Current Happenings at HPCO

Line up against the fence, pick your teams, and let the games begin!

May 8th and 15th we had our annual sports camp for kids k-8. Children and volunteers completely took over the fields with soccer and baseball games.

The first week we were nervous as we saw the dark clouds covering the sky in the mid-morning. We weren’t sure how the day would turn out; weathermen were predicting heavy showers. But the Lord gave us a good day! It rained for a few minutes, but overall, we were given good weather and the kids had a great time.

Our second week of sports camp was a blast! The harvest was few and the workers were plenty. We had a huge turnout of volunteers, it was almost a 1:1 ratio. The weather was even better than the week before: sunny with blue skies.

After the soccer and baseball games ended, we had hot dogs on the grill! It was a beautiful day and we praise God it went smoothly.

We have a group of volunteers from a church in Windsor that help with Thursday night Bible study. Their  church was attending a youth conference in Lansing called Acquire the Fire and invited a few of our kids to go along. Ten of our high school kids were sponsored to go to this youth conference. What an awesome opportunity it was to be surrounded by thousands of other Christian highschoolers. The conference was made up of skits, speakers, and worship.

Everyone’s favorite speaker, by far, was Nick Vujicic. He is a man born without arms or legs and completely devoted to Christ (www.lifewithoutlimbs.org). It was incredible to hear his story. He successfully captured the attention of everyone in the room, including our kids.

Also at Acquire the Fire was The David Crowder Band, LeCrae, Unhindered and other popular Christian artists. It was good opportunity for our kids to participate in corporate worship.

Two of our young boys made commitments in their walks with Christ that weekend.

Pistons vs. Pacers

25 Pistons tickets were generously donated to HPCO for the Pistons vs. Pacers game. We had ten volunteers and fifteen HPCO kids. The majority of our kids (and volunteers!) had never been to a Pistons game before. What a fun way to just be a kid and cheer on our city’s team.

We were blessed to have one of our board members, Ernie (and his wife) join us for the game. They planned out contests for the kids during each quarter:

What player will score the most points by the first quarter?

How many points will the Piston’s have by half-time?

What will be the point difference by the third quarter?

All our kids participated in the contests for a chance to win either a Pistons bobblehead or t-shirt. The kids had fun getting into the game and getting competitive with each other.

oh yeah, and the Pistons lost.

 50 Christmas presents.

60 food boxes.

23 volunteers.

1 beautiful day of showing God’s love to the community.

Life Church of Canton, MI decided to “adopt” children in Highland Park for Christmas

50 children’s names from HPCO were given to Life Church; 50 kids with bright and excited faces receiving Christmas presents.

 Along with the Christmas presents, we also delivered 60 boxes full of food (including a whole turkey!) to make a Christmas dinner.

 On the morning of December 19, volunteers from Life Church, Highland Park Baptist Church, and Kensington Community Church helped deliver the presents.

It was awesome to see the families turn their thankfulness to God, not us, for the gifts this Christmas.

December 17th was our last high school youth group before Christmas break. We decided to do a field trip and go ice skating! We filled a van full of teenagers and drove downtown to the Campus Martius ice rink. The original plan was to get there at 6:30 and stay for an hour (or as long as they would last…) and head back to HPCO for hot chocolate and cookies. Considering none of our teens had ever been ice skating before, we weren’t sure what to expect. But they had so much fun! A few of our boys, in spite of it being their first time on ice skates, were flying up and down the rink and doing pretty well some of the time and falling over most of the time.  Even the shy girls enjoyed themselves, slowly gliding along the edge of the rink and laughing at the boys toppling over.

It was a great time! Everyone had so much fun, we ended up staying at the rink until 8:45! Who knew they would’ve enjoyed it so much!

We had two very big events this November. HPCO held an Open House on November 8th to give people the opportunity to show people what we’re all about. We were able to show testimonies of people in the community as well as volunteers through video. We gave a van tour of Highland Park, and we were also able to provide a wonderful pot roast lunch. The Lord gave us an absolutely beautiful day!

The above picture is one of the young women that grew up attending HPCO programs. She is now in a beautiful marriage and is a college graduate. Praise the Lord!

During the Open House, we also had a table set up for prayer and sponsorship opportunities. It’s HPCO’s goal to have each our of kids being prayed for on a regular basis. If you are interested in receiving a picture of one of our kids and committing to praying for them, please let us know! Sponsorship is also a need for our children. To sponsor a child through our year-long programs is $25 a month. You will receive regular updates about your child. Please contact us through phone or email if you are interested in sponsorship.

We also had our annual Boxes of Love on November 21. This is an opportunity for us to provide a Thanksgiving dinner to families involved in our programs. This year, we were able to partner with Life Church and Northridge Church’s young adults group, and Highland Park Baptist. They not only donated over 200 boxes combined, but also brought some of their people out to help deliver that Saturday. The ministry that takes place during these outreaches is incredible. Many people involved find that they are not only able to bless a family, but be blessed by the families they spend time with. When the box is delivered, the volunteers take time to pray with the family. Many times, they receive a prayer for them in return.

A grandmother who has eight children and many grandchildren (most of whom are in our program) shared how this seemingly simple gesture of love has blessed her family year after year. With so many people in the family, she said she’s not sure what she would do with out these boxes of love. It was encouraging to hear how God’s family is able to work together to love each other.  

We want to give you the opportunity to come check-out HPCO and see all that God is doing here. On Sunday, November 8th we will be holding an OPEN HOUSE at our ministry center. Come fellowship with us, see our facilities, hear inspiring testimonies of people whose lives have been touched by this ministry, tour the city of Highland Park and also hear how you can partner with us to help advance our cause.

A new presentation, testimony time and tour begin every half hour starting at 1:30. For our planning purposes, if you are able please let us know what time you are planning on coming. Food will be provided through out the day.

Hope to see you there!

HPCO has a new neighbor! Bef Kadu came all the way from Ethiopia to move in two doors down from HPCO. Bef Kadu is a Navigator and has been a missionary in Ethiopia for seven years. He’ll be living on Ferris St until mid-December and has graciously volunteered to help out! He has a gift in videography and photography. Right now, he’s working on a video for the open house November 8th. It’s been such a blessing to have him. He’s only been here a few weeks and is already getting to know the neighbor boys well. He spends quite a bit of time with them, playing basketball, football, and soccer with them. He’s also had opportunities to go through scripture with our neighbor boys. We’re thanking God for Bef Kadu and his willingness to serve.

Things are starting up again at HPCO!

This fall we have welcomed on a new member of our volunteer staff, Emily Sanders. She just graduated high school this spring and will be taking a year off school to work at HPCO for the 2009-2010 school year.

Our fall programs will include Monday night tutoring (more tutors needed!), Thursday night high school Bible study, and Sunday afternoon kids’ club.

Thursday night Bible study for the high schoolers just started up Oct 1. We have about fifteen kids involved. We’re excited to continue strengthening relationships with these teens and looking forward to meeting new teens as well. In addition to the previous years’ Bible studies, this year we have a new tutoring/discipleship program for the teen boys as well.

Our first Kids’ Club was held this afternoon. We had almost twenty kids! It went very well, except for the unfortunate rainy weather leaving us stuck inside singing songs and playing pictionary. It’s great to see the same kids showing up from previous years, willing to hear God’s word.

Day Camp

As we look back over the summer and all that took place during day camp, all we can say is we serve a great God! As we got ready to plan for day camp, we were disappointed that the grant we normally receive from United Way was not offered to us.  We were also short staffed, short funded and didn’t know how overnight camp would look. But now as we are able to see it in perspective, we wouldn’t have had it any other way because we were stretched and God showed up in awesome ways.  We were able to see His people (many of you!) partner with us through your prayers and financial gifts.  We saw God bring incredible interns with a heart for Him and the kids   of Highland Park.  He deserves all the glory for what took place this summer.

The Interns

This summer our intern team was small, but very tight knit. Dominique, who was with us last summer, returned and assisted Sarah in directing camp.  Another blessing to not having the grant was the freedom we had in planning. Dominique’s creativeness came out in our planning process and allowed for some new experiences for our kids this summer.

Mr. Jake and one of our boys hanging out on the beach at Belle Isle.

Dominique was able to connect with our girls and build meaningful relationships throughout the summer

We also had two interns come from Grand Rapids: Katie and Jake.  They both were here two summers ago when their youth group came out to serve for a week.  Since that summer, they both felt God calling them to pursue ministry.  Recent graduates of high school, they willingly gave up their last summer before college to serve God here in Highland Park.

Katie, Ashley, Sarah, Ashley,  Dominique and Arriana working/having fun together

One of the best parts of this summer was that our interns all lived here on Ferris street (the girls with Sarah, and Jake stayed across the street with some of our neighbors).  They were able to experience first hand community living in the city.  They were intentional about building relationships with our neighbors and the kids.

Teen Staff

Hiring local teenagers to work camp with us is a highlight each summer.  We chose teens who are involved in our program during the school year and show spiritual
maturity and leadership.  Our teen staff this summer were both named Ashley.  This year was unique in that our teen staff became a part of the staff team, as opposed to being more separated because of age.  Both girls did a great job with our kids and I (Sarah) am looking forward to continuing to work with them during the fall.

Here’s what they had to say about their experience at Day Camp this summer:

“Working here has really put a smile on my face as I see that the kids are open to learning about God. I can really see God working in some of the kids and I think that’s wonderful. Also I see God working in me and showing me some cool things.  As a teenager and working in this program and getting attached to the kids, I now think before I react and ask myself, ‘would I do this if one of the kids is around?’.  The two summers I have worked at HPCO have taught me a lot of things.  I am glad God is using me in this program to spread His Word to the children.” – Ashley K.

“This summer was quite an enjoyment for me.  The experiences with the children made me realize so much.  Not only about the children of Highland Park, but also about myself. Now knowing that this is my calling from God to work with them, I will make it one of my most important priorities to make sure these children know every detail about our Savior and how to walk in His footsteps.
I’ve built relationships with 2 or 3 girls and found out some things about them that assured me that God has a plan for them.”
- Ashley W.

Urban Arts

This summer, we had the privilege of connecting with another ministry in the city called Urban Arts. Their vision is to partner with local ministries in the city to teach art, music, dance and drama to kids who may not normally be able to have that kind of experience.  Not only were the kids taught these arts, they also learned about the fruit of the Spirit as this theme was woven throughout the program. The kids learned a lot in such a short time. At the end of the week, the kids performed for their parents and friends. We had a great turn out of parents to watch their kids. The kids had worked hard all week and it really paid off!

The kids performing for their family and friends after a week of learning at Urban Arts

Overnight Camp

Another way God provided this year was that we were able to partner with Youth for Christ here in Detroit and do overnight camp with them.  Our staff was able to participate in a lot of the planning of the camp the week prior to leaving.

We brought eleven of our youth, and were also able to send three others to Wildwood Ranch in Howell (A camp connected with the Detroit Rescue Mission).  Our staff also went with the kids and counseled during the week. The theme of the week was “Keeping it 100”.  We talked about how to be fully committed to Christ and keep our faith real for Him. The kids learned this through examples like David, Esther and Rahab. They also had a lot of fun swimming, learning skills like rifle shooting, fellowshipping with each other and playing fun camp games.  Overnight camp is always such a great experience for our kids. They are able to be removed from their normal environments and in a lot of ways, are able to relax and just be kids.  God always uses this time to open their hearts. Our staff also grew through this experience as they were challenged and stretched while working with their kids. Their dedication shined through and paid off in big ways!

Ashley being taught how to shoot a rifle at overnight camp

To sum it up….

At the beginning of the summer during staff devotions, Jake shared from Isaiah 55. This passage was an encouragement throughout the summer.  Just understanding how God’s ways are beyond ours and so many times we don’t know the how’s, why’s and when’s. For each event that happens in our lives, God has eternal purposes that we won’t fully know. Each child that came to camp was impacted personally.

Some made decisions to follow Christ, some did not. But ultimately, it’s in God’s hands.  And He promises us that “My Word which goes forth from my mouth will not return to me empty, without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it”.  What God’s going to do because of this summer is eternal.  Not only were kids impacted, but families also.  We will never know how many more will be reached.

So while the summer was at times draining and we came home exhausted, the fruit of what God is doing made it all worth it!  We saw girls for the first time be able to trust someone enough to share their struggles, boys who seemed tough in their neighborhood softened and a dozen or so who gave their lives to Christ.  In all, 30+ kids were able to be a part of our program and be taught how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

It took more than the four of us who daily were with the kids, it also took the prayers and support of the family of God who partnered with us. Thank you so much for being part of our team and making camp possible.  Our heart overflows with gratitude for you! Please never underestimate what God is doing through you. You may not be able to be physically present here in Highland Park, but we felt your prayers!