Archive for November, 2011

To Give THANKS, A Day Early

Saturday, November 26th, 2011

There are a ton of great stories, and people that we meet everyday. But some days are extra special. Brad Mepham, the Coordinator of Seer Group in Utah, had one of those days today.

To Give Thanks a Day Early-

Thanksgiving. The word itself is define as “a expression of gratitude, especially to GOD.” The memories of many Thanksgivings come to mind, from food to football; the years of anticipation for the official count down to Christmas. Thanksgiving is the day you are ALLOWED to play Christmas music…. not a day before! It is the time of year that our hearts and minds wander to memories of warmth, fireplaces, snow covered mornings, and to give, and GET, the wishes we have made all year long! For me, Thanksgiving has come a little early.

No, I did not turn on the Christmas music early… I promise! With many tasks and things to complete, God slowed me down today to remember what Thanksgiving is for, to “show a expression of gratitude”. Seer Group was given the opportunity to install a wheelchair ramp for a very special little angel named Haley.

Haley is a beautiful, petite, joyful 5 year old, and she changed my Thanksgiving. When I meet Haley for the first time, her smile and joy of life masked the wheelchair she was bound to due to the symptoms of cerebral palsy that you would think would define such a young life. Seer Group and Seer Outfitters.com has built many many wheelchair ramps in the last two years, and while every opportunity to give to others is special, this was a gift. To see such a beautiful little girl live a life filled with such love, grace and thanks is a reminder of the season we are entering into. So, as you and your families sit together during the holidays, I would like to invite you to create a new Thanksgiving tradition. Let’s smile a little more today and truly “love each other as God loved us”. Let’s all make this Thanksgiving like Haley lives everyday of her life. She smiles BIG!… for the whole world to see and changes the world around her! Thanksgiving will still always be the start of the season for many people, but for me it will always start a day early!

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OUR KIDS, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Friday, November 25th, 2011

Our neighborhood, our kids…..
A 14 year old boy gets a tattoo on his face.  An 11 year old girl arrested for felony assault, robbery, and conspiracy.  A 17 year old charged with attempted murder.  A 16 year old locked up for selling crack in broad daylight.  A warrant out for a 16 year old for assaulting one of our moms.  6 months after the murder of one of our 17 year old, no arrests.

Our neighborhood, our kids….
An 11 year old boy who sits with a severely disabled handicapped boy and helps him eat lunch without being asked to.
A 17 year old who holds a little girl’s hair as she throws up in the garbage can.
An 11 year old boy who walks away, stops, and returns to say ‘thank you’.
An 17 year old girl who simply hugs a crying child.
A 12 year old boy spends his only dollar to buy a stray cat a can of food.

In our neighborhood, there is simply a line that divides the good and the bad.
Years ago, it was hard to find the good path.  Now, that path leads to the doors of the Mission.

We are small hinges holding a big door in this neighborhood.
I often say that if this was easy to work in our community, someone else would have done it already.
It is really like trying to run up a hill…..on a treadmill.  There is no finish line.
Still, something remarkably has happened this year…… the culture of the neighborhood has shifted.
Kids are always going to be into something.  Their energy, passion, and identity will land in what is immediately in front of them.
We have many new kids in the neighborhood…..and the Mission is what they joined and they new family they have chosen.

Our after-school programs are swollen with children, we started a new kids church, and the room fills when the door opens.

I am grateful this Thanksgiving for wonderful committed volunteers.
I am grateful this Thanksgiving for those who support the Kyle Korver Foundation, so that it can support our community.
This children will join something passionately by the time they are 13, and I am grateful this Thanksgiving, that the next generation has chosen the good way.
And I am grateful this Thanksgiving for all of you who have made that possible.

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