"There is Surely a Future Hope for You, and Your Hope Will Not Be Cut Off." ~Proverbs 23:18

It's been so long!  I apologize!  But so much has been happening that it's been hard to keep up with.  I'll try to break it down simply and quickly here.

New Employees

Jeff and I started at half-time salary at Pomona Hope as the Youth Coordinator and the Kids Coordinator, respectively, as of January 2, 2013.  YAY!!!

Reason #1 this update took so long: I was still working half-time at my other job for the first two weeks.  So, it ate up a lot of my time.  That job was about an hour away, so during that period, I was getting home 12 hours after I left with no real lunch break.  I ate at my desk every day.  Except the last one.  That day I ate for free the whole day.

New Rooms

My last entry was not actually MY entry, it was something I reposted on Emily's behalf.  But it was for the work days in which we moved everything out of the church's kitchen (which we were using as two classrooms) and up to the 2nd floor into what WAS the Session Room, and is now our "Balcony Room."  It's set up like a classroom now, instead of a re-purposed kitchen!  That is where our K-3rd graders are now.

Not a kitchen!

She approves of her new room.

The loneliest goat sees the last sunset last.

Part two was moving our library across the gym and down the hallway into a newly painted classroom, and then changing what was once the library into my office, shared with Jeff.  No pictures of that until we get a chance to decorate it.  But the door is rather appropriately labeled, "Lounge." (Just kidding, we do work there!)

Things We're Working On

Jeff is working on repairing our computers.  They're all donated and very slow and he's doing everything he can to get them last as long as he can.  I'm SO glad to have an IT guy on the team!  Technology seems to hate me at the most inopportune times.

He's also working on bonding with the kids (especially the upper elementary and junior highers), in the hopes of retaining more of them through the junior high grades.  That's when they get super busy with extra-curricular activities, or when they decide they're too cool to get help with their homework.  But it's also probably the most important 3 years of their lives and lay the groundwork for shaping who they will be when they grow up!  So, in an attempt to keep them engaged, we're trying to think of more motivating ways to keep their attention.  (All ideas are welcome!)

Emily was doing SO much by herself for SO long that now that I'm really in it too, I have absolutely NO idea how she did it!

I'm working on taking over the volunteer coordination for the whole program... which won't actually take full effect until I'm full-time and creating the daily schedules myself.  (Which won't actually happen until I've fundraised all that from viewers like you. *wink, wink* *nudge, nudge*)

Part of that is training new volunteers.  We had one training yesterday and three more coming in the next week, in addition to our regular, monthly training sessions.  Let me know if you want to come!  (liz@pomonahope.org)

Reason #2 this update took so long: I was busy catching up on and learning all the stuff that Emily was doing that she was/is having me take over.

(Reason #3 was along the lines of recovery period and laziness)

There is just so much to do!  But now that there are 3 of us, we can finally move forward instead of just struggling to keep it going as it is!  And that, to me, is exciting!

Funny Stories

The K-3rd graders have been asking to play outside during their gym games lately, and I figure as long as it's not rainy or blistering hot, why not?  So their game the past couple weeks has been "The ground is water and you're the shark!"  When anyone who is not the shark gets tagged, they have to leave the playground and sit on the bench, because they're captured, where they wait for someone who is still free to tag them again.  Does anyone know the name of that game? 

I consented to be the shark for two days, but then told them to have someone else do it, because they cheat.  A lot.

In any case, on day one, our youngest girl was playing and every time I chased after her, her eyes got as wide as she could make them (taking up half her face) and her mouth got as big as she could make it while she screamed and ran away.  I never managed to catch her because, while she's not very fast, I was laughing way too hard at the spectacle to actually tag her.

On another day, one older sister got very protective of her younger sister and started telling everyone that her sister could not leave the playground (where she was safe) because she's little.  The downside to that was that just about everyone got captured, and they needed someone to free them.  That's where this occurred:

"Melina*, go save them!"

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As the first kids came in to the program on Tuesday... I stuck my tongue out at Elena* (6 year old)
Elena: Hey! I saw that!
Me: Saw what?
Elena: You stuck your tongue out at me!
Me: You're right, I did. Do you still love me?
At this point, Elena gives me this funny, "What are you even TALKING about?!" look.
Elena: Of course! You're nice!

Bible Study

Our high school girls bible study (still looking for a name!) has been meeting regularly for the past 3 weeks!  Our first meeting of the year, we talked about Epiphany.  And last week we started a "Women of the Bible" series.  So it's basically going through the bible by focusing on the important women! 

I got a bible study book about Women of the Bible for Christmas (I asked for it), but now that I have it in my hands, I'm finding that it's written more for married women with kids than it is for all women equally, much less teenage girls.  And their overview of the stories is disappointing.  So, I'm coming up with my own studies, loosely guided by the book (mostly the order, the general location they're talked about in the Bible, and a few questions).  I think I'll start a heading up above for those who may be looking to study what we're studying.

Never thought that I'd be doing this.  God works in mysterious ways!


*Names changed

"Hope Has Been and Always Will Be Safe. It's Inside Every One of Us." ~ Xena

It's been awhile since I posted last, but in my defense, the kids had the week of Thanksgiving off.  And then half of the week after that we were closed.

Program Updates
During that downtime,we put together an advent calendar and activities for the kids for every program day before Christmas.  We got to teach the 4th-8th graders how to look verses up in the Bible (we're still working on it), and they got to hear the Christmas story as well as many things that are part of the Christmas story that you might not usually hear (like that they had been waiting for the Messiah to come for centuries... and they thought he was going to be born as royalty... and that the Wise Men did not get there the same night he was born, but a couple years later).

Parties!
We've been trying to get all the kids to turn in their report cards by bribing them with a big party after the new year.  Details on that to follow, but it will be a lot of fun!

We also had a big Christmas party on Thursday (the last day of our program until the New Year).  We had folks from Vineyard Church and Baseline Community Church come in to help the kids decorate cookies, play games, do crafts, and choose and wrap presents to give to their families!  I think the visitors had a lot of fun, but I KNOW the kids did!

Photobomb fail

Issues
Except one.  One of our junior highers has been falling behind in one of her classes because she's been telling us and her mom that she had no homework when she did.  I realize that's around the time of life that kids start doing that (I know I did), but does anyone have any suggestions?  She ended up missing most of the games AND most of eMerge because we were working on her project that was due on Friday.  And right now, her goal for life is to marry rich. :-/

We're also struggling with parent buy-in.  Most of our parents are great and really make sure that they're following our rules so that their kids get the best of it all.  Some even go overboard!  But a few don't take it that seriously, and we know of at least one who has almost none at all.  The kid has been coming and going by himself, because he wants to be there and wants to be a good kid, but isn't sure how.  But he knows that we can help him.  And us knowing these stories makes it easier to not get frustrated with the kids when they falter.

Daily Stuff
We ran low on volunteers the last couple weeks.  That's what happens when most of your volunteers are college students and they have these pesky things called "finals."  Who wants to start a petition to eliminate this archaic form of endurance testing?

Anyway, I got to hang out with the Troopers and Braves the other week.  We let them have their gym games outside on the last day before the rain started.  I think they enjoyed it.

High School Girls Bible Study
I've discovered that I apparently have a gift for telling Bible stories in ways that high school girls enjoy.  This past Tuesday night, I lured them in with promises of food and presents.  I made them my version of Crockpot Turkey Chili (which doesn't really taste like chili, but it is good and it is super healthy.  I didn't tell them that last part.).  The presents were actually paid for by the Alternative Christmas fair at La Verne Heights Presbyterian Church.  All the girls got their own personal Bible.  Now they can use those instead of me having to haul around my bag 'o bibles, and I can put mine back in their original strategic locations.  :-)

They had a lot of fun, and we had the Christmas miracle of one of our girls getting to stay for longer than an hour!  We're working our way up!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

“The Best Way to Not Feel Hopeless is to Get Up and Do Something. Don’t Wait for Good Things to Happen to You. If You Go Out and Make Some Good Things Happen, You Will Fill the World With Hope, You Will Fill Yourself With Hope.” ~ Barack Obama

Election Update
Let's see... last I left off was being excited about the election at Pomona Hope, right?  Well, the results are in, and they look something like this:

Yup, one of our kids figured out they could write in a candidate, and voted for herself.  Love the creativity.

The Conquerors (the group who voted) with their "I Voted" stickers.

Speaking of creativity, one of the students, while he was voting, asked why we weren't doing some kind of class president election for Pomona Hope.  Besides it not having occurred to us before, why aren't we?!  Stay tuned for more...

HS Bible Study

In other news, the high school girls bible study (still looking for a name!) is now meeting on Tuesday nights, in a really sweet room in the Pomona Hope building that I had never seen before.  That building is like a maze, and it's creepy and awesome all at once.  We also eat ice cream. :-)

The study we're working on is all about Jesus (which, I guess all of them technically are.  But this one is specifically about Jesus).  Last week, we discussed how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the Law.  I gotta say, I know I'm not incredibly well-versed in the Bible and all its nuances, but I seem to know more than I thought I did.  Most of the lesson was based in Matthew.  We started by following Jesus' lineage all the way back to Abraham.  We ended with the Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32) and the Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-46) and a discussion about the fact that you can SAY you believe in Jesus all you want, but you have to actually DO something for it to be true.  And that people who have studied and learned what God wants them to do, and then go around telling other people what that is, will ultimately be in way bigger trouble for not doing it themselves.

Junior High Retreat

This past weekend, our 6th-8th graders were invited to a retreat put on by 4 of our volunteers, 3 of whom were our interns in charge of the Summer Enrichment Program this past summer.  I tried to stay out of the way, since it was their thing, but they seemed to be having a lot of fun when I was there on Friday.  Here's some proof:

Yup.  Stuff's happening!

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"Hope is the Companion of Power, and Mother of Success; for Who So Hopes Strongly Has Within Him the Gift of Miracles." ~ Samuel Smiles

We've got some big things coming up at Pomona Hope, and a lot of enthusiasm from participants (kids, parents, volunteers) and those who want to participate!

Firstly, the high school girls bible study group.  We still need a name.  I will entertain suggestions from the audience.  Maybe I'll make it into a contest.  The struggle with the group is that they get permission to come, and then at the last minute something comes up and they have to watch their younger siblings or school activities or something.  I had similar issues when I was in high school and missed out on a lot, so I'm not deterred by this.  I do think it will be easier for everyone to show up regularly once we move it to Tuesdays, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, we'll keep trying to meet, and (if it turns out like last Friday), only one person can come, we'll hang out and watch a movie instead.  I also had two of the girls come over on Monday night to eat some of my dinner, but I didn't turn it into a bible study (which was all prepared!) because I didn't want them to feel tricked into it, though I don't think they would have really minded.  We watched Once Upon a Time instead.  So now they've seen the most recent episode, and that's it.

Secondly, volunteers.  I've been in contact with 4 new volunteers from places I never expected, just in the last few days. My favorite has to be the one who sent me a facebook message basically saying, "I was waiting around in the choir room of the church waiting to get married last week when I saw a flyer for an outreach in Pomona and I think it said to contact you."  The only way I can think to answer my automatic question of "Who does that?!" is "It's a miracle!"  I'm going to frame it and put it in my office someday.
 
Thirdly, the Walk for the Hungry.  The Walk for the Hungry is Inland Valley Hope Partners' big fundraiser for the year.  Most of the money goes to local food banks.  Every dollar raised can be used to leverage 5 pounds of food!  The kids of Pomona Hope are going to be participating in this year's Walk.  When we were originally approached, our issue was that many of our families are just getting by, and some may even benefit from the local food banks, so who would they fundraise from?!  But then we had a donor come up with the idea, and commit to donating $10 per kid who participates!  So now, all the kids need to do is get permission from their parents, and show up!  I'm in the midst of arranging volunteers to keep track of all the kids the day of, and to provide rides to and from the Walk.  Should be an exciting (and exhausting!) day. :-)

Fourthly, Pomona Hope's Annual Fundraiser.  This is our big fundraiser for the year, so it's usually a big deal, but this year it's taking on a totally new format.  Instead of a sit-down dinner, it's an art show (well, art auction, but I know I can't afford anything, so for me, it's a show), with tapas.  I'm excited about it, it should be a lot of fun.  It gives everyone more of a chance to talk to each other, network, etc. and it gives us an ice breaker or two to boot!  The art is being donated by local artists, and they were specifically asked to create something that reminded them of Hope.  The event is called "Impressions of Hope."  If you have any questions, or want to attend, please contact Tanya at teveleth@gmail.com.

It's weird.  I'm tired, from lack of sleep, because I keep stressing out about whether or not something was done, but only for the things I've already finished.  But I'm too excited for it to stop me.  And that problem will probably be solved once this is my only job. :-)

"There is No Hope of Joy Except in Human Relations." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This week, I trained a new set of volunteers (from 3 different places!), had someone offer to sponsor (without even asking!  I actually hadn't even thought of this!) each of our kids to walk in the upcoming Walk for the Hungry (still have to figure out the logistics of how to get them there and how to keep them together), and had one of the boys admit to me that he started liking the girl at school that he'd been complaining to me for a couple weeks had been calling him a name (not a bad name, just not his own).  Didn't ever think I'd be the one he'd tell this to, but I'm not gonna complain.

It occurs to me that the kids who have been with us for a long time are starting to open up more on a different level now.  What we learn from them and see them understand during the ensuing discussions just blows us away.  It's amazing, but it also catches us a little off guard.  It requires us to be prepared to listen when they are ready to talk (with no advance warning).  So far, we've risen to the occasion, but I also wonder how many opportunities we may have missed because we weren't ready for it.  If you're reading this and are of the praying variety, please pray that we continue to rise to the challenge and can continue to help these kids realize that they're special and important, and that they can make a difference too.

Oh yeah, I also got to spend more time with the younger kids in the program this week.  They love gym games, and this week they really loved playing with the parachute.  Tuesday, I nearly passed out after blowing up a beach ball for them (not really, just got winded) and Wednesday, they showed me how to play Sharks & Lifeguards... or some title with those positions in the game.  It was really cute.


Tonight was the first meeting of the high school girls bible study.  Only two of the girls could make it, but I think it may have been the two that need it most.  We got frozen yogurt, talked about what they'd like to learn about and what kind of background they have and whether they have bibles, and then we played Just Dance 3.  So it looks like our group is made up of one Catholic, one Scientologist, one Agnostic, and two girls I don't have a read on yet.  Between the wide variety of religious backgrounds and the things these girls have to deal with that I never did just by virtue of their school and neighborhood, I'm back to being a little nervous about leading this group.

Lord, give me the right words.  Your words.

"Be Joyful in Hope, Patient in Affliction, Faithful in Prayer." ~ Romans 12:12

Looking back on it, this week could be considered a rough week.  Only one of the days seemed rough at the time, but it felt like there were fewer wins overall this week than usual.

Tuesday, I stepped in as the Program Coordinator for about an hour.  I  also had one student in particular who was absolutely driving me crazy.  He argued with everything I said to him, and some things I didn't say to him.  Normally, when it's that constant, I would give the kids a warning, but he didn't even realize he was doing it!  And when I pointed out that he was arguing with me, his reaction was, "No, I'm not."  ARGH!!  He's not normally like that.  I'm chalking it up to him having a particularly chatty day and not carrying it around with me forever, but on that day, I was feeling like his special project.

Wednesday was better.  I was not as hesitant to give warnings and it turns out, they (meaning any and all the kids) only needed one.  Ok, so that was the problem (maybe).  I'll just have to remember that next time!  Sad that I had to give out warnings, but glad that it stopped at one.  Count as win.

On Thursday, I had one of our kids confided in me, through tears, that he basically blames himself for his mother's miscarriage when he was a baby, because if she wasn't carrying him, she wouldn't have fallen.  She never blamed him or told him it was his fault, and I told him that if she knew that he thought that, I bet she would be really sad.  I also shared with him about a loss in my family when I was very young that I often felt blamed for, and then he needed to learn a lot sooner than I did that it wasn't his fault, it couldn't have been, because he was a baby.  Then we had a group hug and he smiled again.  So that one I count as a win.

Thursday was also the day that the kid who drove me crazy on Tuesday apologized to me!  What?!

Friday was a busy day.  After leaving my morning job, I led a volunteer training for someone we may partner with to provide more volunteers during the homework/tutoring times.  He seemed really excited about it, and hopefully it will all work out very well!  We'll be getting volunteers from CalPoly, so that will really expand our volunteer base.

Friday was also the day of our first High School Girls Bible Study (we're working on a name).  At least it was supposed to be.  But despite the seeming excitement from each of the girls every time I reminded them earlier in the week, no one showed up.  They all had valid excuses (school events, family issues), but it was disappointing because I was probably a little too excited about it.  So maybe it's a good thing that it's getting postponed, so I don't overwhelm them.  And it did give me a chance to fall asleep early... after dogsitting.  Yeah, I'm that cool.  In my defense, it had been a looooooong couple of weeks.  Anyway, not getting discouraged.  Still trying for a meeting again next week (I think this will all work out better when we can have it on Tuesday nights and all of our girls can be there).  This thing WILL happen!



Gotta keep telling myself this...

Next week should be better.  These kids always surprise me.  And I start getting paid (at quarter time... which actually means I'll be cutting the hours I'm helping out back for while)!  This will almost double my current income (yes, quarter time at a nonprofit where I'm fundraising my own salary will almost double my income from a City government where I'm working half-time).  Sign of the times...

There's always a silver lining though, right?  That's why there's a saying.

"Expect to Have Hope Rekindled. Expect Your Prayers to be Answered in Wondrous Ways. The Dry Seasons in Life Do Not Last. The Spring Rains Will Come Again." ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

So all the kids are back!  And they're awesome.  We have kids from Kindergarten through 12th grade.  Among our K-3rd graders, we have one student who is not related to anyone else in the program.  It's a real family affair.

We now have kids taking us up on our optional homework hour every day that we offer it.

Our only struggle in the program as a whole is working around the number of volunteers (pretty low for the past month).  But we've had 4 volunteer trainings in the last 2 weeks, so that number is coming up as we speak!  And last night, one of the founding partners of Pomona Hope and I visited the Pomona/Pitzer College InterVarsity meeting to drum up more volunteers.  If any of you are reading this, I hope you come!  And if our brief intro last night didn't do it, maybe friendly rivalry will: I'm pretty sure we have more Harvey Mudd students volunteering than anyone else.

We have had one other issue: the concern that one of our students has been exposed to a cult.  After taking her out to coffee and seeing what she thought about the cult, and about the idea of hanging out more regularly to study the bible, and checking in with Emily, our Program Director, and Jeff, the Youth Coordinator (since it's technically his territory), I'm starting a high school girls bible study.  The hope is that it will provide the group setting that all the girls need to confide in each other and get whatever support they need, and provide a stronger biblical background to help them make wise decisions.

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