Don't Tell Me Things Just Happen by Accident!

So, something amazing just happened! There's never a dull moment in the BR Brunette's life! I was on my way to Wal-Mart to pick up a new blender since mine blew up the other day. I saw a group of kids standing outside of the BR high school (which is totally common around here) and one in particular bent down and picked up a rock. The next thing I heard was a loud bang on my car and the kid and all his friends staring at me as I drove away. I didn't realize at first that my window had been shattered, but when I did, I called Kourtney right away and had him come out to the school (which is right beside our apartment). We met there and started questioning the kids about the rock and who threw it. I knew which one had done it, but he kept lying and telling me that he was throwing rocks, but it didn't hit my car and that I was lying and that I was making all of this up and on and on. Kourtney started talking to the kid and then called the cops. The police showed up (all 4 cop cars!) and questioned the kid. (I should add that the "kid's" name is Tyron.) Tyron started getting cocky with the cop and so the cop handcuffed him right there and said he was going to jail. Our intention was never to send the kid to jail, but it wasn't our decision at this time. While they were waiting for the van to come to take Tyron to jail, Kourtney asked if he could talk with him for a little while. Kourtney told Tyron how he had been in his shoes at one point in his life and how Jesus showed him so much grace and mercy and just shared the gospel with him. He told me that Tyron started tearing up, but his heart (even at 15) is filled with so much pride. We asked the cops if they would not take him to jail, but they said that he's been arrested 4 times already and that they "hate" these kind of kids. They did tell us that the prosecuter would call us and ask if we wanted to drop charges. We of course will, but we will ask to meet with his family and then schedule on going meetings with Tyron. This leads me to the even more exciting part!

On Saturday, Kourtney and I went driving around Indy to do some video recording for a short movie we are going to make about Vintage and the Shaarey Tefilla Hebrew Temple we are trying to purchase. We wanted to go to an area in Indy called "the Jungle." The Jungle is an inner city area mostly filled with hispanics and blacks. We have such a heart to reach out to these areas and especially this area in the lower East side. As we were trying to find our way around, we stumbled upon an area called Irvington. This area was recently named one of Indy's historical neighborhoods. It's a really cute area right in the midst of the more "ghetto" area. We fell in love with this area and felt like this was the next area we would start another Vintage campus. So, we were walking around and spotted an old theatre called the Irving. We noticed a for rent sign in the window and, of course, we had to call it. We called and the guy told us that he would meet us right away if we wanted to see it. We walked into the theatre and were amazed! It was rough, yes, but so perfect for what we need it for! We talked to the guy for quite a while and he told us all about Irvington and this theatre. We asked him what he charged for using the building and he told us to just name a price. Well, considering we are looking at paying $5000.00 a month for the Shaarey Tefilla, we thought maybe we'd throw out $500-600 a month (thinking that was a low-ball offer). We had told him our situation and what we would use it for and he said, "How about $50 a night until your congregation takes off?" Kourtney and I tried to keep our jaws from falling open and told him that we'd need a little time to think about it and see if this is what we should do. We have so much going on right now, but it seems that God just keeps opening up more opportunities!

And this leads me back to my story with Tyron. He told Kourtney that he lives at 21st and Arlington which happens to be RIGHT in the Jungle and RIGHT near Irvington! The fact that I picked Kourtney up from work early today because of the rain and was driving by the BR high school at the same time Tyron was throwing a rock and the fact that he is from the east side is NOT a coincedence! I am so glad that my window was broken out today! I'm not excited that we don't have the money to pay to have the window replaced, but I would rather all my windows be blown out to have what happened today! This opened up the opportunity for me to talk with the teachers at the BR high school who lead the afterschool program that was going on at the time. This program is for kids who have been expelled from regular school. I asked if there were opportunities for us and our friends to mentor these kids! They were so exstatic that we asked and said they would love us to volunteer there!

All this to say that God is so in control of our lives and even the times we are driving! It is such and joy and a priveledge to serve the Lord and be in ministry. Serving our Lord the most exciting thing to do! We can't do this alone and we have an awesome group helping us so far, but if you feel God laying it on your heart to help us out in any way, we would love to talk to you about all of these opportunities. To be honest, we are feeling overwhelmed, but God keeps showing us what He's got in store.

Praise the Lord!