the fabulous feast

Yet again one of these hustle and bustle events has blown my mind. We had our first ever fabulous feast last night. We were offereing FREE prime rib, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes and more. Our first reaction was hopefully people will come. But, boy did they. They came by the hundreds...like 200.




This is the first wave of diners - we had a whole group that had to wait in the sanctuary for their turn.

After I kept the crowds calmed and turned an older gentleman down that proclaimed to me...'you sexy' (that's a story in itself). I found a seat at Tomika Clark's table. Tomika's son, Cody, was my special project child my first year here and we created a bond...a trust...that's unexplainable. I sat with her and her children and her sister and felt like I was eating Christmas dinner with my family. We laughed, we joked, she told stories and shared her heart on how much she misses her fiance who is incarcerated. These events have turned out to be so beautiful.

It was truly a fabulous feast. After all the prime rib was gone and the coats and hats given away we locked the door and went back to work at our real job (Santa's workshop) but I felt so blessed to have had that precious time with the Clark family.

Sweet sweet life I live, sweet life.

let me explain this picture...

We have have so many events this season at City Mission.

To name a few...

-tutoring Christmas party

-mentoring Christmas party

-holiday sponsorships

-Ward Christmas appreciation lunch

-family Christmas pictures

-college basketball game

-Urban Arts Christmas fundraiser show

-CMA Christmas party

-Santa Claus picture field trip

-staff Christmas party

-Cooking with Miss J.

-fabulous feast

-CHRISTMAS DELIVERY

-and probably some other red and green celebration...it seems so never ending (just imagine the state of my house, and contents of my fridge considering the last few weeks- not my best showing!)

So amidst this all we are trying to teach the children the importance of Christmas- the truth of the greatest gift of all and why the glitz and glamour exists in the first place. Sometimes, I think we often forget ourselves.

But in the middle of all this hustle and bustle we had the most beauitful of events on Saturday. It was the first time we've ever done this and to be honest I thought to myself wow, just another Saturday event (like the past 6.5 million Saturdays). But, once it got going and families started rolling in I saw the beauty of family and how closely so many of these people feel like my family.

There was an event called HelpPortrait held all over the world on December 12th. Jeremy Coward (i think), a Nashville photographer put out a call to all photographers to do just that- help those in that woudln't normally have family Christas pictures taken. So there was two professional photographers that took family and sibling pictures. Then two professional editors put them on the computer and families got to pick out the pictures they wanted and edit them to their liking- shave off a few pounds (jk...kinda), fix all those dang shirt collars- it was so cool. Many of these families had never done this before and the joy and excitement of doing something new- even from an adult was so fun to be a part of. And, to see these precious families together and recognizing and experiencing this true gift was great. Not to mention these are some of the best looking families EVER. These professional gave something so simple in their eyes that was huge to our families. All ABSOLUTELY FREE. They even got to order prints for FREE. How cool, so very cool. Another Saturday event that I thought would be just another Saturday event that turned out to be a fabulous time to celebrate such deserving people.

This is them editing with Mr. Chris- he was so awesome...so patient...and so did this the ENTIRE DAY.

Just four more days with four more events and then i'll be on a plane straight home (in time for Joy's birthday celebration, I am so lucky)

is this normal?

sometimes I forget to post on here because so much of the day to day i experience is becoming so normal. making dinner for the kiddos before we brush our teeth for bed, trips to the ER wee in the night, those tough conversations that one never wants to have, programs for the holiday seasons coming out of my ears- this is just what i do. i was asked by three people in the last week what is it that you do all day now that you don't teach. i thought about that all day today especially as when i realize i was hungry about 2:00 pm and hadn't stopped for lunch i said to myself what have i been doing all day!

job description of a program director:
send emails- regularly thoughout the day. answer phonecalls of those making donations, wanting to volunteer, and already volunteering during our weekly programs, run around and get neccesary supplies for various events and programs. greet the kids around 3:30 pm to help with homework. prepare lessons and supplies for tutoring on monday and tuesday nights. from 6-8 most evenings of the week at work spending time with the kids i love. i interact with the volunteers to make sure they are doing ok and things are going well as they build relationships with the kids. i often get to teach a little but use my super fast organization and administration skills to get things done fast! i get to spend these evenings with over a 100 kids that i have truly grown to love. during holidays we do big outreaches- for example we have 250 kids sponsored by tons of different people and groups you should see all the spreadsheets at this point in the game. i also lead most events outside the school day. this requires transportation, timing, flyers, and communication and all logistics for things like fundraisers, basketball games, and fun events for the kids.

even reading this myself i wonder how my days fill up but it often feels like i could never stop working and there would still be work to be done. this is how i've come up with my motto for work: sometimes you just have to leave- all the work will never be done!

i'm sure that really cleared things up for you (ha, all four people that read this!). also, i recognize the capitilization and punctuation is awful on this- i'm tired.

sidenote: i just got done with three days of jury duty. It wasn't awful but i wasn't enjoyable. 22 year-old convicted guilty, another life wasted. definitely an experience- add it to my i did it in detroit list.

peace-

I never thought...

-I would live in the middle of Detroit

-I would so terribly miss my family and friends when i moved away

-I would be able to get around Metro Detroit without getting lost (give or a take a few moments...)

-I would like BBQ chicken

-I would get gas in my neighborhood, or go to Tom's Coney Island in my neighborhood by myself

-I would be so scared of a MOUSE but not the gas station or tom's

-I would be able to run over 3 miles

-I would be such a morning person (thanks dad...)

-I would be anything but a teacher

-I would be such a clean freak

-I would be caring for children in the house that I own at age 24

-I would feel so at home as the eyes stared at me walking into the nearby grocery store

-I would choose to go to bed by 9:30 (until I realized how great it feels in the morning)

And for your viewing pleasure....we had our annual fundraiser gala on Saturday night. It was a beautiful night filled with so much love and support. All the hard work paid off and on to the next big event!

Almost 9:30....i'm off :)

All Star Flag Football Game!

John Ribbing and team did it again.

We had another successful all-star flag football game at Brother Rice on Halloween. Even though it was windy and cold, everyone seemed to muster enough warmth to have a great time. Minus a few scuffles everyone played with great sportsmanship and the army of volunteers really made the day happen. We are so grateful for this program and that the main emphasis is on reading and having good grades. Though it’s called flag football league it has little to do with how good you are or how many W’s you have. But, it combines the importance of education with an enjoyable game resulting in a great day of football. The kids always love going to the real field and running for a touch down by the uprights.

Thank-you John and team from the bottom of our hearts for making this season yet another success of sharing Christ’s love, educational values, and the love of the game. We appreciate and love you!

You so gangsta

Three afternoons a week I host a time where kids can come and do homework. Not the most popular of the events we have but some students are taking advantage of it. The other day I had two that needed to be in seperate rooms from each other. So, I placed them in the oh so creatively named red room and orange room (due to the fabulous paint colors, clever huh?). So I was doing a little geomtry and went back to check on Brandon in the orange room.

Miss Jessi: You doing ok Brandon?
B: yep, I'm almost finished reading this and then need to do this questions
Miss J: Alright, I'll be right back in but if you need help holler at me
B: aaaahhhh dog, Miss Jessi, you so gansta you said HOLLA
Miss J: (laughter) right, so gansta
(as I left the room)
B: Miss Jessi is a gansta

I then removed myself to laugh even harder because it's like laughing at a baby when they do something wrong. Especially as I was setting such a great example and being gangsta, ha.

But, reality is- I think that's a South Dakota thing? Anyone? My roots have come out loud and clear and little did I know they would make me the coolest homework helper around, the gangsta.

Girls Night!

Picture this: 6 junior high girls, Miss Jessi, one small house, brownies, pizza, cookie dough, movies, music, dancing, crafting, and just a little bit of sleep.

Yep, that's what it was. Girls night at Miss Jessi's house. We spent the night laughing and dancing and eating enough for three days. All the mentoring girls were invited over for a pre night of fun before the big event the Girls Matter conference on Saturday. They slept little, I slept much (fortunately, I can sleep through anything!). But, come 7:00 on Saturday morning we were moving much more slowly than the dance moves I saw the night before. (For those of you are worried after hearing about my dance abilities at the gym, do not worry I restrained my urge to dance throughout the evening...yeah right)

We had to be out the door by 7:45 to pick up the rest of the neighborhood girls to head out to Novi for the conference. The conference was a day all about girls and empowerment. The keynote speaker reminded us that the way we play games is the way we live life. We had a blast with her and were inspired to wake up each day and remind ourselves, "I am beautiful, I am smart, I am legendary..." and so on.

Though we were sleepy from the previous nights fesitivies but the weekend was a success and there were so many beautiful moments shared with these incredible young ladies.

Stay tuned for girls night #2- if I'm really that brave!

(I hope my youth pastors wives are reading this...I've been repaid for all those hours....late at night...well worth it though, right?)

please join me...

for a little glimpse into my world

(disclaimer: this is in no way meant to be offensive or racist, just pure comedy!)

I go to Bally Total Workouts probably 5-6 times a week. It takes me about five minutes to get there, but is technically considered to be in the next Suburb over. When I get there I'm always greeted by a lovely brown skinned trainer who's arms are bigger than my legs- he's huge. Normally with a 'hey baby, you ok?' I respond with a yeah, you? and translate in my mind. He's not asking, 'you ok?' like something is wrong but rather Hi, young lady how are you? I don't miss a beat and I keep on walking usually encountering a few more, you oks.

I make my way into the aerobic room (never did I think I'd be one of those workoutters in the aerobic room...alas, thats where I am). Everybody joins in to help Rodney get everything set-up. I'm one of two white people in the room- though that doesn't even phase me anymore as it is such a common thing in my world. Before I know it Kirk Franklin is blaring through the speakers and soon set-up turns into a pre-class dance session and I busy myself with the weights and try to smoothly put a little hip and hop in my step. (you can start laughing here :)

Class has started and we do 50 bazillion jumping jacks all counted outloud (how do you count to 50 bazillion.....) and then we run up and down the three flights of stairs three times- all the while counting outloud. I'm about to die- and that's just the warm-up! Anyways, we're doing the combo schoolcraft (that's the street my school is on) workout. There are about 10 stations and between each one you do the schoolcraft. The schoolcraft though is no longer a street today but an aerobic move. Because of the poplulation this aerobic move doesn't strictly stay a move, but rather an aerobic dance move. So, here I am only white girl getting my butt kicked and trying to blend in and they bust out the DANCE MOVES?! If you know me at all you know not only do I hate dancing, but I can't dance. So my heel touch heel touch remain just that as these incredible women behind me do the schoolcraft and turn their heel touch heel touch into a beautiful expression of who they truly are. (and do they look dang good doing it!)

I somehow survived through the class probably because I was so entertained by the beauty of this culture. Incredible encouragement, some jokes, slight fear of the instructor, loud singing, and of course 'the schoolcraft'. The entire time though I wanted so badly for everyone to know I'm not just a tall white girl but that in my heart I was doing the schoolcraft too. I wish I could put a sign on my forehead proclaiming my love for the city and for this culture! I hope that instead my feeble attempts at the schoolcraft and smiles and laughs with my sista next to me it was heard loud and clear.

All that being said, I was laughing on the inside as I secretly coveted so many of the moves by the talented schoolcrafters. Also, as I walked down those same stinkin' stairs I knew that this is my culture too and these other crazies in the aerobic room are my sisters and brothers.

Just a little look...

(BRI AND DONNA COME THIS WEEKEND! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

This is what I'll be doing for Saturdays over the next two months...

Flag football season is here! There is an incredible volunteer named John Ribbing who felt like he was called to start a free flag football league for the children in our neighborhood. Years ago he used to pick up one of the kids and drive them out to the suburbs but thought it was time for him to stop picking up kids but rather pick up volunteers and come down here. Each Saturday starting at 9:30 the fields begin to fill-up and footballs begin to get thrown. There are three age groups and about 100 kids (that number grows each week) that join the league. It's great fun for the kids, but also great experience for the coaches, refs, and down markers who are all volunteers. During each half time Coach John shares the message of Christ to the kids as well has including his own story which is quite powerful. We are so grateful for John and the army of volunteers that join us in the fall each year for flag football.
Here are a few photos for you to enjoy...

The huddle!

Jay and Derek- set, hike.

And this is what the girls do...Miss Karen is under there getting her hair braided. Stay tuned for cheerleading next week for the ladies!

soo foo

I spent the last six days back in the homeland. it's always a beautiful thing to return home to 20 years of familiarity and friends. Here's just a few things I did..

Slept in my own bed for the first time in awhile since Kelli has moved out, ran outside wherever and whenever I wanted this is such a privelege, drank coffee with numerous dear friends, ate dessert with the summer twins and laughed remembering some great times, ate out with my parents, ate out with my sister, ate out with my grandma...are you catching the pattern here...i ate out a lot, made homemade salsa with my grandma who i hadn't seen in two years, enjoyed a peaceful campsite with old camping friends, worshipped with my home church family, reunited with my BFF as she journeyd home from australia, celebrated the marriage of a beautiful couple, drove from one end of town to the other because it's not too far (right kelli?), read books and magazines at barnes and noble for two hours, went to a heart-wrenching funeral of an incredible (too) young lady, saw Kelli's new house, played a mad round of kickball with a rainbow of beautiful children at my pastor's home, slept in, watched the Ellen show (i LOVE her), played the river card game...and lost :(, and rested relaxed and was rejuvenated for what lies ahead...which is....

CRAZINESS! This season at City Mission is just plain maddness. In about the best way possible of course. We start tutoring and mentoring next week which includes incredible amount of administrative work and then bring on the kids. I've spent tons of time writing curriculum and making prepartions for the volunteer tutors and mentors to get the kids picked up and stuff going. I also had an email reminding me of how the Thanksgiving outreach and Christmas outreaches are right around the corner and need some attention as well. Oh my! Plenty of people have asked if I miss teaching yet ...and my answer is...not for one second. Just as expected this position as program director will involve plenty of teaching moments and I still get plenty of time with the kiddos. Sometimes I'm the fill-in lunch lady or recess duty friend...but full time love giver. I sometimes feel like the Grandma!

Regarldess, life is full and I am blessed and amazed at the work that is going on here. Kids are learning growing and changing and life is unfolding right before our eyes. (And faster than lightening, I can't believe it is almost October- what happened to august???)

Love to all- it was SO GREAT to see everyone at home. I am so blessed!

Three things I love...

about living here (among many...)

1. When you go to a store where brown folks are working they often greet with you, "Hello Miss Lady what can I help you with". I think I will name my dog Miss Lady

2. As I left this morning with my flip flops and skirt on I felt a little Fall chill in the air. For the brown folks that means bust out the coats and stocking hats. Wouldn't want to get sick

3. I can't drive down my street without stopping at minimum once usually three times to get some lovin' from the kiddos- they are so beautiful.

Basketball Camp 2009

We ended the summer with a bang and the last few days before school started we had an afternoon basketball camp ran by a former NBA star, Tim McCormick. It was a perfect day and beautifully fun event!

August 2009 Tim McCormick Basketball camp!

A community service event completely organized and ran by these two incredible young men. Way to go boys!I think Byron found a new friend. Rex was a trooper and even found himself at the swings part of the time!
Serious about the game...
Mr. Mike and Terry
The whole group. We had 80+ kids show up for this afternoon of skills, fruit, water, fun, and of course basketball!
Thanks Xavier for making this event such a success and working so hard. You did an incredible job!!
Stay tuned: Saturday, September 12 Flag football season starts!

This is what we've been up to the last few weeks...

We had the CMA back to school parent meeting held by this incredibly beautiful and talented teaching staff. (Notice, I'm not longer a teacher- still adjusting!) Kelly (2nd-3rd), Dana (principal extraordinaire), Debra (K-1), Bob (4th-5th and ROBOTICS man!!)
All of the academy kids got these personalized cuter than ever bookbags that say City Mission on them. The boys just say City Mission with no cutesy bow. Love them! (Apparently Dana in the background loves them too :)

Tiana and McKayla getting some love (and giving as always!)

Rows and rows of backpacks. We were able to sponsor and deliver uniforms, backpacks and school supplies for about 140 kids. Praise God from whom all blessings flow for truly making this happen (it really was miraculous, down to the dollar amount!)

Hope you are well!!

(Sidenote: I'll be returning to the homeland on September 18th-24th. Can't wait to see everyone!)

This weekend I...

-played candyland at least 4 times
-drank a non-fat iced caramel macchiato outside with a good book
-collected pop cans and raised $101.20 for City Mission with some co-workers and kids
-ate costco pizza and that ridiculously large dipped chocolate bar (ONE of my favs)
-got up at 7 on both my days 'off'
-packed backpacks full of supplies for our kids
-went with someone to buy a motorcycle
-discovered COCONUT M&Ms, DELICIOUS
-trimmed my fortress of hedges (that i normally love, mid-trimming i hated)
-mowed the just as awful lawn of mine
-stepped back and realized how much better my house looks when the lawn is cared for!
-cleaned my house, like deep cleaned on my hands and knees and used the vacuum attachments
-bought a scrubbing bubbles shower cleaner
-ate potatoes from my garden and steak from Jeff's grill (he is the BEST griller)
-set-up a table at a very traditional Baptist church that reminded me of the OLD hillcrest and raised money for our back to school drive
-tried hemp ice cream (a non-drug product)
-went to Randazzo's, the produce market, and got LOTS of stuff for super cheap
-listened to my fridge make a funny noise all night long
-used the dishwasher, this is rare when you live alone...except when you make oatmeal all the time
-told the kids no i will not make oatmeal for the 2nd time today...this is a first for me
-got three balls out of the gutter that, "we promise Miss Jessi we did not throw up there"
-became the hero ball getter for the day
-talked to a good friend, nathan, on the phone...and of course my mom too :)
-watched Martha Stewart's Baking Favorites from Net Flix (Bri and Donna: Gossipgirl comes next, you're missing out!!!)
-combatted a virus on my comp.
-went to bed at 9:45 because I could and boy I was tired, goodnight.

oatmeal w/ brown sugar, 11.3 miles

I've shared with several of you the love of oatmeal in my home. Like I've mentioned before I have a pretty regular crowd that meets me on my porch step as the Red Bonnie makes it's way home from work. Sometimes I send them away for a half hour of sanity, sometimes I don't. But, almost everytime after a few rounds of badminton or chalk tic-tac-toes the word oatmeal pops into the minds of many and is quickly requested. Last year I made pancakes, all the time. This year, our snack of choice: OATMEAL. Now, when I mean they like oatmeal, they only like it just the right consistency (which I've thankfully mastered) and with a more than a few sprinkles of brown sugar. The picture above is just ROUND 1 of the oatmeal extravaganza for the night. I met some new boys tonight. They're from the football crowd and are often too tough to knock on the porch door. But, the smell of brown sugar in the air and they were immediately enticed in. The funny thing, though, is we had to wait til the first group was done because I ran out of spoons and bowls. Luckily, they were patient and kind and I got to get to know of these not-so-tough afterall boys. I am blessed to call my home this little spot on Auburn. I am so blessed to play my little heart out any night of the week and love on these kids. I love them dearly!

Secondly, in all of my spare time, two of my co-workers and I ran a relay triathlon. Cynthia swam .5 mile, Khalid ran 3.1 miles, and I biked 11.3 miles. Of the two relay teams, we finished first :). We raised money for our school at CM and had a blast doing it. Watch out, Team City Mission is coming back for more next year. (Notice I said TEAM, I have no intentions of doing this on my own, ever. It just doesn't look enjoyable!)

a little recap (don't you love it when people who haven't posted in awhile use this as their blog title)

Summer is almost over, and i think today was our second hot day of the whole thing. Fine by me! We're already geared up and moving on back to school and fall curriculum and excited at what lies ahead. We have seen miracles in this place and will have the kids back for City Mission Academy and tutoring and mentoring programs in just a few weeks. God is really so good and has provided in miraculous ways.

We had an incredible summer. 8 weeks of programs, day camps and away camps. Over a hundred kids involved in one way or another having fun and hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. God is really so good to us. We had these two incredibly talanted amazing, i'll call them, friends of mine that worked with us throughout the summer as well. I don't have words describe how much they meant to me this summer in so many ways. Thank-you Northwestern College, or should I say the Lilly Grant.
This is "the team". We had a blast this summer! (Remember when Donna stood really awkward in the team picture.... :)

To end our summer we had a family BBQ out in the suburbs at one of our supporters houses. It was a blast and fun to end on such a happy note. We swam, basketballed (I beat the entire line of boys in Lightening, Dad!), hit the tennis ball, played bingo, broke a pinata (always tears, here too), ate really good food, and just enjoyed each others company for evening as family. We even made it on the 11 o'clock news. It was awesome- here's a few pictures.

After programs ended I took a week off as my mom and sister flew in! We stayed in Detroit for a few days. They helped me take my former classroom down and pack it up, that was a strange feeling! Then we went to Grand Rapids for a day and stayed with some dear friends there. Then we got on the ferry in Muskegon and went to Milwaukee to have girls weekend with my aunt and cousin. It was very fun! Lots (and lots!!) of shopping, eating, walking, talking, sleeping, and fun. We decided it's a yearly tradition. Next summer: Detroit. (Though, beccs, Mexico sounds way better!)

But, now I'm back in the office writing curriculum, sending emails, organizing the back to school drive, and getting things organized for kids to come back to programs. I'm slightly overwhelmed, ok, really overwhelmed but grateful for the opportunity to start this new position and truly rely on His strength alone to get the job done.

Hope you enjoyed a few summer days before the leaves start to change! LOVE!

cemetary

Tonight was a regular night at the jessi household. just a few kids hanging around, eating watermelon, brianna (white girl...) getting her hair braided, watering the garden, watching reality tv, talking about michael jackson (one of the kids thought fo sure i was crying when he died..), and so on...no big deal.

Here's a conversation from the living room chairs:

A (kid): singing....singing stops. Miss Jessi don't you remember that song?

me: which song are you talking about?

A: you know that one we sang at camp.

me: A, we sang songs every time we moved at camp, which one

A: you know, that one, Cemetary.

me: Cemetary?, hahahahah, you mean Sanctuary

A: hahahahahaha yes, that one Santuary

This was followed by a rousing round of Cemetary and much laughter.

This is home.

cass and elizabeth

Thanks to many generous supporters we often get to go to different sporting events in the area. This particular night we had Tigers tickets and I was excited to spend an evening at the ballfield, without children. Well, like most events in my life a few of them manage to sneak in. So, I loaded the Bonnie up with the two interns (who I adore and am not considering them the children :) and two neighbor girls. I thought they had been to a game before but they acted like they had never even seen downtown! We weaved through the streets and found somewhere to park amidst the baseball fans and Aretha Franklin fans that were also attending an event downtown. The girls had the job of remembering the streets we parked at. One remembered Cass and one remembered Elizabeth. They practiced the whole short walk to the ball field. On the way in we saw a homeless asking for money and one of the girls was so sad she had left the three pennies on the floor in the car, she wanted to give him money so badly. This, from a child who most would consider poor. Clearly, she is not poor, but rich in spirit. We can learn so much from children.

Another beautiful thing about taking children on outings with you is seeing them discover things for the first time. We were walking (all the way!) around the stadium and one of the girls stopped in her tracks. I thought from the shoe that had broken about 100 times on the way in. But, after I picked her jaw up off the ground I realized she was marveling at the amount of people. She said, "there are 4 million people here", she had never seen something so large before! After she picked up her jaw, she also found a nickel on the floor. She was so intent on keeping that nickel safe and that we walked back the same way to cass and Elizabeth to give the homeless man her nickel, and she did. What a testimony to us all.

We didn't make it through the whole game, and mostly played with each other more than watched but they got a round of Take Me out to the Ballgame in and that's all that matters in my book. So, after we did the 7th inning stretch we made our way back to the car, gave the nickel to the poor man, and ended with a drive through the McDonald's drive-thru. Successful night indeed.

Here's a few pics, enjoy!

the girls, me, the tiger

the field

Interns- Brianna and Donna (the twins)

girlies- Angel and Ashley (twins, for real!)

Camp Beechpoint

June 28th at 2:30 pm we loaded up the gracious partner church's charter bus minus two, 28 out of 30 is pretty good. The kids were gleaming and saying their last goodbyes, with only a few tears. Excitement though is what most were feeling. Camp Beechpoint was new to everyone this year and there were millions of questions. But, after the quick 2.5 hour trip we arrived to a beautiful place right on the lake with pretty much even more questions. All the kids got settled and myself included and the fun began! We were so busy. We had so much fun despite the coldish weather! Lives were impacted, tears were shed, laughter was shared and we are so grateful to camp beechpoint's commitment to giving kids in the inner city an opportunity they would not normaly get.

Here's just a few highlight:

Jonathon at the archery range...not sure he made it to the target...
Khalia getting ready to head down the zip line

Terry and Jaylin showing off their skills

Kenneth go-carting, I think he's enjoying it (by far the most enjoyed activity by the boys)

Ashley, Amanda, Dannah, and Indya canoeing their faces say it all. This was right next to the girls paddleboating that fell out..missed that photo opportunity!

BONUS: We had kids camp the week before camp with Kensington Community Church. This was supposed to be held at the park- due to a few rain days we had kids camp in Jeff and Dana's basement. 60 kids in the basement doing superhero camp, no big deal. They were awesome- kids and leaders!

Summer session for school starts tomorrow in the mornings and four weeks of programs in the afternoons. I can't believe how fast this summer is flying by! We are having a good time. Thanks to all those who've joined us, supported us, prayed for us, and loved on us. We coudln't do it without you!

$3.50

I know my mom is dying for pictures but I keep forgetting the cord I need to put them on here. Mom, I'll do it soon!

I have to tell this story that I wish I had a picture to accompany it. There is a man in the neighborhood named Gerry. He's probably 70 years old and he's got some sort of mental disability. But, he is harmless and kind as can be. He's also known as the neighborhood yard man and can do anything anytime...for a fee though. He's always got a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and has to pay for his habit!

My lawn mower has been broke for a few months. One of the neighbor boys was earning some dollars and brought it home busted. After weeks of promising to get it fixed there it sat in my garage, broke. So, Gerry had been promising to come over and fix it, still though, for a fee.

Finally I gave in and him and another fellow came over. He was grunting, and pulling and lifting and then he needed a wire hanger. Everything, down to the lawn mowers, in this neighborhood is ghetto. Almost every mower I've seen has the part wired shut that automatically keeps it turned on whether or not you're holding the 'keep it on' lever (safe, right Dad?). Well, as I was weeding my garden in the backyard it was music to my ears when I heard the rumble of my ghetto old lawn mower. Gerry had worked his magic yet again and had the ol' beater up and running.

However, that wasn't the end. In his broken speech he asked if I had any money. Those that know me know that I never have cash (for example, parking at the hosptial a few nights ago...). So i went and looked in my purse. Usually I try to sweet talk Gerry into a free deal, but I figured this deserved some pay. All I could find were three crumpled up dollar bills and the 50 cents in my pocket. I gave Gerry $3.50 and he rode away on his old bike with the milk crate basket happy as a clam.

Alot of people in the neighborhood write Gerry off. Not only is he a child of God, but he is a true asset to this neighborhood and what it means to live community. He came back last night needing gas for his mower. I agreed if it equaled a free lawn mowing while I'm out of town. I threw in a fresh baked muffin (by the kids...) and it was a deal.

This is living in community :).

4:09 AM

It was 10:10pm. There was a child pounding at my door. I was obviously in bed (old lady, yes) and just assumed it was someone wanting to play. I planned on just letting them keep pounding. It didn't stop. Luckily, there was an intern staying with me for the night that thought she better stop the pounding. She hollered up the stairs, "Jessi, it's ____, and she wants you to take her mom to the hospital." In a split second I had my feet running down the stairs with my keys. In that brief moment all rational thoughts were out the window and I couldn't get to her house fast enough, though it's just four doors down. The two little girls got in the car and mom came out. She was barely breathing and consistantly has bad asthma and other health problems. Between gasps she told me how to get to the hospital (and joked about how she easily forgets I'm not from Detroit) and we arrived at the ER.

She walked in, we parked. The parking attendant gave me grace as yet again I had absolutely no cash. I walked in with the twin girls, one in each hand. They had never been to the ER and were anxious to see what it looked like. They also were straining there eyes to find their mother and assure themsevles that she was ok. We had to walk through a metal detector. Though, not too much down here shocks me. We couldn't see her when I walked in. A little panic set in as I knew the condition she was in. The social worker sitting at the desk was no help and I felt so much sadness about how indignantly she treated those that walked in. Eventually, a kind woman who heard me describing her told me where she was and there was a kind brown nurse taking good care of her.

We waited a little bit but after her first treatment they took her 'back' (not sure what that means!). So I took the girls home at 11:00pm. I told the mom to call me back when she was done, both of us assuming she'd spend the night. When we got home three-year-old sister was standing at the door. I found the oldest sister and asked her to put the kids to bed and gave her the update on her mother.

I crawled back up the stairs to sleep and quickly began calculating the hours before I'd have to be up. Somewhere between sleep at 4:09 AM they were finished at the hospital and mom called me. I sprung to my feet back quickly down the stairs and out the door to get her. My rational thoughts of hours until i have to get up were quickly gone as I went to retrieve her. She was smiling, she was breathing, and she was exhausted. I told her the kids were doing great and we'd get them tomorrow for camp. She stumbled into the house, hopefully to peace and quiet and a bed. Hopefully, she's sleeping soundly now, and breathing better too.

I woke up this morning and wiped the sleep from my eyes. Immediately though, I was grateful that I was just four doors down and able to act as the ambulance. I love this family to pieces and would do it again for them or anyone, any time of the day.

Pray for our families.

june 18th, what?

WOW, I can't believe it's the middle of June already. I've been a million places, done a million things, and still have a smile on my face!

My three days in Harlem were awesome. I was blown away by this organization that we visisted. But, also encouraged that we are doing lots of things right and can definitely learn some things from them as well. We were very tired and saturated with information by the time we left. But, it was perfect timing as I really try and get my head around this new position leading programs. So far, so good.

Then I flew straight from NYC to Sioux Falls and had a perfect quick visit. I picked a great weekend and got to be a part of so many things. A proposal, cd release party, a wedding, coffee dates, goodbye to the Swarts and saw all the girlfriends!, celebration for Richie and Al, old friends, camp fires and so much more. It was great to be home. Not to forget just spending time sleeping in and being with my family. My sister bought a house too!!!! It was so fun to be home to see it and be with her for such an exciting thing (it's furnished too, what?!)

Then right back at work at 8 AM the next morning. Two summer interns arrived to help me out and camps began Monday morning! Just the three days we've had so far have been awesome. Anyone that knows me or remembers high school I love to be busy and I love to do a lot of things at one time. Well, I found the right job for that! We had two camps running yesterday. One from Dana's basement as it was supposed to be outside and it rained. But, God is good and we had a great day and saw lots of smiles and heard lots of laughs. The kids are having a great time. We have another week of camp next week and then I leave with the kids for a week of camp in Grand Rapids. They can't stop talking about it!

I'll add some pictures at the end of the week. Not that the week really ends. But, I absolutely love my job. I enjoy coming to work every day and love being a part of this life here at City Mission. It's a great feeling!!

Hope you are all well! Enjoy the sun!

summer is here!

I am so grateful for the change of pace summer always brings! Though it's still busy, it's a different kind of busy where sleeping in is 7:00 and still being at work on time. Who would have ever thought, right?

A few pictures to share with you what I've been up to:

This is Ariana and Bryon. They live down the street. We've been chalking like crazy with a little mix of bubble blowing and bocce ball playing in between.

A cool evening after mowing the lawn. This is a pretty popular event at my house (probably because they get dinner out of the deal). They love this slide that is made for three year olds. They call it their house (Thanks Don and Devon!!!)

My humble little garden. This is my first gardening adventure. I have potatoes, lettuces, tomatoes, watermelon, peppers, herbs, and broccoli growing. There is an incredible program in Detroit called the Greening of Detroit which I paid $5 and they have given me tons of seeds and hot and cold crops. It is awesome! The kids have loved helping me and admitted yesterday they water my garden when I'm 'gone' (i haven't been 'gone' yet...). I'm glad they get to experience and learn gardening.

Breakfast for dinner. Terry, Ashawn, Javon, Geniah, and Brandi. They love pancakes for dinner and I love making the. This was after the previously mentioned mowing day. We spend lots of time around this picnic table on my front porch. It's a beautiful thing.

There's a little sneak peak for you. Lots of fun had between camp lists, summer programs, work days and endless registration forms! I'm heading out fo Harlem tomorrow to check out Harlem Children's Zone (www.hcz.org). This is a ministry very similar to ours but much larger. We are excited to see how they do it (Prince Harry was just there too!). Then straight from Harlem I'm flying to good ol' South Dakota on Thursday through Tuesday. I am so excited to be home to see my much missed family and visit some friends too. Look me up if you're in the area!

Love you!

The wheels on the bus go round and round

My class has been writing to pen pals that go to a Christian school far and forever away. They are from Oakland Christian school in a suburb, Auburn Hills, about an hour away. On Monday, we loaded up the mini but and made our way to meet these writing strangers! The kids were so excited, a tad nervous but couldn't believe we were actually going to meet them. When we got there some high schoolers were eating lunch outside and they were so concerned that those were our pen pals. It was a beautiful day and picture of God's grace as by the time we had to leave they were trying to exchange email addresses (...ha, which our kids don't have) and promising to 'stay in touch'. It was so much fun! (sidenote: we also write to my sisters class in South Dakota. Erik really thought we were getting on the bus and driving to South Dakota until we got there and he asked in amazement, this is South Dakota? Bless him. Also, Taugh- who has the best one liners of all time- arrived, got off the bus, and said "It smells like farm out here"...oh to live in the city...)





Friday of last week we loaded the bus with the whole school and went to Belle Isle. Belle Isle is a very colorful place! It's an island (obviously) where you are in Detroit but can see Canada on the other side (Justin Stottlemyre I hope you read this). On a typical weekened it's packed out with family reunions, picnics, fishing, and some other unmentionable activities ;). But, on this beautiful sunny Friday afternoon the park was free reign and the kids took advantage. We had 10 college students on a service project join us and besides a few scraped knees and bloody lips we had an excellent time! (and what teacher doesn't like an extra field trip at the end of the year!

Though I forgot to take a picture...we got on the bus again yesterday and went out to another far and forever away suburb, Novi. We have some friends, we call them, from a retirement community called Fox Run. This is not your typical retirement community though. It's like a all inclusive college that keeps these people a movin' and a shakin'. They come once a week and read with our kids so faithfully. Most are retired teachers/principals that can't even stop themselves. So, yesterday they invited us to their place for lunch and a tour of the place. We saw all the sites (just like cute little elderly folk would do) and even got to join the quilting ladies to make a quilt square. (one of the teachers may have predicted me in that room in 50 years, and i was so ok with that!) It was another beautiful day of blessing for our kids and people really loving on them. We love our Fox Run friends!

Just three more days of school!!! On Friday we have the "batman" coming. Some students really think batman is coming...we might let them think that for a few days. But, truly, he's just a man that has some bats and other strange animals. Not so sure where we found him. We also have our family picnic at lunch too. More pictures to follow!

LOVE!

Chicken Update

For those of you following me along the chicken saga (or shall we say drama...)...we had 10 eggs incubating nicely at City Mission Academy. We shook them three times a day and kept the water channels full just as instructed. We were told shaking them rather than turning them was more like a mother hen and we wanted to be the best mother hens we could be. We candled them along the way. That's where you hold a flashlight up to it to see the baby. Of course we were convinced that we saw some, ha, not. Well after day 25 the last possible day they could hatch we cracked them all open to find nothing other than egg yolks. Don't worry we didn't promptly make scrambled eggs for breakfast. Much disappointment but we decided life will go on. I was going to keep two of those 10 chickens, Libby and Rosie were going to nest at my house. But, because of all circumstances the chicken drama was put on hold.

However, Miss Amy, our wonderful garden lady says we will get eggs to hatch come hell or high water. She may have been so strong to say her life depends on it. She took the incubator home yesterday to try it on her own. Then, when the kids come back for school in July we'll try a new batch too see what we can do. Maybe we weren't the best shakers! Regardless, we'll continue to expose kids to things like caterpillars (which will hatch in 3 more days) and chickens because i think it will help them become they best they can be (that's how important these chickens are...)

Chickens and Caterpillars,
Jessi

first post

I've been sending out update emails for almost two years. The time for update emails has come to end and the joining of the blog world will begin. I'm sure many of you will be glad to not have me fill up your inbox anymore. The others of you that aren't, just check in here when you can. I'll update when I can and hope to add pitures more often than not. To start the blog I thought it'd have my first post be a list of 25 things about me.

25 things:
1. I'm a follower of Jesus Christ
2. I am 24 years old
3. My name is Jessi, not Jessica
4. I am a teacher in inner city Detroit, Michigan at City Mission Academy (city-mission.org)
5. I am also a home owner in inner city Detroit, Michigan
6. In two weeks I will no longer be a teacher but a program director at the same school/ministry in Detroit, Michigan
7. I planted a garden in my backyard. My first gardening experience
8. I'm from South Dakota, born and raised until college in Iowa of course
9. I adore my family. (near and far!)
10. I have worked as a fudge seller, mower, landscaper, coffee shop cook, babysitter, reading teacher, concessions seller, banquet server, and daycare worker all through high school and college. I never got bored
11. My very best friend peed her pants in her car outside of my house when we were freshmen in college and waited a few years to tell me
12. I consider Hillcrest Church in Sioux Falls, SD home.
13. I drive a '98 Bonneville and am pretty obsessed with it
14. I'm going out of the country in August for the first time to visit Joy in Australia!!!
15. I want to visit Alaska, and at least see or race in the Iditarod
16. I hate pickles
17. I love donuts
18. My life is all about children. But, I'm grateful that most nights they still go to their own homes :)
19. Some may describe me as crafty, in an arts and crafts manner.
20. Neighborhood kids play at my house almost all hours of the day (home or not) and I often make pancakes and eggs for them. Or our other favorite mac n cheese and hot dogs. Our favorite thing to play is Connect 4.
21. I am incredibly blessed and see and realize it more each day. My friends from all seasons of life are just incredible and continually support me in all I do. Millions of great memories.
22. My favorite thing in my kitchen is my red kitchen aid mixer from my former boss, Louanne. Which I use to whip up all kinds of yummy treats (too often according to Khalid)
23. I do almost everything fast. ...walk, talk, think, talk, move, talk, eat, talk, work, etc.
24. I enjoy watching reality tv shows. Survivor and Amazing Race are among my favorites. I'm still waiting for Tim Swart to get on Survivor.
25. I LOVE reading blogs. Therefore, I thought it was my turn to start my own.

Hopefully furthur posts will give 25+ more things you don't know about me in this crazy life I'm living in Brightmo' (in Detroit).

Love to you-
Jessi