Tears and Block Party

This past week at Streets was an extremely busy one! I went four out five days this week, but all the driving back and forth is totally worth it. My first day I helped Karla organize folders for the Ready Readers program that started up on Wednesday. I had specific folders for specific grades and helped organize the resources they needed in their folders. I also sorted out a pile of donated children's books into which grade they belonged in.

Wednesday, I went to the staff meeting, and this was a very emotional staff meeting. We all ended up in tears after talking about shocking statistics regarding how many assets kids possess. The whole table ended up in tears or close to it, and it was really special for me to see how much the staff truly cares about their kids.

Thursday, Karla was scrambling trying to get ready for the elementary Block Party that took place on Friday. I was able to create a powerpoint for her that she showed on Friday night. It was really cool to be able to do hands on things like this that are truly benefiting the staff! They really are putting me to work, which is awesome, because that it what I'm going there to do!

Friday afternoon there wasn't much to do but hang out with the kids, so I walked around just viewing what a typical day with the elementary students is like. They are absolutely crazy, but also such a joy to be around! My final job was to walk around and take pictures of any fun moments going on in the different rooms! It was such a fun and busy week at Streets. It's always great to have some meaningful tears and hard work.

This is a video of a typical afternoon with the Elementary kids! The staff are so great with the kids, and they always have so much fun.

 Kids are lined up to use the computer lab.

Some boys playing soccer in the gym.

This Week at Streets!

This past week at Streets was great! Monday, I was able to sit in on a meeting with the Leadership Academy as they were proposing a criteria for a sex ed class for mentors and students. The way the Leadership Academy had all of their information in a binder was actually incredible to see. Everything was so organized, and their criteria was so awesome. As I was sitting in the meeting I thought to myself, "I wish that I could have had this criteria while I was teaching purity in Africa this summer!". They truly thought everything through for the benefit of the kids! The criteria is for the training of the mentors, and there are also some activities for kids. After the meeting, I walked with Jess through Kingsbury Middle and High School. It was amazing to see the difference in my school and theirs. The teachers all seemed very nice, and the students were also very welcoming. We went to lunch to visit some students, and one boy who has lived in the United States for only three years let us read his college essay. It was so amazing to see how well he was writing for only living here for three years. It was rewarding to see the relationships that Jess has made with all of the students at Kingsbury.

On Thursday, I watched a run through of a Middle School Block party with Kelechi, RA, and Jared! They had music, games, and fun skits for the kids to have a good time. It was very cool to see how they planned their block parties and how they ran through everything like it was the real thing. After the meeting, the kids started to line up at the door to be let in to hang out for that afternoon. I bet there were hundreds of kids lined up outside of Streets! As the kids came in, Reggie asked me to work the ID table. I asked for all of the kids information, and took their pictures for the new IDs they will be getting next week. This was a very busy job, but it was also a lot of fun because I was able to meet a lot of kids!

 This picture shows a little glimpse of the Middle School Block Party run through!!

Here are some of the children lining up to come inside of Streets after school:)

I am going back to Streets four days out of five this week, and I couldn't be happy! I am really enjoying my time there.

First Day!

My first day at Streets Ministries exceeded my expectations! On Wednesday morning I was able to sit in on a staff meeting with all of the full time staff at Streets. The people working there are absolutely amazing. They are all truly passionate about what they're doing, and they are honestly like a little family. I knew that Streets was a Christian organization, but I truly had no idea how much they love the Lord and how everything they do points to Him. The beginning of the meeting started off with everyone talking about their "God sitings" of the week. God sitings are where you've seen God in the past week or so. The staff was so inclusive of me in the meeting, and I was able to share my God siting as well. Next we had prayer requests. Jess usually writes the prayer requests on the white board in the office, but this week they let me take over. I truly felt like I was a part of the team because of how much they were including me in what they were doing. The staff's prayer requests were full of names of the kids they work with at Streets, so I could tell that they truly do care about the children they are working with. After prayer requests we began working on finding bible verses for a project they are working on for Kingsbury, High School. They asked me to read scripture, and when it came down to the vote my opinion was truly considered. At the end of the meeting, Noelle gave a quick update from the business office. Lastly, the staff had about a thirty minute conversation discussing a couple of issues they are having in the afternoons with the children. I watched as they respectfully voiced their opinions and came up with a solution. I can already tell by how the meeting on Wednesday went that I would love to work at an organization like Streets Ministries. The staff there are so busy, but at their staff meetings they are able to debrief, have healthy discussions, and focus on the Lord. I am excited to see what all I will be doing next week!!