Message to Staff and Volunteers

I want to thank you all again for a great club last night we had a couple of good things happen that I wanted to let you know about.

Did you see the new game the African kids had, pulling each other’s pants off. I saw at least 4 kids surrounded by 3-8 others getting their pants pulled off. It is great to hear them laugh but I guess that is not the best game. I told them the same thing as when they wrestle, “do that at home” J

We had a new kid named who I met in detention this last Sunday. I knew he was getting out yesterday and to be honest I forgot to call him until 15 minutes to 7. I heard him in the background asking his mom saying “this is the guy I told you about”. He came a couple of minutes late but jumped right in playing basketball. He smiled ear to ear when I saw him all night. I got a call just after 10 and I ran to the phone, I was afraid one of you had a problem, I just missed the call but I checked the voice mail right away and in it he said he loved it and wanted to know if there was any other Church activities he could go to. I think we can help him with that.

I am so glad some of you play basketball with the kids. I am so bad at it that I am embarrassed and to be honest there is nothing in this world I hate more than basketball. Short guys wrestle, they don’t play basketball. When you play so hard with them you are telling them you love them. I am so grateful for all the different gifts you have. We don’t have to be the same to work together and we are so much better together than alone. Thanks so much.

Theresa told me that the special education teacher at Fargo South wants all of her students to come to club. We have had a major impact on the special needs kids that come to our group and a teacher is recognizing that. I am going to meet her and reach out to any kids who want to respond.

I have been accused in the past of “just having handicapped kids,” or “filling your group with refuges” . My response, besides being offended, is that our group is not all one kind of kid rather it is the most diverse group I have ever heard of. And so what if every kid was special needs. How do you measure the value of a soul. I truly believe that God loves them all and I will share Christ with anyone who will listen, rich, poor, black, white, special needs, honor students, skaters, jocks, they all will go to hell if they don’t have a relationship with Christ.

One of you had something happen that I want to make all of you aware of. A kid that this person has been working with for a few weeks hung up on them when they called to invite them to club. I think the kid is kind of a jerk for treating someone who is reaching out to them that way. We talk about the good things that are happening but the fact is we are rejected constantly and I never get so tough that it doesn’t hurt. I guess I hope I never do. Please keep calling that kid. Just like Christ keeps calling us when we are rude and jerks to him so we need to be unrelenting in loving these kids. If they reject Christ it won’t be because we stopped trying to love them. I have been hung up on, lied to (Tommy is not home) and stood up not once or twice but I am pretty sure every week. Hang in there you are doing a great job.