New Year's Resolution: Update More Often

First of all I want to start off by apologizing for not being more consistent with updates. All I have are excuses for why I haven't written more, so I will spare you that agony.

Okay, now that I have gotten that off my chest, I will up date you all as to what happened at the end of the year and let you know what is expected for the beginning of this year.

As many of you know, INTRSCT's after school program had some trouble getting off the ground at the beginning of the school year. We kept praying and God was faithful to hear us. We were all taught a little patience as we waited to hear what God had in store for us. When it was clear that the summer arrangements that had be made with a different school fell through, a door opened up at an indoor soccer facility. Our team did our best to get the word out to the community about the after school program that offers homework help and art classes. We had no students show up that first week. We were not discouraged, we knew it would take time. In an effort to get the word out, we gave information to the two elementary schools that were within walking distance to the soccer facility. One of the schools was the school that INTRSCT had previously been in contact with and had stopped responding to communication. The other school, however made copies of our fliers and sent them home with every student that was eligible. Through the course of a week, a meeting had been set up with the principal and our program was moving to that school. God had his hand on us the entire time. This is the first time in INTRSCT's history as an organization that they have been able to run their after school program directly from a Chicago Public School. This was a huge break through and one that only God could have orchestrated. From the beginning of November to the last week of school in December INTRSCT offered homework help and art classes to students ranging from fourth to seventh grade. To our surprise, we found out that the art class that INTRSCT offers is the only one in the school. There is no other art class besides what the teachers have time to teach, which sadly, is not that much.

It has been awesome to see how this relationship has formed with this public school and INTRSCT. The school embraced INTRSCT with open arms. It has been so much fun serving in such an accommodating environment. The school accepted us so much that we were able to attend with the teachers to a Christmas dinner. It has been great to see how God stays true to his Word by our prayers being answered in ways that are beyond our wildest dreams.

Needless to say, INTRSCT ended 2010 on a good note. Tomorrow we start again with some minor changes. In order for Walsh Elementary to raise their test scores, they are extending the school day. Last semester the school day was 9-3. Now the school day will be 9-4:15. Before the extended school day our after school program ran from 3-5. With the change, we will be running our program from 4:15-5:15. We are hoping this does not change the attendance of the students. That is one thing that we are praying about. We want the program to help as many students as possible, but with the extended day, some students may not be able to say that long. This is not stopping us. God has provided thus far, he will provide now.

This up date is fairly long. I wanted to give a brief over view of what happened last year and what we are expecting for this year. There are always surprises with any program, but we are trusting God for his perfect plan and timing.

As I stated earlier, I apologize for not updating more consistently. As part of the new year, my resolution is to update more often. This is an invitation to help keep me accountable. If I haven't updated in one week, please email me and tell me to get my act together :) (my email is jehann87@gmail.com)

Once again, thank you for all of your prayers and support. If you feel led to give financially to INTRSCT you can mail a check to 1111 N Wells St, Suit 305, Chicago, IL 60610.

Happy New Year!

~jenny