Time is ticking and the pressure is mounting.

The school year is here. New students are coming into new classes, teachers and staff are getting started for a new round of students, everything is fresh and new.

I remember the feeling as a young person going shopping for school clothes, new shoes, a backpack, and lunch box. The excitement and newness soon faded as I struggled to keep up at times. I can remember the feelings that I was either stupid or lazy, reality came crashing in.

I remember going in to get tested, was something wrong with me? The test revealed that I was bright so I had to be lazy. Until one day mom and dad got fed up and sent me off to Sylvan Learning center. I remember getting tested, then given a individual lesson plan, I remember the fun of going to work one on one with my tutor and winning tokens to buy prizes that I earned. The dread of school was replaced by a feeling of pride and accomplishment. Years later in college I found out that I was Dyslexic and I had attention deficit disorder (I know, I know, you could have guessed) But it took a long time for me to catch up and then find my own learning style. I had parents that cared a great deal for me and sacrificed to support me and my development.

This year the projections are that 34% of today’s students in Cleveland will graduate from High School. Many of the 9th graders entering High School are entering at a 4th to 5th grade level. Because of the struggles reading they are well behind in many other classes. Many of them are feeling lost and frustrated by the overwhelming sense that they are either stupid or lazy. Many of the teachers are doing everything they can to try to make a difference, but the resources are scarce and the need seems impossible.

Right now we are in a position to pilot a project that can create a new approach to supporting kids in their education. We have Partnered with Sylvan Learning to create a test run for 30 students at East Tech High School. We will train our 22 volunteer tutors in a world class tutoring method paired with proven lesson plans that are tailored to each students needs. This level of attention and one on one care is proven to move students grade levels each year.

We are confident, that if we reach a young person today that is testing at a 4th grade level, we can get them to grade level by their 12th grade year. Can you imagine the feeling of accomplishment a young person will feel, when they are not only graduating, but ready for life long learning.

Right now we are sitting poised to make a huge impact in the lives of 30 student (to start). The challenge is that we need the money to cover the cost of training, testing, and curriculum. We are hoping to find 30 people that are willing to sponsor a student, it is $45 per month, and we will cover the rest. It is a huge step to meeting our mission of equipping and empowering the kids we serve. A year from now, the work will speak for itself, but we need some help getting this off the ground.

Take it from a kid that had given up on myself, sometimes you need someone in your corner that believes that God has something in store for you even when can not see it.

Running like a chicken that has lost my head.

The whole change thing is starting to get old and move too fast.  I can hardly keep up with all that is going on, it is a good, in fact most of it is great.  It just seems as if too many things are happening too fast and I just can’t keep up.  Trying so hard to be two places at once, to set priorities and stick to them and learn to say no.

The biggest change is having a staff of great folks and knowing how to manage a team while growing in new roles and transitioning out of how things used to be done.  I have grown into a job over the last few years that was well designed for my personality, but today we are becoming a “real” organization and moving beyond what works for me is challenging.  There is so much to do.

This new way of doing things is completely oposite of what I am used to, but it is definately what I we need.  Learning to be patient and maintaining a sense of urgency is challenging.  The limits to our capacity get in the way of bringing change to the lives of young people, but onc cannot be acheived without the other.  Working so hard to grow and establish the solid principles to grow on is the right thing to do, but seeing the clear needs in the community and feeling like time is slipping through our fingers and with it the chance to impact the lives of young people is tough.

Trying to trust the process and learn to be disciplined.

God has proven Himself over and over and over again.

I was talking to my dad today about an interview that Lighthouse had on a local radio station today and we began to review all that God has been doing over the last few weeks.  In the last 6 weeks we have seen God….

Provide for a home for Lighthouse and our staff that will meet an exceed all our needs and the needs of our staff for years to come.

Next we were blessed to be able to provide the best meals that we have ever been able to serve for our kids on Heaventrain and at our summer enrichment and nutrition sites.  We have had reports from staff of one year old children eating their entire chicken sandwich, their carrots, the peaches, and drinking their milks in one sitting.  Such a blessing.

Then we were told that we were going to be able to recieve the donation of office “stuff” from a marketing firm in DC.  The estimates are in the $30 to $40 thousand dollar range to get our new office fully furnished so our growing staff can have a central spot to go do the work.

We have launched three summer feeding sites that average  between them 28o meals served each day.  That is almost 1500 additional kids that are being tutored in math and reading learning to play the affrican drums and eating lunch.

We had a great news article from the Cleveland Plain dealer and a Radio interview on WHKW in the same week.

We also seen the first steps of a fantastic tutoring program coming together for the students at East Tech High School.  This has the potential to be a huge win for us and for all the young people HeavenTrain serves.

We have Hired a former HeavenTrain kid to come and lead a youth ministry that is one part Youth Group, one part coach, and another part Gang prevention.  He is working to establish relationships with the young men that are coming out of Heaventrain neighborhoods.  It is a big deal to see the second generational leadership investing in the community they grew up in.  Glory to God.

We are getting ready for our soccer camp next week at best guess we have is going to be near 200 children learning the game from the Cleveland City Stars.  We are also sponsoring a little league team this year from one of our neighborhoods, our summer intern Matt Barnes and his father are taking the helm to lead the boys to victory.

All this seems to be hapening so fast, but the truth is, that it has been 30 years of planting.  Time to reap the harvest, thank you Lord for allowing us to be a part of this as we are just a group of knuckleheads that you have put together so that you may get the glory in all of our weakness.

His Kingdom Coming…

A Mother’s Hope for Her Son

Today I met a young mother whose 3 children usually attend Heaventrain. She was standing next to the fence and I could tell she had a lot on her mind. I went up and introduced myself and asked if she was waiting on somebody. She had decided to walk down to Heaventrain even though her children were visiting their grandma. She asked if she could get a job working with us on Saturdays on Heaventrain. She needed to make some more money for she and her kids.

This is how the conversation went.

I have 3 children and my youngest who is 5 has just been diagnosed with a disability-ADHD.

She is trying to get help for her son.  She was frustrated she made an appointment for him but the specialist can’t see him until September 1st. I don’t know if this is normal.

So she had 5 months to try and figure things out on her own. She heard about a camp nearby that specializes in her son’s disability and has therapeutic activities for the campers. Then came the deciding factor-it would cost $4,500 to send her son there. That is almost the average anuual income for families in central. I knew she couldn’t afford it. The only way that she could send her son was if there were scholarships and there weren”t any available. I tried to offer other suggestions but to no avail.

She went on…The medication is causing him to loose weight and that creates another problem. I give him Pediasure. The cost is outrageous $13.00-and it doesn’t last long. Right now he functions at a 1 1/2 year old in ambulatory skills.

I saw the look of HOPE on this mother’s face as she shared her story. She said everyone has given up on my son, but Me! Why don’t they have the same things in the projects that they have in suburbs. A good question. She said that she needs a place where her son can go and exercise his muscles. It is not safe for him outside. She would like to see an indoor Kid’s Gym in the projects. A place where he can walk. run, and learn to jump.  ”I really don’t have a lot of choices for him right now. “

I wish I could tell you that I had a magic lamp and could grant her wish-but sadly I can’t. I have spent the last couple of days looking for resources on the internet to share with this mother. I want to see kids in central reach their potential and succeed in life. There are obstacles like these that I hear each week. But the moms of the kids and the kids themselves still hang onto HOPE!

We got some good press coverage,

Heaventrain Plain Dealer article.

Cleveland Sports, the agony and the thrill all in one moment.

Things have been ultra busy lately.  Did not have time to write much this past month, but found an post on a Cleveland sports forum that captures the thoughts and feelings of Cleveland sports fans and to a large extent the feelings and thoughts of Clevelander’s in general.

For years people have been making jokes at Cleveland’s expense.  Sports, economics, weather, and all kinds of bad publicity have been hurled our way, but Clevelanders stick together and have an us against the world feeling that is hard to understand or explain.  Truth is, Clevelander’s love Cleveland and believe in it, no matter what others think or say.  We are loyal and commited to the end.  This post below captures some of the dynamics and also shows that in every Clevelander is a eternal pecimist and optomist at the same time.

Here’s to a glimmer of hope for the city I love.  Go Cavs, and go Cleveland.

I’m not one for dramatic moments. I’m not big into ’signs’ or letting emotional moments go to my head. I don’t see a deeper meaning in an exciting event, even a monumental one.

Good and bad things happen to everyone and in the world of sports, especially the Cleveland world of sports, big moments are no more than that. Just moments in time to be enjoyed until the reality of the real world sets back in again and the status quo becomes, well, the status quo.

We Clevelanders win, sometimes, occasionally, but we never really “win”. Not the big win anyway. Not the Super Bowl, not the World Series, not the NBA Finals.

But maybe… just maybe… believe it or not… the curse that has been a way of life for the Cleveland sports fan, that curse may have died last night.

With one second to go in the Cavs game last night, I really thought the game was over. Not that I’m a glass half empty guy, I’m not, really. But being on this planet for 45 years and rooting for Cleveland teams for about 39 of those years, I knew it was inevitable. Cleveland teams lose when the ‘big moment’ is on the line. The Cavs let the game slip away and were going to go down 0-2 and eventually watch another golden oppotunity for Clevelanders to hoist the holy grail in the air and say “we are the champions”.

That’s how it goes for the Cleveland fan. Alway the bridesmaid, never the bride. Not a big deal anymore. The Cavs had a good run this season, they may be the best team in the league and arguably have the best player in the entire league. But that doesn’t matter. It’s Cleveland, we don’t win the big one…ever. Status quo.

So I wasn’t upset, I resigned myself to the fact that when the Magic took the lead with one second to go that it was, again, our destiny to watch someone else be the champions.

We have suffered through the “Drive”, the “Fumble”, “red right 88″, “the Shot” and the Indians losing the ‘97 World Series in game seven. We’ve seen our teams lose so many other playoff and finals games that having our hearts broken and crushing our dreams of winning it all is just a way of life.

We’ve also watched Modell screw us out of our team and try and convince us that rooting for “our team”, now located in Baltimore, was just OK. Then the team that was taken from us won a Super Bowl. Not a biggie, just another day in Cleveland.

So when the Cavs called timeout with one second left my defense machanisms kicked in, again. I told my 13 year old son, “Well, Cleveland blew it again, they never win when it really counts”.

And my son, being a Cleveland sports neophite, said, “They got one second, it’s not over Dad”.

And I didn’t say a word, what’s he know about having your heart ripped out?  He’s naive.

Then it happened, success came to Cleveland in a miraculous way.

My son was right, I was wrong.

Without any cheering, any fanfare, just a dumb look on my face, I took in probably the most dramatic win and moment in Cleveland sports history. And my son, not knowing we aren’t supposed to be winners, seemed somewhat puzzled by my reaction.

“Geez Dad, it’s LeBron, he’s supposed to do that. Cleveland should have won.”

And then it dawned on me. My son is right. Why shouldn’t we have won? Why shouldn’t the Cavs be champions? And while we are at it, why can’t the Browns and Indians be winners too. To my son, Cleveland winning doesn’t seem like a big deal, they are good and they should win. To me, it’s unthinkable, we always blow it when it really counts.

Thank God for being naive. Thank God for young fans like my son.

Maybe last night was just a win. And maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was the end of futility, the beginning of hope. The beginning of a new era in Cleveland sports. Something about it felt different, it really did. And it felt good. Maybe the curse is over.

I hope so. My son doesn’t believe in or know of any curses. He thinks the Cavs will win it all, because they are good.

I hope he is right. And I think he is. He doesn’t believe in a curse, why should I?

Spring is here

It is that time of the year again. It is a crazy mix of anticipation and being overwhelmed. I know there is a good chance that this could be the best attendance year in Heaventrain’s history, but that could be because the needs of the kids are growing. The struggle is that as the needs are growing, everyone is saying it is time to cut back.
Weather the storm, while time are tough, so you can exist for the better days.
The problem is that as an organization we are here to meet the needs of the kids in our community. As the needs grow our goal should be to step up and meet the need better than ever.
We have some pretty lofty goals this year. Feed the kids a full boxed Chik Fil A lunch instead of just one burger once a month and whatever we can get donated the other times. We are hoping to hire 50 to 70 students in meaningful summer work experiences this summer. To offer a summer lunch program that includes tutoring and fun activities and lunch to over 250 kids every day of the week. To launch a second Heaventrain bus in the Glenville area of Cleveland with a brand new strategy for collaboration. We are also looking to add the most gifted urban youth worker in the city as a community youth pastor. To top it all off we are launching a new tutoring and mentoring program at east tech High.

Are we crazy to launch these new things at the time when the needs in our community are greater than ever. No way, if that is the case, why should we keep our doors open.

What a great place to live.

It is funny how many people react when I say I live in Cleveland.  Even people here in North East Ohio look at me as if I am some kind of crazy lunatic.  The belief that Cleveland is a cold, dangerous, and broken down place is just wrong.  It is a great place to live, work, play, and visit.  Truth be told, I love this city and the people that make it a great place to be.  It is a great place to visit and a great place to encounter the world.

The High school in my neighborhood has 61 native languages spoken by students, that means that you can travel arround the world just by meeting you neighbors.

There are so many things to do and experience, if you want a tour, give me a call.

The all too familiar truth. Where is compassion.

This video Clip from ABC’s What Would You Do was one that hit home.  Not only because it reveals a solid truth, that the world around me, is often a much better reflection of Christ’s love than I am, but also that it is often the person who has suffered much and has been overlooked that is able to show true compassion.  Linda is an example of what each of us should be doing. 

Are we preparing our kids for the world they are going to be living in?

The fact is that we have a lot to do to prepare our youth for the world they are going to live in.  How can we answer this challenge if we are not giving the resources and opportunity to compete.