One of the things I've done for the past 12 years is work with an inner-city ministry called Cottage Cove. (http://www.cottagecove.org)
I've been on the Board of Directors since the beginning and tonight we had a board meeting. It' s been an amazing journey since we first opened the doors. We have had hundreds of kids coming to the Cove through the years (at no cost to them or their families) for Bible study, tutoring for school, special classes in music, photgrahpy, art, cooking, etc., as well as building a playground for basketball, baseball, football, soccer, wall climbing, jungle gym, and a ton of other programs year 'round.
What's always amazing when you ask the kids what they like about Cottage Cove you will mostly hear how they feel safe and how much they enjoy the Bible time. They love to hear the stories and they love to memorize Bible verses. In the main room of the Cove there's a wall painted with a big tree trunk and two branches coming out of it. Everytime a child is quized for a memory verse and they know it, they get a leaf with their name on it, the verse they've memorized written on it, and they tape their leaf to the branch. The wall/branch is about 20 feet long and since the start of the school year they are already more than halfway! There are about 300 leaves on the branch already! Amazing.
Though we are a business at NBTA and charge for our services, we try to run it in a way that the kids will always feel safe and enjoy learning. Every lesson we do we try to give of ourselves in a way that will create a desire for them to know that we care. We do have Bible study on Sunday nights at the store and it's open to all who desire to come. We only promote it on our website (and you have to look for it!)...but we hope that those who see our hearts will want to come and be a part of it. We have kids and adults reading, talking, and praying together as we look to the Lord to teach us and guide us. Life is good and when you have faith and family in your life...it's great!
There are t-shirts out there that say "Baseball...it's my life!" And we hope that it is part of your life...but there's so much more. To give yourself to others with your time and talents is one of the most rewarding things you can do. I hope all of you find a Cottage Cove to be a part of...and should you want to volunteer at our Cove...just ask us! We're always looking for good help.
2 comments:
It's been a long time since I visited Cottage Cove. I don't know if I'd still recognize it.
It's pretty amazing. We just bought some property behind the Cove and now have a really nice much needed playground for the kids. When you have 60 to 70 kids a day...you need a little space! Pray for CC...we need some more long term workers there.
Post a Comment