Walk This Way 2008

Poverty 101: From Talk to Walk (Part 1)

Poverty is NOT just about money. . .

To be continued . . . . .

Kids To KAA Camp / Thursday Nights

We are excited to be sending three of our Vision Onward kids to Kids Across America Camp this upcoming week. We originally had five kids scheduled to go, but one of the moms took off with her children this summer and we weren't able to convince her to let them come back to go to camp. This was disappointing because these particular two boys would really benefit from being there. They have come a long way since we have met them, but they still have a REALLY tough home life and it would have been neat for them to have gone. The three that are going are counting down the days until they go. They are so excited!

We have switched our weekly meeting with the kids from Wednesday to Thursday for the summer. We have been meeting at Douglas Park- - -we let them play, feed them and end with a devotional time. It is good to be in that neighborhood because it is a tough area. We know that many of the houses surrounding that park are involved in illegal activities so we really think our presence there during the summer is important.

Updates regarding Walk This Way 2008 are soon to come!!!

Misc Update

Over the past couple weeks we have spent time with the kids explaining to them how to use their voices to affect change in positive ways for them. A week ago Wednesday, we explained to them the Frontier Pool situation and they all got together and wrote down reasons and responses as to why they think the city should put money into keeping Frontier Pool open. It was neat to see them express themselves to "the city" in the only way they have possible- - -by writing a letter. You see, these kids don't get to vote- - -they HAVE NO VOICE! They have very few people advocating for them- - - -and sadly enough, it is definitely NOT their parents.

As much as we HATE to see taxpayers having to pay a little more sales taxes, we realize that without it, these kids will be left with nothing. We highly doubt that anything or anyone would come along and renovate this pool for the kids on the westside- - -without it being city funded. We are thankful for the YES vote and we are thankful for all the people who supported it. It definitely means A LOT to our Vision Onward kids. Here is a picture of their excitement:

(Please click on the picture for a close up)

We are so thankful to many people for working diligently to push and fight for these kids, but the ones who stand out the most to us are David and Sonja Settle!! Thank you so much for all of the city meetings you have attended, the letters you have written, the emails you have sent and the YES signs you distributed! You guys are amazing and we so appreciate what you are doing for these families on the west side of town!!

Now, for a quick update: Jeff and I are going to be OUT of town for a month beginning May 21st. There is going to be a planning meeting held at Grace Community Church for the Walk This Way event on Tuesday, May 20th at 11:45 if anyone is interested in being a part of this event. Walk This Way is scheduled for September 13 at Douglas Park and it will be an all day event including music artists, workshops and free food. We will be needing lots of volunteers for this so please pray about whether there is an area where you could serve. We will be posting more specific roles and responsibilities in the near future.

This summer we are prayerfully considering many more structured programs like single parenting classes, job skill training, after school programs and tutoring. If any of these areas fit your gifts, please contact us. We cannot do this alone and we desire to bring in as many helpers as possible. We are the body of Christ, with many different gifts and abilities; if you have a gift or ability to share, we would love to hear from you!!

We still have MANY needs on our DEEDS 4 NEEDS list waiting to be filled. Please check to see if there is a need you could meet.
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