Run to Win

  So today was our first day of Inner City Youth Ministry after a fun weekend of touring. To sum up the touring we went to the Space Needle, aquarium, EMP museum, Pike's Place, Science Museum, and the very first Starbucks :D (my favorite part). Today my group of Kathleen, Taniqua, Lexi, Hannah, and myself headed out a little before 8. We got lucky, and didn't have to figure out public transportation for our site because Kathleen actually drove her car here so she just drove us. We first thought we were in a group called, Tukwilla, but we found out later that there was some miscommunication and that the actual site we were suppose to have gone to was the Union Gospel Mission Youth Center.

    Our group of kids is spending today-Wednesday at a sports camp called, Run to Win. I read through a pamphlet of information about Run to Win, and I thought it was really cool. A guy started this camp several years ago in Washington because of his passion for sports, and passion for showing people who Jesus Christ is. So this is a camp that allows kids to be active during the summer in a Christian setting. There are lessons that the kids are learning throughout the week based on bible verses, and then their head coaches tie it together with the sport they're playing. I think it's really important to get kids involved in sports at a young age because it can set them off on a good path. It can be a great self esteem builder, and help the kids with other skills like, social skills, and team work etc. The sports that were at the camp today were football, soccer, volleyball, basketball, and cheerleading. Funny thing: I was one of the coaches for cheerleading. Yes, I Jamie Herman (a dancer) played being a cheerleader today. I actually enjoyed it a lot even though I'm not a fan of yelling cheers all the time.

     The kids were all really great. There was over 200 kids there. The ages of the kids are K-6. One of the first kids I met was named, Prince. He seemed really shy, but once I got him talking, he told me all about his dad, what sports his doesn't like, that he actually really likes tennis, and that he doesn't think he's very good at anything. But after kicking the soccer ball around a little, and doing some encouraging, he was acting like he was feeling better about himself. There was also a girl named, Neveah (LOVE that name) that was a little cheerleader diva. These kids come from all walks of life in the inner city, some very low income, others more middle class. I learned it's really easy to talk to them if you show interest. I didn't really talk to any of them about Jesus though, but that's okay. Some of them just want someone to pay attention to them, and love on them. They all had such great spirits, and I had a lot of fun today. Also, a girl named, Precious colored me a picture (: She's a sweet, little diva. The only bad part of today was that it was soooo hot, and I'm now sitting here horribly sun burnt. My arms are seriously tomato red, and the back of my calves (oddly) are really bad too. So aloe, and lotion are my friends.

     We got back around 6 today, and went right into supper. After that we had our first training for Prison week. It was literally in a class room setting, and we have worksheet packets to fill out during the presentations. Ron Dooley, one of the staff for CRU, is running the training. We learned about a lot of prison statistics today, and started venturing into what we can do to change things. It makes me really excited. I feel like this will be my favorite part of the trip. After training we had our DNA groups again. I was just not in the mood to do anything God related, but what we looked over seriously was written to me. We looked at reasons why we want to change certain ways that we live, or act, and our little DNA book had 3 reasons: 1. To prove ourselves to God. 2. To prove ourselves to others. 3. To prove ourselves to ourselves. THIS IS SERIOUSLY MY LIFE!!! I always live with the lingering thought that I  will never measure up, or that I'm not even good enough to God. I feel like I have to prove to God I'm good enough to get to heaven, and I never live up to the standards that I set for myself, or what I think God has set for me. I know I shouldn't be that hard on myself, but it's obviously something I need to work on. I just try to think no matter where I am in my walk of life, God is still there working, no matter how far I get off His path.

    Tomorrow we are back to the sports camp. We will be doing that until Wednesday, and since Thursday is the 4th of July, WE GET A DAY OFF. We are going to watch fireworks at some park, and I'm stoked. I'm not sure what is going on friday. Tomorrow I think I'll do some basketball, or volleyball so I'm in doors, and can heal my sun burn a bit.