Salvation League has kicked off! The jerseys look incredible and the guys love them (thanks go out to Gregg Farrell and Greg Lindhart for all their help with that)... After one night, here's the update (sorry I don't have scores with me)DBB lost to DynastyRebels lost to Next LevelDeep N Pack lost to Too EasyThe overall attitude and sportsmanship was FAR better than last year. Myself and some others volunteering had a meeting last week to discuss how we can limit arguments/anger/anything that could escalate to fighting, etc. and so far it seems to be working. Our first night of devotion was given by Joey Rodriguez, pastor of Bridge of Hope (he came up with the verse for the league so we thought it appropriate that he give the first devotion over that verse). The league verse is Joel 2:32--"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." He talked about how they did not have to pay anything for the jerseys, they were all paid for. In the same way, we do not pay for our salvation; it was paid for by Jesus Christ himself on the cross. Amen to that message! The next set of games for the other 6 teams are on Thursday; then it's every Monday and Tuesday after that. We are currently in the process of getting a banner made to hang in the gym; once we get that we will take team pictues under it and I will post them on here!
Open Gym is back to having 30-40 guys a night and back to being open until 1:30 AM--not all guys who come to open gym are in the league either! Some of these guys from open gym even came early yesterday to help me set everything up, and when I had a malfunction with the new basketball I just bought, one guy let me use his for the night. New relationships are developing--they appreciate what is being done for them (one guy even commented how the people "beg" for things like this). In the midst of these new relationships, I am finally reconnecting with old ones I have not seen in a while. Kenny and Elvin are two Puerto Ricans that I considered good friends and they confided in me last summer. I've talked about Elvin before (his brother was shot and killed over a year ago)... Well Kenny called me out of the blue a couple nights ago--he said he had forgotten that I left my phone # inside a bible I gave him (which he confessed was buried under things). Kenny's brother has also been going to Joey's church these past couple months, so I talked to him about how he needs to READ his bible, and should check out Joey's church with his brother. I look forward to continuing conversations with him. I've also reunited with some PUC guys (though there are still many I have yet to see) and that's where the title for this blog comes from. I was sitting in the gym office when I heard someone yell "BRACKEN!" It was Ken, from PUC... we got to talking and when he asked about the gym schedule, I mentioned that bible study would be starting on Friday... "You always doin' bible study," was his reply... that's nice to know.
The kid's ministry is exciting and depressing. Last week an incident happened right around the corner from the church. A man followed an 11-year old girl on her way to school, pulled her down an alley and raped her. Surveillance footage caught who the man was, and when his identity was released, the father quoted, "I hope the neighborhood finds him before the cops do." He got his wish... hours later the suspect was beaten so badly by a group of men that he was in critical condition in the hospital for a few days. As a result, some parents are not allowing their daughters to leave the house. At our first Kid's Bible Club, I asked an 11-year old boy why his girlfriend didn't come, that was his reply: "Parents won't let her out." If there is a kid that needs to go home and does not have a group to go with, Mary and I will walk that child home. The other depressing part is the fact that Mary and I have to clean the church playground every week--not just because of trash, but to make sure there are no needles or drugs lying around. In our first sweep, we did not find any needles/drugs, but we did find a bullet shell casing. It really reminds you of the power of the ministry we have to these kids now. The fact that they can come over to the church and have somewhere safe to play and be kids and GET ALONG, is a wonderful ministry for welcoming kids to the Kingdom of God. I thank God for Mary every day because of the service she is providing these kids; I could not have done it on my own. I thank God that he gave me a woman to marry who was willing to make sacrifices and live a place of potential fear/danger--but we trust in God's protection. Before we left KY, her mom took her out to buy a pair of sandals that had thick soles. I told her of the importance of this because she could potentially step on a needle--at that point, I knew that my wife was something special. This has been God's plan from the beginning, and Mary has grown much in her strength and courage being here since day one. Please pray for protection and for love for all. Also pray for the daily homeless people who come by for food and help--pray that God protect them.
Well i'm having problems posting pictures... guess it will have to wait
Jeff Bracken
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