WATCH OUT FOR OUR NEW T-BALL TEAM.

Trinity Basketball!

Last Friday I had the opportunity to take a couple of kids to watch the Trinity University basketball teams face off against Southwestern University. We got there about halfway through the first half, and it was really awesome to see the joy on the kids faces. Every time that TU got the ball, the kids would yell "Shoot the three" or "DUNKKK IT". We didn't get to see any dunks, but the kids still had a blast.

At halftime they served us pizza and gatorade, and the kids just destroyeddd the pizza. One of the smallest kids ate about 8 slices...which was pretty impressive. After the girls beat Southwestern, we got to go shoot around in one of the other gyms at TU. After about 15 minutes of shooting around, the Lady Tigers came in and shot around with the guys. Some of the guys actually played one on one with them, and put up a good contest against the girls. After the shoot around time was over, some of the guys got the girls' autographs. We then went back to watch the first half of the guys games, and after every block / crossover / three pointer, the guys would just start yelling. The kids were disappointed that we had to leave at halftime, but that definitely did not mean that the fun was over.

When we got back in the van, I let Matt be the "DJ" on the way home. I had no idea that any of these kids were singers! Every single song that came on, I had the voice of 10 kids just singing at the top of their lungs.

But now comes the pretty awesome part of the night. As soon as we got off I-10, we came to the light at Culebra and the I-10 access road. This corner is always very active with people who are on the side of the road asking for money. As soon as DJ Matt saw that the guy was asking for some cash, he quickly shut off the radio and asked if there was anyone who wanted to help this guy out. In about 5 seconds, everyone that had cash passed up a few bucks. It was really amazing to see a bunch of kids be willing to help a guy out. To see the joy on both the mans' face and the kids' face was a really spectacular sight. These kids had no idea who this guy was, no idea what his intentions were or anything, and they were just willing to jump out (not literally) and help this guy. I wish I could have taken a picture of that moment, but taking a picture while driving is completely unsafe and my camera was not accessible at the time.

So here are my two challenges for both you and I:

1.) Find joy in the little things. Whether it's just hanging out with friends, spending time with family, or singing to the top of your lungs to an overplayed Usher song...

2.) Be a helping hand to anyone that needs it. No matter the situation. Just be willing to be Gods' helping hand whenever and wherever.

Till next time!

Who wants to be the next STAR?!?

Who wants to be the next STAR was a game that was made up by my co-worker Nia and I. It was a last minute activity idea that evolved into a game that is some what like Candy Land. The best part of the game was that you were your own player. The bad part was if you by chance landed on the sun you would burn up and have to go back to the beginning and start all over again, and if you landed on the black hole you would get lost and have to lose a turn. Luckily, there were four stars in different locations throw out the path and if the card with a colored star was drawn you would be able to move either further or closer to the end of the game depending on which color star was chosen. I was amazed how much the kids really liked to play our revised human version of Candy Land. I'm looking forward to see what this week might bring and what new game or activities we will have to come up with on our last minute time.

!!!!!MKL MARCH!!!!!!

!!!!!AMERICORP!!!!!

!!!!WE HAD A GOOD TIME!!!!

Urban has been so busy, but over the christmas hoilday we did have UCASA at times. One of the days we took the kids ice skating. The kids were so exicted to go. When we got there, they saw all the people skating and they were ready to get on the ice. However when they got on the ice, some of the kids were so scared because they couldn't really skate on ice. It was new for them, but when they got the hang of it, they loved it. They were saying how they would like to bring their parents. I can say that was a nice and new experience for us all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR....

2011 is finally here and I am more than excited about what this year has in store! The past year was full of changes and obstacles that I had to overcome, but I'm glad to say that I did overcome! As I look forward I see great things happening for the Urban family. We're about to make some major changes in the structure of our organization, but I believe it's a change that is needed. Change is something that often intimidates others because they don't know what to expect. I feel it's all about what you believe will happen. If you enter something with a high level of expectation then that's what you will get. I've decided from here on out to make everyday a day of great expectation! There may still be challenges that come and go, but in the end I know I will be victorious! Please continue to keep Urban Connection in your prayers as we go forth in the work that God has called us to do....be blessed and prosperous in all you do this year!!!
-K. Smith

Kids Now-a-days...

We often find ourselves in a discussion about how quickly kids are growing up and how different things are now days - their bodies, problems, even their games and toys. After spending a day at the Frank Garrett with primarily youth and young teens from ages 9-15 (with a couple of 8 & 9 year olds thrown in) I would make the argument that at their roots kids are exactly the same. Our day was mostly filled playing the newly purchased BOARD GAMES...yes BOARD GAMES. Which are not boring at all. My biggest surprise was that the first game off the shelf was Candy Land played by two 11 year olds, a 10 year old and a 9 year old. It was awesome! Slowly but surely the games were flying off the shelves and the kids were asking AmeriCorps to play and teach them how to play the familiar and unfamiliar games. At one point there was even a debate about the direction that the bishop, in chess, can move.

Outside of the obvious game playing that took place, there was so much more happening. The kids were trying something new, playing well together, sharing, there were no fights over games or turns or any of the other usual 2 minute tantrums, and during a game of Uno there was even some double teaming just to beat me. The older kids were also playing with the younger children. As the day progressed I had a couple of kids ask "Can we do art Miss?". After teaching the fun craft of making "friendship bracelets" to a few girls and boys one of the middle schoolers said to me "This art stuff is fun!" I was beaming inside.

The day ended with "Mr. Jones" (Dante) and I forming a verbal contract with two of the younger boys Nestor and Cody. They were each given a loaner basketball to practice some drills that Dante had shown them down on the court and they will show them to him when we return in the New Year. Their improvement will show how much or if they've practiced at all. If there is improvement, they will gain full ownership of the basketball, if not they will return the basketball and it will remain at the gym. They were told the importance of the handshake and the importance of practice and learning fundamentals in order to be successful in playing. This was pretty important especially since they are on Ms. Nikki's basketball team list :) All of the remaining kids helped to clean up and there was actually a sense of appreciation for not what they experienced today but what they'd been experiencing this entire year.

As the year comes to an end I say thank you to the AmeriCorps, the Urban Connection staff, my husband - Dante, and all the other volunteers that have brought back life to the Frank Garrett and created a loving learning environment for the community!

God is working and WE ARE sharing HIS LOVE through
WORD, ACTION & ATTITUDE!

Exercise Time!

Once a week the kids do different activities. Each week the is always something different, depending on what theme or idea was planned for the week. Last week Mrs. Jennifer, the kids, and I enjoyed an hour of exercise and stretching. At first most of the kids didn't really seem to be into it, but after joining in with them, they seemed to catch on to the idea of doing something new and soon realized they came to like it. Emily one of ours quite little girls wasn't real fund of the activity but soon came to the see that it was fun. Some of the exercises we did were push ups, sit ups, etc. After speaking with some of the kids, I learned that most of them really enjoyed the mat game. Usually, after we exercise and stretch we play a game that causes some thinking, and last weeks game was kind of like follower the leader. Only the difference was that the lead would have to jump from one mat to another in any order until the were none left. We the leader would reach the end the next person in the line would get to be the leader, and so on. It was a game that was not only fun for the kids but also fun for me as well. Although, when it did get to the time when it was my turn, things get a little to difficult and the kids forgot the pattern in which I had went in. Lucky for them Mrs. Jennifer was there to help.

On Thursday we had the kids go on a scavenger hunt. They had to get one partner and go look for the pieces to a headress. If they needed clues, they had to go to one of the AmeriCorps personel and answer the question to get a clue to where the pieces were. Once they got all the pieces, they had to come inside and put the hat together.Then decide which person out the group was going to take home the hat. The kids had such a good time searching for the pieces and were happy when they got to put it together.

FLOWER PENS!

Flower pens GOSH don't I love them. The staff and children at Urban Connection have been making flower pens for Operation Christmas Child. The reason why we are all taking are part in this activity is so we can go out and buy gifts for children in need, so we can help the kids who don't always have a Merry Christmas. The kids at Urban Connection are not only thinking about themselves this Christmas, but about another child their age somewhere around the world who doesn't have the things that they might have. The kids at Urban are so excited to make and sell the pens so that they can go get a nice gift for another child who really needs it.