Creative thinking

So here's the deal...

       As you may or may not know,  Cross and Crown Mission has a clothing store that is apart of a ministry called, "Rebuilding the Walls".  Through this ministry the money that is raised through the store (by way of clothing and other donated items that cost anywhere from .25 cents to 25.00 dollars) several individuals and families are supported.  A few women and their families from the neighborhood are actually employed by the profits from the clothing store.

       Each and every item that is in the clothing store comes by way of donation.  For instance, there is an individual from the church that I attend who brings some donations that are collected throughout the weeks and brings them to us at Cross and Crown.  We have one other church that has a donations closet where people from the church will bring donations from their home, workplace ect. on Sundays and Wednesdays and store them in a closet.  Then, generally, every 2 or 3 weeks Ron and I will go in our 15 passenger van to pick up the donations at their location.  

       Once the items have been taken to the Cross and Crown store, several of the women and other volunteers sift through all the items and price things accordingly.  Clothing items, yard supplies, Halloween costumes, diapers, older tv's, puppets....you name it, it's been donated.  Most things that people donate are things that they have either decided aren't worth their time and effort to sell on their own or are of no value to them. But, what we have discovered is that once people have been educated on how their donations generate money for a ministry and/or project they tend to donate items that they otherwise wouldn't (i.e. electronics, appliances, nicer clothing items and other more valuable items).

       The idea that we are trying to build off of is an idea that has come about due, partially, to the tougher economic times.  As we all know, the economy has struggled and therefore people, rightfully, become much tighter with their money.  They spend less and they give less.  We, because of our 501(c)3 non-profit status, have also been greatly impacted by the stresses of the economy and people giving less.  We have experienced a decline in moneys given but haven't necessarily seen as a great of a decline by way of item donations.  Therefore, we have decided that we might have a greater opportunity to raise funds in the form of item donations.

       The last couple months we have been experimenting with some of the more valuable donations, such as, electronics, new/unworn clothes and larger items that we physically don't have space for in the clothing room.  For example, some of the items we have held back recently include a GPS, a digital picture frame, some computer networking items, a pool table and an air compressor.  These are each examples of items that if we were to place in the clothing room, chances are, people from the neighborhood either wouldn't be willing to pay for or we are unwilling to price at their real value.  

       The experiment we have been working with is placing these types of items on Ebay and Craigslist. To this point we have started each and every item we have put on Ebay at .99 cents and let its' value determine itself.  Recently we sold a collection of 10-12 bicycling t-shirts, some new and some used, on Ebay and made over $100.00.  Whereas, if we would have sold them in the Cross and Crown store they would have each been sold for no more than $2.00 a piece meaning that we would have made no more than $20.00 total.  And, the best part is, this money is then directly recycled back into, "Rebuilding the Walls', and, hopefully, will do well enough to fund some of the youth expenses at Rock Island.  

       The pool table that someone donated to us is not something that is generally donated to us.  But, because they were familiar with how we sell things on Ebay and Craigslist and how the money received from the sale is to benefit a ministry, they were willing to donate the pool table.  

       To this point, we have collected 20-25 items through various donations that we have deemed valuable enough to sell online.  Through this we have generated a few hundred dollars.  The way we look at it is, that's a few hundred dollars less that someone has to give financially to Cross and Crown or that we, as staff, have to raise.  

       Below are pictures of a recent venture Ron, myself and 4 of the Rock Island youth took to Falls Creek in order to deliver the pool table that someone donated to us which we listed on Craigslist.  We decided to use the opportunity as a work/play experience for the kids.  

       A group at Falls Creek found our listing online, offered to buy the table and then offered some additional funds if we were willing to deliver the table to them.  We made enough money off of the sale to pay for all travel expenses and supplies, lunch and a future trip later on this summer.  

       The Ebay/Craigslist experiment also has some long term potential for the kids.  We think it serves as a great learning experience/skill-set for them if they choose to use it later on down the road.

       If you or someone you know is interested in hearing more about this new venture, please let us know.  Also, if you or someone you know has an item or items they would like to contribute towards this cause, don't hesitate to contact us ( lwhitmire1@gmail.com or 232-7696). We even do pickups for large items!

       Here are a few pictures from our first big sale...


    8:00am Friday morning.  Pool table secured and ready for delivery.

Two of the boys reaping the benefits of 

their contributions towards the trip.  TEDS!!!

Technically, what's in the to-go box is leftovers.  

I might argue what's in the box is not fit for a human to eat

Summer Rock Island/youth schedule

Yeah, you know what time it is...

Just relax and let Big Willie Style and Jazzy Jeff serenade you as they welcome in Summer 2010.

School is out and so is the new Rock Island summer schedule.  Here it is...

Monday - 8:30-9:30 - Jr. High/High School Workout and Breakfast

               10:30-1:00 - Jr. High/High School Volunteer @C&C

               1:30-4:00 - Jr. High/High School Lunch and Hangout

Tuesday - 8:30-9:30 - Jr. High/High School Workout and Breakfast

               10:30-1:00 - Jr. High/High School Volunteer @C&C

               1:30-4:00 - Jr. High/High School Lunch and Ebay/Pickups

Wednesday - 8:30-9:30 - Jr. High/High School Workout and Breakfast

                    10:30-1:00 - Jr. High/High School Volunteer @C&C

                    1:30-4:00 - Lunch and Movie

Thursday - 6:00-8:00 - Family Meal/Hangout

Friday - 10:00-1:00 - Sports/Athletics at Park

So, if you're interested in hanging out with some of the youth of Rock Island this summer there's the days and times.  Any and everyone welcome, well, almost anyone.

Cross and Crown will continue to have the same volunteer hours. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 10:15-1:00ish.

scattered thoughts

Lately I have been struggling with some things.  These issues involve several different aspects and I probably won't be able to address each of them.  I'll just touch on a couple.

I generally shy away from most political arguments and let people say what they want to say about how great or how bad of a job the President is doing without putting up much resistance.  Safe to say, there are things I like and things I strongly dislike about how our country and leaders are handling their very tough positions.  I just opt for the 1 Timothy 2:1-4 approach because in the long run I really don't have much control or say in the matter, but I know the One who does.

The specific issue I have decided I can't handle to hear about anymore stems from the whole health-care policy.  Yeah, I get it.  People that aren't 'earning' their keep are getting assistance they don't 'deserve'.  I mean, yeah, this goes against the 'American Dream' that America was founded upon; work hard, get what you deserve, aspire to wealth, success and fame by any means necessary.  You get what you earn.  Some Christians even say, "Hey, that's scriptural.  'You reap what you sow'".  Well then, shoot, the Bible must be telling us to do away with the new health-care plan and everyone just get what they can afford.  Everyone gets what they deserve, right?  Risky.  As one of my unnamed, college professors used to say, "If everyone got what they deserved we'd all be burnin' in hell."  

Others argue that it's going to destroy the health-care system as a whole and the quality of care is going to decline.  Very possible.  In fact, I can't argue against this very probable result.  I think it probably will too.  Shoot, my wife is a nurse.  Don't think I don't hear about this scenario regularly.

If you aren't a Christian or apart of some other type of religious oriented group or, I guess, even just a good person who cares about the well-being of other people, then yes, the idea of the working for your pay and then having an even larger portion of your pay taken away from you to provide care for a person who isn't working seems ridiculous, unfair, silly and can become frustrating.  So, if you are a person I just described then this post will be of no interest to you and is a waste of your time...


If the thought of someone sitting at home all day, watching Jerry Springer and slamming down Budlight after Budlight while you are at work isn't frustrating enough, now you are having to help pay for that same person to get their ingrown fingernail surgery paid for because they can't pay for it themselves.  WHAAAAAAAT?!?!?

This describes the guy who had his chances.  He has his high-school education.  He went to a few semesters of college but dropped out because it was too hard.  He is in great health (except for being a little overweight from the couch-potatoe life style) and completely functional.  He had a job a few times but decided getting up before 10:00 am was overrated.  Then, he figured out how to work the system.  He is milking all the government assistance programs like a pro.  He even figured out a way to get Meals-on-Wheels to deliver to his house and he's only 38!  Niiiiiiiice!  I agree.  Seems a little bit, kinda, somewhat, extremely foolish to have a cut of your income pay for this dudes medical bill just because you work hard and make a lot of money.

No where in all of God's inspired Word does it say anything about helping the lazy, leaching guy that opts out of work or earning his way.  Trust me, I goggled it.  In fact, I am sure a lot of you out there are clinging to 2 Thessalonians 3:10 during this time.

But I'm not even going to get into all the health care stuff (seems like I did already, huh?). Honestly, I'm just not qualified enough to get into all that goodness.  But, what I will get in to is very similar.  I would like to get in to the idea of the children of a person like I just described.

I want to unload on this subject a little bit because...I work with some of these kinds of kids.  And, sometimes, often times, it can be super frustrating.  They don't listen, they don't follow directions, they struggle interacting with the other kids and, if I'm not careful, I will express my frustration with their parents towards them.

So, here's the scenario.  You have the fat, lazy, couch-potato guy who has chosen his own destiny and then he has a boy.  The mom is out of the picture because the boy was really just a good time that turned into a baby.  So now the boy grows up with a lazy, uninterested, leaching dad who teaches him nothing.  Dad doesn't discipline him.  He doesn't help him with homework because he doesn't enforce going to school unless he really just wants him out of the house during the day so that he can have sole possession of the tv.  Dad doesn't feed him.  So, when he does eat it's because he scavenged through the fridge and cabinets, through some junk together and choked it down. He runs the streets looking for any type of interaction from other people and hopefully it's another kid before an adult.

So, there the boy is.  He has zero discipline.  He has little education.  He has no skills.  He can't even carry on a general conversation because he doesn't attend school regularly and no one talks to him at home.  He smells.  He has no manners.

So what's to come of him? - I'll tell you what is to come of him...more times than not, he becomes his dad.

I'm a first hand example of this.  Now, I am no where close to my father in terms of wisdom, knowledge, experience or faith. But, because of the life that he has lived (and is living), the things he taught me, the way he disciplined me, the way I observed him interact with people, the EXAMPLE he set has a lot to do with where I am today.  My point, if I had a different dad growing up I would be in a different place than I am now.

I believe, the same holds true for the boy I have just described.  Right now, though, he is the cute, innocent, dirty kid you see walking home from school or on the street who you have pity on because he's just a kid.  He isn't to blame.  He has parents that are to blame, right?

Based on the two people I just described, which one would you be more willing to give a portion of your income towards to help assist with medical care? Or other things, like, buying groceries, giving clothes or helping further education?  Or what about intangible forms of help, like, building confidence, teaching discipline or spending an afternoon with just to be his friend?

Easy choice, the kid.  Remember, the dad had his chance?

The boy, because of his environment, lack of teaching, lack of education ect, becomes his father.  He models all he knows.  15-20 years down the line he becomes the lazy, couch-potato, governmental leach of a person his dad was.  So now, his cuteness isn't there anymore because he has facial hair.  The dirtiness that you once showed pity on now disgusts you because it has turned into b.o.  His innocence is now replaced with life experiences that have tarnished him to become the disgusting, unapproachable guy that you drive past everyday on your way to work as he heads to the liquor store.

Here are a coupe questions I have:

Who decided that once you reach a certain age you are no longer 'helpable'?

Isn't the once innocent boy going to model the very actions, lifestyle, decision making ect. that his father modeled to him?

Some of you may be asking, "Oh, well, what about God?", "Where does God fit in to the picture?", "Don't you believe God can work a miracle in his life?".

Yes, I do.  But what if the miracle involves us?  What if the miracle is someone stepping up, going against the norm of what the world says is appropriate and being the catalyst to help jump start the miracle?

It's hard.  I know.  The whole reason I started this specific blog post is because I'm really bad at extending sympathy to all without knowing their specific life story.  I assume.  I assume that because someone sits at home all day, smokes, doesn't enforce their kid to go school and then wants a handout is because they're lazy.  Yeah, there are people like this who know better, have been taught how to live and by their own choosing opt to get the handout rather than applying what they know is right.  But what I am finding out is there are also a lot of people that don't know any better.  They didn't have parents that taught them how to say, "Thank you", "No mam", "Please" and other 'common' courtesies.

What I am finding out is that sometimes that lazy guy is really just a grown up kid that doesn't know anything different.

So, I have to check myself.  Consciously I have to consider my own life, my own upbringing.  Isn't what I am doing, or a large portion of what I am doing, directly a result of me mirroring what my parents taught me?  That's why parents teach, so their kids will know how to behave.  The same can be expected from kids who haven't been taught.  They don't/won't know 'how to behave'.  And, just because they get older doesn't mean they will know anything different from when they were a neglected chid.  They still don't know 'how to behave'.

I say all of this to say a few things...

The health care reform may suck now and may end up being a huge disaster but don't be the person who throws a fit about it all because people who haven't 'earned' their way are getting a hand out at your expense.  Because, along with all the people who are taking advantage of the system, there are legitimate cases, men, women and children who can't or don't even have the tools to help themselves.

Be the person who disagrees with the health care reform because it isn't addressing the needs of the marginalized, the poor, the sick, the orphan or the widow in an appropriate manner.  Not because your pocket book takes a hit.

Also, next time you begin to decide that the fat couch-potato guy is just being lazy, surprise everyone and find out their story.  You might be the component God was waiting for to begin His miracle.  You might be surprised.

what would you do?

Today I left work confused.

The day started off relatively normal (which, I must confess, I am not exactly sure what normal is at the mission).  We had a pretty full house but because we are still in the first third of the month we had a couple extra spots on the food/clothing list.

It was about 11:30 when a couple came in the doorway and made their way up the stairs.  I didn't recognize them.  I assumed they were new to Cross and Crown and so I did my best to explain how things worked.  They said they were interested in getting some food and asked if we were a shelter.  I told them some of the different things we were able to offer them but that we weren't able to offer much in the way of shelter.

They explained how they were from out of town.  They came with a fair, got fired while in Oklahoma City and now were stranded.  They said they could definitely use the food but shelter was their number one need.

Again, I explained that we weren't capable of housing individuals but the good news was that City Rescue Mission located downtown did a pretty good job of handling most housing/shelter needs.  As I started to explain how to get to City Rescue they quickly interrupted and said that they had already been several times and had been turned away night after night because the shelter was full.

I found that a little bit peculier.  First of all, City Rescue is a pretty large facility.  They have mens, womens and family housing available.  Secondly, most of the individuals we know and that come to Cross and Crown don't head down to City Rescue or any other shelter when it is as warm as it has been lately.  Generally they head that way when it gets cold.

So, after things slowed down on the food panty end I made a phone call over to City Rescue to find out what the couple needed to do in order to get a bed for the night.  The individual that I spoke with at City Rescue was very helpful and straight-forward.  She told me they needed to be there by 7:00 p.m. and to have one form of i.d.  Easy enough.  I asked her about the shelter being full the last several nights and she informed me that they haven't had to turn anyone away in several weeks.  Hmmm.

I reported back to the couple and told them what I had been told.  Be there by 7:00.  Have one form of i.d.  I also told them the woman I spoke informed me that they hadn't run out of beds in weeks and that there were currently beds available.....

"Yeah, but we aren't separating", they quickly replied.

After some q & a I discovered that they had been offered beds but were unwilling to separate into the men's and women's dorms.  They informed me how they had been married for less than 9 months and were unwilling to be apart.  Even if that meant having to sleep on the streets?  Yep.  They both explained how they had one thing going and that was each other.  Fair enough.

We talked for several more minutes and discussed some other options in the city.  I directed them to some other agencies that offered meals during the day and they seemed content.  I, in order to make sure they understood they had an opportunity but were choosing not to take advantage of it, rehashed their decision not to be apart for 7-8 hours in order to have a safe place to stay for the night.  But, they stayed true to their decision to not be apart and ultimately decided the risk of being on the streets was not a big enough threat to split up for the night.

I get that they love each other.  In all honesty, they were right, they didn't/don't have a whole lot going their way right now and so they have decided the one thing they do have going for them, each other, is too valuable to be without, even if it's only for a few hours.

 I, personally, in their position, would opt for my wife and I to be apart for a few hours each night to be in a safe place, rather than the streets.  I value my wife's safety in the long term and so I would choose to be apart at night, rather than together on the streets night after night.  But, I can't knock them for wanting to stay together throughout their hard times.  I might change my mind after having to be apart from her night after night.  I don't know.

So here's my question.  What would you do?  Do you live on the streets with your spouse night after night? Or, do you split up each evening to sleep in a warm, safe place?

Cinco de Mayo Celebration

This past Wednesday at Cross and Crown we had a little party.  We were celebrating Cinco de Mayo.  If you have been to Cross and Crown before you are aware that a large percentage of the individuals we serve come from hispanic/latino families.  Due to this fact we decided we would celebrate a day that many of across the United States already celebrate, but for different reasons.  If you are unfamiliar with what Cinco de Mayo really is I suggest you check it out here - What is Cinco de Mayo?

We had a great time.  We had pizza, chips, Oreos, cokes and margaritas!  Check out the picture below of Clyde... despite the way it looks, I promise, it was only ice, water and the margarita mix, nothing else.  We started off the celebration at 10:30 with several of the ladies from the neighborhood singing the Mexican national anthem, followed up by a time of prayer and then the festivities began.

It was a great time and I look forward to doing it again next year already.  Enjoy the pics (all the good ones were from Ron's phone, thanks Ron) and sorry for the poor quality of video but at least you can hear it, right? Here's the video... Mexican National Anthem

ShareFest 2010

The first three pictures are of the recently completed fence at the home of Clyde and Judy.  They are a couple that are very familiar with the staff/volunteers at Cross and Crown.  Clyde actually works Monday-Thursday at Cross and Crown and is a regular attendee at several other churches and ministries across the city.  He is the self-proclaimed 'minister of song' and claims to know over 2,000 church songs/hymns.

The fence was a large portion of a project done by North Church headed up by a good man, @clintsmithxp . In addition to the fence they also did some major cleanup and dumpster work as apart of ShareFestOkc 2010.  Check it out. Oh, the last picture is of their dog, Missy Poo.

Yikes, Missy Poo looks grumpy.