Your Prayers Please…

Finally!! Spring has arrived and today's temperature is a perfect 75 degrees! This means (among many other things) that our front yard is teaming with kids throwing footballs and frisbees, jumping rope and blowing bubbles. Our walkway is covered with a collage of colors as little “artists” produce masterpieces using plastic buckets full of sidewalk chalk.

Springtime brings families out to their front porches to visit with friends and neighbors; others come out to set up their bar-b-que grills in time for supper. It's not at all unusual to see a parade of moms strolling their babies down the street, and t-shirts and jeans whipping in the wind on backyard clotheslines.

Unfortunately, these near perfect, picture post-card kind of days are marred when we see a dozen police cars whiz by and hear the Granny's House kids' rumoring, “there's a fight breaking out up the street!”

These events are unsettling for the kids, staff, and volunteers. Our number one priority is to quickly whisk everyone inside to safety and that's often hampered when some of the sixty kids want to run the opposite direction to find out why police cars and ambulances are racing through their neighborhood.

In our seven-year history at Granny's House, the Lord has wonderfully protected us and showered us with great peace, mixed with lots and lots of giggles. We anticipate His continued Peace and Presence and now we'd like to invite you to join us in praying for the neighborhood.

“Just as Jerusalem is protected by mountains on every side, the Lord protects his people by holding them in his arms now and forever.”

-Psalm 125:2 (Contemporary English Version)

In the Spotlight-Kenny

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Kenny, a 13 year old young man who has been coming to Granny’s House for about a year. As we sat down for the official “interview” I knew I had my work cut out for me. On top of being a polite and bright member of the Granny’s House family, Kenny is (as his brother Anthony puts it) “a character!”

Upon meeting Kenny, the first thing most people notice is his contagious smile and witty humor (maybe that’s why it’s hard to stay mad at him for too long!). If he’s not telling a joke, or making a funny sarcastic comment--somethings wrong!

Kenny participates in a number of our programs, including Son’s of the King, CALEB the Science Club, and our Sunday Night Study tutoring program. He also attends The Crossing church, and said he enjoys the Junior High class and small group (especially hanging out with Justin and Travis-two of the classroom leaders). He also likes meeting new people, and when asked “Why do you go to church?” he said “Cause I need some Jesus in my heart”

Kenny plans on attending Mizzou when he is older, and hopes to be either a professional football or basketball player, or an actor. His “hero” is his father, who “brought me into this world, and tells me positive ways to handle situations when I’m in trouble.”

This summer, Kenny will be attending KAA with 25 other Granny’s House kids. It will be his first time attending, and he’s excited about going because he’s heard that it’s fun, and that the counselors are funny and crazy. (Granny’s House staff is convinced that he would make an incredible counselor himself one day!).

Among “Kenny’s Favorites”, are Kirk Franklin music, dancing, rapping, food and of course...girls! We are so proud of the young man Kenny is becoming, and can’t wait to see all the incredible things God has in store for his life.

The Plastic Microscope

Once upon a time, an eleven-year-old boy's dad gave him a brand new plastic microscope for Christmas. Interestingly, the little boy's father who grew up in rural Georgia, never learned to read or write himself, and signed his name with a great big “X” for most of his life. (I thought that only happened in old, western movies!) You have to wonder if this dad was merely giving his son an interesting “toy,” or if he subconsciously wanted to give him a key that might unlock a different future.

John Wesley Ingram's son, Dr. Ellis Ingram (we all call him “Poppi”), was enthralled with the world of science that his new little plastic microscope opened up for him. As a young boy, he spent hours gazing at fingerprints and watching shrimp eggs hatch under his microscope.

This fascinating little toy gave birth to a life-long passion for science that followed him from elementary and high school to the University of Michigan Undergraduate and Medical Schools; from the University of Missouri Hospitals and Clinics Pathology Department, on to Washington D.C., where he received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mentoring in Science and Mathematics (http://nia.ecsu.edu/onr/04summer/040506paesmem/paesmem.htm). But most importantly, that passion lead him to launch “Caleb - The Science Club” where he leads a team of mentors (medical doctors, medical students, graduate and undergraduate students etc.) who seek to impart passion for science in fifth through twelfth-grade students.

Today, you can log on to eBay and purchase a similar toy microscope for as little as .99 (or $6 if you're inclined to splurge!). But these days, “Poppi” has traded in his dime store toy for high-tech, computerized, multi-headed models that allow up to ten pathologists to simultaneously look at the same slide. Those microscopes can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The Granny's House kids who participate in “Caleb - The Science Club” learn serious science with state-of-the-art equipment and technology from some of the top scientists and scholars in their fields. I'm fascinated by how the Lord uses those day-to-day events of our lives to plant seeds that birth His purposes…even using plastic, dime store toys!

-Granny Pam

Stepping Stones

What started out as a practical solution to a rather annoying situation (a flooded and muddy front yard) ended up being an art project for every child that crosses the threshold of Granny’s House.

Walking from the Boone Drive parking lot to 302 and 304 Trinity Place, a colorful array of stepping stones line the way to the front door of Granny’s House. Each stone is decorated uniquely by a child and shows their personality and artistic side! From, “God is my Father” to a simple “Hope” each brick describes in some way God’s love for the kids of Granny’s House.

Since it’s start 3 years ago, over 100 children have made a stepping stone for Granny’s House, helping make our small haven on Trinity Place feel like home.

GoodShop!

Some of you already know about our participation in GoodSearch,* but did you know that Granny's House can also receive donations every time you shop online via one of GoodShop's participating businesses? - businesses like Gap, WalMart, eBay, Home Depot, Amazon, and Macy's to name a few.

Because Granny's House is one of GoodSearch/GoodShop's registered charities, everytime you make online purchases at one of their participating stores, a percentage of your purchase is donated to Granny's House (.5% to 37%).

I can't think of a single reason not to “GoodShop” for Granny's House, can you?

*GoodSearch donates a penny to Granny's House every time you use GoodSearch search engine (www.goodsearch.com).