A faithful God in the midst of heartache.

The last few weeks have been very sad for the Kenmore community 
as they mourned the loss of a son, nephew, uncle, student and friend.
Although it was one of the toughest weeks I have ever experienced in
ministry, God was still incredibly faithful to Tyler s family and the
Kenmore community. God s provisions were vast as businesses from the
community stepped up and provided for Tyler s family. 

Tyler s mother called us a few days after his death and informed us
that she was never worried about Tyler when he was at First Glance
Rec Nights with his friends because it was chaperoned and safe. She
told us that due to the provisions she received, any donations
received at Tyler's calling hours and funeral would be given to First
Glance. 

In addition, for around three years now I have been building a
relationship and mentoring the young women who found Tyler s body.
She called me in her brokenness and we mourned her loss together. I
have been able to lead her as her recovery from the situation has
just begun. She is going to counseling and is willing to talk as she
pursues healing. She told me at this point anything would help
because she is at the lowest point she has even been. Please pray as she is
in the anger stage of her grieving. We continue to have some of the most honest 
conversations about Christ I've ever had with her.

Though I ache for this girl, Tyler's mom and family, and the rest of
the community affected by this tragedy, I know God is at work in all
things. I continue to pray that this community would submit to Christ
and they will not turn to substitutions for comfort. I hope they will
cling to Him alone for healing and recognize His everlasting goodness
even through times like this.

Sad News

In the midst of writing a blog update about Tunnel Vision, multiple incidents have unfolded in the Kenmore community that greatly affect our students. A blog update from Tunnel Vision will come soon, but for now I will inform you of the immediate need for prayer.

Ashley, a teen mom that I have previously wrote about, lost her grandmother this week in tragic accident. She was very close to her grandma due to being raised by her. Calling hours are today. Please be in prayer as Ashley has a lot of unanswered questions. Yesterday she stopped in the office and had mentioned to me that she knows the leaders of First Glance really love and care about her. We do! I was thankful that she was able to realize that. 

Yesterday another tragedy happened as a local male teen was shot and killed. A female student that has been around First Glance for awhile was the one that found his body as she was returning home from school. I was able to talk with her this morning and I would have to say it was one of the toughest conversations I have ever had in ministry. She is extremely broken. She spoke of the many nightmares she had last night and how it was the worst experience that she has ever had. 

Many of our students knew him. Please pray for his family, our students, and our greater community that have all been greatly affected by this tragedy. Also, it has been said that he has been a part of gang activity as well. Please also pray for threats of retaliation and circumstances to come. 

You can read the news article below:

http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/teens-find-body-in-kenmore-driveway-1.307824

The Possibilities!

Ashley is a teen mom that has been coming around First Glance for about a year and a half now. In talking with a leader at teen moms a few weeks ago she said mentioned the need for younger woman to walk beside our teen moms and be a friend. Ashley came to my mind during our conversation. On a few occasions I have watched Ashley’s son in the nursery, but I have had little interactions with her.  On Monday, I received a message from her on facebook saying that we should hang out sometime soon when I am free. I was so excited! I messaged her back quickly and set up a time!

Yesterday Ashley, her son and I went out for lunch. Ashley just found out that morning morning she got a job! I was pleasantly surprised with how open and honest Ashley was about her struggles in being a mother and how she was in a unhealthy relationship. I am really looking forward to hanging out with her more! 

Please be praying as I build a relationship with Ashley. Pray that I would love her well and would be bold in my faith in bringing Jesus into our conversations. I am more than excited to see where God takes our relationship.

She Comes Back Around.

We took the girls on a scavenger hunt this week for LNO. Here is Jenna(a volunteer) and her team.

I met Sarah two years ago on a trip that First Glance takes every year called Tunnel Vision. I began to invest in her. We hung out often and at one point we actually read the Bible a few times together. For Sarah, she constantly battled the tension between the life of anger she used to live in and her newfound freedom in Christ. I wish I could say that she continued down the straight and narrow path, but she did not. She got involved with a man that threw her back into her old ways of drugs, stealing and violence. It deeply broke my heart. Sarah stopped attending Ladies’ Night Out and First Glance all together. She stopped returning my calls and in small interactions with her you could tell the intense anger she was dealing with.

The great news is that two weeks ago Sarah returned to Ladies’ Night Out. She came in and immediately hugged me. She began to explain that she got out of her old ways. She was now clean from drugs. In thinking about Sarah’s return I immediately thought of the parable of the prodigal son.

Luke 15:22-24

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Celebrating and so thankful that Sarah has returned. This afternoon Sarah and I are hanging out. Please pray for our conversation and that I would be bold in talking about God.

Thanks for your continuous prayers and support. We are very blessed to have such a strong community backing us up.

Love Retreat!

This past weekend Ladies Night Out had their first retreat!  We took 17 girls to a beautiful house on Portage Lakes. It was fun to see the responses of the girls as they walked through the house and called dibs on bedrooms. The girls shouted, “This is the nicest house I have ever seen” “I want to live here!” “Can we come here every weekend?”

With Valentine’s Day in mind the weekend was focused around the idea of, “How do we love ourselves, family, friends and boys.” I was pleasantly surprised how interactive they were. The girls had the ability to hear the gospel!  I was able to talk to them about 1 John 4:19 which says, “We love because he first loved us.” The leaders had the opportunity to be vulnerable and tell the girls their testimonies and how God has changed their lives. It was amazing!! It was beautiful to see the girls asking follow up questions. I am excited see how God uses this past weekend for His glory.

In all honesty this weekend wasn’t all smiles and joys! Lindsey* is one of my tougher student, but holds such a soft spot in my heart. I have had the privilege of seeing God transform Lindsey’s life so much in the last year. Within the first two hours of the trip she was breaking our no electronics rule. We took away her cell phone and mp3 player. For about the next 5 hours Lindsey was very angry. Giving an attitude to the leaders and the girls around her. It reached a breaking point and she started screaming at me.  As she was screaming I tried to remain calm and responded with, “Lindsey, I know that you aren’t this angry about us taking away your cellphone. What is going on in your life to make you this angry?” She then broke down and started to crying. We had an honest conversation about how home was extremely rough for her right now. She is angry at her mother and actually has been kicked out of her house multiple times this year. She has been staying at family member’s houses and hotels. It was crazy how after our conversation Lindsey did a complete turn around. She was helping the younger girls with their hair, engaging with leaders, and was an overall pleasant person to be around. I am thankful that God continues to break down her heart and transform her to look more like Christ. Although it is hard she is growing and learning. 

Intentional Prayer

This is an exciting week at First Glance!! Staff, volunteers, friends and family are taking the week to rally together to pray that the community of Kenmore would come to know Jesus! We launched on Saturday night with a time of corporate worship and prayer. For 165 hours this week there will be someone in the First Glance Prayer room praying. I am really looking forward to seeing what God does through us petitioning for this community.

Today, during my prayer time I was at first overwhelmed by the vast amount of needs within our community. At the same time I was encouraged reading the follow:

Ezekiel 34:11-15

 11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD."

I know that God is in a relentless pursuit of this community. Please consider joining with us in prayer. 

Here are some specific things I prayed for today:

• The many girls in my program that find their identity in men, friends, material possessions. 
• Broken families. A few weeks ago some of my Ladies Night Out girls were talking about their families. I realized quickly that only 1 girl in the room filled with about 15 plus girls had her mom and dad still together. A girls said, “my dad is like the wind one gust and he was gone.” 
• Students that are currently in abusive homes. Pray that God would bring peace to their households. 
• Students that are coping with destructive copping mechanisms. IE: Cutting, eating disorders, giving themselves away in purity. 

Christmas Parties!

Last week at First Glance was filled with Christmas parties! Sunday began as over 100 leaders from all different programing at First Glance gathered to celebrate what God has done this past year. It was beautiful to be in a room filled with followers going towards the same mission. We walked through 11 things that happened in 2011. It was great to see all that had happened from floods to intentional conversations to students lives being transformed because of God! At the end of this blog post you can read of my top story from 2011.

Monday was the Young Adults Christmas party. Leaders gave the students specific gifts that they needed. As the students were opening their gifts one guy received a hat, gloves, sweatshirt, and some other clothing. He was pretty thrilled. The reality of some of our students poverty and difficult life circumstances was made clear when he said, “These will be great if I end up on the streets this winter.”  For many of students that Christmas party that night was their Christmas. The leaders and students there were who they considered their family.

Our Ladies Night Out Christmas party was on Tuesday. I was expecting 25 girls to show up and we had well over 40. The room was filled! We ate a very large meal, played games and opened gifts! Last Friday a Rec Night leader asked one of our girls where her gloves were as she stood outside in the cold. She replied that she didn’t have any. It was great to see her excitement as she received a pair on Tuesday. Through generous donors the girls in LNO will received gloves, hats and socks! 

God has been faithful to providing for Cody and I this past year! Thank you for partnering with us financially and through prayers.

My top 2011 story:

Kim* has been coming faithfully to Ladies' Night Out for about 6 months. Week after week the leaders and I try to engage her in conversations, but she says very little back. In all honestly, I often wonder why she comes back every week. Kim is very reserved.

A few weeks ago Kim’s mother, Anne* came in before Ladies' Night Out and wanted to talk to me about Kim’s behavior. Anne explained that Kim’s dad has never been consistent in her life and recently he has stepped out of her life again. She went on to say that Kim is really hurting from the rejection she receives from her father. Although Kim has been hurting, Anne has been noticing a change in Kim’s behavior.

She went on to say that Kim has been acting differently since she started coming to First Glance. She said she has been joyful and has been opening up more. Anne told me Kim talks very highly of the leaders and how kind they are to her. She told me to thank the leaders and though it might be hard to engage with Kim, to continue to try because she is seeing a difference in her life. I am reminded through Kim’s story that the process for reaching our students can be long and sometimes frustrating. But, God is still moving even when we don’t see it. 

*Named changed to protect privacy.