This week was an awesome week for me. We learned about attachment disorder. Attachment disorder is the affectionate tie between two people which begins with the mother and becomes internally representative of how the child will form relationships with the world. This was one of my favorite topics during the school and I can’t wait to use the material I learned in the class for real life. We learned how even if a child was abused at one years old his brain function completely changes from that time on. My favorite thing during this week was learning how to work with the kids and what to do to improve their condition.
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-copdigbrf0401.art1apr01,0,2718225.story
In this article it is talking about how a man was charged with trading child pornography over the internet. He was caught by an undercover cop on the internet. After that they raided his house and found 600 pornography images on his computer. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
Prayer Points
*Children in the child porn industry
*People who run the child porn business to get caught or stop
*People who are involved with child porn in any way
Thursday, April 1, 2010
This week we had a speaker named Ro Potter and she taught on human trafficking. She told us a lot of personal encounters that she had with human trafficking, which was really interesting. She taught us not only from the victims perspective but the john and the pimp as well. She told us a story about a man who was into trafficking women and what happened before he started doing it. I realized that a lot of the time I get really mad at the pimp or the trafficker but what I didn’t realize was that they have a story too. They were not born with a cold heart but they most likely got there from past abuse. I’m not saying this is right but the pimps and traffickers are hurting people as well.
This week was a really sad week for ministry because it was our last week working with Metro Ministries. It was a really good last week and we have a lot of good memories to look back at with the kids. I am going to miss them a lot. This week I got to share my testimony in front of the kids which was really nice even though I was really nervous it was worth planting that seed in their lives. I got to share about my father and how he was never in my life and how God can take the place of a physical father.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-ambroz/35-foster-children-dead-s_b_520584.html
In this article it is talking about how 35 foster children have died in Las Angeles, California since 2008. The most recent being a two year old who was killed by a hammer by a caregiver in a foster care agency. Throughout the article they are talking about how the kids are not being checked up on by outside sources. They suggested that they want to use technology to help share data and information about the youth and their placement.
Prayer Points
*Placed with safe and loving caregivers
*Good new Director of Child Welfare
*New system that would work
This week was a really sad week for ministry because it was our last week working with Metro Ministries. It was a really good last week and we have a lot of good memories to look back at with the kids. I am going to miss them a lot. This week I got to share my testimony in front of the kids which was really nice even though I was really nervous it was worth planting that seed in their lives. I got to share about my father and how he was never in my life and how God can take the place of a physical father.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-ambroz/35-foster-children-dead-s_b_520584.html
In this article it is talking about how 35 foster children have died in Las Angeles, California since 2008. The most recent being a two year old who was killed by a hammer by a caregiver in a foster care agency. Throughout the article they are talking about how the kids are not being checked up on by outside sources. They suggested that they want to use technology to help share data and information about the youth and their placement.
Prayer Points
*Placed with safe and loving caregivers
*Good new Director of Child Welfare
*New system that would work
Monday, March 22, 2010
This week we had our teaching over skype with one of my school leaders sister. She is a school teacher of one of the inner city schools of Kansas City. Her teaching was mainly around four behaviors that kids develop. The first was “attention,” these kids are the ones in class that are always interrupting and trying to make them be a focus or distraction. The second behavior was “revenge,” these kids will be trying to start fights and be out of control. For example, throwing a chair or making threats towards other people. The third was “power,” these kids will be try to challenge your authority and will most likely try to do anything not to listen to your rules or the things you tell them to do. The fourth was “avoidance of failure,” these kids would try to do anything not to do their works and say that they can’t do it or they are not smart enough to complete the task. Along with all this she taught us how to handle each behavior and what most likely caused the kid to take on this behavior.
On Thursday and Friday we went to a facility that took care of kids with special needs. At first it was really intimidating because the woman was very who ran the place was drilling us as soon as we got there. But once we split up into groups of two and went into the rooms with two children and two teachers, it was all good. I was so surprised on how good the teachers were with the kids. It was such a great experience and I had so much fun with the kids and got a lot out of it. The kids were very blessed by having us there and we were also blessed by being there. On Friday we also got to work with Metro Ministries and a team from Las Angeles, California joined us as well and did a couple of skits, which was really awesome. This week was especially cool for me because I got to mingle with the older kids a little bit as well as the younger kids. I have been wanting to talk to them every week but it is really intimidating when my Spanish is not very good. But God blessed me and let me get my foot in the door. I have been wanting to talk to these guys every week I have been there and my heart has been for these guys as well. I have hope for these guys and believe that God is going to work in their lives.
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-47123720100322
In this article it is talking about how one hundred and forty seven children have been infected with HIV in Uzbekistan. This happened in the hospitals in Eastern part of the country. Out of these kids fourteen of them are no longer living. All this happened from not sterilizing the syringes that were used by previous patients who obviously carried HIV. Luckily twelve of the medical staff have been fired and sentenced to jail, sadly this can’t take back the kids from the HIV virus.
Prayer Points
*Medical awareness of proper sterilizing
*That the kids can cope as well as they can
*Salvation over the kids
On Thursday and Friday we went to a facility that took care of kids with special needs. At first it was really intimidating because the woman was very who ran the place was drilling us as soon as we got there. But once we split up into groups of two and went into the rooms with two children and two teachers, it was all good. I was so surprised on how good the teachers were with the kids. It was such a great experience and I had so much fun with the kids and got a lot out of it. The kids were very blessed by having us there and we were also blessed by being there. On Friday we also got to work with Metro Ministries and a team from Las Angeles, California joined us as well and did a couple of skits, which was really awesome. This week was especially cool for me because I got to mingle with the older kids a little bit as well as the younger kids. I have been wanting to talk to them every week but it is really intimidating when my Spanish is not very good. But God blessed me and let me get my foot in the door. I have been wanting to talk to these guys every week I have been there and my heart has been for these guys as well. I have hope for these guys and believe that God is going to work in their lives.
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-47123720100322
In this article it is talking about how one hundred and forty seven children have been infected with HIV in Uzbekistan. This happened in the hospitals in Eastern part of the country. Out of these kids fourteen of them are no longer living. All this happened from not sterilizing the syringes that were used by previous patients who obviously carried HIV. Luckily twelve of the medical staff have been fired and sentenced to jail, sadly this can’t take back the kids from the HIV virus.
Prayer Points
*Medical awareness of proper sterilizing
*That the kids can cope as well as they can
*Salvation over the kids
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Week 9
This week we had 3 speakers. The first speaker was a guy named Phil from Casa Viva and he taught us about Isaiah 1. He emphasized how God prefers justice and mercy over religious deeds and legalism. This really stuck out to me and made me realize that God isn’t all about sacrifices you need to make in your life but he really wants you to support the weak and lost. The second teacher was his wife and she taught us about discipline, and how you need to discipline children according to the background. For example you can’t discipline a kid that has been living on the street the same way you would discipline your own child. The last teacher was my leader Scott’s wife, Leslie. She taught on kids with disabilities. This topic really struck my interest and I could see myself working with the disabled in the future. The thing I really liked about the way she taught was that she had us do research and had us teach ourselves.
For outreach we went to two locations. The first location we went to the same daycare as last week. It was really cool to go back because I had already built a relationship with some of the kids and they were happy for us to be there. We did a couple of activities and game and talked about God’s characters and how he loves us. It was really cool to plant seeds in these children and can’t wait for God to root in them. On Friday we worked with Metro Ministries again. I love this group of kids and their playfulness that they have. At the end of it I got to pray for this man that was in a wheelchair who was in a motorbike accident and is just now starting to try and walk again. It was a really nice time.
http://www.pekintimes.com/news/x324655596/Hard-times-children-at-risk
In this article it is talking about how children have been at risk in their own homes. How with the economy and people not having a lot of money are needing help at home. In this they are allowing people to stay in their house for rent that they don’t know very well. This causes problems because the children are sometimes left home alone and some of the kids have been abused. As well as single mothers having their boyfriends come stay at their house and the kids are being taken advantage of.
Prayer Points
*Mothers discernment for good boyfriends
*Protection for kids from roommates
*Awareness of situations like this
*Kids talk up when abused
For outreach we went to two locations. The first location we went to the same daycare as last week. It was really cool to go back because I had already built a relationship with some of the kids and they were happy for us to be there. We did a couple of activities and game and talked about God’s characters and how he loves us. It was really cool to plant seeds in these children and can’t wait for God to root in them. On Friday we worked with Metro Ministries again. I love this group of kids and their playfulness that they have. At the end of it I got to pray for this man that was in a wheelchair who was in a motorbike accident and is just now starting to try and walk again. It was a really nice time.
http://www.pekintimes.com/news/x324655596/Hard-times-children-at-risk
In this article it is talking about how children have been at risk in their own homes. How with the economy and people not having a lot of money are needing help at home. In this they are allowing people to stay in their house for rent that they don’t know very well. This causes problems because the children are sometimes left home alone and some of the kids have been abused. As well as single mothers having their boyfriends come stay at their house and the kids are being taken advantage of.
Prayer Points
*Mothers discernment for good boyfriends
*Protection for kids from roommates
*Awareness of situations like this
*Kids talk up when abused
This week we had a Samoan speaker come and he taught us about street children. He lives in Brazil and has been working with street children over there for a while. What I really liked about his teaching was how he emphasized on how much we need to rely on God and prayer while working with the street kids. He also taught us about some practical things to do when you run into situations with street kids. For example, don’t try to break up a fight when you see them fighting. He also gave a couple of testimonies that he went through while working with children at risk and put it in real perspective for me on how hard it can be at times and showed a lot of the reality while working with street kids.
This week we went to a day care and got to hang out with the kids their. It was a free day care ran for the children in the neighborhood. We had lots of fun with the kids. We got to push them on the swings which they really enjoyed and played cards with them. I could really tell that they enjoyed us being there to have new people to hang around with. At the end we got to play a little soccer with them as well.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hZxpBuPrX2vIYnBuZtCVLuNvBN6gD9E99SSO0
In this article it is talking about two girls who went missing in San Diego, California. One was fourteen years old and the other was seventeen. The seventeen year old was taken while she was going on a jog at a local park. Shortly after she was found dead at a nearby lake. A convicted sex offender was charged with her murder. The fourteen year old girl was taken while on her way to school. She has not been found yet but law enforcement is still searching for her.
Prayer Points
*For the seventeen year old girls parents to cope with her death
*For the fourteen year old to be alive
*For law enforcement to find the fourteen year old
*For the stress of the fourteen year olds parents
This week we went to a day care and got to hang out with the kids their. It was a free day care ran for the children in the neighborhood. We had lots of fun with the kids. We got to push them on the swings which they really enjoyed and played cards with them. I could really tell that they enjoyed us being there to have new people to hang around with. At the end we got to play a little soccer with them as well.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hZxpBuPrX2vIYnBuZtCVLuNvBN6gD9E99SSO0
In this article it is talking about two girls who went missing in San Diego, California. One was fourteen years old and the other was seventeen. The seventeen year old was taken while she was going on a jog at a local park. Shortly after she was found dead at a nearby lake. A convicted sex offender was charged with her murder. The fourteen year old girl was taken while on her way to school. She has not been found yet but law enforcement is still searching for her.
Prayer Points
*For the seventeen year old girls parents to cope with her death
*For the fourteen year old to be alive
*For law enforcement to find the fourteen year old
*For the stress of the fourteen year olds parents
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Dave Swann- Project planning and Development
Dave was a guy from England who lives in South Africa. He taught us about project planning and strategic planning. The difference between the two is that strategic planning is more over a bigger group of people or nation and is focused on a vision and a mission. Where project planning is focused more on a smaller group of people/culture and driven by goals and objectives. In the class he split us up in two groups and gave us a chance to plan a project of our own and my group made up a coffee shop project. After we were done he gave us pointers on what would work and what wouldn’t. He also had us read Nehemiah 1 through 2 and pointed out how there was strategy in the bible not only spirituality, which made me realize that God gave us reasoning and thinking for a reason.
This week for outreach we worked alongside with Metro Ministries once again. We did a few skits that showed how our choices (Adam and Eve) separate us from unity with God and how Jesus brought us back together (Jesus crucifixion). I played the part of Adam. It was really cool because at the end we had a little alter call and invited the kids on stage to accept Jesus. Almost the whole stage was filled up with kids which was awesome to see as it showed their excitement to respond. These kids are accepting the seeds that are sown into their life and I can’t wait for them to be full grown.
http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2010/02/28/council-knew-145-kids-were-missing-in-birmingham-at-time-of-khyra-death-66331-25927807/
In this article it is talking about 145 kids missing in Birmingham schools during the death of a young girl who was not attending school. Some of the kids had been missing since 2006 and not able to be traced in the whole country. This is a scary thing to think about that so many children are first taken out of their education and second, are not able to be found. The ages ranged between 5 and 16 years old.
Unicef.org
This organization is working with children at risk all around the world. Some of their main focus areas are: child survival and development, basic education and gender equality, HIV/AIDS, Child protection, and policy advocacy and partnership. Their motives or the reason why they do it is because children have rights, children demand a voice, poverty reduction starts with children, and because children should not be dying from preventable cause. You can support by being a donor, volunteer or member of one of their organizations they are partnered with.
Dave was a guy from England who lives in South Africa. He taught us about project planning and strategic planning. The difference between the two is that strategic planning is more over a bigger group of people or nation and is focused on a vision and a mission. Where project planning is focused more on a smaller group of people/culture and driven by goals and objectives. In the class he split us up in two groups and gave us a chance to plan a project of our own and my group made up a coffee shop project. After we were done he gave us pointers on what would work and what wouldn’t. He also had us read Nehemiah 1 through 2 and pointed out how there was strategy in the bible not only spirituality, which made me realize that God gave us reasoning and thinking for a reason.
This week for outreach we worked alongside with Metro Ministries once again. We did a few skits that showed how our choices (Adam and Eve) separate us from unity with God and how Jesus brought us back together (Jesus crucifixion). I played the part of Adam. It was really cool because at the end we had a little alter call and invited the kids on stage to accept Jesus. Almost the whole stage was filled up with kids which was awesome to see as it showed their excitement to respond. These kids are accepting the seeds that are sown into their life and I can’t wait for them to be full grown.
http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2010/02/28/council-knew-145-kids-were-missing-in-birmingham-at-time-of-khyra-death-66331-25927807/
In this article it is talking about 145 kids missing in Birmingham schools during the death of a young girl who was not attending school. Some of the kids had been missing since 2006 and not able to be traced in the whole country. This is a scary thing to think about that so many children are first taken out of their education and second, are not able to be found. The ages ranged between 5 and 16 years old.
Unicef.org
This organization is working with children at risk all around the world. Some of their main focus areas are: child survival and development, basic education and gender equality, HIV/AIDS, Child protection, and policy advocacy and partnership. Their motives or the reason why they do it is because children have rights, children demand a voice, poverty reduction starts with children, and because children should not be dying from preventable cause. You can support by being a donor, volunteer or member of one of their organizations they are partnered with.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Rick Allegretto- Servant Leadership
This week we learned on how to lead with a servants heart. Along with that Rick taught us that leading has no formula and that people need to be lead with different styles. This really stuck out to me and made me realize that people are going to be at different places in their walk with God and all needed to be approached differently. He gave a good example of this by saying if you told someone to walk them through it instead of expecting them to do it on their own. This help me realize that not everyone is going to be at the place you are at in your walk with God and you are going to have to take these people to process slowly and walk them through it step by step. He also talked about Jesus being the best servant leader and how he came to serve and not be served. I learned that humility was a big part in leadership and to not portray yourself as perfect, because it is a lot easier to approach a leader when he admits his faults and is honest with you.
This week I got to work with metro ministries and it turned out great once again. This time we went to a different location which had about twice as many kids show up. It was a very good group of kids who had lots of energy and were hard to keep up with. Worship was really fun and all the boys were wanting to crawl on my back while I was jumping around. It was really nice to bring joy to the boys while worshiping God, that was really cool. There is nothing better than to share the joy of the Lord.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/invisible-children-at-risk-from-unofficial-fostering-1905789.html
In this article it is talking about children who are at risk from unofficial fostering or being fostered in secret. The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) did a survey and found out that one out of ten of the kids they surveyed had been looked after by someone other than a parent or close relative for at least four consecutive weeks at a time, yet only a few of them were registered with local authorities or child protection services. In cases like these it leaves child vulnerable and open to be taken advantage of especially if the care giver is not being watched over and made sure that they are providing a safe environment for the child. This puts them in a greater risk of abuse, neglect, slavery and prostitution.
Prayer Points
- that the community would recognize and stand up for these children
- that the children would be put in a safe home and taken care of
- children would be protected from abusers
- families to stay together and not have to abandon there kids
This week we learned on how to lead with a servants heart. Along with that Rick taught us that leading has no formula and that people need to be lead with different styles. This really stuck out to me and made me realize that people are going to be at different places in their walk with God and all needed to be approached differently. He gave a good example of this by saying if you told someone to walk them through it instead of expecting them to do it on their own. This help me realize that not everyone is going to be at the place you are at in your walk with God and you are going to have to take these people to process slowly and walk them through it step by step. He also talked about Jesus being the best servant leader and how he came to serve and not be served. I learned that humility was a big part in leadership and to not portray yourself as perfect, because it is a lot easier to approach a leader when he admits his faults and is honest with you.
This week I got to work with metro ministries and it turned out great once again. This time we went to a different location which had about twice as many kids show up. It was a very good group of kids who had lots of energy and were hard to keep up with. Worship was really fun and all the boys were wanting to crawl on my back while I was jumping around. It was really nice to bring joy to the boys while worshiping God, that was really cool. There is nothing better than to share the joy of the Lord.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/invisible-children-at-risk-from-unofficial-fostering-1905789.html
In this article it is talking about children who are at risk from unofficial fostering or being fostered in secret. The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) did a survey and found out that one out of ten of the kids they surveyed had been looked after by someone other than a parent or close relative for at least four consecutive weeks at a time, yet only a few of them were registered with local authorities or child protection services. In cases like these it leaves child vulnerable and open to be taken advantage of especially if the care giver is not being watched over and made sure that they are providing a safe environment for the child. This puts them in a greater risk of abuse, neglect, slavery and prostitution.
Prayer Points
- that the community would recognize and stand up for these children
- that the children would be put in a safe home and taken care of
- children would be protected from abusers
- families to stay together and not have to abandon there kids
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