Another very busy month has almost concluded. 

I am always looking for help.  I am seeing more interest from the kids to meet with me in and out of the facilities and my time continues to become more precious and limited as the demands continue.  We will be doing a week long "Vacation Bible" school type activity in July at the detention and residential facilities in July.  Anyone who has a "good" talent or can teach line dancing or anything else teenagers would enjoy doing give me a call at 316.616.5000. 

Contrary to popular stigma, kids in trouble are still just kids.  It is easy to over look the fact that many of these kids have never been taught acceptable societal behavior.  Our culture continues to set our kids up for failure and then punish them when they fail.  I am not suggesting that teens are not responsible for their own decisions, but, when social programs allow teens to assume adult lifestyles without the maturity to live as adults, failure and misery will result in the lives of our teens.  Please consider how you can make a difference in a teenagers life today.

I cannot believe it has been almost a month since I last logged on.  My apologies to anyone who has logged on this past month.

It has been an extremely busy couple of months.  The one aspect of working with the kids in the Juvenile Justice system, that I have been working to improve on, is staying in contact with kids when they get out of the system.  I am making contact with 3 to 5 kids every week.  There are three kids who I stay in contact with on a weekly basis and usually 1 to 2 different kids I take to lunch weekly.  I follow up with those same kids after our initial lunch.  For those of you who don't know, I give the kids a business card while they are inside the facility and tell them if they call me when they get out I will buy them lunch.  This gives me an opportunity to make an initial contact outside of the facilities and offer to help them in any way possible.  Another facet which is a result of meeting with kids when they get out, is meeting and getting involved with their families.  There are many needs out there and this is just one avenue to help not only the kids but also parents.

I will try to do a better job keeping the blog updated.  Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I continue to build relationships with these kids inside the facility and out.  As always I can use more help. 

JJM Video  http://vimeo.com/37978968

Update

I want to thank everyone who helped with the Bowl-a-thon.

I was able to take a youth, just recently released from JDF, and his younger brother to the Bowl-a-thon. I know he really enjoyed being able to participate in something different than bed checks and cafeteria food. A couple of weeks ago when he was released I met his family and I am looking forward to continuing to build relationships with them. Currently I have been meeting with two young men who have been released from the juvenile facilities. I think it is important, as I continue in this ministry, to build relationships outside the jails as well as on the inside. I am continuing to try to refine the process of staying in touch when kids as they are released. Most of these kids are on strict probation and some are on ankle bracelets. Finding jobs and helping them to stay away from those they once considered "friends" is a critical need in these kids lives. Many of these kids have $1500-$2500 fines that need to be paid and they are motivated to find work. The downside is that most of these kids don't know how to work and so we need strong mentors who would be willing to help them stay focused and learn a work ethic.
I hope you will continue to keep this ministry in your thoughts and prayers and as always, contact me if you have any questions or input.

Also we have some JJM videos that I will include in this post. As soon as I learn how to embed videos on this blog permanently this will have to suffice.

Chuck

Short JJM Video http://vimeo.com/groups/jjm/videos/37251117
Long JJM Video http://vimeo.com/37978968

Bowl-a-Thon Fundraiser

YFC could use your help

... and you could actually enjoy yourself.

(I will keep you posted as soon as I get more details.)

Different Reasons, Same Place

As I reflect on the chaplain visits I made today I am once again reminded of the variety of reasons kids are in detention facilities. Today I met with a 12-year-old who was there because of truancy. He told me that he "hated" school. I was pretty sure that he didn't hate school per se, but rather hated that he was failing in school. Statistics show that many juvenile delinquents have failed school. Once a child begins failing in school, they begin to lose confidence in themselves and it doesn't take long before they begin failing at other things. I asked him if he liked learning about people in other countries, he answered in the affirmative. I asked him if he liked learning about plants, animals, and geography, and again he answered yes. It was great to see his eyes light up when he realized that he really did like school, he just didn't like feeling like a failure.

I pray for him because I know he will have a difficult time getting out of the Justice system. Until he learns how to learn, he will never feel positive about himself and have the confidence he needs to succeed in life. One researcher used the analogy of a swimmer to explain this social phenomenon of incarceration and rehabilitation. "If a person can't swim before they are incarcerated, they will not learn to swim while they are incarcerated." We need to do more to keep our kids from going to jail. Think about how you can make a difference in a child's life today.

The Way It Is

Most days I handle the emotional aspect of ministering to the kids in the Juvenile Justice System fairly well. Occasionally I encounter a child's life story that sometimes takes me a while to work through. As I share this encounter I want to make it clear that this is in no way a judgment or criticism of anyone or any agency, this is just the way it is sometimes.
This person had signed up for a chaplain visit. Initially they were very quiet but after about 15 minutes they volunteered a brief synopsis of why they have difficulty believing in God. When this child, who was presently in their early teens, was younger, their family struggled financially. The father would try to find work each day to have enough money to afford a cheap motel. At times they would stay overnight at their grandmother's house. The relationship with grandmother was tenuous and their stays with her were sporadic and short-lived. It was difficult for them to watch their mother ask strangers for money, but, as long as they were able to stay together as a family, that was all that mattered to them.
At one point they moved to Texas and found a landlord who would allow the father to do odd jobs for him and stay in a rental home rent free. Although they had no furniture this was a happy time for their family. Not long after they had moved into the rental, a tornado destroyed their home and they were forced to move back to stay with their grandmother. As their father found employment they were able to rent another home and, although they were still without furniture, they were still together as a family. One day the SRS came to their home and eventually removed the children from their home until the parents could provide proof that they could financially take care of their children. From the perspective of this individual the parents had accomplished all that SRS had asked them to do but still the children were unable to return home. When this person was put in their third foster home they decided it would be better to live on the streets than to stay in foster homes. It didn't take long for them to join a gang and eventually end up taking another persons life.
This story is from the perspective of a young teenager and may be lacking in some of the facts, but, what we do know is that stories like this happen all too often in our society. We overlook the powerful impact family has on our lives. We don't realize how emotional comforts far outweigh physical comforts in a child's life. It is more tolerable for a child to live without a bed than it is to live without their family.
During this holiday season and into the new year, I hope we will all make our families the priority they should be and do what we can to "look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. " (James 1:27)

This Is Good Stuff

This week I had one teen tell me that their life has been changed due to attending Chapel Services over the past few weeks. They now understand that there is a spiritual aspect to life that will guide them through this physical world; they now have hope that they no longer have to live the life style they had been living.