Community 4:12

Last Day of School Excitement

 As of 2:45 this afternoon, Brian and Erik will officially have "graduated" on to the 4th and 5th grades respectively.  They made it through their first year at Bardwell Elementary here in Aurora, and I would say it went better than we even hoped.  They both made a lot of friends and adjusted fine.  Brian brought home a computer print-out yesterday saying this year at school he read more words based on the reading tests he took than any other 4th grader--something like 450,000 words.  And that doesn't include the 5 "Harry Potter" books and the bazillion other books he flew through at home.  And Erik probably spent at least 50% of his day at school each day reading, since he was given permission to pull out a book anytime he was "bored" or finished his work early.  I can't begin to keep up with all that he reads, but I know "Crime and Punishment" was one of the books.  It's a little scary having a 4th grader who has to read high school and college level books in order to be "challenged"   . . . I am quite sure he is reading things not completely appropriate for his age or maturity level.  But, I am absolutely thrilled that both boys love to read so much.  I was worried coming here from Naperville that the boys might not be challenged at school, but then I remembered that people like Abraham Lincoln were pretty much totally self-taught by reading.  So, we're just encouraging their love for reading.  They are both a little worried that they aren't going to be able to pack enough books to last the entire month that we are in Costa Rica. 

Anyway, I digress from the main point of this post . . . summer is almost here and the boys are super excited (and Scott is even more excited, as he had a VERY challenging class of 3rd graders this year).  I remember that "last day of school" feeling as a kid and there's nothing like it.  When we aren't in Costa Rica, the boys will spend their days playing outside with kids in the neighborhood, taking swimming lessons, playing baseball, and escaping to their various fantasy lands through the piles of books they will read.  Can I be a kid again this summer?!

Our Digs in Costa Rica

 

I can't believe in exactly one month we will be in Costa Rica for a month long Spanish Immersion program.  We had dinner with a family this weekend who has done this same thing (and happen to be sponsoring our trip), so we learned a few things to do (or not do) so as not to totally embarrass ourselves.  The boys are a bit freaked out that they are going to have to hug and "fake kiss" everyone they meet as a proper greeting.  We also learned that we will be staying with a family that has two boys---ages 13 and 7--who love to play "futbol" (soccer) and with farm animals.  Erik and Brian are going to have a blast!  The family pets?  Dogs and chickens, so we were told to bring ear plugs if we want to sleep past the crack of dawn!  It's going to be a great adventure.

School Supplies in May

We are trying something new this year.  Every August we always do a school supply collection at Community to make sure the kids at Brady Elementary come to school prepared to learn.  This year we decided to try something that a lot of the surrounding school districts do . . . order pre-packaged kits that contain all the supplies for each grade level that the teacher requests.  It's great---no shopping and not being able to find the right things, no trying to stuff everything into one bag, no hauling tons of supplies from church to the school, and it actually ends up being a lot cheaper this way.  So, all a person has to do is say they will commit to sponsoring a child for $25.  The challenge is, we hve to place the order now for next fall.  People at Community are not used to this rhythm, so I knew we couldn't expect to get a lot of people to commit to school supplies NOW when they are thinking graduation, summer, etc.  So, I had to take a guess as to how many people I THOUGHT would sponsor children and lay that cash out up front.  Yikes.  I committed to 300 kits (about 1/2 the school) for this year.  That's $7,500.  Double Yikes.  Thankfully, I've been pleasantly surprised at how many people ARE willing to sign up now (and pay now) for supplies for the fall.  In fact, we have gotten some terrific feedback that people love this idea.  Everyone will get names of specific children that they are sponsoring, because Brady families will order a kit at registration in August (and pay a small amount so that this will still be a fundraiser for the school).  So, sponsoring families can actually write a personal note to the child(ren) they sponsored to help them start the year off right.  I have to attribute this brilliant idea to Ron Kelso who has done all the leg work to make it happen.  We have had a good response already, but we are no where close to 300 yet, so if you'd like to sponsor a child with school supplies for next year, email Ron at ronkelso@sbcglobal.net and let him know how many ($25/child)!

Amazing Friends

I have the kind of friends and family that most people would kill for.  A year ago, I made my husband, Scott, swear that we would let me 40th birthday this year go by completely unannounced.  He must have had his fingers crossed, because last night about 60 people descended on my home to give me the most amazing surprise birthday I could have imagined.  I am getting teary just thinking about how humbling it was to have so many people come out to celebrate with me.  And the gift they gave me totally took my breath away.  These people, all of whom have given and sacrificed far more than Scott and I have for Community 4:12, CCC, and the world, gave Scott and I an all expense paid weekend in Chicago--hotel, meals, a show.  And many of these same people just 3 years ago came in and gave our home a total make-over when Scott had been out of work getting his teaching degree so he could come work in East Aurora.  It is times like this when you just have to swallow your pride and know there is just absolutely no way you can adequately thank or ever come close to reciprocating the gift you have been given . . . kind of like Christ's gift.  They all know that being the center of attention is about my least favorite thing in the world, but how could I not love every minute of being with the people that make life worth living for.  I love you guys and wish I could throw a similar "love fest" for each and every one of you!  Thank you!

Oh, and after everyone left and I sat crying through all the "love letters" they wrote me and got to my son Erik's card, I just burst out laughing.  He wrote,"Happy 40th!  I hope you have the best birthday ever!  Love, Erik.  PS--Be grateful for your brown hair.  It'll soon be gray!"  Next time I have to give a speech, I know who I am going to to help bring some comic relief!  I love that kid.

Habitat Groundbreaking

Three years ago, Ron Kelso's (2nd from left) life was shattered when his 19 year old son tragically lost his battle with depression and ended his life through suicide.  With the strength that only God can give, Ron committed to fulfilling a dream he and his son had shared---to build a Habitat for Humanity Home.  Ron sponsored a fundraiser and raised $35,000---enough to purchase land for a Habitat build.  Because of his ties to Community 4:12 and the work we are doing in East Aurora, he was determined to do the build in that community.  However, there has been no land available, so for the past 2 1/2 years, the money has sat in a Habitat account. 

This spring, Habitat decided to embark on a project they had not done before . . . rehabbing a foreclosed home.  It is on the East Side of Aurora and the approximate cost?  About what Ron had secured in cash and in-kind donations.  Ron got to meet the Craft Family (mother and 2 teenage twin daughters in this picture) and immediately knew this was the family "Kevin's" home had been waiting for.

Today was the groundbreaking ceremony.  Even though the house is built, it was gutted to the studs due to extensive mold damage and so for the next 2 months, every Thursday and Saturday teams of volunteers will work to build the Craft Family their new home.  If you'd like to participate in one of the build days, click here to contact Ron. 

I am so proud and humbled to have Ron as a dear friend and long-time leader with Community 4:12.  Thank you for your faithfulness, Ron.  I can just see Kevin's smiling face, and I know his loving and generous spirit is being built into this home.

Praying with the Mayor

Once a month for the past year or so, I have had the priviledge of gathering with a few Aurora pastors at Mayor Tom Weisner's office to pray with and for him and his staff.  There are a lot of things I respect about the mayor, but one of the big ones is his desire to involve the Church in addressing the issues challenging the city.  He is surrounded by some strong Christ followers in his office, and while I am not sure how he would describe his relationship with Jesus, he is at least interested in blanketing the city and his office in prayer.  I appreciate his willingness to share both work and personal challenges and submit them to us to pray for him and his family.   I loved his simple prayer this month, "Help me to always remember that I serve both the City of Aurora and You." 

Just don't give up . . .

One of my great joys this year has been leading two Enrichment Groups at Bardwell Elementary School on Mondays ---one for 6 third graders from Brian's class and one for 5 fourth graders from Erik's class.  We have done everything from writing a short story to submit to a Scholastic Book competition to learning about web search engines and internet research to studying endangered animals and historical people, places, and events.   It has been a real thrill for me to watch young minds expand over the year.

To wrap up the year, the kids in both groups really wanted to take an educational field trip somewhere.  Not being an official teacher of the school, getting transportation and approval to take the kids out of the building was a challenge, so I decided to bring the field trip to them instead.  So today, children's author and illustrater, Kevin Luthardt, came and did a two hour workshop for the 11 children I have been working with all year.  He talked about the process of writing a picture book from idea to publishing, and he shared some of his own story of becoming a writer (he even pulled out a big stack of rejection letters that he got before publishing his first book).  He taught the kids how to draw a cartoon elephant and then asked each of them to start a story by using the "story board" process.

All of the kids did a great job, but there are a couple in the group that I see brimming with potential to be writers or artists or both.  I can only pray that they are going to have some strong people in their lives encouraging them them not to give up . . . because sometimes all it takes is a couple of rejection letters or comments and potential never becomes anything more than that.

Uneasiness

Had one of my dreaded moments as a mom yesterday.  I got home from work and my 10 year old said, "Mom, I almost got beat up today."  He then proceeded to tell me about the kickball game he played afterschool and how one of the boys didn't like a play he made and the next thing he knew this boy had pushed him to the ground and was smoothering him.  Then one of Erik's friends came up to that guy and started hitting him to get him off Erik.  Thankfully my husband and some other teachers were around and things were stopped before they got out of control.  The boy that attacked Erik claimed that Erik had pushed him.  There were enough witnesses to refute that claim, but I know my son well enough to know that he might have shown a bit of an attitude or said something in a tone of voice that could have been perceived as confrontational.  Not a big deal most of the time, but to a child prone to anger or aggression, that might be all it takes to provoke a full-fledged attack.  Thankfully he could learn that lesson without serious ramifications, and I pray he learned it well.

But I am feeling really anxious today.  What if this boy, who ended up getting suspended from the after-school program, decides he wants to seek revenge?  I've not really worried about the boys playing with kids in the neighborhood, but today I'm feeling a little more apprehensive about that.  Erik seemed to be okay with it all, but I wonder if he is feeling a little more scared than usual at school today.

I know something like this could have happened in Naperville or anywhere, but there is no denying that some of the kids we see around portray a pretty rough image.  I don't want to feel afraid or uneasy living in our East Aurora home, so I hope this is a temporary feeling.  There are some great kids in the neighborhood, too, and I don't want to get blinded or jaded to that fact.

Field Trip to Springfield

Had a great day traveling with the 4th graders from Bardwell Elementary to Springfield.  The day started before 5:00 am and we didn't return until after 9:00 pm, but the kids were terrific and we saw some great places.  The Lincoln Museum was particularly impressive and interesting.  Hard to identify the wax from the real people in this picture, huh?  I guess the clothing style makes it pretty easy to identify my group from Lincoln's family, but there were some pretty impressive wax figures!

A highlight of the day for me was getting to spend some time with one of the boys from my son Erik's class who is considered a "bully" (he's not in this picture, because he refused to be associated with our group).  He had some pretty shocking things to say about his dream of growing up and recreating a genocide like the Haulocaust to wipe out all races except Puerto Ricans, and about what he was going to do with the several shot glasses he purchased from the gift shop.  But he was also the most interested of all the kids in the group in actually learning something on this trip and had a pretty amazing ability to synthesize information.  He started off the day by telling me he didn't like "white people," which I took as a warning that he was not going to be pleasant to be around.  But, we ended up having a couple of really good conversations, and I saw a softer side to him that I would guess he doesn't reveal very often.  I see two very clear and opposing possible paths for this bright young man who is obviously a leader.  I fear the one he will take is what everyone is predicting; I pray some positive relationships will step into his life and steer it the other way.

Parents United in Action goes to 2 more schools!

Thanks to the generosity of Community attenders during out Celebration Generosity, I have the funding to significantly expand our Parent Mentor program next year.  We will continue at Brady and Bardwell and will take it to two other elementary schools in the same geographic area, Beaupre and Rollins.  I had a wonderful meeting with the Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education this week, and it was so encouraging to hear her say they would like to work with us to find a way to take this program to all 12 elementary schools in the district.  For now, though, it was so fun to be able to tell the principals of those two schools that they can have the program at their schools next year if they are interested.  I don't think I've ever heard a quicker, "YES!" before (they knew about the program from hearing the principals at Brady and Bardwell talk about it).  So, thank you Community for providing an opportunity for 30 East Aurora parents to have a life changing experience next year!