Reading & Play Camp

by Sarah Troop

The kids arrived in the van, signed in, found a book or two and made their way to a comfortable reading spot.  A bright eight-year old named Ronald caught my eye and he agreed to sit and read with me.  He chose to tackle Dr. Seuss and did a phenomenal job!  Ronald covered every base: the author’s name, who illustrated the book, and every word of the story.  I was impressed. 

After they read a book or two, they filled out a sheet noting the title, author, and how many pages. Ronald was so excited to document his accomplishments. He was also excited to jump rope and hang out when he finished.  

Looking around the yard of Mercy Street, seeing kids in the middle of summer engaging in reading, was encouraging.  Instead of sitting in front of a television, not using their brain, they were actively using their brain and improving their little minds.

I am a strong advocate of reading and education. Education is the key to success and facilitator of choice.  Sixty-six children had an opportunity to exercise their reading skills. There were many different levels of reading ability. Thanks to Mercy Street, those sixty-six children each took a step toward a higher level. Mercy Street Reading Camp provided a fun place to have intentional reading time with people who care. I hope when I come back next year, there will be more kids wanting to read.

Oaks of Righteousness

by Julie Rodgers

Gold and black balloons floated above every table at Mercy Street, and large banners hung from the rafters, saying: “Congratulations Mercy Street Graduates!” On May 12th, we celebrated the first class of seniors that had made the 8 year journey with their mentors—all the way from their scrawny little 4th grade days to the proud moment when they walked across the stage to receive their high school diplomas.

To an innocent bystander, it looked like a group of typical high school kids: fun-loving, care-free jokesters who are on a roller coaster catapulting them into college campuses and careers. But to Catherine Richards, Nathaniel Eubanks, Terese Stevenson, Alan Morrison, and a slew of other mentors, it was a group of young heroes who have persevered through countless obstacles during the past 8 years to arrive at this milestone—high school graduation.

Trey Hill challenged the students to remain planted in fertile soil, so they might grow into oaks of righteousness like those described in Isaiah 61. He said that in order for a tree to be successfully transplanted, it’s essential for some of the soil in which it was originally planted to be carried with the tree into its new environment. In the same way, our seniors will need to remain rooted in the rich soil that’s enabled them to flourish into the men and women they are today: their families, mentors, positive friendships, and (most importantly) their relationship with the Lord. He encouraged them to continue nurturing these relationships as they enter into the next phase of their lives, rather than cutting old ties and creating a whole new identity.

The students wrapped up the celebration with reports about where they will be going as they enter into the next phase of their lives. Most of them are college-bound, with some attending four year universities like UTA or TWU, and some phasing in slowly at El Centro or Mountain View Community College. Each one of them is thinking critically about the future, however, and each is grateful for those who have been beside them when the future didn’t look near as promising as it does today. We saw a glimpse of the dream of Mercy Street taking root at the graduation celebration, signs of a new generation of leaders slowly growing into oaks of
righteousness that will point our community toward a mighty Savior!

Graduating Senior Q & A Spotlight: Xaiver & Brent

by Brent Baker

1. What was your first impression of Xavier?

My first impression of Xavier was a big, quiet middle school boy (I looked “up” to him almost from day one…) who didn’t know how to interact well with strangers. And I could tell almost immediately I was perceived as a stranger. Though many of Xavier’s friends were involved in the mentor program, I could still tell it felt strange for him to have a mentor. Xavier didn’t reject me by any means, but he was slow to enjoy my company, questions, and role in his life.
Consequentially, one of my first goals as a mentor was to find out what role (1) Xavier wanted me to play in his life and (2) what role I needed to play in his life.

2. What is one of your favorite memories with each other?

One of my favorite memories with Xavier before his graduation weekend was the day we drove together to a campsite at a lake where Mercy Street was hosting an event. It was the first time
we spent an entire day together instead of a period of a few hours. I think Xavier was surprised I had decent taste in music and I learned that day that it was possible for an individual to have
a 12-dollar meal at McDonald’s (Xavier ordered four cheeseburgers and a milkshake and fries). Though that was a couple years into the mentorship program, it was truly the first time I sensed that Xavier actually enjoyed spending time with me. Though a friendship-relationship is not absolutely essential to a mentoring relationship, it sure does help build trust and secures the longevity of the relationship. If you can enjoy one another you can stick together much longer.

3. What has been most difficult about this relationship?

I work in with high school students as a major part of my job/career, so I am familiar with the age-barrier in mentoring relationships. But when you consider not only age-barriers,
but cultural-social barriers, it creates a more difficult situation. The cultural-social side is the tougher part because it means at no point in my life can I relate to some of Xavier’s everyday
circumstances. It’s one thing to say, “When I was your age I experienced that” and sense rolling eyes from a teenager. But it’s another thing to say, “At no point in my life have I known
what that is like” and sense rolling eyes from a teenager. Breaking through that cultural-social barrier has been more difficult. The teenager isn’t mature enough to know that you do not have to share common circumstances to relate to one another’s stories. So building that understanding and trust takes time, questions, and the mentor seeking to understand the mentee without necessarily receiving anything in return.

4. How has the Lord transformed you in this relationship?

I am convinced that whatever role I feel called to and find myself in, God is just as interested in what he is doing in my life as in the life of the person or group I am trying to reach and serve. I am no less God’s child than Xavier, and the care God has for him is no more or less than the care he has for me. So though this program may seem beneficial for the “recipient” and solely an act of service from the “donor”, the truth is much different. Giving away your life is just as important as gaining it from Someone else. And we are never more transformed to the image of Christ than when we offer our life for someone else. When we do that, it changes us.
Specifically speaking, I have seen myself become more patient in pursuing others through my relationship with Xavier. Many say you care about someone as you share things in common, and there is truth in that. But I personally have learned to care for someone with whom I have little in common. And it reminds me of the patient pursuit and love of God for me. Xavier, in this sense, has been my mentor.

5. Favorite thing to do together?

Xavier and I love to eat hamburgers and fries, go to Best Buy, talk about football, and even dream about what his future might look like (though I probably enjoyed that aspect more than he did).  Continue Reading...

Texas Motor Speedway & Math

Through Mercy Street and the teachers at Carr Elementary, I had learned that Kevin was proficient in reading, but was struggling in math and science.  This is something I had been encouraging him to get excited about, but was unsure of how much progress was being made.

Recently, I offered him “the deal”.  If he would give me 3 strong weeks in these classes, I would take him to a NASCAR race.  He had never been to NASCAR, and had not followed it, but he appeared to be very excited about entering “the deal”.

After a week into “the deal”, I called him and asked how his part of the bargain was coming.  He was excited to tell me he had made a 100 on his math test the day before.  I called him the following week, which was race week and asked how the week had been going.  He reported he had made an 81 on his science test.  Needless to say, I was very excited about this.  Kevin demonstrated the capacity to make strides in subjects that are not his natural strength, thus we BOTH got to go to the NASCAR race!  I asked about how he pulled it off and he said he had studied for the test.  Yea!

             

Kevin & His New Buddy

I told him I would keep my end of the deal and would pick him up after school on Friday and we would head out to the race.  He seemed genuinely excited.  We stopped along the way and got some cokes and snacks.  When we got to Texas Motor Speedway, we toured through the vendor area.  Kevin met an interesting character along the way (see pic).    He also locked in on the Juan Pablo Montoya merchandise trailer.  He saw a t-shirt he really liked so we made another deal.  I told him I would give him so many bills and he had to tell me the change he would receive based on the price of the t-shirt.  After careful thought, he figured it out by thinking it out, no paper.  He got the shirt!

            

We went inside the track, where he learned to program a race scanner.  We were able to dial into race teams and hear their radio transmissions throughout the race.  When the cars came around to take the first green flag of the race, Kevin learned what “NASCAR Thunder” means.  The noise was deafening, as our chests vibrated from the horsepower.  I looked down and saw the biggest smile and the widest eyes I have seen on Kevin’s face.  It reminded me of my excitement, when I heard of his improved grades.

             

A NASCAR fan may have been born that night; and maybe even an engineer one day!

Uncle Bill is a Good Find

 A recent young lady, LaKeisha James, an SMU Sports Management major, spent some time down at Mercy Street and here were her findings...

            Broddrion Hatcher was, by his own admission, a troubled and angry child.  His mother was in and out of jail and his father left when he was very young. He was taken in by a friend of the family.

            For Hatcher, the oldest of five children, a hard life became even harder. 

 “When I was ten, the lady neglected me and I would go weeks without eating or a change of clothes,” said Hatcher.

            Hatcher searched for help and guidance and found it at a program called Vision Kids, which is run by the West Dallas-based non-profit community organization Mercy Street.  The program pairs a child in need with a loving mentor.

            It was there that he met Bill Farrell, known to all as Uncle Bill.

            The two were from very different backgrounds.  Hatcher was poor and from a troubled family.  Farrell grew up in Highland Park and was a successful businessman.  The teenager is black. The mentor is white.

            “I was kind of scared and uncomfortable because I didn’t know what to expect” said Broddrion Hatcher.   

             Hatcher described Bill Farrell as a cool person who he saw as a father figure.  In the beginning Hatcher didn’t want Farrell to get too close.  He had a hard time trusting people, in part because of his troubled past.

            “I would run the streets and rob people,” Hatcher said.

            Over time Farrell has had the biggest impact on his life, the teenager said.

            “It was him who told me life is to short for foolishness. Violence is not key when you have a family to take care for,” said Hatcher. 

             Farrell said that Hatcher didn’t see color and his mother was excited to have someone from the outside who cared for her son. 

            Farrell, was born in raised in Highland Park, where he has live his whole life in Texas.  His father was a lawyer and his mother was a homemaker.  He attended Southern Methodist University, where he majored in business.

            In his senior year, he was the student body president and co-captain of SMU’s swimming  team, which won the Southwest Conference Championships.  He graduated in 1953. 

            Following college, Farrell spent 52 years in the life insurance business as an agent for Provident Mutual Life.  He started out as a supervisor and then became a manager of a start up agency in Dallas.

            Uncle Bill worked with the STEP Foundation (Strategies to Elevate People) in Dallas.  He was later responsible for bringing the “I have a Dream” Foundation to Dallas.  The foundation was created to offer a college education to those who graduated high school and qualified but wasn’t finically able to pay for college.

            Uncle Bill along continued to keep his focus on the inner city and helped direct the founding of Mercy Street with the help of his church Park Cities Presbyterian Church.

            Mercy Street , is a social service agency in West Dallas. One of the goals of the Christian based mentoring program is to allow the students to learn the value of education, to graduate from high school and continue their studies. The program also encourages students to give back to their community.

            Farrell said he was drawn to Mercy Street because of its mission.

            “My conviction that the children were the best entrée into the people of the inner city,  and the best intervention into their lives was by a person who cared for them,” said Uncle Bill.  This is what urged him to be apart of Mercy Street. 

            By mentoring Hatcher and another young man name Larry, Uncle Bill has learned much.

            “It has meant that I have two young high school graduates who are pursuing a career and are two of my best friends,” Farrell said.  He described his relationship with them as mutually transforming. 

            He said he is as close to the two boys as he is to his own three sons.  

             “ I don’t think I would be where I am in my life it weren’t for them, and I pray that they are far ahead of where they would have been had I not been a part of it, said Farrell. 

            Hatcher now 19, is working at Wal-Mart.  He plans to go to a community college and then transfer to a larger  university in Texas. Giving back to his own community in West Dallas and reaching out and helping South Dallas is important to him. And every chance he gets he attends Bible study for the young men at Mercy Street.

            “I believe that change happens only through relationships and mentoring involves responsibility on the part of each party which is the healthiest, most successful agent of change, “said Uncle Bill.

           

            

God Don't Give No Junk

by Jacob Mann Jones

How excited you must be that God has given you the perfect mentee!

You’re probably thinking I’m crazy right now. Yup, probably have to be a little loony to invest in lives in West Dallas. Well they thought Jesus was a little out there as well in His day, so at least I’m not alone in that department.

Being a mentor can be a struggle. It’s tough building into the lives of your own kids, much less a kid from a radically different background. It takes away your time and energy; it tests your patience and resolve; it can drain you mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. Yet it is all worth it. I often wondered early on if I was making a difference, or if this was a mistake. Will touching one kid really make an impact in West Dallas? Then I’m reminded how Jesus rejoiced over one lost sheep in Matthew 18:13. Yup, it’s worth every last bit of all I’ve got, of all you’ve got!

Recently I’ve been challenged to see my mentee not through my own eyes, but through God’s eyes. After all your mentee has been presented holy and blameless before God (Ephesians 1:14; Colossians 1:22). Markeist has been a gift from God to me, and God don’t give no junk! When God looks at Markeist He sees the finished product and rejoices! What do you see when you cast your eyes upon your mentee? Jack Taylor once said, “When there is receiving there is liberty and light.” Have you received your mentee as the great gift from God that they are?

I’ve been blessed the last couple of years to share life with Markeist. He has taught me that LOVE is spelled T-I-M-E. He has taught me how to truly listen. I’m more excited about the many years to come. I get to watch this kid with buckets of energy grow into the man that God has called him to be, to watch him live out Psalm 101. I leave you with a picture of Markeist, modeled after 1 Corinthians 16:13-14…

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”

Tough Conversations...

I recently had a very rich experience with my mentee, Algie, who is now a junior in high school, and wanted to encourage you that while we may not always get to see it, God is definitely at work in our mentees' lives!

Prior to having lunch with my mentee last week, I prayed that God would give me strength to discuss the difficult, and potentially uncomfortable topic, of sex.  As Algie and I were talking about his girlfriend and the recent bible study he attended at Mercy Street where sex was discussed, God opened the door for me to discuss with Algie God's design for sex.  Not knowing where it would lead, I asked him directly whether he and his girlfriend had had sex.  By God's grace, what ensued was a very fruitful discussion and a series of questions from Algie that gave me the opportunity to share with him God's design for sex between a man and a woman in the context of marriage.

The good news is that Algie has not had sex with his girlfriend, but he admitted to me how difficult it is when all of his friends around him are having sex and questioning why he would not.  I believe that it is God's work through Mercy Street and Algie's exposure to biblical truths that he has made this decision.  However, his admission of the peer pressure he faces was a reminder that the challenge for our mentees to be salt and light is great and the need for us to continue to pray for them and encourage them with the truth of the Word of God is paramount.  While at times I have felt as though the words I speak to Algie have fallen on deaf ears, this is a clear testimony to me that God's word does not return empty (Isaiah 55:11).

So, I write this as an encouragement (and a reminder to myself!) that the Kingdom work we are doing as mentors is not in vain and even as much of our time as mentors is spent one-on-one with our mentees we are not working alone.  As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 3, we are all co-workers in God's service and while Mercy Street and we as mentors are planting and watering seeds of righteousness in our mentees hearts it is ultimately God who makes these seeds grow.