits her lowest point she makes some decisions for herself and finds that getting a new group of friends is a good idea. She finds a great group of Christian friends and finds they love her for who she is not who she tries to be. After recovering she is tempted again and falls into sin again. The article is ended by Colleen telling us that a few years have gone by and she is not interested in the party scene anymore.

At one point while reading the article Mr. Mark stopped the girls and asked them to think about cause and effect of the article, asked them to think about why she ends up the way she does. Mr. Mark also asked the girls to go back to a place in the article where Colleen talks about secretly wanting to get caught. The girls responded by saying that Colleen wanted to stop what she was doing but she knew she could not do it herself. When they were all finished reading Mr. Mark set a little scenario telling the girls that Colleen had written their blog asking for advice about her situation. He asked that the girls turn to a fresh page in their journals and begin writing a letter to Colleen.

After the girls were done writing the letters to Colleen they read them aloud. I was so touched by what each girl wrote that I want to share what all of them said.

Dear Colleen,

If these people you were hanging out with were really your friends they wouldn’t care how you act or they wouldn’t care if you choose not to drink or shop lift they would do their best to support your decision. I’ve been in your situation were some of my friends shop lift and my best friend moved away and I was desperate for new friends, I really wanted everyone to like me again so I began hanging out with the wrong people getting into fights and getting in trouble so I know how you feel when you need to make a decision that is best for you. Just stay with the right people or friends and keep your head high and don’t let those kids get to you.

CC

Dear Colleen,

I understand how you feel, fitting in is very important to some people, I have always wanted to fit in with the popular, cool, pretty girls. But really it gets tiring to do that cause people only need at least one person close who they can be their self around because that is their real friend. Drinking isn’t the answer it just makes things worse and having a eating disorder is common for people that think they are not thin enough. You just have to learn that not everyone can look the same. I just want you to understand that trying to fit in is normal just try and be yourself because if people cant accept you for who you are then they really wont be a good friend. Good Luck.

Ashlee

Dear Colleen,

If you don’t love yourself you really should and don’t let anyone take advantage of you because obviously you are hanging out with the wrong crowd and that’s okay because everybody does at one point in their life. You should be trusting God and believing that he can change your life because he has a plan for you.

TT

Mr. Mark encouraged the girls by telling them what they had done well and what they could improve. He encouraged them to remember to think of God while they are writing their advice.

I walked away from being with the writing team that night and was just so happy in my heart that these girls get to learn how to give other teens advice, and not only that they are learning what God thinks about them and by writing to others they are teaching themselves how to think of who they are. I began to think of how much I would have enjoyed something like this when I was a teenager. It is wonderful that these girls have the potential to impact lots of other teens. --Evian Schindler, youth Program Communications Coordinator

The Holy Ghost Dance!

2009-07-27T12:46:00.003-05:00

Sometimes it’s good to just have a little fun, and so that’s what we did on Sunday before ILA started.

This Sunday there were quite a few students (Tyree included) who arrived for ILA earlier than usual and because most everything has been packed up for the move to the new building there was not a whole lot to do. Mrs. Ashley suggested that the students go into the sanctuary and she would put on some music to listen to, and that’s what they did.

You see as I have told you all before Tyree is very passionate about rapping and he has had the privileged of recording a few of his songs, one of them being the “Holy Ghost Dance”.

It is very exciting to see how passionate Tyree is for writing songs about the word. Mrs. Ashley actually spoke with him about teaching all the students at ILA the “Holy Ghost Dance” and making that the ILA theme song! Mrs. Ashley wanted to learn this dance and Tyree agreed to teach her the “Holy Ghost” dance and before I knew it we were all joining in and learning the dance. This was a great opportunity for the students to come together and share Tyree’s passion for dancing and rapping. It was time to laugh and just have a bit of fun.

ILA Worship- Faith Obstacles

2009-07-20T13:45:00.004-05:00

As the theme of the study for the night was "Stepping out in Faith" Mrs. Ashley decided to do a demonstration of this and so an obstacle course was put together. Mrs. Ashley asked for a volunteer and all the boys eagerly raised their hands. Mrs. Ashley called on Zach and he came forward. She then told him to choose a partner, someone he trusts and he chose Ale. A blind fold was given to Ale and he was told to blindfold Zach, then he was given an egg on a spoon and told that Ale was to guide him through the obstacle course! Ale guided Zach very well because his egg never fell nor did it break!

Mrs. Ashley gave the girls a chance to participate and Emelia was chosen. Emelia was given the opportunity to choose a partner to guide her through and she chose Zach. Emelia was really thinking when she picked Zach, because he had just gone through the obstacle and would have a good idea as to what she would be facing. Emeila made it through the obstacle without any problems. Mrs. Ashley went on to ask Emelia if she thought it was easier to go trough the obstacle since she had watched Zach go through it and she said it was easier. This was a good illustration showing that if we allow God to he will guide us through the obstacles we face in our own lives.--Evian Schindler, Youth Program Communications Coordinator

ILA Impact Journal Entries

2009-07-14T10:02:00.002-05:00

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

"Yesterday when I went to Omaha we went to a restaurant and I ordered a cheeseburger and my sister ordered chicken but she thought she ordered what I got. So when the food came she was kinda mad so I let her have mine and I could have hers."--Cameron, 6-8th Boys Class

"Be kind to my sister and show her how much I love her (everyday this week) I let her watch the brat dolls in my room when I was watching a tv show already."--TT, 6-8th Girls Class

"My mamma had no one to help her move because we were moving into our new house. So I helped her and it made her happy because the outcome we got moved in and settled in quickly."--Ashlee, 6-8th Girls

"Friday I babysat all day then when I got home I babysat my little brother so my parents could go on a date."--Addy, 6-8th Girls

Check it Out!!

2009-07-08T14:29:00.002-05:00

“Spray for Play”
A Car Wash to benefit children at The Friendship Home
sponsored by City Impact’s Leadership Academy for teens

The Impact Leadership Academy’s Philanthropy Team is a group of urban teens making a positive impact in the Lincoln community. They generated an idea to raise money to create a playground for the children at The Friendship Home.

Come and support their efforts to help young children have a safe place to play!

For more information about City Impact or The Friendship Home,
visit www.cityimpact.org / www.friendshiphome.org

Date: Saturday, July 11th
Time: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Location: MiddleCross Church, 29th & O

Date: Sunday, July 19th
Time: 12:00pm-4:00pm
Location: Middle Cross Church, 29th & 'O' St.

Prayer Time- Jr. High Girls

2009-07-07T11:00:00.004-05:00

As the 6-8th grade girls were wrapping up their study time on Sunday, Mrs. Ashley asked that Miss Molly and Mrs. Julie lead the girls in a time of prayer. Unfortunately, the girls were not in the least bit happy to participate. I began to hear grumbling coming from the girls about how they did not want to do this. I then realized, that they were only grumbling because they were nervous and a little timid to pray outloud. Then, Miss Molly had the idea to use the prayer cards and what a HIT it was! The prayer cards can be held by each person during prayer and it gives small cues on what to say. They go through a round of praising God, repenting, and then asking for God’s help with something going on in life.

With little hesitation the cards were passed out and they began to pray prayers of praise. Radious praised god for listening when she talks, Emeilia praised God for creating the earth and all the wonderful people in it, Jaszmine praised God for loving her, and Jessica praised God for being strong, loving her and being king.

Next the girls asked for forgiveness through prayer, and most of their prayers consisted of asking for forgiveness for not obeying their parents and being unkind to others.

The last round of prayer was so sweet to me. When Jazmine prayed for her grandmother who is ill in the hospital, Jessica followed by praying for a problem in her life and then she prayed again for Jazmine’s grandmother! It was so beautiful to see Jessica pick up on the fact that it was important to Jazmine to pray for her grandmother and Jessica showed she cared by also praying for her.

By the end of prayer time all the girls were so excited and could not stop talking about how much better prayer time was using the prayer cards. I found that the girls are more than happy to pray they just need a little help sometimes.--Evian Schindler, Program Communications Coordinator

Stepping out in Faith

2009-07-06T14:15:00.002-05:00

We had a smaller group at ILA last night, so some of the classes joined forces. I am continually amazed at the level of participation each student shows, and in this case I am speaking of the 6th-8th grade and High School boys.

The bible lesson was about stepping out in faith, and the scripture referenced was in Matthew chapter 14 starting with verses 22. This part of the chapter is where Jesus walks on water towards the boat of disciples during a storm and asks Peter to join him on the water.

The High School boys joined Mr. Todd and the 6-8th graders to discuss and go through the lesson. Mr. Todd stated that he would like to go around the circle and read aloud the verses from Matthew; with no hesitation Zach started them off. It may seem like such a small thing that the boys read aloud the verses, but you see there was no complaining and no rolling of the eyes and no shrugging of the shoulders they just did what they were asked. The kids who remain faithful to coming to ILA are learning very important life skills, like doing something the first time you are asked and not complaining.

After the verses were read Mr. Todd did some explaining as to what the story meant and then invited everyone to join in a discussion. Mr. Todd asked the boys to say what they would have done if they had been Peter and were asked to walk on the water. VaDoll was pretty confident and said he would have stepped out of the boat, Zach asked if they knew how to swim and then he said he maybe would, and Cameron said he would have stayed in the boat. When it cam time for TJ to answer he hesitated a few minutes and then asked “would it be bad to think about it?” What a great question! What I gathered from TJ asking this question was that he wanted to know if Jesus thought it was bad to think about what decision to make. TJ was expressing his thoughts and I was tickled to see the wheels in his mind turning.

To me it was a step of faith for TJ to ask a question like he did. It also gave Mr. Todd an opportunity to do further teaching on the subject. Mr. Todd gave the other boys in the group a chance to say what they thought of TJ’s question. Then, Mr. Todd ended by sharing some words of wisdom. He said that the best way to answer what we would do then is to look at our lives now. How wonderful it was to see the boys taking a story from back then and using it to relate to life for them today. --Evian Schindler, Program Communications Coordinator

Setting a Strong Foundation

2009-06-23T13:35:00.004-05:00

One Sunday night the ILA Bible study focused on setting a strong foundation. The story the students discussed was about the wise man who built his house upon the rock. If you have not heard the story before, you would not know that it is not just a story about a wise man who built his house upon the rock. It also talks about the foolish man who built his house on the sand.

24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27.

The girls were asked to say what they thought the words house, rock, sand, and rain/wind, symbolized. Addy an 8th grader jumped at the chance to answer and quickly raised her hand. Addy said that the house symbolized us. Next Jessica raised her hand and added that the Rock symbolized Jesus. Addy raised her hand and answered the last two, she said that the sand was a symbol of the world and Satan and the rain/wind was a symbol of the trials in our life.

Later, I had the opportunity to speak a bit more in depth with Addy. I asked her if she would tell me more about what she thought of the story from the study. She told me she has heard the story many times, but this time she began to think more and more about the choice. What she meant by the “choice” was what foundation she was going to build her houses on; the rock or the sand. Addy said that she believes our houses would be “so much better if we choose to build them on the rock, but either way we will have trials”. --Evian Schindler, Communications Coordinator

Social Justice Team Update

2009-06-18T08:54:00.003-05:00

It was my second time sitting in on a Leadership team session and this time it was the Social Justice team. Can I just say “wow”; I was thoroughly impressed with how attentively the students sat and how well they participated with such a sensitive and intense subject.

This year the Social Justice team is passionate about reaching out to those affected by HIV and Aids, mainly those in other countries. They are exhausting all options to help and have been doing some research to find out exactly what they can do to best help.

On Sunday Mrs. Miriam who is the Social Justice Team leader began by asking the students “what are things you can get done in a minute?”, Kenneth then volunteered to write all the things they thought of on the board. After the students were finished with the exercise Mrs. Miriam told the students a striking fact, she said that “every minute 4 children are orphaned by parents who die from HIV or Aids”. The students were just amazed at this statistic and began to ask questions. One in particular I found to be heart warming was when Jessica said “you mean even when I breath while I sleep?”. After some questions and answers Mrs. Miriam asked for a volunteer to read out of Matthew 25 verses 31-46. Jessica began by reading the verses and then passed the Bible on to Diamond for her to finish. After Diamond read a few verses she stopped and said “I don’t get it!” she continued to read and became more and more intrigued, when she was finished the said “Oh! Now I get it!”. Out of this section of verses the one mainly talked about by Mrs. Miriam was this (40"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.') Diamond was very struck by these words, and you could tell she really understood what Jesus was talking about.

They all went on to discuss what Jesus talks about in the Bible about how important it is to care for the poor. Mrs. Miriam read everyone a story that she got from world vision. I just cant tell you enough how attentively the kids sat and how intrigued they were by everything that was talked about. You can really see this passion for those affected by Aids/HIV is coming from their hearts.

The question which was asked a few weeks ago was this “What can you your family and this group do to care for those affected by Aids and HIV?” After more discussion about this question Mrs. Miriam and the group decided they would be using World Vision to head up their project. The Social Justice team decided to go with a care giver kit, these kits go to Africa, Asia, and Latin America to assist those with Aids and HIV. After some more brainstorming they decided they would be hosting a “care giver kit” event to raise the money needed to purchase the kits. Soon the Social Justice Team will be putting together a presentation of their efforts and presenting it to the ILA as a whole. Also they would like to plan an event for everyone in ILA to help put the kits together. Again I will say that seeing young teens having a passion for what God wants us to do is so amazing to see. --Evian Schindler, Program Communications Coordinator

ILA Students represent at "Ribs for Kids"

2009-06-16T11:54:00.001-05:00

ILA was a little different this week because we had the opportunity to go to Holmes Lake to eat some yummy ribs at the “Ribs for Kids” event that was put on by Phat Jacks of Lincoln (a very delicious BBQ place)! The meaning of my story is not to tell you how wonderful the ribs were or how much fun it was to go as a group to eat them; I want to share with you the way our group (ILA students) presented themselves.

Let me just start by saying it was so wonderful to go on a public outing with a well behaved group of 6th-12th grade students. From my short time of observing I know that it would not be stretching the truth to say that a big part of the reason these students acted this way was because of the commitment they have made to become leaders at the ILA and beyond.

During worship Mr. Todd got up in front of all the students to tell them how proud he was of the way they acted at the “Ribs for Kids” event. He followed by telling them a story about his family and an experience they had at a park just recently. You see Mr. Todd and his family was at a park last week and while they were there a group of teenage kids came onto the playground where all the little kids were playing and “took over” the playground. Mr. Todd explained the teenagers were very rude and mean to all the young children. The teens were only thinking about themselves and eventually all the young children left the park. Mr. Todd went on to say how nice it was to see the ILA students not only having fun at the park, but engaging with the other children on the playground and showing respect the other children who were playing. The ILA students actually started a huge game of tag and included all the little kids on the playground!

The Bible Lesson at ILA on Sunday was about being obedient to God in everything we do. Mr. Todd reiterated the fact that the students were living out their faith in obedience at the “Ribs for Kids” event. Mr. Todd was not the only one who noticed how awesome the students were because they were thanked by many others that night. How wonderful to be with a group of well behaved students in public. I would go anywhere with them!

Meet Radious

2009-06-15T12:52:00.003-05:00

Never have I met a sweeter young woman than Radious Walker-Woods. Radious is a 6th grader who attends the City Impact ILA program on Sunday nights and also volunteers as the GFG manager, on the kitchen crew, and as a worship leader for Bible Club on Tuesdays. I had the privilege of spending some time with Radious on Sunday, I wanted to find out what brought her to City Impact and why she had chosen to be a part of the speaking team.

Radious shared with me that when she was a 1st grader she was always wondering where her cousin Jocelyn was going on Tuesday nights, and come to find out she was attending City Impact’s Bible Club. Radious was interested in doing the same and she started coming to Bible Club. Around the time Radious started coming to Bible Club her family stopped going to church and Radious said that “this (City Impact) is basically my church”, and I get to learn about God.

Like I said in the beginning Radious is a volunteer for Bible Club on Tuesday nights and she shared with me that one of her favorite things is worship “cause its Hype on Bible Club days” those words straight from her mouth, not mine!

This year as Radious is a part of City Impact’s ILA program. She has taken an interest in public speaking and is on the speaking team. Radious likes to speak in front of people she does not know, she says it is easier that way. Radious had the opportunity to speak publicly about City Impact to a group of people she did not know, but she came to find out afterwards that one of her teachers from school was there. Her teacher came up and talked to her, and Radious told me that she probably would not have spoken had she known someone she knew was there. Currently in her speaking team at ILA the students are learning how to write persuasive speeches. Radious has enjoyed writing her persuasive speech; she has said that one of the hardest parts about the speaking team is that she has to share her speech in front of her classmates! Although it is hard for Radious she told me she feels as though it is preparing her for future speaking opportunities she may have.

Rap Lyrics inspired by The Word

2009-06-08T12:43:00.002-05:00

As many may already know, Tyree Murrell who is a 9th grader here at City Impact is very passionate about music; particularly rapping. In fact, Tyree writes the lyrics himself and then raps them! Tyree does not rap about just anything his raps are inspired by God’s word.

At ILA on Sunday before starting in on study time, I caught Mr. Ty and Tyree in an exciting conversation. Mr. Ty, who is Tyree’s ILA teacher, was asking Tyree where he gets the ideas for the lyrics of his songs. Tyree began to tell him that he reads the Bible while listening to music and from there he is inspired to write lyrics. Mr. Ty began to tell Tyree about the sermon he heard earlier that morning at church. The sermon was based off of Psalm 76. After talking a few minutes about the sermon, Tyree quickly informed Mr. Ty that he had been in that same church service that very morning! Mr. Ty started sharing the notes he wrote during the service with Tyree. You should have seen how excited Tyree got when he told Mr. Ty that his notes had a rhyme! Tyree went crazy, he was so excited and took the notebook from Mr. Ty and began to read them over again, he was so intrigued and knew immediately he would be able to make a song out of his teacher’s notes.

When Mr. Ty sat in church Sunday morning he didn’t know Tyree was also there, nor did he know that the notes he was taking would impact Tyree later on that evening at ILA. Tyree was so excited talking about the new lyrics he was going to use for his new song, he was even able to come up with a beat! Mr. Ty looked at Tyree and said “God must really want this to be a song.”

HS Boys leading by example

2009-06-05T14:59:00.002-05:00

This Tuesday, the City Impact BBQ got moved into the gym and the church because of the rain earlier in the day. This called for relatively large set up of tables and chairs and a fair amount of flexibility for all involved. It turned out to be a beautiful evening of community as everyone came together for a great evening of fun and fellowship. It was a joy to see the great attitudes as this little dose of “change” was introduced. The City Impact “body” is learning to adapt to change very well and the great attitudes and servant-leadership of the High School Boys from ILA is definitely a component of that. VaDoll, Tyree and TJ have gone from helping when asked (with a good attitude) which is good, to stepping up and looking for ways to help (not expecting anything in return) which is GREAT! From helping out with the younger kids to helping clean up after the event these young men are stretching their leadership skills. They have been a model of consistency, attending nearly every week, developing a bond with each other and the Lord that will be a great source of strength to them as they continue to assume roles of leadership both here in ILA and beyond.
-Ty Westover, 9-12th Boys Classroom Leader

6-8th Boys make an Impact

2009-06-04T09:00:00.002-05:00

What is something you can do this week, with God’s help, to show sacrificial love and kindness?

According to Mr. Todd, who is the 6-8th grade boys leader, an Impact Goal is not something you are NOT going to do, but something you ARE going to do. Cameron shared that not fighting with his sister was a goal of his for the week. (don't get us wrong that is a good goal, just not exactly what we're going for) Very kindly, Mr. Todd explained that his goal did not fall into the guidelines for an impact goal and he was asked to come up with another goal. Here are some examples of the goals shared around the circle… Matt decided he would find a time to help his mom out by babysitting his 3 year old sister. Zach said he was going to use the knowledge he has and pass it along to his friend by helping a friend study for the CRT’s. Ale said he was going to be more aware of the things his mother does for him and make it a point to say thank you to her more often. As the circle made its way back to Cameron he stated he would help his sister clean her room this week.

It is so wonderful to see young men expressing care for others by acts of kindness. This week at ILA the 6-8th grade boys shared how they had shown kindness by their actions last week. Zach helped his grandmother (who is in a wheelchair) at the store by pushing the cart; he also helped her get her wheelchair in and out of the car. Ale helped a dear friend cope with the loss of her father by talking to her and trying to take her mind off of things, he said he was just “there for her”. Cameron helped his dad fix the car breaks by bringing his dad the tools necessary to fix the breaks. Matt helped his mother by weeding the garden and watering the plants. God calls us to serve one another and hearing how these boys helped was very encouraging.

ILA Teen Volunteers Reflect

2009-06-02T09:37:00.003-05:00

My Favorite thing this past year of volunteering at City Impact is….

“When we had the Black History Celebration and my class decided to do thank you cards and write letters to Ruby Bridges. Mrs. Anna read us the story about her and we made letter and a big poster board for her. We decorated it with pictures and drawings that we made.” –C.C. (C.C. is a small group leader with the 3rd graders)

“When Isaiah ate some HOT chips and said they weren’t hot, but when he got done with them he popped up off the floor and asked me could he get a drink. I said yes, because I know the chips was HOT!- Tyree (Isaiah is one of the 2nd graders in Tyree’s room)

“Another one of my favorite memories is when one of the little students from City Impact came up to me and told me he really liked my songs and wanted me to perform the songs again so he could learn them” –Tyree (Tyree writes and performs Christian Rap music and the kids really look up to him for creating worship they can relate to!)

“My favorite memory is when I got to take all the kids in my classroom out into the gym and we played a game. It was very fun and it was nice to know that I was making them have fun!” –T.T. (1st grade small group leader)

“My favorite memory in the past year at City Impact is that the kitchen makes me feel like I can help and I’m not just a little teenager. I love counting the little kids, helping others, delivering their food and seeing their faces.” –Radious (Worship Team, GFG Store Manager and Kitchen Crew)

“My other experience is worship. Just seeing how us worshiping influences [the kids] to get hype and sing for Jesus. When they pray they just give love to God. I love singing and worshiping for God!” –Radious

Teen Volunteer-- Mercedez's favorite memory

2009-05-21T10:16:00.001-05:00

My favorite memory from this past year of volunteering at City Impact is learning how to send kids to reroute (where kids go to work out behavior issues and take personal responsibility for their actions). I know it sounds mean, but I do it because I love her, and by her I mean Katherine. I don’t want to pick favorites, cuz I love them all the same, but Katherine is my fav. I love her so much.

One day I had to give her 2 warnings because she wasn’t following directions and she kept on not listening. So I had to send her out of class to reroute. It was very hard for me for me because I used to be just like her. About 2 years ago when Mrs. Ashley first started at CI she sent me to reroute all the time. Oh my gosh, I hated it! But now I see why she did it, because she loves me and now I have a great relationship with her. I shared that with Katherine and she loved my story and then she willingly went to reroute for me with no problems.

Praying for Others

2009-05-15T10:42:00.002-05:00

Sunday evening at ILA, Erica (6-8th grade Classroom Leader) decided to mix up the normal routine schedule. Instead of beginning the night with stamps, goals, and journals, Erica asked the girls to look at a map of the world and pick a number. One of the students chose a number and Erica turned to the map to see that the number picked was located on Asia. Erica explained the importance of praying for people around the country even though we don’t know or see them. So, the 6-8th grade girls classroom spent time praying for the country of Asia and the people who reside there. They prayed that God would come into their lives, protect them and strengthen their faith. Erica used an excellent example to teach the junior high girls how to pray for others rather than only your personal wants and needs.

Addison's Story

2009-05-08T15:04:00.002-05:00

Seven years ago, City Impact welcomed Addison into the Bible Club program. Addison enrolled in Bible Club when she was in first grade and she has enjoyed her years spent with City Impact as she continues to grow in her faith and evolve into an exceptional young lady .
Some of Addison’s favorite Bible Club and ILA memories consist of game time and summer activities. She stills remembers a valuable lesson she learned at Bible Club back in 1st grade. The lesson was about the story of Adam and Eve. For game time, the 1st graders were asked to just look, but not eat, out of the giant bowl of yummy candy that lingered within close reach. Just as Adam and Eve were instructed by God not to eat any of the fruit of the tree in the Garden of Eden, Addison and her peers were told not to eat the candy. That night at Bible Club the students learned a valuable lesson. God wants His people to obey His word and resist temptations from Satan. Addison still reflects on this lesson seven years later. In addition, Addison also shared that City Impact has helped her understand how praying is like a personal conversation with God and it really does work.
Not only have the lessons and prayer impacted Addison’s life, so have many of her classroom leaders. During an interview with Addison, she expressed her love for the classroom leaders she has been blessed with while involved at City Impact. The following have ministered to Addison during her walk with Christ at City Impact: Wanda, Ashley, Miriam, and Erica.
Recently, Addison has been blessed with the opportunity to spend extra devotional time outside of club with one of her role models. Erica, the 6-8th grade girls leader, has a vibrant compassion to share the Lord’s unconditional love with her students. Addison and Erica meet outside of ILA nearly once a week to spend time in the scriptures together. Addison shared how grateful she was that Erica has helped her grow in her relationship with God. They discuss how God sent Jesus to die for their sins and community reach out opportunities. In addition, City Impact is blessed to have Erica take extra time outside of club to build a one-on-one relationship with Addison. This has been an amazing opportunity for Addison to grow in her faith and have a positive role model to look up to.
One way Addison has used her faith to reach out is through her peers. Addison and one of her close friends call each other and share prayer request two to three times a week. It is such a blessing to watch Addison grow and strengthen her faith with the Lord. We pray that Addison stays strong and continues to share her faith with the people around her.

"Gifts from God" Youth Store

2009-04-30T11:59:00.005-05:00

One unique aspect of City Impact’s Bible Club & Impact Leadership Academy is our youth store. The youth store is a way for CI students to be rewarded for positive decisions they make. This year the store was revamped slightly to reflect our passion for authentic youth leadership and youth voice!

To start this renovation project, we had to figure out what our students wanted to call the store. Therefore, we had a program wide brainstorming process, where all students from 1st-12th grade submitted their ideas for a store name. Then, our Teen Directional Team narrowed all the ideas to their top 5, and made ballots for CI Students to vote! The Votes came in and overwhelming the CI Students decided to name their store, The GFG (Gifts from God.)

After deciding on a name, we had to find the right management team! Again, we thought, “Who better to run this store, than the young people themselves?!” We didn’t have to look far to find two teen girls, who have the perfect set of skills to run The GFG! GFG Managers Radious & Patty got to work right away; familiarizing themselves with the set up, clean-up, & cashier procedures for the store. They are even in charge of doing a brief orientation with each Bible Club class that shops; explaining the rules and expectations of the store and helping the younger kids pick out items they can afford.

It has been a big time highlight watching these two ILA girls take pride in their manager positions and seeing them run our awesome GFG Youth Store. Radious has really enjoyed taking over the casher and check-out routine during Bible Club and Patty does an excellent job assisting the kids with their shopping and making sure they follow the rules! Our GFG Managers have special strengths that really complement each other and make them a great fit for this project! Our Bible Club kids have loved the benefits of shopping too and seem to look up to their store managers. I’ve witness our BC kids take the GFG rules seriously when they see how important Patty and Radious take them!

The GFG Vision Statement:

To provide, a positive and rewarding incentive program, where City Impact youth will be affirmed for attendance, personal bible study, and additional impact journals. The youth store will be managed by a group of ILA teens to promote ownership and an authentic leadership opportunity.

T.T.- Youth Leader

2009-04-28T13:18:00.004-05:00

Here at City Impact, we encourage our ILA students to volunteer at the Bible Club program. Not only are these special teen volunteers coming to ILA on Sunday nights, but these teens also dedicate their Tuesday nights as small group leaders for grades 1 through 5. This provides our teens with extended fellowship, a great leadership opportunity, and a positive & supportive environment.

The following is an example of God’s amazing love working through a teen volunteer (written by the classroom leader):

“T.T., our junior high helper, is doing great! Tonight, she volunteered to read a book to the kids and she smiled the whole time. She also stopped to tell the kids how she knew God loved her. It was so fun to watch.” – Jami, 1st Grade Classroom Leader

ILA Mission
Teens using their God-given strengths to make a difference in the world!

Speaking Team Update

2009-04-09T12:32:00.002-05:00

The last couple weeks the speaking team has been watching “The Great Debaters.” They learned of the preparation and research it takes to prepare an effective argument as well as the skill it takes to present that argument in a persuasive way. At the conclusion of the movie, we asked the team members to stand and give an impromptu speech about what they had done in the last week. That way it was not something they had to memorize, but it was interesting and engaging. It was a joy to watch because at different times during each young person’s talk there was a moment when they relaxed to the point of real communication. Usually, that happened when it was apparent that they had engaged their audience. It is so exciting to see the vast potential that God has gifted these young people with and I can not wait to see how He will use their gifts for His glory!
--Ty Westover, Speaking Team Assistant

Social Justice Team Update

2009-04-03T08:50:00.004-05:00

We just began studying a new social justice issue- AIDS. One night we played a game to reveal all of the staggering statistics associated with AIDS in Africa. At the end we spent a significant amount of time discussing these heartbreaking statistics and how they made us feel. Most of the youth were saying how sad they felt or confused that such pain and suffering existed.

Each time we introduce a new social issue to the group it visibly impacts our team’s hearts. You can just see it on their faces. On the social justice team, our students get look outside themselves and their personal circumstances and they reflect on injustices happening around the world. It is really cool seeing their compassion for others intensify every week as their awareness grows.

One young woman raised her hand during our AIDS lesson and said, “Miss Miriam, I feel like I’m in school because I’m learning so much, but they don’t teach us things like this in school. You real! You make it interesting. You make me want to learn more!” I was shocked. There are times when I wonder if the issues we study really are reaching these youth. For this young woman, I know they do.
--Miriam Heider, Social Justice Coordinator

Life Application

2009-04-02T14:39:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago I just felt I had the opportunity to see God at work in a young woman’s life. After we finished writing journals, I asked if I could look over what they’d written and one of them stood out. In the past week a tragic event had happened in the life of one of our teen’s friends; her mother had died. I was moved by our teen’s actions in response to her friend’s pain and suffering. Recently, we had read the story of Job, emphasizing how his friends initially came just to sit and pray with him while he was in pain and sadness. They would just come and be with him through his suffering. Similarly, our teen did not attempt to tell her friend she understood the situation, but instead she just sat and prayed. She mourned and cried with her, acting exactly like she felt a friend should.
--Libby, 6-8th grade girls Small Group Leader

Crystal's Impact

2009-03-31T10:08:00.003-05:00

Crystal has a very special place in my heart and a permanent place in the City Impact family. It has been exceptionally moving for me to see the Lord transform her from the inside out over the last two years. I have been in the ministry field now for only a couple years, and the beautiful changes I have seen in Crystal are rare. I’m starting to learn that often times, our only job is to plant the seed. Often, we do not get to necessarily reap the harvest or see the fruit.I have had the honor and privilege to see the Lord start a wonderful work in this young girl.

Last fall I was teaching the 6-8th grade girls class at Teen Bible Club. One of the students was Crystal. I hadn’t gotten to know her too well; the only encounter I had with her was a few weeks earlier at KAA camp. I knew she was pretty tough. She wasn’t the type of girl who trusted people easily and she worked hard to give the impression that she didn’t care. It seemed like Crystal wasn’t interested in doing any of the things we prepared for the class; bible studies, impact journals, small group prayer… She often refused to participate and would disrupt or distract the class by laughing at people or interrupting. After about 2 months of sending Crystal to reroute constantly, we had to have a meeting with her and her mom. It just seemed like Crystal did not want to be a Teen Bible Club, and she was hindering the growth of others. That was a difficult meeting, it is never easy to let a student go, but God’s grace is sufficient and I knew He was in control.

After that meeting, Crystal did make the decision that she didn’t want to be at Teen Bible Club. Her younger sister, Cebesha, kept coming to Bible Club and we were able to keep up on Crystal through Cebesha. We were even able to send messages and stamps for Crystal home with her. One night, when Cebesha got dropped off for Bible Club, Crystal came with her. Crystal was still acting tough, but she hung around most of the night. Eventually, she helped in the Pre/K classroom. That evening was the start of a new chapter in Crystal’s life. Every week following Crystal would shuffle in with Cebesha. She never had much to say, but she would quietly walk Cebesha to class and hang around and assist the leaders in that room. Each week I would check in to see how Crystal was doing, and I would get rave reviews about how much help she’d been.

I began to observe Crystal every once and awhile; she was helping pre/k students with projects and she assisted teachers with behavior management even! It really bothered Crystal when students didn’t listen or when they were talking in line. Right before my eyes Crystal began to bloom as a leader. As often as possible, we would affirm Crystal for the great job she was doing. It was so cute watching the words of encouragement melt her tough exterior! At dinner, Crystal would come upstairs and eat with the part-time staff sometimes and we really started to connect. She would laugh and she’d tell stories about the pre/k kids with so much pride.

After serving at Bible Club for a few months, Crystal was anxious to come back to Teen Bible Club. The change in her attitude that first night back was incredible. She was engaged in the bible study and she wrote some neat journal entries. It was funny because she always said she didn’t want to share her journals, but almost each week she would shoot her hand in the air to share at the last minute!

For over a year now, Crystal has played a huge leadership role at both the Impact Leadership Academy and Bible Club. The Lord has continued the work He started in her every single day, and the changes are visible. This week, Crystal and her family are moving to Mississippi and it was a very emotional night at ILA. Crystal was presented with a new teen Study Bible, and while she was extremely sad to move away from her CI family, she was anxious to get into The Word. It was touching to hear her talk with another student about how she was going to start with Matthew! Our God is so good and I’m anticipating great things from the Jesus in Crystal!

Please lift Crystal and her family up this week as they settle in and adjust to a new home.

--Ashley Larson, BC/ILA Director

2009-03-31T10:03:00.002-05:00

It was so hard to tell Crystal goodbye and to imagine what our classroom will be like without her, but I know we are all excited to see the plans God has for her. Not only does Crystal have beautiful hand writing, but she has such a beautiful heart for serving the Lord. It really felt like we were a family at Crystal’s good-bye party as we cried and laughed, and most importantly surrounded her with prayer. It is so comforting to know God has perfectly orchestrated each detail in our story- the good parts and the hard parts- all for his glory.
--Michaela, Small Group Leader (6-8th girls)

Writing Team

2009-03-26T12:47:00.002-05:00

“Did Jesus really tell us to turn the other cheek?” That was a question that was asked by one the girls on the writing team a couple weeks ago. That question led to a very interesting discussion and an examination of God’s Word.

Well, after a month or two thinking and dreaming about a project that these girls could do to showcase their writing talents, they decided that there were a lot of teens they knew that needed some guidance. They said that people their age dealt with many issues, like: relationships, family issues, school issues, and even battles with drugs and alcohol. After doing some research and discovery the girls made up their minds to make a Web page where kids their age can go for advice. It is brilliant really. Their dream is that students email their problems and they get a response posted on the website that other kids can read. They really wanted their writing to help people which is awesome to see.

A couple of weeks ago, we were talking about what kind of advice we would give if someone had a real problem. I asked the girls where they go if they need help or advice. Most of them said, “a friend” or “my mom”. But, I wanted them to see what God says about wisdom, so we opened up to Proverbs and read about Solomon and his quest for wisdom. Then I had the girls write a response to a problem that I had written. However, I told them that it was important to give godly advice, not worldly advice. The girls gave some good responses. Because the problem had to do with a friend disrespecting another friend, we turned to the New Testament where Jesus is teaching his followers to “turn the other cheek”. You should have seen the looks on those girls’ faces. They were floored. “So he would just let them hit him again?!?” They could not believe how Jesus was asking us to respond. We talked about how God’s kingdom is upside down from how the world works. I’m sure that them understanding that and living that out is a process, but I felt like they took an important step.

In the weeks ahead we will start putting the website together and the girls are really excited about it, but I pray that as they give advice to their peers that it would be motivation to find real wisdom.

--Mark Larson, Writing Team Coordinator

Cecily's Family

2009-03-24T08:59:00.002-05:00

During November, City Impact volunteers, families, students, and staff set out on a mission to bring more of Lincoln’s urban youth into the Impact Leadership Academy and Bible Club programs provided by City Impact. This canvassing event encouraged new families within the City Impact’s target neighborhoods to come and join the fellow City Impact families in food and fellowship at a Worship Party planned by ILA teens.
God blessed City Impact the following Sunday night with some new faces that were reached through the canvassing event. Through God’s amazing grace, City Impact has been able to reach out and provide a safe learning environment for one special family. This particular family heard about City Impact through the canvassing event. Having only heard slightly about God, Cecily, the oldest daughter, and her mother decided to attend the Worship Party. Cecily quickly made friends with two of City Impact’s ILA students, Addison and Radius. The following week, Cecily and her three younger brothers were enrolled in the ILA and Bible Club programs. In addition, Cecily began to volunteer in the 5th grade classroom for Bible Club, while her mother attended the Women’s Bible Study!
Each week Cecily and her brothers look forward to coming to ILA and Bible Club. She expressed that City Impact is a good escape from everyday real-life problems. Cecily enjoys being a volunteer because it encourages her to be a better role model. In her own words, “It is cool that I am getting closer to God.”
During a recent interview with Cecily, she explained how coming to the City Impact programs have helped her and her family build a stronger relationship with God. She has also been blessed with new friendships among other Christian teens. Like many families, Cecily’s family has their struggles too. Cecily explained that if she continues to pray and grow in her relationship with God, she knows God will help her family through the rough times. Ever since Cecily’s family has been attending the City Impact programs her family has become closer. She even reads Bible verses over the telephone with her father.
Cecily is a great example of the resiliency that can happen when you live for the Lord! Though her circumstances are not ideal, she is coming to believe that the Lord is her rock and her refugee. It shows in her positive attitude and faithfulness. She is also learning at the ILA that she is capable of showing Christ’s amazing love and kindness to others, no matter what she herself may be experiencing. Cecily has a beautiful heart and is weekly deciding to use her gifts and talents selflessly for the kingdom.
Please lift Cecily and her family up in your prayers today; specifically that her father will get out of jail and be reunited with the family soon. And that he experiences spiritual growth during his time away.

Addy's Journal

2009-03-10T11:07:00.003-05:00

Addison, an ILA student, shared aloud her journal entry with her peers one evening at ILA. Addison wrote about a friend of hers who has a disability. Addison shared that her disabled friend enjoys coming to her house after school to hang out. She explained that sometimes when she gets home from school, she just wants to do homework and relax. Instead, Addison puts her priorities aside. She listens, encourages and plays cards with her friend. Addison told her peers that her friend who has the disability constantly “thanks” her for listening and showing her love unlike many other friends their age.

This week’s lesson was about peer pressure. It focused on the story of Job. Do you remember when Satan tried to tempt Job, but Job stayed faithful to God? Erica, the 6-8th Grade Girls Classroom Leader, related the story of Job to the girls lives and friendships they have. Erica explains the best way to help a friend when he/she is tempted, is to tell them that God will take care of everything if you put your trust in Him.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.Delight yourself in the Lord,and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;trust in him, and he will act.He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,and your justice as the noonday.
—Psalm 37:3-6

The follow is a journal entry written by Addison:

February 8th, 2009

A way I showed sacrificial love was when my friend came over. She has a disability and her family and friends always picture her lower, and don’t really pay attention to her. She comes over alot wanting play and talk to me for half an hour. Then we played cards. It was great to make her smile and tell her that I care about her!
-Addison, ILA 6-8th Grade Girls

Black History Celebration

2009-03-05T13:48:00.007-06:00

Last week, City Impact Hosted our annual Black History Celebration. This year the theme was "Young African American Heroes" and it was so cool seeing our very own young heroes from the ILA put on this great event! City Impact parents & teens volunteered their time and talent in planning the event this year, and every aspect reflected their creative ideas and unique projects.

One idea the committee came up with was to have a costume parade that payed tribute to some young Black heroes from our histroy. Therefore CI teens and kids dressed up like Ruby Bridges, The Little Rock Nine, James Lawson, The 16th Street Bombing Victims, Frederick Douglas, and Henrietta Bell Wells, while ILA Speaking team members read 1st person narrative about each person. And, the narratives were actually written by our ILA Writing team members!

A few ILA teens also shared their talents during the program! One teen girl was the emcee, a teen boy did a hype drum performance, and one teen boy and his kid brother wrote and performed a rap song! We also had a few of our teens invite their faith-based step team to perform at our event! And if that wasn't enough involvement of our ILA teens, the entire ILA group led the National Black Anthem with their parents and community!

The sky is the limit when you cultivate and engage teen and parent involvement! This event was richer and more powerful because of their hardwork and willingness to share their talents!

6-8th Boys Stamp

2009-02-17T10:57:00.004-06:00

Cameron,

You are an impressive young man. I love hearing your goals and stories about how you serve your family.
-Mr. Todd

Stamp

2009-02-10T12:34:00.004-06:00

To: Cecilya

Hey!!! Haven’t really got the time to say “Hey”. I am really glad that you joined ILA. You are a very smart, pretty and creative girl. So just holla if you need anything. Bahbye.
- Ashlee, ILA

6-8th Girls Sleepover

2009-02-06T13:57:00.002-06:00

The first week in January, I had a sleepover at my house for all of the middle school girls. We played games, shared stories, watched movies, did hair and makeup, had a dance party, and had a Bible study/discussion. The point of the Bible study/discussion was to get a more solid feel for where the girls were at spiritually and get a sense for what they understand about the Bible and the Christian faith in general. The study started out with very basic content and progressed into a great discussion on "How can I be a Christian? Everything is so hard!" Some of the girls shared personal struggles on fighting and the concept of "How am I supposed to sacrificially love someone who wants to fight me? If they're calling me names, I want to hit them." The conversation continued and we discussed the general idea that "it's not easy being a Christian, but God is there with you through it all. You may have to be bold and to stand out from the crowd, but you need to decide if the Lord's opinion of you is more important than your classmates. Are you a faithful servant or a fading flower?" We ended the Bible study by praying and welcoming Jesus into our hearts and asking him to help us battle Satan when he tries to tempt us to do evil. I invited the girls to remain in the bedroom alone or with other girls if they wanted time to spend some time alone with God, but they all ran upstairs right away. However, soon after, La'Terria asked if she could talk to me about something alone. She began crying and explaining to me that things were really hard for her. She said, "I want to believe in Jesus and give my life to Him, but it's just so hard and confusing." We talked about what it meant to accept Christ as your Savior. She admitted her need for a Savior, but said she wasn't ready to make that choice. I told her that it was okay if she wasn't ready, but I wanted her to consider a question that I was asked in my pursuit of Jesus. I asked her, "What are you waiting for?" She said she didn't know, but that she would be thinking about it. We prayed specifically that she would come to understand the Lord better and open her heart to His work in her. She was very emotional throughout it all and I was so proud of her for being so vulnerable and willing to share with me. She expressed her thanks and appreciation and we headed upstairs to join the girls. The next night I received a text message saying, "Miss Erica, I thought about the question you asked me and I have an answer now. I'm ready and I want that." I replied and expressed how excited I was for her and praised God for his work. She text me again saying, "This week, I will pray that God will give me a better understanding of him". Every night for 2 and half weeks, she text me letting me know how her day went. It has been so exciting see her willingness and desire to know God grow and grow. I can't wait to see what else the Lord has in store for her. -Written by Erica Schmidt, 6-8th Grade Classroom Leader

Social Justice Team

2009-02-05T10:46:00.003-06:00

The Social Justice Leadership Team watched a series of videos educating the students on the Invisible Children of Uganda. After watching a clip about an Invisible Child named, Innocent, and other children of Uganda being abducted in Africa, the Social Justice Leadership Team wrote letters to Innocent. The students composed letter to Innocent hoping to encourage him and to let Innocent know that he will be prayed for. The Social Justice Team has become very passionate about the horrifying issue of the Invisible Children.

To watch a clip of the Invisible Children, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwTcsyYRQms

Future Plans

2009-02-05T10:31:00.003-06:00

On Sunday evening, a City Impact Volunteer for the Impact Leadership Academy expressed his excitement for the high school boys future plans. The volunteer shared with a CI Staff member that ALL of the boys in the high school classroom plan on attending college upon their high school graduation. During class discussion that evening, the high school boys shared with their leaders that they would be the first in their families to attend college.

2009-01-20T14:00:00.002-06:00

As the young ladies in the Senior High classroom discussed their goals from the previous week, they also shared stories about families and friends. Mariah, a Senior High student at ILA, had set a goal the previous week to teach her younger sister about God. This week she was proud to say that she had completed her goal. Mariah went to the library and printed off coloring pages of Jesus with Bible verses for her younger sister to decorate. While Mariah’s sister colored, Mariah told her sister about God. Not only did Mariah teach her younger sister about God, but she also encouraged her mother throughout the week.

Mariah encouraged her mother by thanking her for her help and telling her she has done a great job providing for their family. In addition, Mariah explained to her mother that she and her sister don’t need a big Christmas. Mariah stressed that Christmas is not about the presents, but spending time together. Mariah explained how thankful she is that their family can be together after her mother survived cancer.

Real Life

2009-01-15T12:05:00.005-06:00

A young lady on the Social Justice Leadership Team discussed her experiences as a homeless child. She explained to her peers that her family has lived in seven different shelters within three different states during her lifetime. The peers in her small group were shocked to hear her story. She went on to express that she had lost many friends who were taken away because they had single homeless mothers who couldn’t care for their children. Prior to this young lady’s story, the students thought of homelessness as a choice. Although this young lady expressed that homelessness was not a choice in her case.

Going Above & Beyond

2009-01-14T09:36:00.003-06:00

For the past several weeks, the Philanthropy Leadership teams have been preparing presentations over poverty, child abuse, and cancer. One student took the time to prepare and search out for compelling information and videos about her team’s issue prior to ILA work time. Taylor Bennett, an ILA student and member of the Philanthropy Team, is in the group preparing a presentation for child abuse. She came to ILA ready to work on the presentation with lots of great ideas and resources to utilize. The issue of child abuse is very dear to Taylor’s heart and it noticed through her effort towards the presentation. Taylor found a tear-jerking video that talks about child abuse and shows graphic photos of the victims. Taylor, along with the other group members, has been working hard to produce an effective and persuading presentation.

Power of People who care & pray

2009-01-14T09:28:00.003-06:00

One Sunday night after club, my husband and I were praying for the kids at City Impact. Right after we concluded our prayer, La'Terria called at 10:30 P.M. and asked if I would pray for her. I said sure and asked if there was something specific that I could pray for. She said, "There are these two girls at school who have really been making fun of me. Every time they make fun of me, I remember the story you told from when you were in middle school and what you did when you were being made fun of." (Side note: The first day of middle school, a girl started a rumor about me.) When I told the story, I explained to the girls that even before I knew Christ, He knew me; He was protecting me and helping me to love as He would. She continued, "I'm trying to ignore it and be as kind to them as I can like you were and like I know Jesus would want me to be, but it's not getting any better. Would you just pray for me that I would continue to love them like Jesus would?" I said sure and told her how inspired I was by her heart to honor the Lord. I then asked if it would be okay to let the small group leaders know so they could be praying too (Michaela, Courtney, Peggy, Julie). She loved that idea and said she would really appreciate it. I called her on Wednesday (3 days later) to see how her week was going. She excitedly said, "Ms. Erica, you wouldn't believe it! One of the girls came up to me today and apologized for making fun of me! The other girl hasn't apologized yet, but she's not doing it as much. And now, the girl who apologized, along with a lot of her friends are trying to convince the one girl to stop making fun of me and apologize too! Her heart is just not ready yet. It's been so crazy! Thanks so much for praying for me and tell the other leaders thank you too!" I responded by explaining that God is a big God and sovereign over all His creation. When we, as sons and daughters of the King of the universe join in worship and become prayer warriors for one of His children, He always provides an answer. Sometimes the answer is 'yes', sometimes it's 'no', and sometimes it's 'wait'. She then said, "Ms. Erica, I really appreciate everything you and all the other leaders do. I may not act like it on Sunday sometimes, but you truly do make an impact. You all have definitely made a huge impact on me. I love you all and am so thankful that I have you guys to help me and guide me through the good stuff and bad stuff. Thank you so much!" The call ended soon after and I emailed the leaders to give them an update. The all replied with an email explaining how thankful and amazed by God they were. During dinner the following Sunday, another girl mentioned that she was being made fun of at school. La'Terria turned to her and told her story. By the time she was finished, all of the girls in the 6-8th grade classroom had stopped their dinner conversations to listen to La'Terria tell her story. They were as amazed as she was. It was one of the most beautiful things I have witnessed in the 4 1/2 years I've been involved with City Impact. God is so gracious and continues to work in awesome ways.
- Written by Erica Schmidt (6-8th Grade Classroom Leader)

Worship Party Student Quotes

2008-12-19T14:16:00.003-06:00

The following quotes are student responses to the Worship Party hosted by City Impact on November 16th, 2008. The Worship Party attracted a large crowd of families and youth from City Impact's target neighborhoods.The night was filled with singing, dancing, and praising the Lord.

"I thought the City Impact Worship Party was great because because the step team did a cool dance. I also liked all the singing and worshiping God." - Emilia, ILA Student

"I thought the Worship Party was very welcoming, everyone had fun and learned about Christ in a fun way. Its very motivating for us to see others learn about God. I also thought the rappers were good, I have never heard rap like that."- VaDoll, ILA Student

"I thought the party was really fun. I loved how so many people all over the neighborhood that I live in, the Hartley community, were able to have fun, learn about God and eat. I also made a new friend, Cecilya. She said she has been really wanting to go somewhere to learn about God and I am glad that she came." Addison, ILA Student

Junior High Girl's Goals

2008-12-12T15:33:00.003-06:00

At the Impact Leadership Academy, students are given the opportunity to set goals within City Impact, their community, church, family, nation, and more. The following are goals that have previously been set by City Impact students:

- Pick up cans and bottles in the neighborhood, then to recycle the collected cans

- Prior to the 2008 Election, students set goals to pray for the election

- Spend more time with family

- Stay positive with their friends and not to bicker

"Goals represent expectations, hopes and dreams, and to the extent our goals are achieved, we are successful.” Bettie B. Youngs

ILA Student Journal

2008-11-21T15:15:00.003-06:00

October 20th, 2008

I’m going to show more love and sacrificial love to my mom because I always talk back to her. So, I need to pray and follow God and ask him for forgiveness. Sometimes I try not to be disobedient, but it just come out and spreads. I hope that God can answer my prayer, so that we can be a great son and mother.

-ILA Student

A Thankful Heart

2008-11-21T15:05:00.002-06:00

During dinner at ILA, the high school boys went around the table and spoke of who they are most thankful for during the past year. Tyree, a student of ILA, said that he was most thankful for Mr. Brad (Executive Director) and Mrs. Ashley (BC & ILA Program Director) for working so hard to make City Impact possible.