¡Power Hour!

Every Friday the 4 other interns and I head over to the projects at Pelham Bay in the Bronx to do a VBS type thing with the kids. They have a little playground area in the center of the apartment buildings where a lot of the kids hang out and a few parents watch. The Bronx Fellowship (the house Church network I'm working with) has been going there for about 5 summers in a row now to put on Power Hour for the kids there so they all expected us from the beginning of the summer.

When we get there we round up all the kids and start singing children's worship songs. Some of there favorites are "I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N" "The Sea of Galilee" "If You Love Jesus" and "Who Rocks the House" (My Jesus rocks the house!)

Then we will do a short Bible lesson. So far we have taught them things like How much God loves them, the 2 Greatest Commands, The Wise and Foolish Builders, and How Jesus fills the hole in their heart.

Then we play some kind of game like, "Boom" "The Human Knot" "Jordan Says" or "Freeze Tag" And of course what would Power Hour be without snacks? Afterwards we give them a cup of juice and a snack. And then we will play ball or frisbee with the kids that are still hanging around.

It has been an incredible blessing to play with those kids. They are so great and so fun to be around and they absolutely love getting to hang out with us. There aren't a lot of older people (especially males) who will spend any time playing with them or loving on them. It breaks my heart that almost none of them know what a healthy family looks like. It has really given me a new perspective on why Jesus loves kids so much. They really have a lot to teach us about Kingdom living.

"People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." ~Mark 10:14-16



As I sat down Sunday afternoon talking with some members of the house Church Isaiah hopped up into my lap to play his PSP. And at that moment I knew why Jesus was so upset when the disciples tried to get the kids off of Him, because you couldn't have pried Isaiah away from my lap with the jaws of life.

Isaiah doesn't have a father, his mother has little to nothing to do with him and so his grandmother raises him while working full time as a nurse in the Bronx. I hope that in the little time I'm here with Isaiah I can show him some of the Love that His Father in Heaven lavishes on him. I know one thing is for sure. The Father is transforming me daily and using the little ones to do his transforming work.

Pray that the Lord of the Harvest would raise up more workers. Pray that people would come to know Jesus and that the Great Healer would bring healing and restoration to families. Pray that mothers and fathers would learn from their children. Pray that the Saints in the Bronx would be stirred to pray for their city. Pray that God would bring justice, and quickly.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." ~Ephesians 6:12

We can't just try to physically fix everything. No amount of money given, homes repaired, food bought, clothes given away, or medical attention will ever help without your prayers, because this battle is not against flesh and blood. These are all good things for us to do that the Father smiles on, but without our prayers it is all in vain. Pray without ceasing. Its what Jesus did.

"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." ~Luke 6:12