Tis the season

I realized as I opened up my blog that I last wrote in the fall. Maybe I was in denial that we are hitting winter and kept thinking it's still fall and hasn't been that long since I've been on here. Winter months are always so different here in the city. Like most places, people tend to stay inside and you it's harder to connect with neighbors. It definately takes more effort! The neighborhood is just more alive in the warm weather :)

We've had a busy late fall/early winter. For Thanksgiving, we were again able to hand out food boxes to our families. I was reminded the rest of that day how much it means to our families to receive these- my phone was ringing non-stop with people thanking me for the food. It was good to know that because of the donations of so many people we were able to bless 50 families! Another great thing was having a group of people from Grand Rapids come for the day. A group of girls from my brother's church (North Park Baptist) came and helped delivered and also put on a Kids Club later that afternoon. Also, some friends from my home church came out to see first hand what we do here in HP and be a part of the delivery.

This past weekend, the youth group from North Park Baptist returned to throw the 2nd Annual Christmas party for our kids. We are thankful for this energetic group of young people and their passion to continue relationships with our kids. They have been back multiple times to be a part of events going on here. This picture is of the kids hitting up the cookie table- a very popular booth at the party!

This fall, I've also been able to connect in our community in different ways. First off, it's been so awesome having roommates who are also excited about connecting here. They are building relationships with our neighbors and being intentional about consistancy and sharing God's love here. One of my roommates and I recently joined the Powerhouse Gym around the corner. Definately a new experience! But also a great way to meet new people in the area. I've started to go a few times a week with a Christian couple who live across the street from me. I'm excited about getting to know them better as we are living in community and ministry together. Not to mention the fact- the excercise and weight training help boost my health a bit :) I've also started coaching basketball at the Boys and Girls club at the end of the road. My neighbor connected me with the need there for a female coach. I'm not an expertise by any means (even though one of my girls did ask me if I use to coach for the Detroit Shock- haha!!) However, it's been great to get to know some of the staff there- as well as connect with more HP kids. A few months ago, it hit me that the Boys and Girls club was so close to us and I began to wonder if there was someway we could connect with them- I believe this is a door of opportunity God has opened up- for what reason exactly I am still unsure. It's always good to connect with people who are making a difference in our community.

lovin fall colors... and warmth(?!!?)

This fall has been amazing, beautiful colors and beautiful weather. I love the opportunities it has created to spend more time with neighbors. As winter comes, people tend to not be outside as much, so we gotta make the most of what we have.

Last week, I came home having one of those times when I just wanted to shut myself in my room and have some "me" time, but the neighbor kids really wanted to play, so I finally surrendered and asked God to give me the strength to not get worn out, and He did! I had a great few hours with them, drawing on the sidewalk, playing with bubbles then seeing them in their Halloween costumes :) Life on life ministry happening daily in our 'hood!

I've really seen God be so gracious at those times when I am not always willing to keep giving. Being here on a daily basis, you just never know what kinds of needs or situations will arise- and it can be at the worst timing! But when I look back on it, I see God is in it all- and that is why He has placed me here. It really isn't about me, but Him- and Him receiving the glory!!

God of This City...God of Highland Park

I was searching new music online last week and listening to Chris Tomlin's new CD "Hello Love" The title of this song ("God of this City") caught my eye. I heard it and was just overwhelmed as I felt it was the prayer of my heart for Highland Park. We also sang it at church this Sunday and it was amazing to be singing and praying it with other believers who were all desire to see God do amazing things in our city. It's a prayer of hope that God will do something in HP and in the hearts of those who are broken and hurting here. Sin seems to be dominating but nothing is beyond God's redemption.


"You're the God of this city, You're the King of these people, You're the Lord of this nation, You Are
For there is no one like our God, There is no one like our God
Greater things have yet to come, Great things are still to be done, In this city
Greater things are still to come, And greater things are still to be done here

You're the Lord of Creation, The Creator of all things, You're the King above all Kings,
You Are
You're the strength in our weakness, You're the love to the broken, You're the joy in the sadness, You Are
Greater things have yet to come, Great things are still to be done, In this city
Where glory shines from hearts alive, With praise for you and love for you"

buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks...

We had the opportunity to take our kids to one of the last Tiger games of the season at Comerica park. For some of them, it was their first experience at Comerica- and they loved it! However, there was very little game watching going on (but, it wasn't too exciting- we lost 0-4 :( ) Everyone seemed to have fun though. Thankfully, we were at the very top and pretty much had the section to ourselves. I think we would have drove anyone sitting near us crazy! The kids were able to move around as they pleased and it was also a great view of the city. My sister and her friend also joined us, it was fun to have her get to know my kids :)

Baby,baby!

I wanted to post some pictures of the newest babies in my life :) The one to the right is little Adam, who I wrote about a few months ago. He is now 4 months old, and getting so big! He looks a lot like his mama, Kristin. The other baby is DeMarcus who was born early August to one of my girls, Inez. Inez has been coming to youth group for years, and I met her 4 years ago when I started volunteering. She is now 19 and I'm so thankful she is still in my life! I hired this summer as my administrative assistant. Even though she was VERY pregnant, she faithfully came to work each day. Please pray for her as she gets ready to go back to school this fall as well as begin this new chapter of her life.

I also posted a picture of one of my girls, Ashley with my nephew, Nicholas. I watched Nicholas while my brother and niece were at a Tigers game. Ashley came over and hung out with him for awhile too. She is so great with kids, and such a joy to have around :) I love this girl like a sister, and am SO excited about what God is doing in her life

Please pray for me as I need to focus on fundraising for the next few weeks. I plan on heading back to Grand Rapids to speak at some churches and meet with people. I have a significant amount of money I need to raise before we are able to start fall programming, but am trusting that God will provide! He seems to continually grow and stretch me in this area, but each time, He also strengthens my faith as He shows Himself to be so faithful.

Day Camp Recap

We have just completed six weeks of day camp here at HPCO! One thing that keeps running through my mind is how amazing it is that this is my fourth year being involved in camp. It’s incredible to think that I have been here that long. When I look back at pictures of the kids from my first summer I realize that I have literally been watching them grow up. And then it leads me to think of my feelings that first summer and how this was my desire– that is, to stay with the kids and walk with them through life. To me, it is a clear sign of God’s faithfulness and how He has truly given me the desire of my heart.

As I look over the past six weeks, it has been a reminder of God’s continual provision. We had a great group of staff this year: Mario (who is on his fourth summer with us), Dominique, Chris and Annika. Chris, Dominique and Mario are all Detroit born and raised. It was such a blessing to have them and I feel that they were able to relate with our kids on a deeper level. We offered two classes: sports and music. Dominique is a Christian hip-hop artist, Chris is a singer and Annika plays the piano and guitar. They were able to expose the kids to some Christian hip-hop and also tell them of the dangers of the negative hip-hop our kids are so use to listening to. At the end of the summer, a few of the kids performed what they learned in front of their parents.
For me, one of the greatest blessings of the summer was seeing the growth in one of our teen workers. I hired one of my girls who I recently got back in contact with. Ashley is only fourteen, and younger than most of the teens we have hired in the past. But she exceeded all expectations I had for her! I have never had a teen work so hard, and she always initiated interactions with kids. She even sat down with some of the girls and had a couple of Bible studies with them. The best part of having her here was the time I was able to spend with her outside of camp. She lives just down the road from me and spent many hours at my house. We grew very close and slowly throughout the summer, she began to open up with me and our relationship grew deeper. We continue to hang out on a regular basis. I can see God working in her life in such an amazing way. She’s like a light that has come out of a very dark place. When I look at her home life and the way the rest of her family is living, I know it’s nothing short of a miracle that she has turned out the way she has. I know God started working on her even before she came here.

At the end of the summer, our teachers each sat down with their class and shared with them the plan of salvation. Even though we had talked with them throughout the summer about salvation, this was a time they were able to spend more personal time asking questions and talking with their teachers. We had seven children accept Christ as their Savior. I am so thankful that these are kids we will be able to do follow-up with this fall.

I want to thank each of you for your prayers through out the summer. It’s so wonderful that we are not in this alone, and God works through each of us to accomplish His purpose

First Dinner Party

Since I started talking about moving, I have been promising one of our families that I would have them over for dinner for some "Chicken El Rancho" Khari (who is the teenage uncle of the rest of the kids) wouldn't let me forget it. So last night, I had them all over. Six teens live in the same house and I feel like they have adopted me into their family. I have been called both a "church mom" and god-mama by them. I consider it an honor to be a mother figure (even though I don't think I'm old enough to have teenage children!) to these kids. They have grabbed my heart and I love them so much!!!

Back in HP- ready for Day Camp '08!!

Sarah has moved...again.
haha- hopefully, this one is for a big longer. God has answered prayer and opened the door for me to live back in Highland Park, right across the street from HPCO! He also provided two roommates who are excited about getting connected in the community. There is something about living in Highland Park that makes me feel like I am right at home. It must be the result of being where you know you belong. It's been fun having kids over and being somewhere I know they can just walk over to (and I don't have to go pick them up!)

We start Day Camp next week. After taking a week off to go to Traverse City with my family, I am ready to get back into it and spend the week planning for our summer. God brought us a great staff team. For the first time, a majority of our staff are Detroiters and also African American. I am excited about having them here as they have a heart for the city they grew up in and for the kids- and I believe God is going to do great things as they can relate to the kids on many levels. Please pray for us as we get ready to start are summer. Pray that the kids would have a life changing experience as they are here and God would receive all the glory this summer!!

Michigan History Parade in HP

This past Saturday, Highland Park brought back it's Michigan History Parade (from my understanding, it's been about 8 years since they last had one!) I had been so excited about this event as I knew it would be a great community event. Most of the schools were involved so a lot of our kids were in it. I picked up one of our families and we walked down Woodward before it started. It was so great to see everybody out, sitting along the street and waiting for the parade. I enjoyed seeing a lot of our families (I guess I was pretty easy for them to spot, being tall, white and with bright red hair!)

To me, it was a wonderful way to bring community spirit and pride. For the past few weeks, the kids all were talking about how excited they were to be in this parade. Some of my kids even decorated some of the posters, floats etc. Hopefully, this is an event that will continue each year!

On another note, I am again a resident of Highland Park!! I moved into the Weidman's old house this week and am in the process of getting settled there. Just tonight, one of my old neighbors from when I lived in HP last year came by to visit while I was unpacking (she now lives on my new street!). It was fun to hang out for a bit with her and her cousins, and reminded me of why I am so excited to be back in the 'hood :)

Super Saturday

For the past two Saturdays, we have had a "sports day" at HPCO. The kids rotated between playing baseball and soccer. In the past, this has been just a soccer camp, but we decided to add a new sport! The kids did a great job, though at times it looked like they were having more fun than learning skills :) It was good to see them enjoying themselves.

It was also exciting to have some new volunteers join us. We had a family from Life Church in Canton come and teach the kids baseball. We had a lot of baseball equipment donated (gloves, bats, balls etc.) So hopefully, there will some more baseball experiences at HPCO! Rick, who lead the baseball group did a great job, and had amazing patience (especially with the little ones!). They learned basic skills and then were able to play a game.

Our soccer was lead by Pastor John, Cary Cato (who faithfully comes out each year for this!) and Hugo (one of our Jr high boy leaders). Pastor John also gave the kids a short Biblical message between playing. On the last day, we grilled out hotdogs and the kids each received a t-shirt.

This was our final school year event...coming up next- DAY CAMP 2008!!!

New Life!

One of the girls from our youth group, Kristin, had a baby boy this past Tuesday. Adam Christopher was born Tuesday morning at 6:11 am...after a long labor (he was also 11 days over due!)

Both he and Kris are doing well and they came home on Thursday.

While it's exciting to celebrate this new life God has blessed her with, there are also many challenges she will face as a single parent. Please pray for her as she takes on this new role- and also pray that God would give me opportunities to be an encouragement to her. I feel that I have taken on a new role and am involved in a new journey as I now am investing in not only her life, but her son's as well.

South of the Border

One of our volunteers, Hugo, invited our Jr Highers to his church in Windsor for a dinner he was planning for his youth group. As with most field trips, the kids were very excited about going. The dinner was a Mexican fiesta, with authentic Mexican food (which had mixed reviews from our kids!) They also participated in games such as musical chairs, a "Border crossing" game and of course, a Pinata. It was great to see the kids jump right into the activities and make new friends. We are hoping to do more with this church in the future (including a US vs Canada basketball game!)

Spring has finally sprung!!

While the kids were hanging around bored during spring break, they called me up wanting to hang out. Brittany and Arriana came over to my house one afternoon, and then Mario (who works with us during the summer) called- so he joined us. The day was beautiful and I decided we had to get out and enjoy it! We drove downtown and walked Detroit's riverwalk and had fun taking pictures. We also went into the Renaissance Center and had fun hanging out in cars we could never afford :) I love that the girls feel comfortable just coming and hanging out with me. Brittany, who stays over on the east side will just call me up saying she's taking a bus to my house. I just pray that as they get older- they will still want to be around me!

This picture is of a sledding trip I took a couple of weeks ago with some of the kids. My parents bought sleds so I could take them out...for most of them, it was their first time! It was a great time...in spite of lack of warm clothing, kids who desperately needed to use the bathroom and a dead van battery!

On Monday nights, I have been talking with the girls about reasons why Christ died on the cross. I am taking the talks from John Piper's book "The Passion of Christ". Even though the book is pretty deep and over their level, it gives 50 reasons why Christ had to die, so I adapt a few each week to talk to the girls about.

Our Bible studies usually are hit or miss. Sometimes the girls are into it and have questions, other times they are goofing around, and then there are the times they are quiet and seem bored. Tonight was a combination of all three. However, we had some good dicussion times. As we talked about Christ's death giving us access to a relationship with God, they had a lot of questions about what this means for non-believers. Like, "If your not a Christian, does that mean God doesn't answer your prayers" Granted, some of them were hard questions to answer, but with answers that were good for them to hear.

I am heading to New York on Thursday with other Navigator staff for the African American ministry conference. I am looking forward to this time with the team, being in NYC, and also the conference :o) It was last year's African American conference here in Detroit that gave me my first exposure to the Navigators!

Please pray for me as I am on the "support raising" track right now. It has been a new journey for me! One that is stretching, but also exciting. I've enjoyed making contacts with people and learning to trust God to provide. I have a Navigator website at www.navstaff.org/hilliker Feel free to check it out!

More girl time

This past weekend was a great time of fun with some girls and relaxation. The kids were on break last week so I had some of the girls over to my house on Friday afternoon. They love coming over, even when we have nothing planned. Inspite of complaining about how cold the house is, they always enjoy being here. My roommates also like meeting the girls I talk so much about! On Friday we just hung out, played a game, talked and some of the girls made cards. Nothing too intense, but it was great to spend the time with them.

On Sunday, two of the girls and their brother came to church with me. I have been praying that more kids would want to start coming to Revival so was excited that they wanted to come. Afterwards, I brought them back to my house and we made chili. They are excited about coming back this Sunday. Being involved with Revival's youth group has been a great way to plug them into the church. It was nice that on Sunday morning, they were greeted by friends and other adults who knew them from youth group.

I also found that I was able to have some needed down time over the weekend. Do some reading, relax and just enjoy some time to myself. I started a book called "The Irresistable Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. Writing about all God is teaching me there will take another blog entry, when I have more time. But I am off to youth group.... :o)

Misery?

So Detroit yet again won first place in something. I read this week that we are now considered the "Most miserable city" in the country. Real nice. The article goes on to define misery as "a state of great unhappiness and emotional distress". So I guess that's how we are describing Detroit now?
This new finding disturbed me. Maybe because now, I take it personally. But at the same time, it's a challenge. What can I do to change that, at least for my kids? How awesome that we are able to give them the hope that Christ brings! I am continually praying for them, and claiming Isaiah 61...praying that they will become oaks of righteousness.

I returned a few weeks ago from new staff training in Colorado...so it's official- I'm a Navigator! The next few months I will be focused on fundraising as I transition into the ministry. Please pray for me as I take this new step. Pray also that I will be able to find the balance between these two aspects of ministry (fundraising, and the ministry in Highland Park). It has been great to be a part of the team here in Detroit-and such an encouragement!

Being a living example

This morning, one of my girls Arriana came to church with me. Arriana and I have developed a great relationship, which has really surprised me. She is only 11, but we have a lot in common and for some reason, she really looks up to me. We hang out quite a bit, and she calls all the time just to talk!
I've realized recently that Arriana likes to immitate a lot of stuff that I do. It's little things like the way I dress, watching the Pistons (I even have her finally agreeing that Tayshaun Prince is their best:o), food etc. When it comes to spiritual things, Arriana isn't very open. She usually gets bored or changes the subject fast. When I give her tidbits of "advice" she usually shrugs it off.
I was surprised at how excited she was to come to church. She even had her dad drop her back off in Highland Park last night so she could be here this morning to go.
Having her come to church this morning got me thinking as to how God can use her desire to be more like me to draw her to Himself. If I can be a good role model and someone she looks up to, I pray someday, her eyes can be open to the fact what she sees is because of Christ. It reminded me of in the Bible where Paul writes "Follow me as I follow Christ"...of course with this comes a huge responsibility of keeping my life in check and making sure I continue to follow Christ in all things. So in reality, she can keep me accountable!
It was just another reminder of how God uses our relationships, which sometimes are built over a long time to draw people to Himself!

Winter Wonderland in Detroit

December was a very busy month in Highland Park. Between Christmas parties, food and present delivery, and trying to spend time with the kids while they were home on break I felt like I was going non stop!

Here are pictures from some of our winter activities which include: rock climbing at Wayne State University, making Christmas cookies at my house and ice skating downtown Detroit.

It has been exciting to see how God has opened doors over the last couple of months for me to get to know some of our families better. I have had opportunities to talk with parents about their families, needs and what God is doing. On New Years, I was invited by one of our boy's grandma to their house for dinner. I've also been able to see how God is working through the kids to reach their families. One of our grandma's shared with me how her granddaughters are singing all the songs they learn at kids club. She also shared that when her 11 year old granddaughter was asked in the classroom what Christmas meant to her she told the class it was about the birth of Jesus!

I just came back to Detroit from being home for Christmas and out in New Hampshire to visit my brothers family. At the end of January, I will be headign to Colorado for Navigator new staff training and support school. Please pray for me as I make the transition to the Navigators and also focus on support raising for the next couple of months. Pray that I will be able to find the balance of needing to take time to raise support and also continue to minister to the families and youth of Highland Park.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are greatly blessed this New Year!!!!!!!!!!