Vacation

This is my 4th day of spring break from TAS. I have had the mornings free, which has been great.

Tuesday I went to Claremont to have a great time and conversation with my former staff workers Chris and Lorainne at their house. We talked about the ministry there and how i could start supporting them.
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something i have been thinking about recently....the list of 40 developmental assets on the youth inventory sheet for NWN. It was cool to look at it last week for the first time since the fall. Since then, I have become connected to many more young people, and looking at them in terms of developmental assets is interesting.
I think this is a really useful tool, and it really reminds me of why youth work/education has become so important to me. It has also pointed out to me some things about myself.
I remember something i think Jason had said at the fall retreat- that kids with more assets attract adults with more assets/resources to give. We try to counter this trend in urban ministry. But over the last semester I have found that in NWN, TAS and especially at Walden School, much of what has drawn me to certain youth is that they have a lot of those assets. In some sense, I think it makes sense strategically to focus on youth in areas like NW Pas and South LA who have a lot of assets, because they can be developed as leaders of their communities. But at a place like Walden School, it is very different. No one is 'at risk' there. There is no fear that any of them will 'slip through the cracks.' There are so many support systems aorund them and resources being poured into them, that their success is all but assured.
I guess this is why there is something attractive about them....It is encouraging to hear from kids who have a vision for their futures, have had varied and enriching life experiences and are socially and emotionally well adjusted. There are youth like this in NWN as well as TAS and Walden, but I think it presses me to consider where my heart is, and be diligent about trying to see what God sees and where he would have me put the resources he has given me.