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Nikki has been a part of our lives for 2 years now. Moving here from Maryland last winter she longed to fit in, and to have a place where she belonged. God’s work in her life is evident.  Life has not been easy by any means and as she takes on more of an adult role in her home and struggles between acting “grown” and wanting to be a carefree teenager. Her smile will brighten the room and her laugh is contagious! She traveled with us to Nicaragua last Spring Break and since then has become more and moreinvolved at Grace and with the youth group.

School seemed to be one frustration after another for Nikki. As she was between grades, because her former high schools credits didn’t coincide with her new schools. As a senior this year she continues tocome to Tutoring. Her tutors encourage her along the way, mostly giving her the confidence to set out and each for her dream. The spark for further education was lit and Nikki set out with determination to do everything in her power to achieve her goals, not being embarrassed to ask for help when she needed it.

It all paid off this past Friday! It was after 9pm and I got a call, it was Nikki. “Ms. Suzanne!!!!!” she shouted in my ear. “I got in I got accepted to A&T” (North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University) It was my first choice and I got in can you BELIEVE IT?!”  The Joy in her voice and pep the in her step, sings of God’s faithfulness! Congratulations Nikki our first ever student accepted to College! We are just busting with Thanksgiving to our Savior and Pride at Nikki’s accomplishment!
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“Kendall , you need to pick out a book to read this semester.” I let one of our 9th grade boys know as I walked past him to talk to another student who’s hand was raised. As I was walking back to the front of the sanctuary I saw the Kendal, the young man I had spoken to earlier, still looking through all the books and reading the backs of them. I stopped for a moments taking the scene in. There was nothing extraordinary about it. He was being obedient and trying to find a book. But his mannerisms spoke volumes. He was really looking and not just grabbing one so I would be satisfied; but was taking his time to find a book that he would enjoy.

                 All of a sudden I remembered a book that I had ordered, ( The Story Of Bilma – A Holocaust Survivor) with Kendall in mind and I hadn’t shown it to him yet.  --- 2 summers ago we took the Middle and High School students to Washington DC for Summer Camp. While we were there we visited the Holocaust Museum.  The students were taken back, sad and angry as they finished the exhibit of the horrific acts that happened in the not so distant past. On the way out Kendall and few others met Mr. Alfred Philip Feldman, a Jewish Holocaust Survivor.  The Kids had found a HERO and Mr. Feldman had found a group of students that knew very little about the Holocaust and were eager to listen to his story. We took a group picture with Mr. Feldman and bought a copy of his book that he happily autographed for us. When we got home different students wanted to borrow the book to read. And found out quickly that it was at a reading level that they had not attained yet. So Mr. Feldman’s book was returned in reverence to my book shelf.---

                I came back by about 10 min latter to find Kendall completely wrapped up in “The Story Of Bilma” with his hand raised.  As I walked over he kept his eyes on the page yet asked me for a piece of paper so that he could write the name of the book down for his teacher. “I’m going to give this to my teacher,” he informed me, “We should read THIS in class!” To me it was a small miracle. To others it may be nothing. But, here was a boy with has plenty of struggles of his own that had made a connection with history. He is learning to hurt along with others, to be angry at injustice, and to speak up! And even though he doesn’t realize it, he is learning the invaluable lesson of reading for knowledge and not only because the teacher says so.  Yes, this indeed a day worth writing about.

 
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Six years ago we went from bus stop to bus stop, inviting kids to come to tutoring at Grace Community Church. I set up at the church and waited with two college students who were going to be our tutors, and no one came. Dejected, I went home, and as I was getting out of the car, three children came walking up the hill, an hour late but headed to tutoring all the same. We soon realized that our church was a bit too far for the kids to walk, and so tutoring moved to our living room, and we hosted a handful of children and a couple of college students each Monday to do homework.

Today, I will pull out of the Grace Community Church parking lot in a school bus bought for the tutoring program, and I will pick up 41 of the 52 children enrolled in our program, children who now come two days a week for homework helps and reading enrichment. Waiting on those 52 children each day will be 52 tutors, three Room Moms, several childcare workers (to watch the children of parents who tutor), and a full-time tutoring program director. They will spend half an hour playing on a donated basketball court, laughing and running and jumping, and an hour working with their very own tutor, and for some of them, it will be the second, third, or fourth year with the same tutor. We will have two high school seniors aiming for college, and over 20 middle schoolers. Over 30 young girls will stay after tutoring on Mondays for dance class, and it's possible that in the spring, we will offer our program on Wednesday with an arts enrichment focus, giving the young men something to do as well.

This is nothing short of the grace of God. God's grace to sustain Diane and Melissa and John and me during our first overwhelmed and clueless years. God's grace to provide Regin and her gift of infrastructure, and His grace to provide Suzanne and her gifts of creative education and passion for the kids. God's grace to provide salary for Suzanne, funds for the bus, snacks each week for each child. God's grace and love for these children to send hundreds of volunteers to them. God's grace to give us favor at UNCG, NC A&T, and Bennett College, connecting us with eager and gifted college students, including more and more African-American students. God's grace to provide adult tutors willing to take off of work early, to lug their young kids to Grace, to give of their free time. Amazing. And we have only begun to get good at what we do. Here's to a wonderful year this year.

Taken from Marshall Benbow's Blog (www.joyinthemargins.blogspot.com)
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Traditionally the Glenwood Camp has been a fast-paced affair, filled with places to be and things to do. We have visited major cities like Atlanta, GA and Washington, DC and tried to soak in as much of the history and culture as we could in a four-day time frame. This year, due to budget limitations, we took a more laid back approach, trading in hotels and big cities for a rustic campground in eastern NC. Going into the week I thought we had a recipe for disaster with no AC, lots of bugs, and not as many things to do and places to be. Our theme for the week was “Pirates” and visions of a possible mutiny crossed my mind.

            Instead, what we received was a tremendous gift from God. Camp wasn’t flashy or fast-paced, but it offered plenty of time and space, which, as it turns out, is just what the doctor ordered for our Glenwood youth. Time and space to play cards, swim in a lake, go fishing, shoot hoops, and watch one of the four snakes that crossed our path during the week. Time and space for daily small groups centered on Bible passages that related to their lives. Time and space to rest and enjoy being away from the things in life that crowd their hearts and minds.

            As kids let their guard down, there were very real conversations about faith and forgiveness, about the role of God in our everyday life, and a path for the kids of our neighborhood to be a part of our church’s youth program was made clearer and more open because of the relationships developed with the adult volunteers. Seeds of love were truly sown, and hearts were changed.

 

(Excerpt Taken From Marshall Benbow’s  Intervarsity Newsletter)
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In July we partnered with the Glenwood Public Library and held a summer reading club for  our students  in K-5th grade. Reading is one area that all of the students struggle in.  In K-2nd grade students “Learn to Read,” and then in 3rd grade and beyond students are expected to “Read to Learn.”
If students do not have a firm grasp on the basics of reading there is a significant gap that continues to grow.
                For 4 weeks each student had an individual Reading Buddy at Grace on Tuesdays for an hour of reading. We then went as a group to the
Glenwood Library and participated in a reading-themed activity for the second hour.
              We ended the month with an ice-cream party and a “Tutoring Store”where the students could purchase fun school supplies with “Tutoring Bucks” that they had earned with each book they read during the month of July. 
           Last week as I was taking a walk around Glenwood, one of the students joined me and asked, “Ms. Suzanne, do you think we can have Reading Club EVERY Tuesday next summer?” When I heard a student ask for more reading time, I knew that it was indeed a success! J
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The Glenwood Tutoring Program exists to break cycles of poverty and hopelessness in the lives of families in Glenwood and surrounding neighborhoods.