preppin for the block party

howdy hoody.  it’s another beautiful (if by beautiful you mean hot, muggy, and overcast) day in pitty, and i’ve had a pretty busy day so far.  i’m still smack dab in the middle of orientation, and will be for the next two weeks, but today was a little different than normal.  i chilled with my BASIC (brothers and sisters in Christ) elementary day camp team all day, along with some of the others from the youth development program.  my team has a fantastic dynamic, and we’re getting to know each other better and better each day.  every other team member, except for one, are college-aged students that live close to TPP and who went through TPP when they were in elementary and middle school, and even high school i think.  the other team member is a girl from IWU…so shout out to all of my IWU friends   my team consists of all girls, that is, all girls except for me.  there is one male member that is full time (year round) staff that is going to be a “floater” and help out wherever he is needed, but he really isn’t around a lot.  the girls are pretty sweet, but i’m having a great time getting to know the guys that i’m rooming with, and also other guys at TPP.  most of the college students from out of town are working with the middle school and high school youth groups that come and visit TPP to do home repair around pitty.

the first thing my team did today was travel around to all of the different elementary and middle schools (and a couple of high schools) in the area where there were kids who came to TPP.  we stopped and prayed for each of the schools after learning some statistics about the respective schools.  it was great to get out and about, but it was so humbling and impacting to see the standardized test statistics that correlated with the schools.  the majority of the schools were only around 25% (or thereabouts) proficient in regards to reading and math on the PSSA, which is the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test.  this meaning that only around 25% percent of their kids were proficient or better, and it consistently declined the older the age group got.  one school only had 9% proficiency.  gut check, yeah?  how much do we take our education for granted?  how much more do we have in resources compared to these schools?  why isn’t anything being done to help these schools?  for some of these kids, if not all, this education is their only ticket into a better life.  how does it help if it is only marginal?  be in prayer for the pittsburgh public schools.  but furthermore, our interaction with the kids here at TPP is vital, and Christ being evident in our lives is such a necessity for the kids to see.  pray for that as well.

and in reaching out to the community, we are having a block party tomorrow!!  we passed out flyers today all around the area, and we are hoping to have a great turn out.  there is a pretty nice park right across the street from TPP (along with a swimming pool that we run) and that is where we will be hangin.  pray for an interest beyond a normal social setting for something more, something complete, something magnificent, and that interest being Christ. pray for our interaction with the neighbors, and that they would come to know TPP as a safe haven and a positive place to send their kids.  pray as well for the community around the area and for the crime and violence to stop. haha…i’m throwing a bunch of prayer requests out, so in conclusion…just pray.

i must say, however, that i am totally, wonderfully, and completely falling head over heels for urban areas, cities, and the community that is found within.

if any of you have any prayer requests, thoughts, ideas, or anything that you want to share with me so that i can pray for you or just dialogue, email me at bdandrew@owu.edu.

ben.

Hello from Pittsburgh!

it has been quite a while hasn’t it?  i would almost feel like this is the appropriate place to apologize to you for that, but if you’re seriously angry with me, you expect too much

for those of you who are not aware, i am currently in pittsburgh, PA doing inner city ministry at an organization called the pittsburgh project. it is phenomenal so far (even though i’ve only been here for a little over 24 hours) and i am meeting a lot of really cool people and kids. i will be teaching 4th and 5th grade boys all summer at the day camp here, and i had the opportunity to chill with them today for a little while. we kinda hung out and played tag and all that for a little bit, but then we finally settled down and did homework. haha…they are great kids, and i have yet to meet all of them. and what’s more, they taught me how to play ace-deuce (on a backgammon board…..?) which is a pretty sweet game.

pitty is beautiful! and i think i am quickly falling in love with this city. it is nothing like i’ve seen before, and definitely a lot different than d-town. hills everywhere! the area that i’m in is really a pretty nice area (comparatively) and i am excited to get to know it, and the kids that come through TPP better.

but nothing too much has really happened. just a little bit of orientation, paperwork, and team-building stuff. trying to learn names and make friends and get used to the environment. i’m excited, but i don’t think that i understood how long it is actually going to be until the summer is over. but it will be wonderful i’m sure!

stay posted.

ben

“on a mission to be what i’m destined to be”