Child Protective Services (CPS) is something that many of us know nothing about other, than you’re supposed to report known abuse etc. of children to them, however most of my kids, have had experiences with CPS or know exactly what to do should CPS arrive at their homes. In fact many kids I deal with have CPS social workers that visit them in school to check up on them, it’s not unusual to see 10 social workers in a week visiting kids. It breaks my heart quite honestly, but what breaks my heart even more, is the fact that I’ve had two children say to me this week, “Miss Colleen, if I ever get taken away by CPS, I am going to tell them I want to live with you, you’re the nicest person I know.”

I don’t doubt that for some of these kids, I am the nicest person they know, but what breaks my heart is that they are thinking about who they’d want to live with if  they got taken away from their parents. That they are thinking about getting taken away from their homes, that they are concerned that CPS is going to get called on their parents. This is heart wrenching, do you or I even know what it feels like to worry about having to go into CPS custody? I am begging you to pray for these kids tonight, calm their hearts, pray for deliverance for their parents, pray for protection over their homes, pray for God to be used in mighty ways in their lives so that they can reach their parents.

Our float in the MLK day parade was awesome, it was so cool to see such unity happening in our city, did you know that Baltimore’s MLK day parade is one of the largest in the nation? It was such a good opportunity for us to show unity and share our message of hope. I have gotten about 15 phone calls just this afternoon, from people wanting to know how to get their kids involved in MetroKidz, I am so excited about the opportunities God is providing for us to get our name out their, get our vision out their, and let people see how this is a place for Kids to dream, and chase after their dreams.

Speaking of opportunities I am excited about the opportunity I am being given to host a silent prayer movement called God Belongs in My City Baltimore on Saturday March 6th. We’ve been praying for at least 500 people to join us in this Prayer Movement through Baltimore City, it will give us a chance to unite as Christians and stand together declaring our faith. It’ll give us an opportunity to move through the city, praying for God’s Hands and Love to take over this city, we’ll pray through the Inner Harbor to City hall and back. We’ll ask God for protection, vision and strength to take over this city in His name. I am praying for the hearts of the people who are going to join us on this journey, I am praying for God to move in the hearts of people to get out of their seats and take a stand. If you’d like more information about God Belongs in My City Baltimore, please feel free to send me an email colleen@metrokidzbaltimore.org

Prayer Request: Tonight we’re sharing the Gospel and challenging our kids in a way we never have before.  Fifteen or so teachers will be presenting the Gospel and inviting their kids to accept Christ tonight, please pray for open hearts, no distractions (haha) and for the right words for each teacher!

Ah, this week it was back to MetroKidz, I never thought I could miss my kids so much…I had seen them at school and even on the streets, but it’s different when it’s not MetroKidz, and they’re not banging down the door on Wednesday evenings. You know it’s a true MetroKidz, when a fourth grader is cussing out her sister, a boy gets banked with a tootsie pop and two teens boys wanna scuff in the street, ah welcome back to my sweet life!

Not many people understand how much I love this life of mine, how these kids are MY KIDS, they are my world and that well getting banked with a lollipop, getting yelled at, and pushed around while it’s not right it’s a part of life. I have made it my personal goal this year to visit every kids who’s on our attendance list at home, to attempt to meet their parents, to find out what their home life is like etc. Being a part of their lives at the school has been good, because I have seen a lot of parents, I have heard a lot of stories and I have seen these kids in “action” at school, while I don’t know everything and I know that knowing this “junk” about my kids is going to help us in the long run.

So now for a shameless plug, if you feel God tugging at your heart to impact some kids, you should check us out on a Wednesday night! You heart will melt as you’re loved by kids who don’t always know what love means! We’re always in need of volunteers and have something for everyone!

This is an exciting weekend for us, we’re building a float, yup that’s right we’re building a float! We’ve earned ourselves a spot in the Martin Luther King Day Parade, it’s going to be chilly and maybe even wet, but I am so excited for my kids to get to be a part of this. One of the teens said to me on Wednesday Night, “You know Miss Colleen, there ain’t many white people in the MLK day parade, you gunna stand out,” that’s right friend we are, and I couldn’t be more excited. This is a very prestigious parade in our city, and we’re honored to be a part of it. If you wanna come hang with us, or see our float in the parade here’s the info:

Parade

What: The city’s 10th-annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade
When: January 18, 2010, noon
Route: Begins at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Eutaw St. Proceeds south on MLK to Baltimore St.

There’s been a lot going on around MetroKidz, a lot of happiness as babies are being born, a lot of saddness as we lose two amazing families to new jobs and new homes. We just lost the Neas family an awesome family of five who became our family for the last 8 months and this week we’ll lose the Gagne family another family of five, that has been on this journey with Pastor Mike since the beginning, we pray for both  of these families as they embark on new adventures and God calls them away to serve in different place, we pray that they know how much they’ve impacted our ministry and our lives.

Finally, we had our baby, his name is Drake (junior maybe), he was born on January 31, 2009 and weight 8lbs 13 oz. He’s a cute little chubby man and we just adore him. We’re praying for Sarah and Drake as they become accustom to being parents!

January: This is a pretty slow month for us, this past year we began visiting our kids once a month as a team in January, it was probably one of the best things we’ve done yet. In January of ‘09 I got to experience hope with some of my kids, I began to form relationships with them, they are lasting, that have created a respect between us, and that have allowed them to see that I am not a bad person.

February: We experienced a fire together, of a family that has nothing but continues to be loyal in attending church, we began to pray for Ms. Karen and Pastor Mike as they prepared for Kidney transplants that would happen later in the year. I spent time with Ms. Karen convincing a 16 year old that abortion was not the answer, and eventually she listened.  I took three teenagers to a local police community meeting and it’s opened a few doors to a relationship with the local police department. We hosted our Second Love night a night to appreciate and love our kids in ways they don’t expect, each year is full of surprises. And for the second year in a row Abe Lincoln showed up, and the kids loved it!

March: We began booking missions teams, dreaming about the block party and I began to think about quitting my nanny job to do full-time ministry. We hosted a spring-fling on the parking lot, welcomed a new member Liz to our team and continued to grow as a team.

April: Two of our teenagers made a commitment to take a purity vow in their relationships, they came to me and told me they were ready. We shared a special dinner and took them to purchase purity rings. At least one of them is still staying strong in her vow.  This month we also found out we’d be welcoming a baby into our worlds in 9 months, it was something that was scary, happy and sad all wrapped into one.  We started Teen Nights a program for teens to come and hang out from 9-midnight two Fridays a month. It’s had it’s ups and downs, however we’ve really gotten to know some kids we may not have otherwise, and finally in April we hosted the first ever Charm City/Grace Building Bridges project that was a super success.

May: We met new friends from Nebraska, hosted MetroKidz Sunday, that rocked my socks off, We watched four of our kids go off to prom for the first time and prepared for Graduation. I experience love from my kids like never before, from being hugged in a tearful sermon, to watching them chase my car down Payson street. Ms. Karen and Pastor Mike swapped kidneys!

June: Graduation (Drake and Dray), Block Party time,  Moved our MetroKidz site, began our first ever four week long summer camp. Hosted our first missions team and I officially left my nannying gig to do full-time missions.

July: Summer camp started, the largest team we’ve ever had arrived from Michigan and was amazing. Courtney Starr hosted a screen printing class three days a week, for a select group of teens and I experienced tragedy first hand as five year old “R” got shot, just feet away from our church van. Not only did I experience tragedy, I got to experience miracles and welcome a new family into our lives through this tragedy. Friends from all over the place stepped up to help us love this little girl and this family.

August: We met friends from North Carolina, I booked an awesome trip I would anxiously await, we hosted a Teen Sports Camp, experienced love in ways we never had and ended our summer with a bang! I met “A” a prostitute my heart had fallen in love with and got to reunite her with her family. God worked out a miracle and we were able to bless our kids with supplies to go back to school. At the end of the summer, I was offered a job in the school, where I had partnered that summer to see things happen, I accepted.

September: We continued to watch “R” recover, met new friends through a new group of volunteers, continued to be blessed and continued to reach out to our community.

October: I began Operation Beautiful, with pink beads, loving women, homeless women, prostitutes, teen girls, whoever who had lost hope and the understanding that God made them beautiful. I continued to form relationships with the dealers in our neighborhood and would eventually start meeting them for Breakfast.

November: I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta for the National Youth Workers Conference, I got to relax, meet new friends and reunite with old ones. I continued my relationships with the dealers, having Wednesday morning doughnuts with them, and allowing them to share their stories. I got to watch “A” relapse and pull herself out again and finally I got to hand over the reigns to the Thanksgiving Dinner and go on vacation!

December: God worked miracles supplying much when we had nothing, we got loved on in ways we could have never imagined this month. When Toys for Tots didn’t come through on time we were blessed with a gift that allowed us to throw another rockin’ Christmas party. Toys for Tots eventually came through and we were able to bless our community in ways we never imagined, the Santa Van, The Santa visits, the gifts that meant so much to the kids who received them and the families that made it all happen. We changed the format of our Christmas party this year and it was awesome. And Finally on the very last day of ‘09 we welcomed a new life into our MetroKidz group, Drake A. Diggs was born weighing in at 8 lbs and 13oz.

This year has broke me, built me and taught me, I am so excited to see what God has in store for us in 2010!

Two weeks ago, I felt like I was supposed to do something for some of the young boys who push drugs on our street corners, at first what that something was, wasn’t exactly clear, and honestly I wanted to run from the idea, these boys know me, they respect me and they know my name isn’t that enough? Why Lord, do you need me to get involved in their lives? I thought to myself, why would I even ask that, of course He wants me involved in their lives, why WOULDN’T he should have been the question. I am not gonna lie, I was scared to death.

So I thought and prayed and prayed and was like Lord what? What is it you have planned for me and these boys, that’s when it was revealed I was having doughnuts with dealers. I got up early one morning, left for work at 7:15 instead of 8 and went and bought a couple of dozen doughnut and some milk, and off I went. I couldn’t help but wonder, what on earth would these boys think of me, would they laugh at me and not take the doughnuts, would they beat me up, because they thought I might be ridiculing them?

Boy, was I ever wrong about what might happen that morning, after they realized, that no, I am not 5-0 under cover, these boys were more welcoming than most people I know. They invited me to their stoops, where they devoured two dozen doughnuts and a gallon of milk in record time. They wanted to know why I would do this, and when I told them it was simply an act of love, they smiled, I didn’t want to turn them in, I didn’t want to buy or sell them anything, in fact that morning I didn’t even really want to tell them about Jesus, I just wanted to love them like Jesus loves me. I did tell them about MetroKidz and how it was a place of hope, and they were more than welcome to come if/when they felt ready.

As the morning ended and I walked back to my car relieved, I thought to myself well I have planted the seed, someone else will come along and hopefully sow it. Little did I know that person might be me…that night one of the boys came to MetroKidz, he was well behaved, and no one knew about his lifestyle. He hugged me on the way in the door and thanked me. I smiled and my heart got really excited.

I really thought in my mind this might be a one-time affair, however these boys have different motives, they chased me down last Tuesday evening and asked if I was coming tomorrow with doughnuts, I looked at them smiled and said, I wasn’t planning too, however since you’ve asked I’ll be there. That morning tears were cried, stories were shared and one little boy who we’ll call “J” looked me in the eyes, with tears welling up and said, Miss you know my story is almost like yours except for I am a boy and you’re a girl. He said to me “I have hope today, I am getting on the bus and going to school for the first time in three weeks,” and that is exactly what he did.

On Thursday morning I boarded a plane for Atlanta, with a text message in my inbox, that said, “Miss Colleen, day 2 of going to school, can you pray for me?” I smiled to myself and tears welled up in my eyes, and I heard this “little” boys words through his text, a little boy who just wanted hope, who just wanted and need(ed)s someone to believe in him, a little boy who found his acceptance pushing drugs on a corner instead of in a school community or church.

Imagine what we could do if we all had a “J” if we all took sometime to give someone a little hope, if we all listened when God called us to be uncomfortable. Imagine if you woke up to a text message from a drug dealer who wants to change, who’s reaching out to you.

While I am not encouraging you to go stand on a corner with a prostitute, or a drug dealer (okay maybe I am), I am encouraging you to listen when God calls you to be uncomfortable. Listen when God calls you on a mission, because you’ll never know whose life you might be changing.

A few months ago, as I was standing in Old Towne Mall, in East Baltimore, I met a lady who was not homeless but did live in very impoverished conditions, she was such a beautiful lady named Angela. I still have her picture on my camera, and often pray for her, but haven’t seen her since. As we stood in the mall, she kept stroking a strand of pink beads, I had hanging around my neck and telling me how beautiful they were and how she really wished that she had some jewelry so she could be beautiful.

As we stood in this open space and prayed with Angela, God told me to give her the beads and remind her how He had made her which is Fearfully and Wonderfully, and that she was beautiful with or without the beads. In my head I argued with God because I had just bought these beads, and they went so well with the outfit I was wearing, why did He want me to give them away, and He kept pushing, give them, give them.  As I removed the beads from my neck and put them around Angela’s I got to remind her how beautiful she is with and without the beads, I got to remind her how God created her. I got to watch her eyes light up because she had jewelry.

Fast forward to several hours later, when I encountered another situation involving another young woman, who confessed to me she was contemplating suicide because things in her life, were not going as planned, she didn’t feel beautiful enough to fit in, in her high school, she felt like an outcast etc. etc. As she speaking, I felt God nudge me once again, and tell me to give away the second strand of beads. I wanted to pout and be like “Seriously God, these are brand new,” but really how selfish would that have been? So I took the beads from around my neck and handed them to her, and I said, “I feel like God is telling me to give you these beads, so that you can have a constant reminder of how Fearfully and Wonderfully made you are. I also think that when you’re not feeling beautiful you should put the beads on and remember that no matter what the world thinks God thinks you’re the most beautiful creation, because he created you this way.

Rewind, to several months ago when God started tugging at my heart about the prostitutes in the neighborhood, I felt a longing to do something for them, the first idea that popped into my head, was to buy roses and explain to them the symbolism between the rose and them, which was beauty and delicateness. But I kept wondering how a rose could symbolize beauty if it died within a couple of day. So as I sat at my desk, in my office one Tuesday afternoon, I had an aha moment, and realized God was speaking to me about the beads. Why couldn’t I buy a ton of two for $5 beads and use them for a ministry?

That’s where Operation Beautiful was born, I could use the beads to give to the prostitutes to remind them, of how beautiful they are, and about how God has created them in His image, and thought that even though man thought they were pieces of meat for sale on a street corner He thinks that they are the most beautiful women on Earth, because he created them. It also opens up a door for me to be able to share with these women about Jesus, who He is and what He’s called me to do with my life, which is love people like them.

I can’t tell you how many strands of beads I have given out since the end of September, I can’t tell you how many women I’ve gotten to remind of their beauty, and how God knew just what He was doing when he created them. It’s gone beyond, a prostitute on a street corner, to the homeless woman in Fell’s Point, to the teen girl who wants to commit suicide to the grandmother who feels lost and hopeless.

If you’d like to know more about Operation Beautiful or how you can help, please contact me at Colleen@metrokidzbaltimore.org.

So I spent sometime on Frederick Avenue this morning, I walked and prayed and chatted with some of the kids who were out waiting for the bus to go to school, I love these kids I see them everymorning when I am driving to school, but this morning I got to have conversations with some of them. Invite them to MetroKidz/Teenz and just love them.  But I also got to spend time with a homeless man, who decided this summer, our neighborhood would be a good place get drunk and pass out on the sidewalk daily, I can’t even tell you the number of times we called an ambulance because we thought he was dead.

This morning on my walk, I saw him swigging from his Vodka bottle and went to talk to him, he told me he was hungry, I went to corner store and got him a breakfast sandwich and some water, I sat with him and he shared with me intimate pieces of his life, about how he doesn’t want to be here but he just doesn’t know how to get out. It’s something I hear all the time, when I asked him what HE was doing to change his circumstances, he looked at me and tears welled up in his eyes, he said, “Ma’am, I don’t even know where to begin to get myself out of this mess…” I looked at him and wished I didn’t have to go to work this morning, so I could stay there and tell him the first thing he should do is let Christ become a part of his life, and take control. I did get to share some bible verses with him and pray with him before I left.

You can pray for this block, for life of the many churches on the block to come out and do something within their community, so many of them aren’t even open on Sundays, let alone any other day of the week. I pray for the people I met this week to feel God’s Loving Hands upon their lives.

So I have been praying about something I want to start doing on a weekly basis, and I’m starting NOW! Each week I am going to take a different block in our neighborhood, I am going to spend the entire week everyday in prayer for the block, I want to get to know the block and the people of the block. I know this sounds silly and probably even crazy, but I can’t tell you how excited I am. I want to know the things that are happening on the block, I want to know the needs of the people and I want to see them in church. But even more I want to know what’s happening in the community that  I feel God has called me to be a change agent in.

This week, I am going to focus on Frederick Ave. I am going to pray that God gives us the empty buildings, I am going to pray that he can be glorified through the buildings that are already there and in use. I am praying for the club next door, the underground drug rings that are taking place in the corner stores, hair salons and tire shops. I am going to pray for God to just overtake this block and use us to help do it.

Would you join me in prayer, prayer for boldness to step out of my comfort zone that I’ve found in the hood, prayer for strength to get to know the people of my community on a more intimate level and to be filled up with so much love and joy that I just cannot wait to share it. Also would you pray that God equips me with just the right words to say to every person I come in contact with?

This afternoon when I get off work, I plan to take a walk on Frederick Ave. I plan to pray, love and seek opportunities to share Christ.

Also, one more crazy idea God has given me that I am going to see through is that I’ve been dying to let the streetwalkers in our neighborhood see how beautiful they are, by giving them roses and telling them about the love that I have for them and even bigger the love that Christ has for them. But I quickly realized that roses die so quickly, so I am going to buy as many strands of pink beads as I can possibly afford and each time I see a beautiful street walker, I am going to give her the beads and let her know that the beautiful pink beads represent how beautiful she is, and she needs to realize that when no one in the world sees beyond her “streetwalking” ways, that God does and he loves her just as much as he loves me.

Have I mentioned how excited I am????!

I am not even sure where I should begin…I am emotionally exhausted in a good way, and the Lord answered a prayer in a HUGE way, there is a prostitute in the neighborhood who the Lord laid on my heart a few months ago, I would see her out on the streets occasionally, looking for money for her next hit, or to pay her nightly rent fee, I wanted nothing more than to do something for her.  Time after time it obviously wasn’t the right time, however I was not giving up hope because I knew that God had a bigger plan than I did, and Monday He revealed that in a way that I could have never imagined.

I was supposed to be headed to a meeting at Starbucks in Columbia, one that I had already pushed back because I was running late, and I saw “A” standing on the corner, I waved she waved back and then asked if I would roll the window down, I immediately knew that she was high on something…it’s not uncommon that these girls are selling their bodies for drugs or money to buy drugs. I was immediately heartbroken to see her condition, we exchanged a dialog about fifty cents, I gave it to her but only on the conditions that I would sit right where I was and watch her use that  fifity cents.  Her response, “Back up park, I am getting in so we can talk…I think you’ll listen,” that’s just what I did, on the inside I was kind of like hmmm….but in reality I knew that God has arranged this meeting so I said a quick prayer and she got in.

Little did I know that within the two-five hours that followed this meeting my life was going to change and so was hers. We began our friendship at Zella’s where she was concerned that everything on the menu was too expensive and later told me that people don’t do nice things for her. We sat in my most favorite restaurant and this 22 year old girl poured her heart out to me, there were tears and laughter and heart ache. It felt like we were old friends catching up. I found out through our time together, that she has a two year old daughter who she loves, she lives in Howard County with her family when she’s not out on the streets, I learned that on Monday she has a bed opening at a treatment center, I learned that she graduated high school and even went to college, didn’t finish but she went. The more I heard about my life, the more my heart broke, because she’s an innocent girl whose lost her life to the streets, like most other girls out there.

So we spend about two hours at Zella’s, I find out why she was selling her body that day, it was to pay rent so she would have a safe place to sleep that night, so we talk some more and I agree to pay her rent for two nights, if she promises that, this particular evening she’ll not be out selling her body, she agrees and off we go. I drop her off at her “home” around 5:45. I told her that if/when she was ready to go home I would take her, I was going to be ready and waiting.

Off I go, the entire drive home, I am just thanking God for the opportunity that he presented to me and prayed and prayed that He would do a work in her heart and she would want to go home, and get herself into treatment, not just for herself but for her daughter, for her family and so that she could live a normal life. Exactly an hour and a half later my phone rings a number I don’t recognize, as I looked at the number I said a quick, please let this be her prayer. It was and she said, I am so sorry to bother you, but are you busy? When I told her what I was doing, she started crying and asked if I would take her home. I was on it…off we went. It was such an emotional time, she wanted to go, but the closer we got, the more unsure she was about her decision, as we pulled up to the home, she told me she couldn’t get out of the car, she was scared, she didn’t think she could do this, maybe she wasn’t ready.

My response to her was well I’m not taking you back to Baltimore, so you better be ready…and then began the emotional moment of tears of pain, heartache, joy and relief both from her and those who love her. It was a moment where I was begged not to ever leave her…that I would make myself a positive influence in her life, that I would love her…and then concern for myself about what I was doing on the streets. Her mom, gave me the biggest hug ever and told me that for once she has hope and she feels like this might just be the time her daughter comes home for real. She held me tighter and tighter and just cried and asked what she could do for me, and I told her that God obviously but us together for a reason that day, I didn’t need or want anything. It was such a sweet time.  As I gave my hugs and goodbyes and pulled away, my heart was so excited, so overwhelmed and so scared for this girl, I wondered would she stay, can she do it…she CAN and she DID, apparently making it through the first night is the hardest…she DID it, she stayed out of Baltimore.

I am so thankful for her willingness, for God to allow this to happen. Will you join me in prayer for Amber? Will you pray for healing, delieverance and success in the program?

Every year we do a Back-to-School night party, where all of the kids who attend this evening, will do two very important things, one is they will move up to the next grade in their MetroKidz classes, so if you’re in 2nd, 4th, or 6th grade you get to move up to a new class. This is always a fun time for the kids, but also can be stressful if they are going into a new class with new peers/teachers. The other important thing we do is provide the kids with some school supplies, to get them started off on the right foot.  Typically we give each kid a binder, some pens/pencils, a box of crayons, a spiral notebook, some loose leaf and a folder, sometimes we’re blessed with backpacks, other times other odds and ends of being in school, but every year they get something.

We’re still in need of a few things to help start the school year off for these kids, if you’re interested in helping us start our kids off right here are somethings we still need:

-3 ring Binders

-Loose Leaf Wide Ruled Paper

-Two Pocket Folders (you know the 5 cent kind!)

-Spiral Notebooks

-Composition Books

If you’re interested in donating or have any question please conact Colleen Smith colleen@metrokidzbaltimore.org

Sometimes I need to not be skeptical because when I am God rocks my world, I guess my lack of faith was proven wrong yesterday. I really thought that the first day of Teen Camp/Sports Camp none of the kids would show up, I mean hey I’m here on a pretty regular basis and I am just going off of what I know. But once again I was proved wrong, yesterday for teen camp 27 teens showed up, some kids we’ve never even met, most we already have relationships with. It was awesome to watch the numbers grow and it was even more awesome to watch the kids on the team get excited and throw any reservations or barriers they may have had.

Work team 2 has been busy as bees working at the school, I am so excited about the partnership that we’ve started with them. It’s been nothing but positive, we’ve gotten a chance to be living, breathing, walking testimonies to the kids, staff, parents and community that surround this school. I can tell you first hand that it has NOT gone unnotice, I’ve been in the school when the kids and staff have made comments about how excited they are that there school looks different and better and wonderful. I’ve had kids come up to me at MetroKidz and tell me how excited they are to go back to school in the bright building!

This afternoon we have our second day of Teen Camp, I’m praying that it goes as well as yesterday! We’re adding a twist to camp today, the girls are going to stay back at the church and we’re going to spend time loving them. Tonight is the MetroKidz water Battle!

Some prayer requests:

Please lift the team up, this is one of the hardest days of their week here, they’ll be going from sunrise to sundown today! Pray for rest tonight, for health and for perseverance! And for changed hearts!

Thanks guys!