relatioNal miNistry

June 2011

Notes from the executive Director, JuDy christophersoN Time is an important part of relationships. God asks that we build our relationship with Him and with those who surround us. He teaches us to do it with patience, love and compassion. Sometimes we want to rush relationships. We want to immediately get to a place of understanding or commitment, and we forget that those things require us to invest time and effort first. This is true in marriage, in families, with friends and even with co-workers. It is particularly true with the children, youth, and young adults we work with at UrbanPromise. When people apply to be part of our team at UrbanPromise, we ask them to commit to a time frame of service. This is because we know that it takes time to develop trust and commitment. Of course, we realize that circumstances can sometimes cause a change of plans, but overall we need each team member to be willing to invest the time required to develop healthy relationships. Our culture is often in a hurry, and all too often, people seem unwilling to take the time to really get to know another person. At UrbanPromise, we are trying to counter that culture. We have just finished another year and our time investing in relationships has been well spent. As you read through this newsletter, you will witness the positive results of that investment in our children, our youth, our interns and our staff. My own story reflects this. I received a beautiful handmade card from one of the interns who recently returned to Brazil. The message was thoughtful, caring and centered on her appreciation for the year we had spent working together and navigating through the challenges that come with being in ministry. Her words resonated with me, and encouraged me. By investing in one another over the course of this year, we developed not only a healthy relationship, but also a friendship, and I trust this will continue for years to come. I look forward to this summer at UrbanPromise and all the new faces we will see, and individuals we will connect with. It will be a time of developing new relationships, and building up existing one. I cant wait! Have a wonderful summer!

To see this newsletter in colour, check out our regularly updated website. We invite you to visit often! www.urbanpromise.ca / PO Box 66047 Vancouver, BC V5N 5L4 / 604.709.9177 Editor: Jo Friesen

Just like Jesus For the past four years, I have studied Sociology, and been interested in the idea of men and women as social beings. I find the impact of society on a persons life, from birth onwards, to be particularly fascinating. Growing up in a Christian family, and within the church, taught me that God intended us to be social as evidenced in His reasons for making Eve after making Adam. This year while working with UrbanPromise, I actually experienced - and appreciated - the reality that Jesus is the most

perfect example of a social being. Not only did He come to earth to live like us and with us, He also taught us how to live with our own kind by being so spectacularly good at it. Jesus showed us the importance of building relationships by caring, loving and getting to know one another. After reading Jesus fantastic stories over and over again, all of them full of love, life, joy and people, I wonder if we can ever be as good as He was. Ive been trying to be like Him for a long time, and this year at Camp Peace I had further opportunity as I got to know the kids myself, as well as watch them develop relationships with one another. Camp is all about community and friendship, and we never know how much of a difference we make in each others lives. Just before I left, a kid asked, You will miss us when you go back to Brazil, right? Oh yes, I will. I definitely will.
~Camilla Lazzarotto, Camp Peace Interns

Joyful iN JuNe April, why are you crying? My homeroom teacher would ask me. Because...Im sad I would retort in between sniffles. Why? She would prod. Because...*sniffle*...its all over. I remember, as a child, bawling my eyes out every June. June meant I wouldnt see my friends all day every day anymore, and that was hard to imagine. Whether it was an unexpected friendship, or one that seemed destined to be from our first meeting, each one was special to me, and I couldnt imagine a day without them. As I think about the end of AfterSchool Program, I imagine there are some kids feeling the same way. Im sure there are those who are looking forward to summer excursions, trips with the family, and Summer Day Camps. But, there are also those, like my mini-self, who are experiencing a funny feeling of bitter-sweetness. They are excited for the summer but also sad to leave. This week I heard one young girl say to another, Awwww...so I wont see you until next year. Ill miss doing crafts with you. From friendships formed between a shy Grade 2 girl and an outgoing Grade 5 girl, to StreetLeaders who may never have had the opportunity to meet outside of UrbanPromise, a myriad of friendships have been made this year. As an adult facing June, I am filled with joy instead of sadness. I look back at this amazing year and see the relationships that were formed and solidified. Kids reached out to each other and on countless occasions, unlikely friendships formed. Strangers became friends, and friends became family. The sadness at the end of a school year isnt so sad anymore because even though Ill miss everyone from ASP, its not good-bye, its see you soon friends!
~April Iguidez, Director of Childrens Programs

GettiNG iN Gear Friends, lovers, coworkers, mentors: every relationship is defined by a series of exchanges involving our personal strengths and weaknesses. Over the course of this year, I have come to conclude that relationships are like gears. Each gear is made up of a series of teeth and grooves. Now, imagine for a moment those gears are people. The teeth represent the strengths and the grooves, our weaknesses. For one gear to work it must rely on the teeth of another to propel it forward. If those teeth were in the same spot on both gears, each would remain stagnant and incapable of moving. Consider yourself as a gear. You have a series of strengths, but also a series of weaknesses. While your strengths allow you to support others and help them to get where they are going, your weaknesses allow the space necessary for their strengths to support you. It becomes a mutual dependence on the strengths of recoNNectioNs One of the most significant relationships that Ive had with a family began five years ago, thanks to one Interns heart for a particular mother whose children attended our program. We would often go to the familys home after program to meet with her, help her children with homework, teach her how to cook some of the items she received through the food bank or help her decipher school notices. She would tell us about her country of Sudan, her culture and would fill our bellies with tasty food! Considering what life had offered her, she had a very generous spirit and good sense of humour! However,

one another. Neither is faulted because of their own weakness. In our culture, the word weakness has a negative connotation; we strive to fix our weaknesses. I would argue that if we focus on our strengths and allow the strengths of others to complement our acknowledged weaknesses, we will begin to value interdependence and strive for unity in our relationships. As we do this, we move away from the alienation of independence and begin to value community and cooperation. We were after all, created for relationship.
~Coral Scott, Director of Young Adult Programs

after that year our visits became more irregular as the family moved frequently. It had been about a year since my last visit with her. Although I had thought of her family often, I had postponed visiting simply due to where they were living. When I started this new position, which has family visitation as a central focus, I was able to visit with her within the first few months. She told me her children often still ask about Camp Hope and wish they could move back closer so they could continue to attend. Ive been working with her regularly, including assisting her with documents and appointments, and being invited to be part of important family occasions. Although there is usually not enough time to accomplish all we set out to do in a visit, it has been life-giving for me to meet with her on a regular basis. As usual, she always makes sure I dont go hungry and recently, she prayed when I left, thanking God for our reconnection. I am thankful for that too!
~Greta Wikkerink, Sudanese Family Liaison

DomoNique aND april On a summer day in 1998, a Grade 1 girl by the name of Domonique attended Camp Grace for the first time. She had short hair and hung out with her brother most of the time. The Intern that summer was April. April and Domonique soon became friends and Domonique loved hanging out with April as much as she could. During the AfterSchool Program, Domonique was able to spend more time with April. They did homework, played, and made sure that they both drank 8 cups of water together (try drinking 8 cups of water, all at once, at snack time). When the school year was over, Domonique was crushed and angry that April had to go back home. They got each others contact information and promised to keep in touch. Since then, Domonique and April have kept in touch, mostly via snail mail. April now lives in New Orleans with her husband, son and nephew. Domonique still is learning and growing at UrbanPromise and cherishes the relationship that she and April have. Relationships really do make a difference. April made a difference in Domoniques life by being a friend to her when she was in Grade 1. She also showed that she cared about their relationship by continuing to keep in touch with her over the years. Being a friend to someone, even if only for a short while, really does affect them. I, Domonique, was only able to hang out with April for about a year, but in that year, April made a positive impact on me by teaching, training and encouraging me. I hope that over the last 13 years, I have done the same for someone else.
~Domonique Tin,TeamLeader

thaNk you to our spoNsors

Its another season of transition here at UrbanPromise, and weve welcomed some new staff in the last few months. We are excited to have each one of them on the team and look forward to seeing the great work they do. April Iguidez: Director of Childrens Programs Kim Domingo: StreetLeader Director Dani Fuentes: Jr. StreetLeader Director Andrea Behan: Camp Hope Director Christine Alexis: Remix Director Welcome Suzi! Diedre (Director of Youth Programs) and her husband Aaron welcomed Susannah Wren Helen Sportack on April 26th at 4:20PM. We would love to have your feedback about this newsletter or about what UrbanPromise is doing. Send comments to: jo@urbanpromise.ca

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