What a difference a year makes

SPECIAL THANK YOU:

WAL-MART's 12 Days of Giving.  

Wal-Mart has generously given $12,500 to Joel's Place.  They are a major reason that we have been able to make positive steps forward this month.  We are so grateful! 

 I don't know where you were and what you were doing a year ago, but I can assure you that my life is remarkably different than it was last December 30th.  Last year I was working at Sears with a nagging feeling that I wanted to find something else to do with my life.  Carina and I had talked about having more kids, but were still a couple of months removed from making a decision.  Important appliances like our furnace were beginning to give indicators that they were on their last legs.

     Now, 12 months later, I have a new job, a new baby, a new furnace and water heater...life has changed at an astonishingly rapid clip.  Joel's Place itself has gone through substantial changes in just over a year: A new Executive Director for the first time in it's history, a new program director, 2 new cafe managers, a new Board President, four new Board Members, new skate ramps, new Red Room flooring, new pavement outside and a new financial outlook.  It is with great joy that I can write that we are out of the financial hole of 2012.  There are no overdue payments, no missed mortgage payments, no unpaid staff.  At one point this summer we were $40,000 behind.  To come to the place where we can put that all behind us, be able to be generous with our kids and start paying off our long-term commitments is simply staggering.  Thank you to all our friends, donors, supporters, advocates and champions.  Thank you to everyone who donated time, money and supplies to advance our cause.  Thank you to our major donors who helped pull us out of the financial hole.  Thank you to the Foundations and Programs who were faithful in sending out our payments.

     A special and heartfelt thank you to the Joel's Place staff who labored through transitions and uncertainty and missed checks and construction and me fumbling my way through this job.  You came to work every day with smiling faces and servants' hearts, eager to build up the youth of Joel's Place and give your best, regardless of the circumstances.  Jon, Leah, Kelli, Arlys, Linda, Poppy, Rhema, and Tami, you have made me so proud to be a part of this place.

     I love the winter season of holidays.  Thanksgiving is all about looking back and appreciating what has happened.  Christmas is all about the here and now, being in the moment and celebrating what we have.  New Years is about looking forward in hope and anticipation of what will come.  What does the future hold for Joel's Place?  Clearly, no one knows for sure, but here are my educated guesses of what we will be celebrating one year from now.

• Joel's Place...Outdoors.  We paved the parking lot this past fall. This spring we will install basketball and volleyball courts, fire pits and outdoor skating elements.  My guess is that we will have kids playing here every moment the sun is shining this summer.
• Raising a new generation of skaters.  It is time to introduce the joy of skating to a new batch of Fairbanks youth.  We will bring over school field trips, parties, youth groups, camps, clinics, UAF events and any other things that we can do to get more kids interested in skating.
• Volunteer development.  Joel's Place is a community center.  We are going to recruit members of the community who will bring in new skills, abilities and passions to support the youth of Fairbanks.
• Revived music scene.  We will host concerts of local talent at least twice a month.
• Project On-Ramp: We are looking at ways to help youth transition from high-risk to full-time employment and higher education. 
• Pick.Click.Give. It is time to sign up for the PFD again.  There are charitable giving options and Joel's Place is one of them.  We had dozens of Alaskans give nearly $6,000 this past year.  Please consider donating to us as we look to increase that number to $8,000.
• The Plan.  On the money front, we will develop and implement the plan to pay off this building.

With gratitude, celebration and anticipation,

James

The New Normal

      I like a schedule.  I like knowing what I am doing and when the next thing is coming up.  Having grown up in Alaska, I live my day based off what time it is, not how bright it is or what it looks like outside.  On days like today, with the -44 degree weather and year-low 3 1/2 hours of sunlight, it just makes sense.  However we have introduced a new element into our lives that does not work with a schedule or care what time it says on the clock.

     Introducing Analucia Linnae Menaker, the cutest little pink polar bear ever.  Lucy was born November 23 (Black Friday) after 51 hours of labor and procedures in the hospital.  At 8lbs 13oz she is the runt of our litter, but is much adored by brother, sister, mom, dad and everyone who meets her.

     This being our 3rd child, the changes to our lifestyle were expected:  less sleep, more work around the house for dad and the kids, lots of people wanting to visit and meet the baby, did I mention less sleep?  All these are welcome costs  for the joy and privilege of having a new Menaker in the world as our family continues to grow.  However, life now looks a little different and I am struggling to define and adjust to our new schedule...our new normal.

     The first step is being more intentional with the two older children about what needs to be done around the house and how they can help out.  The next step is figuring out what is falling through the cracks and either making time to do it myself, asking for help or letting it go because it is not important.  Need to do several load of laundry?  Find the time.  Need to cook meals?  Ask for help.  Need to send out Christmas cards?  Let it go this year.  We are adjusting, I am working from home more, and we are filled with joy at our new gift.

     Joel's Place is also adjusting to a new normal.  This has been an immense year of transition for us.  First and foremost there has been a change in Executive Director for the first time in our 12 year history.  That would be enough, but we have also done major renovations to the facility (both indoors and outside) and had lots of staff turnover.  In addition, we are ending our run as AmeriCorps sponsor after five years.  AmeriCorps has been providing local non-profits with invaluable hours of service and giving high-risk youth an on-ramp into higher education and full-time employment.  It has been an immense asset for our community.  However the program had grown to a scope that was not sustainable for an organization of our size and we were faced with the choice of ending our participation or closing our doors for good.

     So as we move into a new year, we are looking at new leadership and new programs.  This new normal will include more utilization of our facility with school field trips during the year and camps over the summer.  The new normal will include partnering with the Youth Shelter in finding safety and support for those who have none.  The new normal will include financial stability and being proactive instead of reactive.

      Quick side note:  Did you know that we are only a few thousand dollars away from ending 2012 with no overdue bills?  None.  Caught up on our mortgage, all payroll and bills paid, ready to enter 2013 with a fresh slate.  For those who were with us during the financial crisis this past summer, you will join with me in my excitement if we are able to pull this off.  If you are interested, would you be willing to give a special year end

gift to help us put the financial woes of 2012 behind us and move into the new year?

     Thank you all for your support and encouragement over these past 6 months.  This is the best job I could have asked for and I am eager to see where we go from here.  Have a joy-filled Christmas and may God pour his blessings upon you and your household.

With much gratitude,
James

Waiting

     Last night I stood in front of 250 people as I introduced myself as the Executive Director and held up my cell phone, "My wife is pregnant.  Very pregnant.  9 months and 10 days pregnant.  The baby could come any moment.  So I am keeping my cell available so I can dash out of here if need be.  Ideally the labor would start at 9:30 so that I can be here for the entire event and then leave before clean up starts."  The room laughed; the event went great; my wife did not go into labor.  9 months and 11 days.

     We are waiting for baby at the Menaker household.  Just waiting.  We clean or reorganize or pay bills, but every major obligation has either been removed, rescheduled or completed for this week.  The first words out of everyone's mouths when they see me are, "Have you had that baby yet?"  I shake my head and then they mutter something like "That Poor Woman," "Bless her heart," or they begin to tell me their horror pregnancy/delivery story.  One friend actually told me that her husband knew when the baby was about to come because she had a gleam in her eyes that suggested that she would take a sharp knife and cut the child out herself.   These stories are meant to be encouraging...I guess.

     Waiting is hard.  It reminds us that we do not have control of our lives.  It reminds us that life continues, and can even be good, even when our plans fail.  Waiting taunts us with the promise of good things to come and can fill us with an ache of not having those things yet.


     Waiting builds patience.  Waiting builds hope.  Waiting builds peacefulness.  Waiting builds community as others share in the experience with you.  Waiting allows us to grow as God puts the finishing touches on the remaining pieces of His plan.  Waiting allows the unexpected to fall upon our lives.  Waiting is a gift if we are willing to enter into it without filling our time and our attention with superficial entertainment and distraction (that would be video games for me).

     I am waiting for youth and donors and volunteers to pour into Joel's Place.  I am waiting for the young people in this place to reject the negative voices in their heads and become everything that God made them to be.  I am waiting to see healing fall on our community and state. 

     But mostly I am waiting for my baby girl to arrive.

The Buy-In

     Joel's Place has staff meetings every Friday afternoon led by Kelli, our Program Director.  Sometimes I get to sit in on them; most times I have other appointments and can't make them.  This past week I finished my other meetings early and stopped by.  The topic of the day was Membership Dues for the kids that use Joel's Place.

     The cost of membership is very straightforward: $10 per year for access to Joel's Place which increases to $50 per year if you want to participate in any biking/skating sessions.  Annual membership fees are due in October (so the youth can use some of their dividend if needed) which has led to some grumbling the past few weeks.  Our staff have talked with the kids and their parents, handed out scholarships as needed and sought out those who felt that money was keeping them out of Joel's Place.  The downside has been a little bit more paperwork to fill out and a few uncomfortable conversations.  But it has led to some really good discussions among our staff:

     Why do we charge money to kids who are at risk?  Why not just offer our facility for free?  $10, or even $50 per member is not going to make or break our organization.  Wouldn't it simply be easier, and more compassionate, to not ask for any money from these kids who are barely making it? 

     The answer is:  Yes.  It would be easier to not ask the members for money.  It would eliminate unpleasant conversations and awkward silences.  It would be easier...in the short run.  Long term, though?  Charging a minimal fee creates an environment that is so much better than the alternative.  That environment is created not by increasing our bank account, but by increasing ownership.

     People invest their heart where they invest their money.  When they put their own money into Joel's Place, suddenly they care about what it looks like, what kind of people hang out there, what behavior is acceptable and what is not.  Joel's Place goes from "Them" to "We" and the youth help police themselves.

     Kelli gave an example:  When we set out free soda in the cafe, what we end up with is half-drunk cans that are scattered everywhere, everywhere throughout the building.  There are puddles of soda across the floors and furniture and skate ramps...it is a complete mess.  When kids have to buy their soda from the counter or the machine, they drink it all and dispose of their cans neatly...usually.  They invest their money in something as small as a Coke, and it takes on extra value.

     We are not going to let $10 keep a teenager out of Joel's Place.  We value the kids too much for that.  But we are going to find someway for them to invest themselves here, whether that be volunteering, helping other kids, cleaning or something else.  That is the buy-in.  That is young people becoming stakeholders in Joel's Place.

     We also need community buy-in so that money does not come keep teenagers out of Joel's Place.  We need individuals and corporations, churches and government programs to invest in us so that at-risk youth have a place that they can feel invested in.  We need people who are willing to allow their hearts and their finances to be poured into young people who are starved for both.  We need people who will buy in to these young men and women who often go unnoticed.

     This is why we are having our Ramp It Up Fundraiser this Friday.  It is not just for the money; I can go ask for money any time.  It is an opportunity to bring together our community and proclaim that if we buy in, if we invest our hearts and our time and our money into our members, not only will we be saving lives...we will be transforming lives.  And when we transform the lives of those who reside in the fringes of society and have fallen through the cracks of the system, we transform our community. 

     You want to change the world?  It starts here and now with the sweaty, stinky, loud and obnoxious youth who long desperately to be loved and valued and affirmed by someone.

     I invite you to come join us at Ramp it Up.  Friends Church.  6:30pm.  Friday the 16th of November.  Tickets are available for $40.  I'll see you there.

James

Ramp It Up

     Joel's Place has its annual fundraiser coming up on November 16th:  Ramp It Up 2012!  This is our opportunity to showcase who we are and what we do while inviting the community to partner with us in our mission to care for the at-risk youth of Fairbanks.  I am excited for a number of reasons:

1. This is my first fundraiser as the Joel's Place Director.  When I think back to where I was a year ago, my head spins.  In one calender year I have written a book, drastically changed jobs and added a new child to my family.  It is hard for me to fathom what will be happening next year at this time.
2. Dessert.  Ramp It Up will include a Dessert Auction.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love desserts...and we are going to have some amazing options to bid on.
3. Community.  It is rare that I have a chance to be in a room with a lot of people who are supporters of Joel's Place.  This event will allow us to come together with over 250 people who are committed to helping Joel's Place succeed. I feel both enthusiastic and humbled at the same time.  I am eager to meet new people, establish new connecions, dream new dreams, and share our vision for the future of Joel's Place.
4. Dessert.  Did I mention there would be food?
5. Our Guest Speaker.  Ron Ruthruff has years of experience ministering to the urban poor and at-risk youth in Seattle.  He is a gifted speaker and teacher who will expand our ideas of what is possible.  I found a talk he gave at a conference in Spokane on Youtube.  The talk is in 4 parts; if you want to hear all of it, parts 1, 3 and 4 are online also.

Ron Ruthruff Talk Excerpt

     6.  Turning "Ramp It Up" into "Fill It Up."  My goal for the funds that we raise are necessary but utterly and completely boring:  Heating Oil.  We go through about 100 gallons each week to heat Joel's Place during the winter.  What that works out to is 3000 gallons and $12,000 to get us through the winter.  So far we have purchased 600 gallons...only 2400 more to go.

     

     November 16th will be a great night, I really hope you can attend.  If you are interested in helping with the event itself, we still need a few companies/individuals to sponsor a table of eight for $320.  For tickets, you can contact Joel's Place at 452-2621 or e-mail me at joelsplacealaska@gmail.com.

     Thank you all for your support and encouragement.

James

Creativity

         One of my favorite shows of all time was "Whose Line is it Anyway?"  For those poor souls who have no idea what I'm talking about, "Whose Line" was a half hour of improv comedy that began in Britain before migrating to America.  It featured four talented actors, one host, a studio audience and no script.  The goal of the actors was to use their creativity and wits to make the audience laugh without any preparation.  One of my favorite games on the show was called "Props."  The teams created as many funny scenes as they could based around a traffic cone or a horned hat or some other random piece of debris.  I was always fascinated by how the actors saw potential in items that looked like garbage.

     One of the key components of skateboarding is creativity.  I look at our skatepark and see ramps and rails, lumber and plywood.  Our skaters enter the facility and see jumps and flips and combos...new tricks to master and original ways to skate our elements.  You can always tell when something new has happened in the skate park.  The others skaters and observers let out a roar and bang on the ramps in approval; a buzz fills Joel's Place as everyone tries to figure out what just happened and how to do it themselves.

     There is something in us that responds to the new, the creative, the original.  Something that gets excited at the sight of crossing barriers and doing things that were previously never considered...or even considered impossible.  Our skateboarders and bikers are not just kids who are bored and need to run off some energy.  They are kinetic innovators who use their bodies and rides to be creative and express their originality...while flying through the air and skidding across the ground.

     When I stand on a skateboard in the middle of the park, I do not have their creativity.  I mostly just think about not falling too violently.  However, when I stand in the middle of the skate park without the board...my mind races.  I find myself dreaming about what we could do with our building.  Who we could host.  What we could do.  How we could utilize our space more consistently in order to fund our programs for these kids.  Already we have a couple of girl scout troops who meet here throughout the week as well as a band practice, numerous shows and an NA group.  I am in discussions to soon begin local school field trips, credited college skating courses and UAF rec nights.  We will have regular group overnighters, church youth groups and worship times.  We will be able to host birthday parties, skate lessons and meetings.  Our outdoor area will be fenced in when the snow melts and enable us to host a variety of outdoor activities from concerts to basketball/volleyball tournaments to bonfires and camps...perhaps even a VBS or two.  I don't want anything to get in the way of our primary focus: at-risk youth.  But if it is a viable option to utilize the resources that we already have and bring in more revenue for programs and facilities that will help those youth, I think we should explore every option.  Consider it...Programatic Creativity.  I don't know if that is listed in any management books, but it should be.

     If you have any ideas about using Joel's Place, feel free to let me know and we will see what ideas arise.

James

Money Miracles

     Have you ever noticed that the only time that people or organizations talk about money is when they are in desperate need?    I want to talk about money today without that kind of urgency or desperation.  Desperation makes it hard to be a cheerful giver and even harder to be a thankful receiver.  Today's entry is all about gratitude and wonder.

     We are in an okay place with money right now.  There are some large debts out there that we are consistently working on, but everyone else is paid and we have a little money in the bank.  I just stopped by the front desk to ask Leah if we had anything good come in.  She replied that we got $645 from Pick.Click.Give (a way that people can donate to charities from their Alaska Permanent Fund).  I was glad we had some money come in, but I had been hoping for much more than that.  She showed me the envelope and I just laughed.  It was like $645, but with an extra 0 at the end.  We just received $6,450 from the generosity of dozens of Alaskans who want to support this work that we do here.  I am so grateful to all of you who chose to give part of your PFD to us.  May God pour blessings upon you as you have poured them upon us.

     It got me thinking about other times I received unexpected money:

• After High School I joined a musical missions group that toured the southern United States before singing in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.  All 20 of us had to raise $5,000 each to fund our trip.  Our final day in the US arrived with our team still lacking $15,000, meaning that 4 members were going to have to remain behind.  That night a woman stopped our director after our service and asked how much we still needed to be funded.  As he was replying, she pulled out her checkbook and wrote a check for the entire amount.
• This past summer Mike, Linda and I were meeting with some young businessmen who had been Joel's Place kids long ago.  We described the financial crunch we were in and listened to how God had been moving in their lives.  As we were leaving, one of them slipped a check to Mike.  He just chuckled and shook his head as he showed me the $30,000 amount.  It allowed us to pay our staff who were 3 checks behind and come up to date on our bills.
• I went to a small liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington.  It was outstanding, but it also left me with $60,000 in school loans.  Here was the dilemma:  I felt called to go into ministry with InterVarsity in Alaska which would pay about $700/month and yet I was going to have to pay around $900/month for 10 years.  That was going to be hard to balance.  Then a crazy thing happened.  My dad had bought stocks for all his kids during my senior year of High School.  For 5 years, mine had not moved; in fact it had even dropped a bit.  Yet during the grace year after graduation it began to rise, and rise, and rise and then soar.  Within a year and a half, I sold off most of that stock and paid off all my student loans, being freed up to go into full-time ministry.  From that day on, that stock lost money.

     When I visit churches I tell them I do not need their money.  All that I need is for them to be obedient to what God is inviting them into.  If He is calling them to give, fabulous.  If He is not, that is just fine.  God is not short of money.  He is not wringing His hands, looking over spreadsheets, trying to figure out if he can cut a few corners to find enough money for Joel's Place.  He will provide the resources for what He wants done, often through unexpected ways.  It is often through the generosity of others, through gifts large and small.  Sometimes it is through the manipulation of the stock market.  Sometimes a fish has money in its mouth. He uses it all.

     I don't need to pressure you into giving money.  There are still lots of things to do and debts to pay around here, but I can say with complete peace and assurance that God will bring in the money from somewhere.  My encouragement for you is that you ask the question of whether you should give and then be obedient to the answer, whether a yes or no.  There is a freedom and joy that I want for all of you through that obedience.

     Thank you all for your support.  May you see God's miraculous provision in your lives even greater than I have seen it in mine.

Pure, Dumb Time

     One of the greatest lessons I ever learned about ministry, and especially ministry to young men, was presented to me in my early college years.  I was attending a leadership conference with InterVarsity and the Regional Director was talking about how to lead a Bible Study.  We had discussed how to pick a passage and prep a passage and group dynamics and inductive methods and servant leadership and integrity and incarnational ministry and numerous other details surrounding successful scripture application.  I was soaking it up, trying to figure out how to most efficiently use my time to become the best bible study leader ever.  Then the speaker began talking about relationships, and how to build them with college students.  His strategy?  Pure, dumb time.
   
     Before people are willing to mine the depths of scripture with you, before they are willing to accept your leadership, before they are real with how their spirits are being worked over...they must have some relationship with you.  There must be some trust established.  If they do not trust you with the mundane events of their day-to-day lives then how will they trust you with the life-changing details of their spiritual journey?  You can try to buy that trust through amazing them with credentials, achievements, success, money, books, degrees, medals, titles or charisma.  Depending on the individual, that sometimes works.  However, the most reliable method of earning the trust of young people is time.  Pure, dumb time.

     Pure, dumb time looks like listening to stories, playing games, eating, studying, just hanging out and spending time together.   Time is a choice, an investment.  It communicates to the other person that out of everything you could be doing, out of everyone you could be with...you chose them.  You valued them.  There is tremendous affirmation in who you spend time with, even if the time itself seems fairly unproductive.  When I choose to play or read with my kids instead of including them in my multi-tasking, it is an affirmation to them that I think they are the greatest  people in the world.  Very few things communicate as loudly as attention.

     You know who have mastered the art of pure, dumb time?  My Joel's Place staff.  Leah makes arts and crafts with the kids.  She sits at the front desk and just talks and draws and looks at pictures and listens to music.  Jon is the self-proclaimed "Master of the Ping-Pong table."  He is constantly playing games and repairing skate boards and skating in the park.  Kelli always has her door open to talk or listen.  She knows every kids' name, their family, their school and what they did over the summer.  On the surface, this does not look like very serious work.   "Seriously, they get paid for playing?"  Well, yes.  And they get paid for the important conversations they have after they playing.  The same kid who comes to Jon to help with a broken skateboard will also come to him for help with a broken home.  The kids who share their favorite music with Leah also share their hopes and dreams and ask for her input.  The homeless youth who knows that Kelli cares about his summer job also knows that she cares about where he will be sleeping tonight.

     You do not get to the heart of young people, especially young men, without investing in the superficial pieces of their lives.

     We are in the process of hiring a cafe manager...which means that we have been without one for about 2 months now.  For the past two weeks I have been running the cafe, shopping and cooking the meals.  It has been frustrating knowing that there are lots of pieces of my normal duties that I cannot get to because of this additional role.  It has been frustrating having kids come in, complain about the food (which has been quite good I might add), sit and ignore me and then leave without a word.  There are other things that I need to be doing.

     And then I remember pure, dumb time.  I remember that it is through the mundane that we build trust.  I remember that relational stability is not a given in their lives, that new people arrive with the expectation of abandonment and disappointment.  I remember that they are watching, whether they hide it or not.  I remember that many of them have not eaten all day and they scarf the food down even though it is not a donut.  I remember that this is foundational work that I am doing.  The depth will come later.  There will be a window of opportunity to speak into their lives.  There will be laughter and tears and hope.  But for tonight, we're having tacos.

Promises

     The Wellspring Revival Ministry Program Directors are looking at Nehemiah together.  I wrote last week about the opening of the book; the parallels between the people of Jerusalem who had no wall to defend them and the at-risk youth who fall through the cracks of our social systems.  I continue to be struck by how relevant this study feels for where we are at right now.
     After learning of the plight of his people, Nehemiah enters a time of mourning and prayer.  We catch a glimpse in the latter half of the first chapter.  There are three main components that we read about:

• He repents for his people and their sinfulness.
• He recalls God's promises.
• He prays for favor as he moves into action.

     I am sure there is a mighty 3-point sermon to be extracted out of this prayer, but that will not happen here.  Instead I invite you to think with me about promises.  God's promises to be exact.  Nehemiah quotes scripture concerning God scattering the Israelites throughout the world if they were unfaithful and also scripture that promises a restoration if the people will turn their hearts back to their Lord.  I think Nehemiah recalls these promises to remind both himself and God that the current circumstances were not insurmountable.  Change would not come because of a regime change or penance or a grassroots movement or money and power.  Change would come because God intervened on behalf of his children.  Nothing else.  Nehemiah's first, best strategy was to reconcile himself and his people to the Creator and cling to the promises he heard many years before.

     What are the promises that God has for us?  I am thinking of this question specifically as it applies to myself and Joel's Place, but it is a question we could all ask.  I do not see God promising wealth or peace as I read scripture.  I see a promise of His presence.  I see a promise that everything will work for good...eventually.  I see a promise of forgiveness in repentance.  There is nothing in there about a well-intentioned, service-oriented mission organization being free of financial stress.  I looked.  A lot.

     What do we cling to then?  What promises sustain us through bumpy roads, when the weight of our calling feels unbearable?  That is a question worth asking, and worth asking God.  There are promises that God has made me over the years:  He called me into being a Nehemiah figure for Alaska.  He said that I would be a gift to the nations and help bring freedom to a people.  One of the most traumatic elements of leaving the mission of InterVarsity was wondering if I was leaving those callings and promises as well.  Sears did not seem like it was advancing those avenues at all.  Now that I am at Joel's Place, it seems that God is reaffirming those calls.  I am not willing to call them promises yet, but they are worth investigating in prayer.  Also worth investigating?  God's promises for Joel's Place.  Does He have anything to say about this place and this ministry?  If we remain faithful, is there something that He pledges to do?

I am eager to find out.

Nehemiah, part 1

     The book of Nehemiah is not especially long, only 13 chapters.  Few people preach from it and fewer know where in the Bible it is located.  There are no major signs or miracles.  There is not even an appearance of the voice of God speaking to the main character.  In spite of all that, Nehemiah has been one of the most compelling and influential narratives that I have ever read.  It is full of God's power and heart and resonates with our world today as few other stories can.
     The book begins with Nehemiah living in a foreign land.  The people of Israel had been overcome by the Babylonians and spread across the known world.  Nehemiah finds himself in the service of the king when he hears that members of his family are arriving from Jerusalem.  He questions them about the conditions from back home.  They answer succinctly:  the city walls are destroyed; the gates are burned; the people are in great distress.
     The ancient world had no greater defense than city walls.  Well-made walls provided protection and security, advanced warning, immense strategic advantage and hope.  Walls allowed the people to sleep easily at night, knowing they were safe.  Even if an opposing army greatly outnumbered the city's forces, walls turned battles into sieges, granting the defenders an excellent chance of outlasting their opponents.
     Jerusalem had no walls.  Nothing to prevent, or even deter, anyone who had a grudge from attacking and taking anything they wanted.  Nothing to provide warning of threat.  The people of Jerusalem lived with no safety, no security, and no rest as they wondered when the next assault would fall upon them.  Wondering what, or who, would be taken from them next time. 
     As I went over the story of Nehemiah with the Joel's Place staff, we were struck by how much in common our kids have with these citizens of Jerusalem.  When home is not safe and school is a struggle and the climate is lethal and the streets or a friend's couch are your only refuge, you live just like those men and women did.  You live without rest, wondering when the next assault or insult will come.  You live without thought of the past or thought of the future...there is only now that must be survived.  Consequences and planning are irrelevant and so you fight or you cheat or you lie or you seduce or you intimidate.  Whatever it takes.  You push people away who may be trying to help you.  You find a pack of others who are struggling to survive.  You are always wary of betrayal and quick to run.  That is the effect of not having a wall.  That is the effect of not having a family or community that defend you from the world.

     Nehemiah's first reaction was to mourn for his people...mine is often to get frustrated and find someone more pleasant to spend time with.  And yet I am drawn back to these at-risk young people over and over again.  Sometimes it is compassion that leads me to sit and talk.  Often it is my duties that require me to enter into their lives and for that I am grateful.  Everything that we do at Joel's Place is for the express purpose of welcoming in kids who have no walls in their lives and helping to build them.  We feed them when they are hungry.  We give shelter from the elements.  We provide places to study and places to rest and places to laugh.We invite them into community and say that they are loved here, even if that is the only time it is true in their entire day.

     The staff and I will be in Nehemiah for a while.  I would invite you to read it over as well.  Spend some time allowing God's heart for the oppressed to speak to you.  Ask if there is something He would have you do as the temperatures continue to drop and our homeless youth population begin another winter without homes.  May God pour his Grace out upon us all.

Gratitude

     We had a large donation come in this week.  Large as in "More than we brought in over the past 2 months combined."  Large as in "We can now pay our staff and the overdue bills we carried throughout the summer."  Large.  The staff of Joel's place were smiling and whooping and bouncing around for the night.  It was a fun evening.
   
     Problem solving.  It is one of my strengths and one of my central character flaws.  Our entire summer has been devoted to trying to figure a way out of our financial hole.  As soon as the donation was deposited and the staff paychecks were passed out, my attention shifted to the other problem areas that needed to be fixed.  While I will spend ample amounts of time working out those issues, it is important for me to push "Pause" in my brain and intentionally focus on an area that does not come naturally for me:  Gratitude.

     Gratitude.  Thankfulness.  Appreciation.  These words are all used to define each other.  What they boil down to is this: 

• An awareness of our need
• Provision by an outside party
• A relational connection and affection that grows from sharing in need and resources

Gratitude is hard to define and it is hard to quantify.  It is one of the more complicated emotions out there.  The amount of gratitude that we have is dependent on how aware we are of our needs.  It is also dependent on how much we indulge in worry about our future.  The spoiled child casts gifts aside out of boredom while the frightened child is too busy worrying to enjoy theirs.

     The grateful person, however, lives a life of joy and peace and wonder.  They feel the pain of need like everyone else but when provision comes, they savor it.  They embrace the one who gave to them.  They look to be generous since people have been generous with them.  They give freely and love freely and laugh freely since they feel that they have been lavished with gifts.

     Stop for a moment and think about what you have been given.  Personally, it is staggering.  I have parents who love and support me, who sacrificed incredible amounts to see me succeed.  I have an amazing, beautiful, compassionate, artistic wife who chose to spend her life with me.  I have two, almost three, remarkable children who bring wonder and laughter to my life every day.  I have a brain and heart and body that have been developed by teachers and coaches and mentors and pastors and friends.  I have a warm home in a cold climate.  I have a job that challenges me in a myriad of ways, sending me home both exhausted and invigorated all at the same time.  I live in an amazing place, surrounded by amazing people.  I serve a God big enough to create a Universe while interested enough in me to know how many hairs are on my head...true that number is getting less challenging every day, but you get my point.  Everything I have, everything I accomplished, everything I am is a result of what other people have poured into me mixed with a healthy portion of God's grace.  Humbling?  Of course.  But today I choose to focus on being grateful to them all.

     Soon I will dive back into problem solving...probably as soon as I get back home, actually.  But I want to strive to carry gratitude with me throughout my days.

     Thank you.  I have no better words than to say that I am grateful for each and every one of you.

Why Give?

     I did an interesting Google search today.  I looked up "Why to Donate" just to see what was out there.  What was out there were 384 Million entries.  If I did nothing but read those entries...and each one took me ten minutes...and I had a team of 1,000 people helping me...we could be done in a little under 10 years.
     There are a lot of people and organizations who want you to donate your time, money and resources to them:  political parties, churches, blood banks, service organizations, lobbyists, schools, and so many others.  If you can think of a cause, most likely someone would like to you give towards it.  I work in the non-profit world and have little disposable income, yet I am still inundated with mailings and advertisements and calls to help support this worthy cause and that worthy candidate. Global Giving puts the needs of the world at your fingertips and gives instant access to thousands of amazing projects that are happening right now. 

     "Why give?"

    Before wading through all of the different options that are out there, we first take a step back.  Why would someone who has studied for countless hours, climbed the working-world ladder, taken tremendous risks, and poured themselves into their profession simply give away the compensation that they have earned?  They still have bills and families to support and things they want to do with their lives.  Why would they willingly decrease their ability to do these things?  Simply put, I have arrived at this:

   

We give to promote our vision of the world.

      We have ideas about how life should work.  How parents should treat their children.  How governments should treat their citizens.  How the poor should be dealt with.  How faith should influence generosity.  Our daily routine does not allow us to completely implement that vision; the days are simply too full with jobs and kids and meetings to do that.  However we are granted the resources, whether time or money or connections, to advance that vision a little further.  We join our efforts and offerings with others who share our hopes and then catch a glimpse of vision becoming reality.

     My vision of the world is still under construction, but I know it includes these elements:

• Children should be safe and given every opportunity to mature before they have to make adult decisions.
• Generosity is as good for me as it is for those who receive. (Quick side note: The candy on my desk is a perfect example.  If I keep it all on my desk, I end up eating it without thinking and growing unhealthier.  If I bring it to our Board Meeting, I gain friends, the meeting goes better and I have to do less work to make healthy decisions.)
•  A person is both physical and spiritual.  Only meeting the needs of one aspect is incomplete.
• Laughter and fun and learning are valuable commodities.
• Young people are hungry for mentors.
• Money is a means, not an end.
• I love Alaska and want to see its people living prosperous lives and making healthy choices.

I could go on, but those are a good summary.  I work at Joel's Place and give to Joel's Place because I am able to see my vision becoming reality there.  If you share this vision, I invite you to join me.  If you have a different vision, give there.  If you do not give because you hold no vision of your own, I implore you to take time to think and dream about what you value in the world.  Visit globalgiving.com to get some ideas.  find some friends and brainstorm together about what you could do if you pooled some of your resources.

     Everyone agrees the world needs to change.  There are lots of great ideas out there to partner with.  Consider this an open invitation to dive in.

James

Winter is Coming

     There are several different reactions to the title above:

• For some people this title brings anticipation about the return of the Game of Thrones series.
• Some people simply brush it aside because it is only the beginning of September and the leaves have not even started changing yet.

• And then there are Alaskans who fall into two categories:  They either are cringing while nodding or they simply refused to read this post, denial and frustration pouring from their lips.

      For those of you who do not live up here, allow me to fill you in.  I scraped a heavy layer of frost off my car this morning.  Leaves are pouring off my trees as if they are in some sort of "Leave the tree bare" competition.  We just had major work done on my water heater and furnace at home, just in time I may add.  The temperature of the house had been in the low 60s in the mornings.  Temperatures are getting lower and the days are getting shorter.

     Winter is coming.

     Now please do not misunderstand me.  I love winter.  I am so excited for the first snowfall, I cannot actually put it into words.  November and December are my favorite months of the year.  I am eager to play in the snow and be rid of the bugs and enjoy coming into a warm house from the cold.  This is a joyful word for me. 

     It is also a word of preparation.  Winters in Alaska are not simply seasons that you fall into and expect to be safe.  Many homes are chopping lots of wood, getting their heating systems fine-tuned (done!), checking their snow tires, making sure there are good seals on their doors and windows and beginning to make sure that they have appropriate gear for their kids.  City-wide there is a mad rush to finish all the summer projects that were started so that when the next season hits, we can welcome it instead of being resentful.

     Winter is when Joel's Place is busiest.  We become the default location for skating and biking.  We become a safe place to escape the elements.  We offer the warm food and drinks to kids who are not properly equipped for the cold.  Winter is when Joel's Place blossoms and thrives.

     And so now we prepare for that day.  We are fine-tuning our program schedule and making contacts throughout the community to utilize our building.  We are writing grants and finding sites for AmeriCorps members.  We are raising funds to use for major upcoming expenses, especially heating oil.  We are getting ready so that when the snow flies and the kids flock to us, we will be ready to welcome them with open arms.

     I love winter.  I love what Joel's Place offers in the winter.  If you want to help, consider donating food or time to help us make meals.  Consider offering your skills to help our facilities repairs.  Consider donating heating oil or sponsoring a skater or visiting our Global Giving site or helping us put on Ramp It Up in November.  If none of those options sound appropriate, contact me at 452-2621 or joelsplacealaska@gmail.com and we can find creative ways to partner.

     Winter is coming.

     Bring it on.

50/4000/30...The Global Giving Challenge is Here

     Global Giving is a website dedicated towards bringing organizations that are serving needs across the planet together with people who want to give.  Their site is a remarkable medley of people who are feeding the poor, caring for the homeless and pouring hope into the oppressed.  The site is remarkably efficient, allowing the user to find projects based on name or geography or even mission type.  Each represented organization has pictures and stories and backgrounds on their profile as well as detailed giving levels, providing a glimpse of what your money would be doing across the world.
     We would like to be included on this site.  It has the potential to be a strong, long-term fund-development resource.  Somewhere in this great big beautiful world there are more people who have a heart for a Youth Enrichment Center like this.  I want to make it easy to both find Joel's Place and donate to us.
     For this to happen, we need your help.  Global Giving has established criteria for who they allow onto their site.  We have submitted all the appropriate due diligence, now we have to pass their Challenge to demonstrate that we have enough established support to build on.  Here's what we need:

1. 50 unique donors.   Fifty separate families, corporations or organizations that will donate to Joel's Place on the Global Giving site.
2. $4000.  The total amount given needs to be over Four Thousand Dollars. 
3. 30 days.  All gifts must come in during the month of September.
4. The minimum donation is $10.  There is no maximum donation.

     These criteria could be met in any number of ways.  We could have one donor give $3,610 while thirty nine others each give $10.  We could have forty people give $80.  We could have ten people give $10, ten people give $50, nine people give $100 and one final person give $2500.  We could have 400 people each give $10.  I could go on, but you get the point.

     Global giving has some competitions that they hold this month: extra money for the group that has the most donors in September, matching funds if a certain percentage of the gifts are monthly and so on.  It is fun to compete, but first things first.  We are a tremendous asset to the community and I want as many people thinking about us and giving to us and praying for us as possible.

     Would you log on to this link and give at least $10?  And then forward my blog onto your friends, neighbors and other people who you think would be interested.  The competition starts at 12:01 am on September 1st.


Thank you everyone for your help and support.

We are going to crush this.

James

Seasons

     My son erupted out of bed this morning at 6:30, arms and legs flying every which way as he threw his clothes on.  I was not far behind, staggering out of my room to make a special french toast breakfast for the kids through bleary eyes and a protesting body.  You see today is the first day of school, quite simply one of the best days of the year.  The kids are sent off every day to enrich their minds and spend time with their peers with built in supervision.  There is actually a chance to get some work done around the house without my beloved children undoing everything I just worked on.  Then they come back tired from working hard, grateful to be home.  The school parking lot was filled with adults who were grinning from ear to ear.
     Don't get me wrong, summer is a great time here in Interior Alaska.  The days are long and the temperatures are comfortably warm.  The hours have been filled with camps and lessons and parties and vacations and play.  The kids have bounced between the house and the yard and the neighborhood, leaving chaos in their wake.  Now the house is quiet and still...eery even.  It is hard to believe that only 12 hours earlier my children were playing "Whack-a-mole" with a stick and a sheet of bubbly plastic, reveling in the carnage they inflicted.
       Other than the sun coming up a little earlier, there are few differences between yesterday and today.  However every parent knows that yesterday was summer and today is fall.  The new season brings a new daily schedule and even a new emphasis to parenting.  Summer parenting is about trying to channel the energy and creativity of your children into positive activities that do minimal damage to the kids or their surroundings.  Fall parenting is about supporting your children as they struggle through the growing pains of academics and social pressures.  There are new goals, new challenges, new relationships and new dreams.  I love new beginnings and am excited every single fall at the new possibilities that are ahead of us. 
     The crazy thing is this:  If you do not have a school-age child, you have no idea that this enormous transition has occurred.  From that perspective, today is just another day instead of an annual monumental moment.
     I think there is another seasonal change happening at the same time.  I believe Joel's Place is moving into a new season.  An external observer would not see anything noticeably different: our finances are still struggling mightily and we still have slow foot traffic through the doors.  But as I sit at my desk, things are shifting.  My calendar is filling up quickly with training sessions and visits with potential donors and meetings with community partners and opportunities to connect with new demographics.  There is a growing interest in supporting Joel's Place and seeing it thrive.  This new season will see our building hosting new groups during our off hours, introducing a new generation to skateboarding, sponsoring amazing shows and activities for young people, welcoming in youth who have nowhere else to go, developing community partners who give joyfully and pray diligently and equipping our staff to show the love of Jesus to everyone who walks through our doors.
     There is a new season here at Joel's Place.  Feel free to stop by if you want to share a glimpse.

I Am The Awesomest Dad Ever

      I know because it says so on the note that my kids gave me on my first day of work here at Joel's Place.  They both made pictures of my flying through the air on a skateboard, complete with skating helmet and wide-eyed abandon on my face, to post at my desk.  They were excited for me to get a new job.  They were especially excited that the new job was in a skate park.  They were over-the-top excited that they would get to visit me and play in said skate park.
     They don't know about money troubles or mortgages or staffing or business plans or grant applications.  They don't know and they don't care.  All they know is that Dad works somewhere that is fun.  And not "fun" in that "make a game out of chores to trick us into cleaning our rooms" kind of way.  This is "fun for fun's sake" as Kelli, our Program Director calls it.  This is the fun that pushes you to run and test the limits of your body, fun that leaves you laughing until your sides hurt.  This is fun that engages the mind and the body and the soul.  This is fun that shouts so loud that it drowns out the rest of the day and makes you forget about everything but right now.
     My son is 10 and has autism.  I am sure that I will share more about him in the coming weeks, but for right now I will simply say that it has always been hard for him to have fun.  Fun usually happens in a social setting and involves sharing experiences with other people.  Social settings are especially challenging for people on the autism spectrum ...they tend to engage in something called "parallel play," playing next to someone but not with them.
     When the boy was four, he was an avid reader.  He would sit on the floor for hours, reading anything he could find for hours at a time.  His sister was just a toddler and would wobble over to where he had parked himself.  She was the only one in the world who had no respect for his boundaries.  She would wrap her arms around his neck and lean on his back, upsetting his balance.  My son payed her no mind as he continued reading, suddenly finding it harder to keep the words still as they swayed back and forth.  Finally they would topple over, the boy coming out of whatever hyper-intense world of reading and concentration he had been in, and they would laugh and wrestle.  Throughout his life, this is the level of effort needed to have fun with my son.
     Here at Joel's Place, I have an entire complex filled with boys like my son.  Maybe they are not on the autism spectrum like he is, but I have watched them all come in and every day it looks the same.  First they enter and head straight to the skate park to see if anything interesting is going on there.  If it is empty, they attack the ramps at full speed, sometimes skating...more often simply running up and down, around and around until their cheeks flush and they need to stop.  Then they wander to the cafe for some water, a snack and a video.  Next they head to the Red Room where they play pool, air hockey and video games while being told not to touch the equipment on the stage.  Then it is back to the ramps where they cycle starts all over again.  One night, my son had run himself ragged; he was lying on his back yelling to me that he was so exhausted that his legs wouldn't work.  I was shutting down so I told him to just lie on the floor and cool off until I got back.  I came out to find him rolling himself up a ramp by using only his arms.  The amount of effort he was using was immense.  He finally made it to the next level, slid back down and did it again.  At last he was lying on the ground, spread eagle and chest heaving.  I came over to him and asked what he was doing.
     He looked up at me with a big, toothy smile and answered simply, "Having Fun."

Long live Joel's Place.

Stuck

     I have been trying to write this blog post for two days now.  The cursor just blinks on the screen, taunting me.  It is not that I am lacking for ideas.  I have begun posts on Faith vs. Fear, the Olympics, my Staff, the AmeriCorps program, Fall, Vision, Superheroes and more.  Some were paragraphs long.  Some were a only a title.  All have been deleted.  None of them seemed to be a good summary of where I am at or what I want to talk about.  None of them were more than a disciplined writing exercise.  So I have been sitting here.  At my computer.  Stuck.
     There is a lot to do at the moment, even as the skate park lies quiet during the State Fair.  There is a Board Meeting this week to prepare for.  There are new grants to apply for and old grants to close out.  There are shows to plan and camps to advertise and a skate shop to revitalize and kids to feed and coalitions to participate in and volunteers to coordinate and thank you notes to write and facilities to fix and partners to meet and staff to build up.  I love it.  I love every single crazy and chaotic piece of it...even the fundraising.  I love that my job requires that I learn 5 new things every single day and utilize them right away.  I love that almost every conversation that I have in this building includes at least one laugh.
     And yet I am sitting here, stuck on what to write.  Actually, let me rephrase that.  I am sitting here, stuck on what to do next.  Part of it is money.  Do I pay the mortgage or the staff or the garbage service?  Anyone who has worked with a nonprofit can relate with that dilemna.  There's also this building.  This great big, wonderful, expensive building that sits quietly for 18 hours each day.  What do I do in order to make 1890 Marika a better-utilized resource?  And then there are the kids.  Youth are inherently messy.  They break things and hurt feelings and never react the ways you want them too.  At-risk kids are also messy, but amplified.  How do we provide a place of fun and healing for them without their baggage hurting other kids, damaging our belongings or burning out our staff?
     It seems to me that the answer will not come through simply finding more grants.  The purpose of a grant is to help move your organization to the next level, not sustain it once it has arrived.  Community is what sustains organizations and allows them to grow into their new level.  The organization needs family, friends and supporters who believe in its value and invest themselves in order see it thrive.
     Joel's Place is a community resource that needs to grow its community support in order to survive.  We are asking our staff to do too much with too few resources...and that never ends well.  Imagine if people gave Joel's Place a portion of their time and money, precious assets both, and encouraged their friends to do the same.  Imagine if our building was constantly filled with field trips and birthday parties and concerts and families.  Imagine if youth could find tutors to help with homework or counselors to help with home problems in the same building where they were taught how to skate, play the guitar, cook and do laundry.  Imagine if there were a network of trusted adults who could not only give kids a ride here in the cold winter months but also help them find food and shelter if they were lacking.  Imagine if every young person in Fairbanks knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they could come to Joel's Place if they were in crisis and it would be okay.  How drastically would that change our city?
     I am sitting here stuck today because I have come to the realization that I cannot make this happen on my own.  Even if the Joel's Place staff and I poured our entire lives into this dream, it would not happen.  This will only become a reality when our family, friends and the community of Fairbanks come together and invest in changing the world for our youth.  I am completely and resolutely convinced that We can make this happen.  Not a doubt in my mind.  Consider this a formal invitation:  Come with us.  Join us as we work to replace fear and despair and death with hope and safety and life.  We need you and are eager to have you along.

     What can you do?

• Give financially to Joel's Place.  See that bar on the right?  Click on the giving link to help us climb out of the hole with our mortgage or pay our staff or sponsor a skater.
• Tell your friends about us.  We are the best kept secret in town.  Tell people you know, especially those whose lives have been touched by at-risk youth, about what we do.  Bring them by.  I would be happy to give them a tour.
• Use our building.  Consider using it for parties or meetings.
• Volunteer to tutor or cook or clean or do security or a dozen other things.
• Just stop by.  I am always happy to talk and brainstorm about creative ways that Joel's Place can connect with the community.

 Thank you all.  I am eager to see what happens next.

The Power of 41 Cents

     I made my staff cry last week.  I didn't mean to, but I did.  I wasn't yelling at them.  I wasn't showing a sad video or breaking bad news.  I simply brought in a gift; just a few pennies, actually.  Well, a few pennies and a dime or two.  Maybe a nickel.  They could probably tell you better than I could.
     It started one night after work.  I was at home, eating dinner with the family and my wife asked me about the day at Joel's Place.  I was talking through our budget crunch and different donors who were giving generously when my seven year old daughter's head snapped up.
     "Daddy, why do people give money to Joel's Place?" she asked with her head tilted to the side, her braids hanging past her waist.
     "Well, sweetie, they give so that we can stay open and pay our staff salaries," I didn't feel like getting into tax write-offs and government-funded matching grants and mortgage payments. 
     I assumed the conversation was over as I turned back to my dinner, but I recognized a look on my daughter's face.  There is a look of deep concentration that little kids get when they are trying to figure something out.  Their eyes glaze over and their lips purse shut as they try to interpret a new piece of information.  They cannot think this hard and do anything else, so I watched as she sat motionless, her fork frozen in her hand above her plate.
     Finally she snapped back to reality.  A sly smile spread across her face as she slowly got up from the table.
     "Hey kiddo, where are you going?"
     "Nowhere," she replied innocently as she continued backing away from dinner.  She paused, "Wait right here." And then she was gone down the hall, flopping feet echoing through the house.
     It is not a large house that we live in so I could hear her enter her room and mutter to herself as she looked for something.  "Aha!" she exclaimed as she forgot to be stealthy.  Then more muttering as she vainly tried opening whatever it was.
     My wife and I simply ate and shook our heads as the sounds of a Herculean struggle resonated through the halls.  Finally my daughter was victorious, there was never any doubt, and the sound of flopping feet came up the hall behind me.  "Daddy..." she sweetly sang.
     "Mmmm?" I said, stuffing in another bite of dinner.  If you have children, you know that one of their greatest joys in life is keeping their parents from eating.  Ever.  I knew that once I answered my girl, whatever it was that she wanted to talk about would take a while and the food on my plate would continue to sit and mock me.
     "Here daddy," she extended her little hand out to me, "This is for you."  She poured a handful of coins into my hand.  "It's for Joel's Place.  To pay the salary."  She then returned to her seat, humming to herself and grinning at her good deed.
     "Oh sweetie," I replied, "You don't have to do this."  I had a moment of parenting panic where I feared that I had just guilted my daughter into giving away something that would make her very sad later.  And it wasn't going to make any difference to our $20,000 deficit.  "Why don't you take it back and..."
     "No."  She said simply, putting some food into her mouth while answering me.  "It's important that Joel's place gets its salary.  And besides," she gave a little matter-of-fact shrug, "there are people who need that more than me."
     I asked her if she was sure a couple of more times and she did not budge.  Stubborn that one...must get it from her mother.
     I brought in my daughter's Forty One Cents the next morning and hesitantly gave it to the finance manager.  I was concerned that the gift would just create more paperwork for her and would end up being more of a hindrance than anything.  I explained that my daughter wanted to give a donation but I could just keep it in a change jar on my desk if that would be more helpful.  I had not even finished my thought when the money was forcibly removed from my hands and lovingly placed into a donation envelope.
     "Put her name on there," she said, "and we will send her a statement and a thank you note."  News of the gift circulated around the office and every staff member that works here came up to me to tell me how sweet my daughter is.
     But really...what is 41 cents?  It barely covers postage these days and is not going to solve our problems.

     Let me tell you what 41 cents is here at Joel's Place.  41 Cents is the precious gift of someone offering everything they have to help those less fortunate.  41 Cents is encouragement and hope and affirmation for a staff who have only had bad news recently.  41 Cents is a tiny mustard seed that will soon erupt into an enormous blessing.  Did you know that if everyone in Fairbanks gave us 41 Cents, our $20,000 deficit would be completely wiped out?

     My daughter and my staff taught me a valuable lesson.  Value the small things.  Honor the giver, no matter the size of the gift.  This thing that we do, this mission that we call Joel's Place, it is too big and too important to be operated by any one person or supported by any one check.  It is only through the generosity of an entire community, giving what they can, that this will thrive.  That is the power of 41 Cents.

My First Month

     One of the most popular summer activities around Fairbanks is floating down the Chena River.  The Lower Chena is basically a nap on the water: the river is slow and wide with easy turns and the safe landings for miles.  The Upper Chena, while not incredibly difficult, has portions that require some attention and skill.  There are shallows that will high-center your craft and sweepers that will knock you out of the boat.  Different parts of the river run at different speeds and, if not navigated properly, will turn you around and leave you unprepared for the next challenge.  It is a fun float but if you are in a craft with young, inexperienced partners it is easy to miss the fun of the river because you are absorbed with the next challenge.
     I just completed my first month on the job here at Joel's Place.  That was the fastest month in my life.  Seriously...I blinked and all of the sudden I was transported from the end of June to the end of July.  I am not sure if that is a good sign or not, but I am in shock that I have already been here for over 30 days.  I am struck by how much I have learned and how much I still do not know.  I am assured that this feeling will fade...eventually.
     I wanted to share my initial impressions of my time here...a 30-day assessment, if you will.  I wanted to pull the boat to the shore for a moment to look at where we have been before jumping back into the raging current.  So allow me to share some observations:

• First and foremost:  The staff here are incredible.  Every single one of them.  They are excellent at their jobs.  They love the kids who come through here.  They are each quick to laugh and eager to listen.  We were a month late in paying their salaries and there was not one complaint, not one angry word, not one passive-aggressive comment to express disgust.  They continued to pour themselves out for the young people who showed up here this summer and trusted that God would provide for their needs.  They have answered my questions and heeded my input.  They are quite simply the best team I have ever been a part of and I am deeply honored to be included in their ranks.
• The kids and the noise.  They are really interchangeable.  This building is filled with the sounds of kids being kids.  Video Games, skateboarding, movies and laughter echo continuously.  The youth love this place.  We have to kick them out every night.  They love playing and eating and simply having someplace to belong.  Right now there is an older teen who is skateboarding with a twisted ankle, pulled muscles and a broken rib...and loving every minute of it.
• We have great favor in the community.  Everyone, literally everyone I have met has told me how great Joel's Place is and how much they appreciate our presence in the community.
• It is busy around here:  BMX sessions, lessons, arts and crafts, gaming, concerts, meals, parties, skateboard sessions, AmeriCorps activities, work crews and community service, grant writing, gardening.  There is a constant stream of youth and adults that flows through our doors.
• We are a community resource that needs to grow its community support.  Joel's Place has been in financial crisis all summer.  Some was expected.  Some was not.  Once we get through summer, our budget will be almost balanced but we will still be behind on our mortgage payments and some other bills.  We have been able to increase our programs through utilizing grants and government programs, but it is time to increase our stability and sustainability through local partnerships.  I envision working with local schools to build after-school programs; hosting church youth group outings; developing our Interior donor network; and growing community ownership in the work of loving our youth.

     As I dive back in, just allow me to say that I am so grateful for where I am and what I get to spend my days doing.  I have the deepest respect for Mike and Linda Setterberg who poured out their lives to see this dream come to life.  I have size 13 feet, but they have left me large shoes to fill.  Thank you all for your prayers and support.  Together we will see the youth of Fairbanks transformed.

Faith-Based

     Joel's Place is a "Faith-Based" organization.  I have been reminded of this fact several times in my first month of service.  This has been a conscious, and at times costly, decision that was made from the beginning and consistently reaffirmed throughout our twelve-year history.  This little title shouts to the world that we are more than just a social service agency or a fun park.  We have an agenda, and anyone who has an agenda tends to make others nervous.  So allow me to be clear about what our agenda is.

     We want to love the young people who come through our doors as much as Jesus loves them.

     I sat at my computer for another ten minutes trying to come up with more than that, but that simple phrase is everything that drives our programs and services.  Jesus loves absolutely, without reservation. He looks at the dirty, uncoordinated, snot-nosed tween who self-consciously stumbles into our building and sees a masterpiece of creation filled with wonder and potential.  He sees gifts and abilities, ideas and adventures, joy and laughter and compassion woven into every fiber of their being.  He sees them moving into adulthood and longs for the fullness of who they are to be revealed to the world.

      We strive to translate this love into action and hope that our actions trumpet that these young people are valuable and cherished.  We provide food to grow the body; opportunities for service to grow the heart; activities to develop both body and mind; community to support and encourage; and fun to promote joy and laughter.  That is our strategy.  That is our agenda.  That is what "Faith-Based" means here at Joel's Place.

Joel's Place is like an Ogre

     Or an onion.  Or a parfait.  For those of you who haven't seen the cultural phenomenon that is "Shrek," allow me to put this another way.  Joel's Place has layers.  There is a lot going on here, and there is even more going on behind the scenes...and even more behind that.  An explanation is in order.

     Joel's Place is fun, a lot of fun.  Skateboarders are flying up and down ramps.  When they are taking a break from the skating, kids are eating snacks, watching movies, playing video games, pool, or dodgeball.  This summer we are adding an outdoor skating area, a basketball court and an area for volleyball.  There are crafts to make, camps to attend, instruments to learn and a garden to grow.  The fun and activities are what draw kids in at first.  But there is more.

     Joel's Place is service.  We have dozens of Americorps members volunteering with nonprofits in the community.  They are farming, cleaning, building, feeding, filing paperwork, working with kids, doing more cleaning and providing technical assistance.  We sponsor and supervise two summer food service sites to provide free meals for kids.  There is a constant stream of people coming in and going out to give of themselves to others.  But there is more.

     Joel's Place is mentoring.  While the kids are here playing, they are also learning.  They are watching the staff and Americorps members, absorbing how older people interact.  They are learning how to win and lose well.  They are learning how to try new things with joy.  They are learning to treat others with respect. They are learning how to serve and look out for those who have less.  There is a small train of boys who tromp out to work in our garden every day just to spend time with a young Americorps guy.  But there is more.

     Joel's Place is assets.  Helping Kids Succeed- Alaskan Style is a resource released by the State of Alaska, based off of a study conducted by the Search Institute of Minnesota.  It lays out 40 resources that support and encourage a child's development.  These assets range from Family Support to Homework to Social Justice to Positive Peer Influence.  The study found that there is a direct correlation between assets and healthy lifestyle in kids.  Kids with less than 10 assets are at great risk for drug and alcohol abuse, depression, school problems and a life of violence.  Children with 11-20 assets reduce that risk by 50%.  Children with 21-30 assets reduce that risk by another 50%.  Our goal at Joel's Place is to provide every child and teenager who comes through our doors with at least 10 assets through short-term programs and long-term relationships.  10 assets would bump everyone up to the next level of success, no matter where they are when they come in.

     Kids come to Joel's Place to play and hang out.  But while they are doing that, the direction of their life is changing.  There is a lot going on here.  Some of it you can even see...if you know what to look for.

Find Twenty Minutes

     Most of the time I prefer that my blogs be primarily in my words and my voice; I don't use a lot of quotes or clips.  That is partly because I have a lot to say and partly because I believe that this method of communication is more about building relationships than it is crafting a persuasive case.  You are reading this in order to know me better, so I try to pour as much of myself into these posts as I can.

     That being said, I am not going to write much this week.  I have placed a link to a TED talk below that I would like you to view.  The talk is about 20 minutes and is worth every minute you invest.  Not only is it a powerful story, but its implications for Joel's Place and the work that we do here is staggering.  Please find twenty minutes of your day to watch this talk then you could come back here and finish reading the rest of the post.










TED talk by David R Dow













     I have two primary responses to the video:

                  First:  Conviction.  I cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of the young.  The price that society pays is too high.  Far too high.

                 Second:  Awe.  Awe of Joel's Place and other organizations that have been providing those "nudges" to kids for years.  How many lives have been changed, how many futures have been rewritten because the staff and volunteers invested in youth earlier in the story?

     To all of our donors and supporters out there.  Thank you for being our partners, our co-workers in this vision.  This state and this city are better places because we have worked together to step into young people's stories.

     To those who are not yet partners, I offer an earnest invitation to join us.  This work we do is no small thing.  Joel's Place is not a glorified playground...it is Preventative Intervention and it needs your help to keep going.  If you have questions, feel free to call or e-mail.  I would love to talk.

Blessings upon you all.

Learning Curves

     Welcome one and welcome all to the launch of "Joel's Place: Live and Unplugged!"  As the Executive Director, I will be giving weekly updates from our Marika Road home base: reports on our programs, successes, opportunities and needs as well as providing spaces for the staff to share their favorite stories and the readers to take steps into partnership with this remarkable organization.
    
     What is Joel's Place?  The short answer is that Joel's Place is a sanctuary for youth.  The long answer is that this is a building with a skate park, skate shop, cafe, rec room, garden, art room and outdoor recreation area that provides a safe place for young people, ages 10-20, to play, rest and give back while we feed hungry children, put on community events and serve as an Americorps hub for Fairbanks.

     Joel's Place is open to all but especially attracts energetic, marginalized youth who have extra energy to burn and limited opportunities to release it.  Here they find the freedom to skate or play or make music or art and walk out our doors a little more tired, a little more in control and having learned a little bit more about themselves and what they are capable of doing.

     Joel's Place was born over twelve years ago through Mike and Linda Setterberg's desire to care for their children and their children's friends.  Over the years they have changed locations and staff; programs have come and gone; a new generation of youth has grown up; but the focus has remained constant: Love every young person we come in contact with no matter how they look, where they are from or what they believe.

     It is into this amazing place that I find myself newly (as in 4 days ago) hired as the next Executive Director.  I have deep roots in Fairbanks, having lived here for over 30 years.  I have non-profit experience as a youth/college minister.  And I have a deep respect and appreciation for this group as I have seen and heard nothing but glowing reports about them throughout our community.  Mentioning I am from Joel's Place has provided smiles and instant trust with strangers that I talk to.  I feel blessed to be in this chair.

     I also feel blown away by the immensity of the job and the legacy I am following.  The learning curve is steep right now between juggling finances in the time of the year that has the fewest customers and the most staff, grant writing, building projects, fundraisers, establishing new business models and getting to know the staff, the board and the kids.  What I feel like...

     What I feel like is a new parent.  A first time new parent.  My son was born just over 10 years ago.  He was big and happy and healthy.  Everything we had hoped and prayed for had come to pass...now what to do next.  Whether it was learning how to install and utilize car seats or how to change a baby who wiggles or avoid being peed on or figure out what cries meant "too hot" or "to cold" or "sleepy" or "hungry," every day seemed like it ended with me apologizing to my son that I didn't know what I was doing.

     I remember that now when I look at the mountain of urgent paperwork and messages and e-mails.  I figured out the baby thing well enough that we had a little girl a few years later and are expecting a third this fall.  I will struggle through this learning curve with the help of an amazing staff and a community of supporters.  I am eager to see where we go together.