Don't Worry...

Every once in awhile, I will overhear a conversation between a Granny’s House volunteer and one of our kids that puts a huge smile on my face. Yesterday was one of those days.

An 11 year old girl, and one of our volunteers were talking about the volunteers family (specifically her brother who isn’t a Christian). The volunteer was explaining that although he believes in “God” he doesn’t believe in Jesus.

CHILD: “What do you mean he doesn’t believe in Jesus?”
VOLUNTEER: “Well...he doesn’t believe that Jesus died for our sins on the cross, and he doesn’t believe Jesus was God’s son.”
CHILD: “Who does he think died for our sins then!?”
VOLUNTEER: “Well...I guess he doesn’t think our sins need to be forgiven.”
CHILD: “What! Is he a nice person?
VOLUNTEER: “Yep...he is a very nice person...just doesn’t believe in Jesus.”
CHILD: “Do his parents know about this?”
VOLUNTEER: “Yep...and they love him anyway, but they pray for him all the time.”

After about 30 seconds of silence...this was the child’s response...

CHILD: “Don’t worry....he’ll get it someday...”

Tears almost came to my eyes as I listened to the hope that an 11 year old Granny’s House child had for someone she had never met. What a precious display of what it means to whole-heartedly believe in the power and love of Jesus Christ.

Power Shopping?

These eager shoppers arrived Wednesday afternoon ready to power-shop, some arriving hours before the doors of this unique specialty “store” even opened. “I wonder if the blue look-alike shirts are still there… is that green swim towel with the brown monkeys still there?” swirled through their minds.

This unique specialty store is actually an integral part of our preparation to take thirty-two young people to Kids Across America Kamp (KAA). Since January, these excited kampers have been showing up for “KAA Work Days” to earn points to “spend” at the Kamp Store. The kids do anything from spreading mulch in the front yard to organizing craft supplies in the Activities Room to earn those coveted “Kamp Points.” They can, potentially, earn enough points to purchase every single item on their official “KAA Kamp List” from our little two-room “store:” one room for boys and one for girls.

At Granny’s House, we are always looking for creative ways to help the kids understand that they are unique and oh-so-valuable to us and to God; that they have been infused by God with gifts, talents, and strengths; that they are Victors not victims. We long to establish in the forefront of their thinking the relationship between work and provision. The kids are actually empowered by knowledge that they will have the opportunity to provide everything they need for the trip: everything from t-shirts, basketball shorts, and swim towels to rolling duffel bags and insect repellent – it’s all available at the KAA Kamp Store!

I’ll never forget the day we rolled off the bus upon our arrival at KAA a few years ago. As one of the college student counselors helped us unload our bags, he commented,
“…nice bags! Did someone donate them?” I quickly responded, “Oh no… the children bought them!”

All-too-often, benefits doled out to people living in public housing come with some level of stigma or shame attached. But not so with the Kamp Store! The kids are proud to know that they worked hard to provide their own Kamp gear – an invaluable lesson we believe will stick with them for the rest of their lives! -Granny Pam

Need a haircut?

Need a haircut? Head over to Cost Cutters and help support Granny's House during their "Charity Week" event July 13th-July 19th! We have worked personally with the owners of Cost Cutters in the past, and they are a great team to have on your side. They have a real heart for the kids of Granny's House and we are so thankful for this fundraising opportunity!

Basketball!

Finally!! Granny's House has been blessed with a basketball hoop! I wish I could put into words what this means for our very active and athletic kids! It was a fun first day with the "hoop" as dunking contests, 3-on-3 play, and staff vs. kids challenges took place. What a great way to spend a few hours in the summer sun!

Pray for our campers!

In thirteen days, 31 Granny’s House youth, and 5 Granny’s House staff/volunteers will travel 300 miles to Golden, Missouri to attend Kids Across America! For eight days, our kids will be experiencing countless sports opportunities (basketball, football, baseball, dance, cheerleading, biking, etc), ski-tubing, high ropes courses, and mentorship from amazing counselors and staff at camp. Over 800 inner-city youth from across the nation will join in our adventure to see God’s love in action.

Please help us in praying for our kids who will be attending camp! Click on the picture to see a large version of our “prayer card” and pick a child to pray for from now until we return from KAA (camp is from July 20th-July 27th). Specifically, we are asking prayer for:

-Safe Travels
-Homesickness (or lack there of!)
-Spiritual Growth
-Godly Relationships (between our kids and their counselors, and other campers)
-Burdens lifted (some of our kids are coming to camp with heavy hearts)

Thank You!

A BIG thank you to everyone who supported Granny’s House in “Golfing for Granny” on Monday June 16th 2008. The tournament brought in an overwhelming $20,000 for Granny’s House (the most this event has ever generated!).

For some organizations, a $20,000 check is like a small pebble in a bucket, but for us, it’s like a boulder! Because Granny’s House currently does not receive Government money, we solely rely on personal donations from churches, individuals and civic groups. $20,000 for us makes a huge impact on what we are able to do with the kids throughout the year.

This money will be used to...

-Provide a dinner for 40-60 children each day
-Purchase supplies for our eight programs throughout the year
-Provide toys, games and supplies for daily use
-Help celebrate birthdays and other special occasions with kids
-Provide opportunities to take kids off site for mentoring opportunities

Thank you again!

Update on the Mustangs!

It's been about four weeks since Prada, Thunder, Reece and Rudy made their way to Columbia, Missouri - thousands of miles from their birthplace in Nevada. So far, they seem to be enjoying their new, temporary adopted homes here in the midwest!

The Granny's House trainers have been on the farm working hard, investing countless hours in this year's Mustang Heritage Foundation's "Extreme Mustang Makeover Competition" which turns wild yearlings into domesticated animals, ready for permanent adoption. Much progress has been made, and we thought we would give you a quick update on the horses and their young trainers!

Prada: Vernita's chocolate brown horse was properly named! She is a tad "snobby" as Nita puts it, but is overall a very loving and sweet horse. She has come a long way since day one, and is now allowing Vernita to lead her around the "round pen." Vernita has also started working on some of the obstacles that the horses will be asked to complete in the September competition in Texas. She is incredibly protective of "Rudy" and gets upset when they are separated!

Rudy: Arreal is no longer able to compete in the competition, but her cousin Arianna has taken over the responsibility of preparing Rudy to compete at the Mustang Makeover competition in September. Although his personality is somewhat "laid back" (or lazy as some would put it), he is a very gentle and patient horse who has accomplished a lot in such a short span of time. Like Prada, he has already completed many of the competition obstacles, and is getting more and more acclimated to a more domestic life on the farm.

Reece: LaShawnda's chestnut colored horse is the biggest of all the Mustangs, but has an incredibly calm personality. It didn't take long for him to get accustomed to being near humans, and LaShawnda has been working hard at "leading" Reece and challenging him with new obstacles. She has even gotten Reece to walk over a small home-made bridge which is a big challenge! He is a good listener, and a great horse to work with! Oh...and if there is a camera around, you better believe Reece will find it and pose!

Thunder: What a perfect name for Starr's rambunctious yearling! Thunder is still struggling to adjust to the restricted, confined life on a farm, and at times gets a little "spooked" by all the people in the barn. Even though she's been the most difficult horse to "break," we are convinced that she will be ready for competition by September. Starr has been incredibly patient with her, and has a great attitude when she works with her!

We will keep you updated throughout the summer on their progress! And in the meantime, please pray for our four trainers' time and patience as they continue to make great strides to prepare their horses for the Extreme Mustang Makeover Competition in Texas this September!

Kids Club 2008

For the past 5 years, Granny's House children have participated in "Kids Club," a week-long summer adventure hosted by The Crossing. This year, this high-energy event drew more than 300 children, and 22 Granny's House kids were part of that crowd!

The Summer 2008 theme, "Amazing World Adventure," centered around the idea that God loves the people of the world. Each night, the children "visited" a new continent and learned about the culture, people and games of that continent. In addition to learning general "knowledge" about each continent, the kids played crazy games, participated in team competitions, and had plenty of opportunities to release all the energy that had been stored up throughout the day.

Each night, as the children made their way into the auditorium for the "opening skit," loud music, dancing and cheering echoed throughout the church auditorium. Our kids had a blast all week and were singing the "Kids Club" cheers every time we saw them!

The week ended with a family celebration where the kids enjoyed international foods, games (including the ever-popular sumo-wrestling) and even live African music. The Granny's House kids are already asking "When is the next 'Kids Club'" Thanks to everyone from The Crossing who enthusiastically welcomed all the precious children from Granny's House!

Art on Wheels

We certainly didn’t think of our entry as a “Masterpiece,” at least not in the classic sense of that word. After all, underneath all that creativity lies yards and yards of duck tape, pints of glue, dozens of bubble wands, and at least a gazillion tiny glass seed beads in every conceivable shade of brown. And instead of using fancy, natural fiber brushes, wooden toothpicks and a hot glue gun were the perfect tools for transforming that old pink bike into an “ArtCycle.”

After months of bead-painting, duck-taping, and spray painting, “Bubblin’ With Joy” finally made her debut at Columbia Art League’s premier ArtCycle Parade last weekend. The Art League’s contest rules were simple: transform a working bicycle into moveable art.

We think our all-primped-up little banana-seat bike showcased all the whimsy, fun, and intricate beauty of the precious children who cross our threshold everyday at Granny’s House… and so did the ArtCycle Contest judges. “Bubblin’ With Joy” was awarded the Grand Prize!

Click here to read the article in the Columbia Missourian and watch the video!

-Granny Pam

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Well, how does it grow anyway? That's a question that can readily be answered by the Granny's House kids who planned and planted, nourished and watered all those gorgeous flowerpot gardens that now adorn almost all of the front porches on Trinity Place.

The "Flowerpot Garden Project"* was the brainchild of Laurel McLagan of "Laurel's Flower Bed Makeovers." She wanted to do so much more than just teach the Granny's House kids about root systems, soil composition, and summer-weather plant care. Her main goal was to instill in the kids a healthy sense of pride and "ownership" as they beautified the neighborhood with the work of their own hands.

Laurel was assisted by an army of student volunteers from Christian Fellowship School who worked one-on-one with the Granny's House kids who carefully hand-picked which flowers to plant, nourished the soil, and then gave their freshly planted "gardens" a great big drink before each kid's pot was delivered to their front door. Their "gardens" were sealed with love by a sign that said "Planted And Watered With Love By_____" Afterwards, all those beaming faces and bright smiles confirm that this project was, indeed, a labor of sheer love and joy!

-Granny Pam

*The Flowerpot Garden Project was financed by a grant from WalMart