Steubenville Kid Mayor Pep Talk!! Join us!

There is SOOOooo much good happening in our town... God is on the move! Here's just one...

This is the letter we are sending to all the schools this week:
Dear Steubenville Schools:

We are excited to offer you an opportunity to join in a community wide outreach that we hope will bring a sense of solidarity, confidence and hope to Steubenville in a fun and energetic way, through the creativity, humor and insight of your students.

Inspired by the, “Kid President Pep Talk,” on Youtube, we began to question how to harness the optimism and energy we saw demonstrated in that short clip, and transform it into a dynamism that would motivate our community. We know the greatness and potential of Steubenville, but in recent months for a number of reasons, much of the positive energy has been stifled.

To turn that around in a positive direction we’ve created a “Kid Mayor Pep Talk” video creation opportunity that we would like to share with your school. It’s exciting! If you haven’t seen the Youtube video, just look up “Kid President Pep Talk” and you will understand.

As I write this, a promotional video is being produced by the Franciscan University of Steubenville TV Production Class that in the theme of the, “Kid President Pep Talk,” that will challenge your students to make Steubenville AWESOME. This promotional video will be shot with local students and be less than 5 minutes in length. It will ask your students, “What is it going to take to make Steubenville awesome? What are you going to do to make Steubenville awesome? What would you say in a pep talk for Steubenville?” It will introduce a video opportunity whereby students of grades 3 through 12 may submit videos of 2 minutes or less and all who submit will get public recognition. There will be separate categories for Elementary (3-6), Jr. High (7-8) and High School (9-12).

We are excited about the potential to invigorate our community that this project has, but it cannot be accomplished without your support. We would like to ask you as a school for 3 things:

1 . Select a contact person at your school through whom we can consistently communicate about this competition. Please have that person e-mail Katie Hess at khessfus@gmail.com, a volunteer at Mama Nita’s Coffeehouse Ministry, for further information.

2. Schedule a 20 minute school assembly on March 8 or during the week of March 11-15, during which the DVD including the “Kid President Pep Talk,” and promotional video for Steubenville Kid Mayor submissions will be shown on a big screen. For this event, your school would have to provide all equipment. We will bring the DVD to your school the afternoon of March 7, or the morning of March 8, dependent the pre-arrangements of your contact person.

We will be happy to have a member of our team come to your school to address the student body after the DVD and provide further details and motivation about this project. If viewing the DVD in a large assembly setting is not possible due to facility limitations or scheduling challenges, the DVD can be shown in all classes of one subject. We will have full details for this event as well as submission forms available on the United Peace Movement website www.unitedpeacemovement.com in the near future.

3. Schedule a second school assembly, April 19th, or after, to show a DVD of highlights from the video submissions of how to make Steubenville awesome, along with an award ceremony for participants at your school, a motivational speech, an address from a city leader, and/or presentation of opportunities to get involved (summer activities, volunteer opportunities). We would like to work with you to cater to the needs of your students and make this an energized event, celebrating the vision of the students and empowering the faith and potential they see.

Thank you for all that you are already doing to serve the students here in Steubenville. We look forward to working with you to build momentum that will empower student to articulate the dreams they have for this city, and give them courage and optimism in making those dreams a reality.

Sincerely,

Kid Mayor Planning Committee

This project is a joint volunteer effort of the United Peace Movement, Franciscan University of Steubenville TV Production class, Mama Nita’s Coffeehouse Ministry, and other energized citizens of Steubenville.

Happy Advent & Merry Christmas & a Wonderful New Year to you!!

God chose to gift His gift of Jesus in a world torn by Middle Eastern strife—Herod’s unjust political tyranny, corruption, slavery, poverty prevailing among the family Jesus was born into—and yet His Mother was bursting with Hope and Faith: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord! My spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”

That’s what I am feeling here as I live at Mama Nita’s Coffee House Ministry home—a place so many of you have been a part of this past year in so many ways. I’m so amazed at how God has been moving in and through us this past year! It’s really been an adventure of encountering His Presence and seeking to make this new mission a place where God’s “Christmas Presence” can flourish.

To re-cap for some of you, I returned from Africa in the Fall of 2011 and bought a run down 5200 sq ft mansion this past January. After uniting with my friends from different churches we recognized it is time to “do something” that will usher in God’s unity among us Christians in Steubenville and facilitates encounters with our Loving God in this downtown area. It’s now my home.

“Doing good in the hood” is our motto down here, and that’s what’s been happening. Here are some highlights we can join with Mary in “proclaim the greatness of the Lord”:

• Over 3000 volunteer hours from people around the nation to work on the house and over 20 churches represented
• A weekly praise and worship and intercession time on Mondays and prayer for the city twice monthly
• Several people recommitting their life to God through our ministry and many receiving prayer and relationships with neighbors deepening
• 29 of you sponsored windows so now ALL of our 38 windows are replaced! (There’s still 4 left!)
Others supplied rugs, furniture, curtains, bedding, kitchen supplies, etc so that I hardly had to buy anything!
• A real sense of “God’s about to move in our city” from many of our local intercessors and a move on the Franciscan Campus of student’s hunger to grow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit
• A few movie nights with Furious Love and Father of Lights and a mini concert by Chat Smith
• Last but not least, a growth in my heart to hunger to have a deeper capacity to love God and others—keep me in prayer to continue to grow in generosity in loving others.

I have been praying for local people to be moved to volunteer here. Not primarily because I need the help (which I do!) but because it’s a sign of something the Holy Spirit is doing among the poor downtown to “give back” and find dignity and pleasure in giving of their time and talents.

On one of the warm November days I decided to inaugurate our winter with one last mow of the little bit of weeded-lawn we have. A middle aged man walked by with a few empty jugs. “Hi—how you doing?” I chimed in as a I took a break from my mowing.
I soon found out “Lawrence” was moving from Fort Steuben apartments to a house around the corner. “I got to get out of that place. It’s bad. The drugs. There’s no peace or quiet there. It’s bad there.” Since he didn’t have enough money for his water company deposit, he was walking 10 blocks to get water for his grandkids he was taking care of and his girlfriend.

Since that time, I’ve gotten to know Lawrence and his girl, Lauraine who is a patient at the free clinic I serve at on Thursdays. He now knows how to use my front load washer which was donated by Franciscan University, and pushes our neighbor Ruby’s grocery cart with jugs of water he’s filled from our faucets. After a few weeks of this, he said, “Do you need help around here? I’m a jack of all trades. I want to give back to you. You’ve helped us out so much. I want to give back.”

So now, Lawrence (Ruby calls him ‘Whispers’ for some reason I’ve not discovered yet) is putting on mudding to the dry wall that Jonathan put up and will start on some basement work next week. Walter, another neighbor who was the first to volunteer back in February is the first local person to donate financially to our mission and helped pay for the Boiler company to evaluate our boiler. “Katie, don’t worry” he always tells me. God is moving in our people down here… Good in the hood.

It’s really coming together. God is doing a great work here. May the Lord especially bless those who have served here this last year either from afar through prayers and giving and those near who have joined me in doing so much to get this house and mission up and running.

We still have far to go but it’s amazing how far we’ve come. I thank you God for the grace and favor!

So, I say to you, my friends: “Don’t worry…God wants to give back to you, fill you, refresh you. Amidst so much turmoil in our world, in the quietness, in the stillness, HE is HERE. Jesus will never leave you no matter how much you may get sidetracked. God is GOOD and is so ready to heal your hearts, fill you up and strengthen you to be a blessing to those around us.

May your spirits rise up like Mary’s does and say with all the Saints and Angels amidst any trial that may be going on and say, “My soul proclaims the greatness of my God!”
Much love to each of you and your families!! You’re all welcome to visit anytime!!

Thank you for being in my life!
Katie

We've come a LONG way since the Spring! Though we still do not have heat yet due to a leaking gas line (yes, the gas is shut off!) we are doing great. Here are some photos to show you how far we've come. Please pray for us to find someone to fix our gas lines and then get our boiler working. It's quite cold in this 5000 square foot brick home! Brrrrrrrrrr! But as I always say, "All for Him!" God bless you all and thanks for your prayers and support for us. The PRAYER ROOM BEFORE:

and AFTER our Amazing Volunteers: