Day 1

Today was the first day of a totally new routine! After spending some time listening to Andy Stanley's podcast, I spent the morning in Gordon Conwell's Roxbury office, trying to fix an administrative issue so that I could register for the class I'd take later that night. Then I went to church for the final prep and setup before PDAS's start.

At around 3PM, the doorbells started ringing. Kids arrived 2-3 at a time at a steady rate until both the family room and studio were packed! We had more than 30 teenagers and middle-schoolers staying most of the afternoon. Most kids started with their homework without anybody to prompt them. Some of them joined video games or card games. It was awesome-- at least 1/3 of the kids were not from our regular church ministries and most of them looked like they were getting comfortable after a little while.

In some ways, the afternoon was a blur. So much happening, so little time to sit! A few highlights:

•  One boy asked, "if we're not paying for this, is this school broke?" I answered by citing support from the church family. "If you run into an older person if you come to our church on a Sunday, say to them, 'hello, great benefactor.'"
• I played a pickup game with 3 of the "older" kids at the end of the day.
• 3 counselors and 1 guest counselor came today and made things fun and smooth.
• When I went upstairs to the Studio, it was filled and quiet!

After the program closed at 6PM, we had a quick debrief session and then Emily drove me to my class, which met from 6:45 to 9:30PM. My night was just beginning as my Inner City Ministry class met for the first night. It looks like it will be a lot of work, but I'm excited. 

Tomorrow, we'll repeat the routine, only the class will be Exegesis of Judges at Park St. Church. Praise God for a great first day!