February 12, 2021
We are incredibly excited to share that we were able to start our after school program last week! Eight precious 1st through 4th graders got on the bus last Thursday, somewhat timid and shy. They were greeted as they got off the bus by smiles and waves from our Street Leaders, and the faces of these students, who have been out of school the large majority of the pandemic, immediately lit up. I don’t think they cared where they were- they were just ready to have some fun! We played games and read stories and introduced ourselves for the next two hours, and so much joy was present. Thus began the next chapter in the UrbanPromise Nashville story.
One really cool way we saw that God had been working behind the scenes was that several of our Street Leaders already knew almost every child there. Some went to church together, some were family friends, some had even changed some of their diapers many years ago. So not only do our Street Leaders look like these students, they actually know these students. None of us knew that ahead of time. But God did, and He keeps making it clear that He’s been planning all of this for a very long time.
We've met two more times this week, and had lots of fun together. We've gotten to know each other, we've talked about family, and community, and what's important to us, we've played games, we've learned how to greet each other, we've talked about family, and community, and what's important to us, we've played games, we've learned how to greet each other in different languages, we've written poems, we've talked about heroes, along with many other activities. Our numbers have more than doubled from last week with 18 students from Burma, Congo, and Kurdistan, and we have more families interested. We are honored to work with these families and not only help their children with academic support that is desperately needed, but to get to speak life and identity into who God says they are because of Jesus. It’s all because of Jesus.
Thank you to all of you who have been praying with us. Last week was another marker of God’s abundant grace and faithfulness on this journey. We are so grateful and hopeful for what He is building here in Nashville that will transform lives and impact our city and beyond. It all starts and ends with love, and we invite you to join us in it.
