Reppin' the Block

Hi Folks,

I hope you're all having a great February. For all of you in the north, it's almost spring! If you are in the south we are so so jealous of the warmth you are experiencing. It's been a different neighborhood since the winter started, everyone has moved inside and we often go weeks without seeing some of our favorite neighbors on the corners.

Last Sunday though it was a pretty warm night (about 45 degrees) and a lot of people were outside when we got home from church. We had all been planning on crashing as soon as we got home but after we saw some of the security guards and our other friends on the way back I told them all I would make cookies and they could come over and get some.

One of our neighbors who we love so dearly is actually one of the guys around here who is a "Blood." This isn't how we know him though and we've come to love him as he was one of the first people to welcome us to the block and often refers to us as "his favorite neighbors." He has opened up to us a little bit more about life on Beekman and on Sunday he brought his cousin over to hang out with us.

They both grew up on the block, spending their childhood summers during the worst days of the South Bronx watching friends and family getting shot all the time and even more people arrested or addicted. Hearing some of their experiences makes it easier to understand the cycle of poverty and violence that affects our streets. No wonder these guys have done serious time and never graduated from high school, when they were little they saw shootings right outside their windows on a regular basis and the bullets even burst into their own apartments on more than one occasion.

For them and so many others joining a gang is not only the expected way of life it's the only way to gain protection and a sense of control over their environment. For these people the Bloods provide all the family and opportunities that the world didn't give them. As they've begun to open up more to us it has really been on my heart to pray for the Bloods on our block. Jesus can break even the ties of gangs on our block and these people can be free from their prisons- both literal and metaphorical. I beg you to pray with us for these dear friends, I can see the binds of Satan breaking as these young men begin to hope for jobs and school rather than drugs and drive bys. It is a hard road though as most have felonies and no education to speak of, so pray with us that we could help them find work and most of all that they would come to know Jesus and be restored by Him. Love, Peace, and Blessings Abundantly from Beekman!