I just got back from having lunch with one of our after school students named Mario at his school. Mario happens to be in Emily's 3rd grade class so after lunch I went back to their classroom and sat in on their "best Halloween costume contest". It was nice to get a glimpse into Emily's daily surroundings and I think Mario was glad to see me.
We are enjoying the cooler weather now after a long hot summer. Our after school program has been going well. We have about 15 regular students now which is about all 3 or 4 tutors can handle. On Thursdays I am leading the Boys club. Boys club is basically a group of boys from the after school program and around the neighborhood who meet each week and do activities. Once a month we will do a community service project in our area. We will also take a field trip to do something fun each month. So far we have been reading a book together about growing up with out a dad and playing a lot of football.
I may have forgot to mention on here that Emily’s mean principle got fired about a month ago so things have been looking up for her at work lately.

Last weekend we were given some tickets to the Jackson State homecoming football game. It was a great experience despite JSU getting whooped.


Mrs. Bertram's class

Photo Journal

We've had 2 visitors from Portland this week, Emily's brother Julian and our friend Sharon who has been doing hurricane relief work in New Orleans. This is a photo of them at the Antioch house table with our housemate Teddy.





Needless to say with Julian around, there has been a bit a golf taking place. On Saturday we played about 40 holes.





On Monday morning we were up early with high hopes of catching our first bass. A local friend named Eric took us out to his secret pond/marsh where he has a little boat with a slow leak. His family owns the property so it doesnt get fished at all. When the morning was all said and done Eric caught 4, Julian and I combined for a big fat zero. Julian missed about 7 hits and I missed about 2. It was a great morning though with a spectacular sunrise. Eric said that there are 2 gators living the marsh but we never did caught a glimpse.

The most boring post yet (Only read if you have nothing better to do with your time)

( This is a photo of a hurricane evacuee from New Orleans named Boomer. He stayed with us for a few nights while his owners we're taking a few rest days. We came to love him as our own though I insisted on calling him Bowzer)

Emily and I have both come down with bad colds so the last few days have been pretty boring. I finally rigged our TV antenna to pick up fox, though it’s pretty fuzzy it allows us to enjoy playoff baseball at night. The sweetness of watching Yankees lose each year never fades, go angels.
This weekend Emily’s brother Julian will be visiting us from Portland. He has been on a cross-country road trip for the past few weeks and will stay for at least a week. I’ve been practicing my golf game in preparation for his arrival. There is a golf coarse here that has a monthly rate of $40 unlimited play. You golfers out there can appreciate that deal. I bought my monthly pass early in October and I’ve been playing with my new friend Dylan on the weekends. Hopefully I’ll be feeling better by the time he gets here.
Last week Emily and I did a golf seminar for the kids in our after school program. Having never been introduced to the sport the kids loved it. Its fun to expose them to new things that they might not ever get to try. I found some shorter kids clubs at a thrift store that I will probably pick up and maybe Julian can lend a hand while he is here.

The Struggle Continues

The after school program is back up and running after a 2 week hiatus due to hurricane Katrina. I was reminded immediately at how much academic help these kids need. Many are very far behind and need intense, long term, one on one tutoring. Last week I was helping a middle schooler with her pre algebra math homework when it became apparent that she was not able to add or subtract proficiently, with her we may have to go back to 2nd and 3rd grade level math to get her caught up. I will be working with the 5 middle school students specifically. I’ve decided to do group reading for several hours each week in hopes of instilling the value and joys of reading. Yesterday we began reading John Perkins autobiography, “Let Justice Roll Down”.

The Perkins center has new staff member from Denver named Ralph. He is now in charge of coordinating the volunteer groups who will be coming down to help with hurricane relief. He’s taken charge quickly and we are very thankful for him being here. With Ralph being in his seventies I’m beginning to notice a trend of old people doing all this work. John Perkins (75), Lowell Noble (78), John Lovelace (7?), and now Ralph. Where are all the young people? Not only could the young people help physically but we could also absorb the wisdom of these older folks. I long for the energy of these men; I think they are tapping into something I’m yet to discover.

As you may have been able to tell from my last post (10 things I miss most) we have been missing home and at times questioning “why are we here?”. Emily reminds me that struggle develops perseverance and knowing that, we have decided to make the most of our time here. There are no quick rewards working in this community. Sometimes I wonder is anything getting through to these kids. One day you think they are changing and beginning to take responsibility for there lives and the next it seems they’ve reverted back into the cycle that surrounds them. Emily reminded me last night that we didn’t come here to save anybody and that in many ways we are just as needy as the people we are seeking to help. It is not our responsibility to come in and change this community and in fact it is not healthy for us to pursue that. Rather we are here to live and learn in this situation, seeing the needs of our neighbors and friends and making them our own. The true change this community needs must be lead by the people of the community. Perhaps there is a future leader in our after school program who will one day complete college and return to this neighborhood choosing to invest in change rather than living in the middle class suburbs.
Truth be told we are learning a lot, mostly about ourselves. I see the devastating effects the American trinity of materialism, individualism, and racism are having on peoples lives and yet something in me is still drawn to those things. In a world that offers us fake forms of life while ignoring the reality of issues such as poverty and oppression we must be mindful that true life is found when we look beyond ourselves. The struggle continues.