GPS Tulsa just finished up our last service rotation at Cooper Elementary here in east Tulsa.  Its spring break as I write, and it seems as if most folks are refocusing after a very disjointed beginning to the spring semester.

We moved our office and meeting space over to the Green Country Events Center on 31st street, right in the heart of the most ethnically diverse urban area in Tulsa or any city between Kansas City, Dallas and  Nashville for that matter.  I will discuss our neighborhood in a future entry, but needless to say- we are excited to be here and our interaction with the “locals” have been life giving.

Sitting down for after school snacks before we go to our art program with the kids at Cooper, I find myself the only person at my table who knows only one language.  My joke with the 2nd and 3rd graders who were with me was that the kids who knew 2 languages were twice as smart as me, and those who knew 3 were 3 times as smart!  We would spend snack time with them teaching me words in Spanish and Mong dialects.  I would say the word for “milk”, or “muscles”, or ” tasty” in their language and as soon as I got it sounding right, they would give me another one, which meant I forgot the first words…

GPS students reflects on our time with the Cooper kids with some words of their own around our weekly meal:

• Fun, Exciting
• Interesting, Different, Entertaining
• Creative, Energetic
• Awesome, productive.
• Ms. Libby (our art teacher from the Arts and Humanities Council that a couple of the guys had a crush on….)
• Three eyed monkeys and 5 eyed walrus (the clay project of one Marcus Lord, a boy we will not soon forget.)
• “How do I do this?”
• Messy

The theme “Made to Create” was driven home by all the different ways in which our elementary friends produced cool stuff that hadn’t existed before.

An observation I had that our students agreed with was how well behaved, friendly, and attentive the children were from this neighborhood- and from our discussions with friends at the school there were several factors contributing to this, such as the “community school” focus, the culture built in the school, and also just the presence of 6 very interested young adults in an active learning environment.

We know the kids loved it that we were there, and many of them believe they matter- because of what they can do and create, and that someone is interested in them.  This is life giving stuff.  Our discussion around the dinner table gets into our value, and what we think of others, and what God thinks of us.  I believe all of us get changed when we do what we were made to do, and we invest in people who learn to invest in others.

Here’s some comments from the children of Cooper Elementary:

“I cried when I had to miss Art class.”

“Our teacher is really nice.”

‘I’ve started painting dishes and designing t shirts at home.”

“This is awesome and I really like it here.”

“I love this school.”

“I learned all it takes to be creative to make cool stuff.”

“I liked everyone who helped me.  I will always remember them.  I feel special that I get to do this.”

“The people who came, I wish they’d come back, especially the curly haired man.”  (that must be Conner Fields...)

“Thank you God for creating me.”

“I will remember making totem poles and animals out of clay.”

“I learned that you can be so creative!”

“I will remember the teacher and Grant.”

Cooper kids- we will remember you too!  We hope to see you at our Community Summer Camp that we’ll help Garnett Church of Christ put on in June.

ck

Where will we serve?

Will it be a good thing for our students to choose their own service sites?

Where are we each on our journey- after last semester started with our analogy at the Route 66 Diner?

Will there be Buffalo Wild Wings again?

How will it be meeting at the Green Country Events Center?  (one thing is that there is much more room for risk free frisbee throwing…)

Will Paula come on Tuesday ever, now that she’s a married woman?

What will we learn that will make this semester more powerful?

Will we still like each other like last semester?

Will we get college credit for GPS?

Are there new GPSers coming?

Will GPS be involved in creating and running the first East Tulsa Community Kid’s Day Camp coming in June?

Will we zip again?

Will anyone get fired from volunteering this time?

Will Grant continue to be a shotgun gaper?

We start finding out the answers to these questions and much more starting tomorrow.  Join us!!

ck

We asked the GPS folks to share a little about what they are learning by being with us. We thought you’d be interested to see what they said.

This reflection is from Rachel:

With GPS I am learning a lot about myself and who I really am.  Used to be, I was so consumed with materialistic things, like having the newest, cutest, pair of jeans or the cutest shoes.  Now I’m thinking of ways that I can creatively make money while still doing things that I like and instead of trying to buy my happiness I am learning to live and be happy with where I am at.

We asked the GPS folks to share a little about what they are learning by being with us. We thought you’d be interested to see what they said.

This reflection is from Conner:

We need to really think about the people that we’re serving. I don’t know, but in service- long term investment is important.  Strategic planning is important.

Putting power under people is huge.

Something else is that commitment starts with you, and you’re relationship with God. Knowing who you are is very important.

Finally a chance to stop. A chance to read(on-line) and hear (Grant and Rachel so far) about Tuesdays on Quaker Street. This allows me a different perspective and a different opportunity than I had planned for. God gets the best of me when He gets me out of my plan and living HIS. He tricks me sometimes and I get the experience of having faith….I love God’s way with me! Usefulness comments were great….I think this whole GPS-thing might just be leading somewhere!!!! Can’t wait to see how you all give it “JUSTICE” over the course of the next month!!!????

I met Paula when I sent out my crazy idea about GPS Tulsa to local school counselors.  Beth Alaback, and old friend from NLR days, was very excited about it, and sent this info on to Paula Barton, who was the senior school counselor at Edison High School.  Paula was way enthused, and when we met she said things like “I believe this program will save lives.”  Wow.  I guess she believed in what we were doing.  She then enlisted her own time and recruited and talked to potential students and offered herself to our work. She is one of our team, and I am still waiting on her bio (hint hint, Paula…) so she can give a better introduction of herself.  Suffice to say, she is one of our three counselors who have a total heart for our recent high school grads, and they want to talk to her (which I love.)  Her enthusiasm for life, and for getting into the lives of people and lending a hand, is infectious.  You will hear from her occasionally on the blog.  I wouldn’t doubt it if you become her friend in the near future.  - ck

i was asked if i believe that my existence is necessary. i believe that everyone has a purpose, a role to play. actors or not we are all participating in Gods HUGE movie. he has a plan and in that plan it obviously includes me and you because if it didn’t… god wouldn’t have placed us on this earth. sometimes we might feel useless and unpurposefull but we are making a difference in peoples live whether we see it or not..

sometimes we don’t see it tho… all we think about is ourselves, we walk through our day thinking about the next thing  we have to get done, the next place we have to go to, the next meal we are going to have… or how we are going to finance the next meal… we don’t realize the homeless people sitting on the side of the road. they have a life too we are not the only ones going through hell on earth… or what we call hell.

God put us all together to compliment and help each other.  to fit together as puzzle pieces, to help create one big beautiful masterpiece.

when we all (because everyone eventually does) come to this point of asking ourselves “is our existence necessary?” we should all ask ourselves “can one mosquito make a difference in a tent of sleeping people?”

you bet.

one of today’s questions was: do you think that these kids individual existence matters?…DUH! yes i think that each one of these kids has an existence that will play a vital role in the community around them. each personality that is portrayed in these kids is an important instrument that God has placed there for a reason. yes all of them, including the one kid that gets all his enjoyment out of making his piers (and the occasional teacher with a sense of humor) laugh and gets distracted when you give him instructions.

one kid that jumps out at me in particular is a young guy named Alex. he has such a high amount of energy and is just looking for a way to use it! unfortunately he has a tendency to choose the wrong times.

Someone once told me that ministry was building bridges to help people get from where they are to where God wants them to be.   Being a hack carpenter- building decks for my house that may not be the most sturdy or level, I know how inadequate I would be at building a bridge of any scope.  Bridges come in all shapes and sizes and accomplish things as simple as providing a way for a person to walk over a shallow creek (like the cool little suspension bridge on the back side of the island at New Life Ranch).  They can also be massive in scope and require unbelievable vision, resources, and energy to produce.

The other thing that is interesting about bridges is that in order for them to fulfill their purpose, people need to take responsibility to move across them.  The bridge doesn’t take people, or cars, or whatever, and move them from one side to the other.  It provides a way for the person to engage, to move forward under their own power, to get to the other side.  The bridge makes it possible- and yet the “bridge crosser” is responsible.  This is a beautiful thing in that a given in this equation is the ability and strength of the bridge crosser to make it over.  It’s the bridge builder’s responsibility to create a way across.

Bridges require people to give input at various levels in order to be constructed, right?  I can be the project manager, builder, purchaser, quality control officer, and HR dude when I make a bridge across a ditch in my back yard.  And a fine bridge it will be!

However- the bigger the bridge that I am involved in building- the less I am involved in the entire operation.  I am best operating in a specific role and trusting others to fulfill their own specific role.  Some valleys, or rivers, or spans require big time vision- and big time operation.  Might this be your bridge?

Or maybe this is the one that looks more like you:

What I know now is this:  getting in on doing ministry is a beautiful thing.  It is worth being thankful for.  And, there can come times where your purpose is  to build new bridges.

CQ Missional, and our educational projects the CML and GPS Tulsa are bridges.  They are designed to help people who are in a specific stage of life, with specific needs- move from where they are, to where God wants them to be.  Students in Tulsa looking for life direction, for a vocation, for some purpose, for some people to share this search with- get the opportunity to walk across the bridge of GPS Tulsa together.  We get the privilege of creating the context for this discovery.  By the way- this will be a blast to get going!  People who are young adults but a little farther along, perhaps they have graduated college, or have been working a job for a few years, get the opportunity to walk across the bridge of the CML together- serving a community, creating new life in neighborhoods, and taking a chance on their own vocation shift.

Right now we are putting together what looks like a foot bridge, the kind you can wear sandals while walking across, or even go barefoot in the process!  However- the span between where 1000s of 20 somethings are, and where they could be is huge.  I pray for wisdom and community to join in building the right bridge to help you adults figure out their purpose in life.  This is a Golden Gate type of need.

Whats next in the bridge?  Raise more scholarship money, raise awareness of how we can serve young adults, make more friends and offer real support to help our clients make courageous decisions.  In other words, keep moving forward.

I am thankful today to be a bridge builder.  What does your bridge look like today?  Are you walking across one?  Are you in the middle of building one?  What does Ministry look like to you?

ck

I am making a short documentary for school about a subject that interested me and everyone else in my class.  It’s working title is “We Love Everyone” it’s about two generations of the same modern christian family and their personal feelings on homosexuality.  I kind of had a hypothesis in my head about what the outcome would be.  I thought that the older generation would be less accepting towards the idea and the younger would be more accepting.  I was wrong.  They both shared the same amount of acceptance as each other.  What I got out of this is, that is doesn’t really have to do some much with the generational gap and modern man being more used to the idea of homosexuality but it has to do with the family altogether and their influence and thought.  They all had the same idea, which was they don’t condone homosexuality but they will love and try to relate and understand people on a personal level even in their differences.  It was refreshing to me, because we are required by God and as Christians to love thy neighbor.  Not love thy neighbor if he is straight, or white, or rich, or ugly.  Love they neighbor altogether.  The documentary has been a very refreshing thing for me, to see that as Christians there are families that don’t judge outright, they are willing to love despite flaws or feelings, or sex, or orientation.  I think that is what we are supposed to do.  Do you think that this is what we are supposed to do as well?  Do you think that homosexuals have a place in heaven?  Do you think that you love the way that we are commanded to, despite differences?  I love people, and I hope they love me like I love them…

We have 2 unique opportunities that will help people and help CQM move forward.  We looking for:

A tenant to share small office space at the Quaker 4 plex where our Certificate students are living.  It is zoned for dual use, and one unit in particular will work well for small business space for someone who needs a quiet space in a very cool location.

Also- we have a space for new residents in a unit that can help offset the cost of officing there for CQM.  Its a chance for folks in their 20s who want to live in community, not expensive, and have access to great places to serve.

Folks in the Quaker House don’t have to be in our program- they just live as renters in this very cool place. This will allow us to house students, and access some good meeting space for 20s to gather, hang out, talk life direction.

No strings- just wanting good folks to be renters.

Its in an awesome spot- about 200 yards from Jason’s Deli right by 15th and Peoria (Cherry St). The owners want to support CQ Missional by being generous in offering their place up to us to fill it up with young people who love God, love people, and want to make the world a better place.   Its got a little pool and great deck in the back, close to Cherry St, Downtown, and River Activities- as well as beautiful opportunities to serve (the church 2 doors down serves free meals to the tulsa urban population every Friday).
Units are 2 bedroom (small) and there are washer/dryer hookups.

CQM people there as well as the owner of the property have a hospitable heart and will welcome new renters or residents.   This should be a great place to be this year. the address is 1430 S Quaker, Tulsa.

If you’re needing office space- it will be a good quite space to share with our leaders, making phone calls, working online, and having the occasional meeting.  If you need living space, this is a place where CQ Missional will gather in their 20s, and it will be a safe and warm place to live.

Let me know if you’re interested, and please shoot this to any friends who may benefit.   We hope to rent (and help the owners) space as soon as possible, and start basing operations here.

Questions?  Call Chris at 918-557-6128.