masculinity

One thing I've noticed in the boys here (and I'm sure it applies to many boys all across the country, not just here) is the effort that is put into proving their masculinity. This is shown in many ways- trying to pick fights, verbal remarks about how they're going to beat so-and-so because they did this or that, remarks about girls they've been with. Interest in basketball and to some degree cars is also very important for proving masculinity. A big motivation in having to do this seems to be the fear of being perceived as gay. If anyone does anything that is outside of what is considered masculine, another guy will make some comment about how that person is gay. Then that person will get mad and do something or say something to try and prove that they aren't gay. These attitudes about how to be masculine don't leave much room for love or compassion. It doesn't leave much room for the enjoyment of the arts or music other than hip-hop or rock. It squashes creativity. There's one kid, M., who loves school. He loves art, and music. He knows a lot about art history. But when he's around other kids he won't talk about any of that. He'll talk about how he loves basketball and how he could beat anyone on the block one on one. It seems like M. can't be himself because he feels pressured to fit this mold of what a male is perceived to be. I pray that these boys can find freedom from these lies, and the pressure of conforming to society's view of masculinity. I pray that they will be delivered from the fear of being perceived as gay and be able to know that they are deeply loved, just as they are. I pray that they will follow Jesus' model of masculinity in service, compassion, love, humility, and peace.

foreclosed houses

A huge problem in Milwaukee is foreclosed houses. We have lots of foreclosed houses that are boarded up, not kept up, and make neighborhoods look bad. There are several of them that are broken into and used for drugs and prostitution. One such case is the house I moved into. There's a group that are church is a part of, called Common Ground. It's a bunch of churches working together to better the city. A lot of what they do involves political pressure. Well, we've decided that something needs to be done about these foreclosed homes. So some folks found out who owns these houses, and found that 3 banks own a vast majority of them. So this past Saturday we had a hundred some people going out across the city taking pictures of these run-down foreclosed homes with signs stating the address and which bank owns the house. Then we're going to take the pictures, along with stories from people in the neighborhoods, to the banks and asking them to either:
1. Sell the homes within a reasonable time so as not to let them stay vacant for long periods of time.
2. Maintain the homes in good condition
3. Demolish the houses using their own money.

It could be interesting to see how the banks will react. You can pray that the banks will want to work with us to solve this problem.

My new house

I'm in! I'm moved into my new house! I moved in last weekend (the 20th). My roommates haven't moved in yet, but the house is liveable. There's just minor things that need to be done, like hooking up a stove and having the electrician put in a couple extra circuits so I can plug in the refrigerator and a microwave at the same time. So praise God for all the work that has gotten done, and for providing me with this place to stay.
This past weekend a group from a church in northern Wisconsin came down to work on the lower level of the house. They redid the entire kitchen and bathroom as well as some pulling of staples and paint scraping throughout the lower level. It was a huge blessing to have them come and do in 2 days what would have taken us a long time. They also paid for almost all the materials they needed.

cans and plums

So there's this fun game called Cans that is played all the time by the kids in the neighborhood. You put a crushed can on a crack in the sidewalk. You put another one 2 squares away from it. Then 2 people stand opposite each other and try to throw a basketball onto the can. If you hit it from 2 squares away, it's 10 points, 3 squares=20 points, 4 squares=30, and so on. First one to 100 wins. But the person who lost gets lasties. They get to go until they miss 3 times. I like to play.
I also played some football with some kids in a vacant lot across the street the other day. While we were there we noticed a plum tree. So we picked some and ate them. And then the kids went and told their friends. And their families. So we picked almost all the plums that we could reach without a ladder and fed half the block with plums. It's cool seeing God's creation being appreciated in the midst of the city, where it's mostly just concrete. I'm thankful for God placing that plum tree there, for how it provided some good fruit for our neighborhood and joy and laughter for us as we picked and enjoyed it.

nfl

So I was way wrong on my college football predictions. I now predict Oklahoma to suck. But my NFL predictions will be right on. Here you go:

AFC Division Winners: Pittsburgh, New England, Tennessee, San Diego
AFC Wildcards: Indianapolis, Baltimore

NFC Division Winners: This one is way harder, but I'm going with Philadelphia, Green Bay, Atlanta, and San Francisco. (Yes, I think the 49ers have what it takes this year. Their division is not good)
NFC Wildcards: Carolina, NY Giants

AFC Champ: Pittsburgh over San Diego
NFC Champ: Philly over Green Bay

Super Bowl Champ: Pittsburgh over Philly

fire

So I was talking to the mom of some of the kids I was hanging out with. She's a believer, and was telling me some of her story. She said she'd tell me the story of my house. She was living (and still does) across the street. She was noticing some not good behavior going on in the house. She was telling me about drugs and loud music to all hours of the night and random girls going into the house with the guys, and all kinds of sin. So she prayed for the house. She prayed that God would purify it and that his will would be accomplished in that house. Within a few months there was a fire in the house, the tenants moved out, the house was foreclosed, and Transformation City bought it, and now I'm going to be moving in. Wow. She truly believes that God answered her prayers, has purified the house with his purifying fire, and sent us to join her in praying for the neighborhood, and being a light in the darkness there. That's pretty cool. It seems like God has been at work already in the neighborhood!

college football

I know we're 2 games into the college football season, so before too many games get played I better make my predictions so when I'm right you can all be amazed.
National Champion: everyone's going with Florida or Texas. I say Oklahoma. Just cuz they're not going to let Boise State play in the championship game!
Heisman winner: Tim Tebow. I think he's going to get his 2nd Heisman. He's good.
Iowa: 3rd in the Big Ten behind Penn St. and OSU. Not that I don't want them to do better, but I'm trying to be realistic.

In other news, the plumber has been at the house all week. He's getting close to done. May be able to move in within a week!