Break through

It was a great week! We had some sun early on....Friday threatened rained, but it held out. Which was good, since Friday is my site! A couple of interesting things happened this week. Just the other day there was another shooting down by the Centre (the hospital we own). This is the second shooting I know of that was by the hospital since September. I'm not sure if anyone was killed or not. My good friend, Emily, lives in the Centre right now. And I worry about her when she's got to walk home alone in the dark. My friend Autumn lives about 8 blocks away from me. We were interns together. She's not on staff here at Metro, but volunteers with the Sunday School on Saturdays and whenever she can. She's taking her Masters right now in NYC. Last night around 11pm she was in front of one of the Pastor's houses just a block over from me, and was held up at gun point. As far as I know they only took money from here. I haven't actually talked to her about it yet. Here in Brooklyn, it's not a matter of "if" it will happen, but rather a matter of "when" it will happen. A very different world here.
Sometimes it can get very frustrating pouring into these kids' lives, because it seems like you're not breaking through with them and impacting them. Yah, I always have to remind myself it comes in steps, and in God's timing, not mine! Today I had to go out to my site, Pink Houses, and visit some of my kids. I was with one of my Workers, Antionette. She helps me on stage at Yogi Bear and with visitation. So I see her quite a bit in a week - everyday except Mondays and Saturdays. She's 13 years old, and such a sweetheart. So far we get along great, always making eachother laugh so much! Today we got a bite to eat at the store and sat down for a break to eat some lunch and she told me that I was her bestfriend. Wow. I couldn't believe it! Sometimes you just don't know how much these kids actually appreciate you. I'm so honored to be a part of her life, and to be able to invest in her. God has given me and all of us so many opportunites to use for his glory, but we MUST take hold of them. If we don't take hold of these opportunities God will find someone else, or it might be too late. When God opens the door for us to impact and invest in someone's life, we need to run through that open door he gives us, not wait or wonder or walk. We need a sense of urgency in everything we do, because if we actually truly "get it" we understand that these kids need God now...not when we finally get the guts, or finally get our own lives in order. There isn't room for excuses - this is about life or death.
Lots to do tomorrow. My day off never really feels like a day off!