Pool Party, Birthdays and Baptism! WOW

On Saturday we had our annual end of the school year pool party for about 20 of our MYM kids. It's always fun to take them out of their daily grinding atmospheres and just let them be kids and let loose. Their lives at home are so chaotic at times that they never get to experience the simple fun activities that most of us get to enjoy. So it's always a treat to watch them have an amazing day, even if it is just swimming at a local neighborhood pool. Thank you to David and Kim Rice for letting us invade their neighborhood.

The first time we ever took our kids swimming just about 90% didn't know how to swim or were just plan scared to get in. Most of them had never been to or even seen a pool in person before, wow uh? But it was really cool to see everyone of them in the pool swimming under water, jumping around and having a blast on Saturday. One of the girls that was so scared the last time we went was swimming all over the place. That is largely due to her getting swimming lessons a few times this past year. A big thanks to Tim Rhodes for picking her up and taking her to learn how to swim and not only that but getting to do something she would've never had the chance to do otherwise.

We also cooked out some hamburgers, hot dogs and had some delicious cake (thank you Sharon M.) to celebrate nine of our kids birthday's. Some of them don't get anything on their birthday's and other's might get one thing, so it's a joy to be able to give them a little extra and let them know their loved and thought about. One of our boys William was so excited about the "TWO" mega water guns he got. The picture above is his reaction to opening his gift, (thank you Ross & Renae Mull).

It is great to be able to just meet these simple basic needs of these kids lives, taking them out to have fun. Isn't that what every child like to do, whether at home or going out they just want to enjoy life. Unfortunately with our MYM kids this doesn't happen to much in their day to day life, so thank you to everyone that helped at this event and provided a special day for them.

While meeting the basic needs is an important part of this ministry, it's the eternal need that is the end goal. On Sunday one of our kids Nate was baptized and it was glorious! He has always been one of our best kids in MYM and in the last couple of months he actual moved in with one of MYM board members family. He is a 18 year old kid who who got pushed through the school system his whole life. Without getting the type of teaching attention he needed in school the end result was being 18 and in the 10th grade. He is now in Huntington Learning center getting caught back up and getting the type of job skill training he needs to make it through life. If you go to our website, mymministries.org, you can read his testimony of how MYM has had a huge impact on his life. He gave his life to Christ a little ways back and on Sunday showed his act of obedience through baptism. This is what we existed for; Hope for Eternity! We look forward to what God is going to do with his life and all the others he puts in the path of Make Your Mark!

MYM Day

Another successful MYM day is in the Book! We started the morning with some very berry blueberry pancakes w/ maple sausage patties. Everything was berry good and all the kids enjoyed 2nd's and 3rd's; thank you Robin, Kelly, Sharon and Renae, compliments to the chef's. With our field being wet we weren't able to play outside today so we had to make a last minute adjustment for what we would do for our free time today. We took 20 kids to the local Lowe's and participated in the build and grow project. Every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month Lowe's puts on clinics for children. All the kids got an apron, goggles, a hammer and a small catapult project to put together. After they completed it, they received a certificate and a patch to put on their apron. You could tell they all really enjoyed it, but what was even more stunning to us was the fact that most of them had never been to Lowe's. It reminded us of the time we took a couple of the kids to Blockbuster Video to rent some movies and they ran around like they were at an amusement park. They had never been to a movie rental place before, the things we just do without thought are delicacies to those in poverty. So it was a great outing for them and thank you to the Lowe's employees that just embraced 20 at-risk youth with smiles on their faces.

Afterward we went back to the center a had our conversation with God time. We asked the kids before we left to write down what sins that they struggle with in life. As we dug into Colossians 3, the Lord talked about a lot of the same issues they had on their papers and we showed them that He knows their struggle. But as we went on we showed them the Way to overcome and that is by putting those ways to death and taking on the new ways He speaks of in the chapter; above all things putting on LOVE. It is our goal this year to really challenge the kids to become more like Christ and experience life the way He desires it to be, ALL-OUT!

Thanks to Mint Hill Baptist Church members we were able to also fulfill the other half of our mission statement today, meeting basic needs. They packed gallon Ziploc with toothpaste, soap, deodorant, school supplies, etc. We were also able to give out some really nice clothes donated by a close friend, thank you Kirsti. These are the kind of needs we are not able to meet without the help of others, thank you so much for you time and sacrifice.

We finished by keeping six of the older kids to cook three large pans of Lasagna to feed to our homeless friends in uptown Charlotte. It's always really cool to see their desire to want to cook and serve this community. We notice that every child does want to make a difference in this world, but they are never given the opportunities. They work so well together in the kitchen and out at the site where we feed. Here at MYM we firmly believe that the best way the lead in this world is to serve. Today they showed love by putting lasagna on a plate, water in a cup and giving precious smiles away for free. Thank you to all the MYM board members and volunteers who made today run smooth, without you we can't serve at our full potential. ALL-OUT!

Busy, Busy

It's been a while since we've have posted anything, there has been a lot going on here at MYM. Let's catch up, we traveled to Minneapolis the week of April 29 to attend the Summit six. It was a full two day event that was solely focused on the orphan. It is just a huge resource, networking hub for orphan care, whether that is adoption, foster care, orphanages and all other ways to work together to conquer the 147,000,000 orphan issue in our world. There is a movement happen within the body of Christ that is really exciting to see taking place. God's Spirit is moving in the hearts of His follower for the orphan. As we come together and lay down our self fess ways, God will do great miracles through all of us.

One of the main reasons we have not posted is because we have been working hard towards getting our web site live and running. In the next couple weeks MYM will be exposed to the world via web. We praise God for He has been patiently, but very strategically been putting together MYM. Before long MYM will be in Ethiopia making a difference in the street kid population. The need is vast and unmeetable on our own, but that is why we are so excited to be aligned with people who have a heart for the oppressed and forgotten one's of our world. For to long the rich keep getting richer and poor get even more forgotten about. Who will come to the rescue, who will be a voice for those who cry out in silence, we will! The world is falling apart all around us, just watch the news or read the web, but there is a God who is still sovereign and over all. His people are taught to be a city on a hill top, have you ever thought about a city on a hill top. They sit a top the hill shining their bright lights, from a distance they look like the twinkling of a star. The people look up to the top of that hill and desire to be there, wanting nothing more than to go and bask in it's glory. We should be that to this dark and broken world!

One of our older kids here in Charlotte had recently moved in with one of our family's to get on track with his life. He was 18 years old and still in the 10th grade with about a 5th graders education. Since being in his new environment he has been making positive changes in strides. He is in Huntington Learning centering and doing well. He works a part time job and is learning what it takes to live a decent enjoyable life. This story has hints of the movie Blind Side all over it. MYM is so thankful to be in a position to be able to help those in need, to all those who are and have supported Make Your Mark, we would like to say thank you for allowing us to better serve the world around us. Without you we would not accomplish near as much. ALL-OUT!

MYM Today

Make Your Mark had an amazing time today serving, playing, encouraging, and most importantly loving on the youth of Charlotte. We started the day as usual; feeding the soul. This year we are really focusing on leading the kids we work with to truly trust Christ with their whole life. Today we encouraged them to know that no matter what they are facing in life, Christ loves them and has an amazing plan for them. Even when things aren't going their way, life just sucks right now or if they wonder if God is even listening. The answer to those comments are, He is there and if they would trust Him, He promises VICTORY! A few of them today were really soaking it in, asking questions, being honest with their struggles, really good conversation today.
After we fed the soul we fed the belly. With being a little low on volunteers today, Bojangle's served well. We are having shirts made for everyone, so we asked them to write one sentence of how do they want to be remembered. That is the motto for MYM and we constantly encourage to leave positive marks in this world and ask them, "How will you be remembered?". We are going to have some of these printed on the shirts with the other graphics. Here are a few of the kids responses: Mani- I want to be remembered by my love, hope and helping others when they need it, Isael- by feeding the homeless, William- I want to be remembered by MYM changing my life (humbling), Nate- making a big impact in neighborhoods, Curtis- God and we did have some bball players, football players and a superstar; I mean come on, you gotta have a superstar right?
So thankful for the nice warm weather!! We finished the day off with some out door activities. We started off with the always funny dizzy bat competition. It's amazing how every one's sense of balance is different. Some couldn't make it two feet without falling and some you couldn't even tell they spun around the bat. Then we had an intense game off kickball. The best play of the game had to of been Mani hitting Chavante in full stride, OUTTA HERE! We finished with a refreshing water balloon toss and war. Everyone one was wet, cool and laughing; good times.
This is what MYM is all about, meeting basic needs, today that was just having fun. One of the kids said, "So thankful it was MYM today, didn't want sit in the house all day". That is their life most days, no one to care and love on them. Then it's most importantly, meeting the eternal need. When William wrote that MYM changed his life, it's not us, it's the love of Christ. He will realize that one day and prayerfully worship Him with his life. Thanks for reading... ALL-OUT!

Meeting the Basic

We had one of our MYM kids call us today and asked if we could help him go to the beach with the band he is a part of. This isn't your typical garage rock band, it's a place that is a positive outlet for inner city youth and keeps them out of trouble. Most of the families that we work with don't have the extra money to send there kids to camp or let them participate in extra curricular activity's. They are trying to keep the lights on, put food on the table or unfortunately some are just trying to keep their addictions fed. So we are thankful that Make Your Mark can intercede here and help show these kids that they are loved, thought about and believed in. We meet the basic need first in order to relay the eternal need. He asked what did he need to do to work off the money and we told him that he didn't need to do anything. In his environment you never get something for nothing, you always owe someone for a favor. We told him that we love him and believe in his musical abilities and that we don't have to work for God's love, it's a free gift. Here at MYM we can only hope that these small acts of love will not only lead them towards salvation, but towards the abundant life Christ offers for today.... ALL-OUT!

World Changers

We had the privilege to share with 200+ Middle school students today, of how God to two broken lives and restored them beyond belief. As Carmen and I shared God's story for our life, I had so many moments of complete awe. Awe of a Creator who cares deeply for His creation. He goes to the darkest of places to rescue His chosen ones, He pursues with no end in sight. Sexually abused, abandon, thoughts of suicide, abortion, alcoholism, drug addict, ex-convict, anger; Redeemed, Adopted, Thoughts of Life, New life, Filled with THE Spirit, Freedom, Peace.

Our faith in Christ goes far beyond our salvation, while it is why Christ came to earth, to die for our sins and spend eternity with Him. It's also about being all that He needs us to be today. That is what Make Your Mark is all about, challenging the people of this world to living it out. We all know the Lord's prayer and in it He says, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven". Today 200+ teenagers were encouraged to be passionate, be bold with their faith and live in the promises of God. Promises given in Romans that state we have overwhelming victory in Christ Jesus who loves us; quit living defeated and live the way the Lord intends. So thankful to share the Gospel (Good News) today, "How will YOU be remember!" ALL-OUT!

With action we will not let them perish! The poor are all around us and we blindly go about our days. Christ did not set us free to wait on heaven but His prayer was for His Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Mark Your Mark takes the Gospel to wherever He leads, His heart is for the poor and so is MYM.Just the other night we had a family call and inform us that they had run out food and didn't know how they would make it the rest of the month. This is a family with two working parents and three kids. They make just enough money so that they don't qualify for the assistants they really need, they fall between the cracks. Thankful they know that they have somewhere to call, somewhere that doesn't care where you are or how much you make. It must be a terrible feeling to call someone in order to put food on the table for your family. Praise the Lord that He has giving MYM the resources to be able to provide in these times of need. Thank you KB, for it was your faith in action that helped meet this need.

The rewards of faith are amazing to think about, but it's not living if your waiting to die.

Psalm 72:12
He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them