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Jim Baker was not able to post this, so I am posting for him: (As Jim stated, I would not watch this one with your younger kids, and it confirms something I have heard numerous times. When she talks about how she started she says 'They made me feel beautiful . . . ' My daughters NEED to know that I find them beautiful. They NEED to know that they ARE beautiful since they are God's creation. If I don't give them that, they will find it somewhere.)

Jim's comments: It was especially interesting to hear her talk about looking for "love" in the wrong places, and finally finding that God is Love.... just thought I'd pass along something that kind of impacted my heart today.

Krazy's house - July run

Our July run was to Krazy's house.  We did some construction work, but the good news is, it was demolition!  (Something we were all qualified for!)   We tore off a little roofing, and then destroyed some kitchen cabinets.  Krazy just sent me these pictures of the new cabinets in, waiting for the sink and counter-top:

Still Radical?

"Radical obedience to Christ is not easy; it is dangerous.  It is not smooth sailing aboard a luxury liner; it is sacrificial duty aboard a troop carrier.  It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world.  Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things.  But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ.  And HE is more than enough for us."
                                                        - David Platt  (Radical page 181)

New Brothers and Sisters

I met some amazing people in Chicago, with amazing testimonies to match.


On my right:  Jeff.  Grew up in great Christian home.  Went to Christian school.  Brother currently at Calvin!  Got into Pot and Heroin, etc, etc, etc.  Gave his testimony to our group.

On my left:  Sean, aka Popeye.  He was a favorite of the group.  Many great memories of this guy.  The kind of guy everybody loves, which makes his story even more incredible.  Grew up in foster system. Beaten many times.  He is the oldest, with 22 siblings, but is the only one that is not either on drugs or a

Happy National Pecan Pie Day everyone!!!!  (I sure wish I knew about this ahead of time, I probably could have gotten mom to make one . . . . )

Dyk???

Berlin Raceway.  July 19.  Please tell us you are in, Pastor Dyk!  What else was all that hard work for?

Chicago Work

 A lot of cleaning was done in and around the Boxing Club in Chicago.  This included the mirrors,

 bathrooms,












and even getting rid of some foliage outside.

"It's Better To Sweat in the Gym, than to Bleed in the Streets!"

One part of Restoration Ministries (RM) is "The Boxing Club".  As I said before, RM is located in Harvey, Illinois, which has an extremely high poverty rate, as well as a very real presence of two strong gangs.  Because of this, there are many young kids in the streets every day making decisions that I would not wish upon anyone.  This led to the development of the Boxing club, which is half boxing club and half art/dancing/drama studio.  Every day kids file in and out of this building, spending time with loving coaches and teachers that are showing these young ones God's love.

 Getting a tour of the place.  Alex Martin (in red if you click on his name) is likely the most famous of the boxers to come out of this place.  He was the 2012 National Golden Gloves champion.

Introducing Restoration Ministries

I just returned from Harvey, Illinois with 27 teenagers from Covenant Life Church and 4 other leaders.  We made MANY new friends and heard some amazing testimonies of God's love and grace.  I will share more in the future, but wanted to get some basic info out to you now.

Restoration Ministries (RM) is based in Harvey, Illinois,which is south of Chicago and has an unemployment rate double the national average. There are two large, powerful gangs (Gangster Disciples and Latin Kings) on either side of the block where the Harvey House (Men's building and kids' day camp) is located, but they have respected the House in the past because their younger siblings use the place, as well as the fact that the Saturday food pantry helps them all out quite a bit.

RM is very comprehensive, focusing on rehabilitating men (The Harvey House) and women (The Tabitha House) who are breaking addictions, as well as programs intended to get children off of the streets.  This includes both the Harvey and Tabitha Houses, as well as a huge thrift store where many of the men and women are "employed", a food pantry used to give handouts on Saturdays, as well as the Boxing Club, which also has an art and dance studio inside.  This building is used everyday to give children hope and a way out of the drugs and gangs.  It is very much Christ-centered and will possibly be a wonderful trip for anyone wishing to check it out at some point.  Please click on the link below for much more info.

www.restorationministries.net