Hit the ground running.

Last weekend, as my first official act as a full time youth leader, I got the chance to take some of our youth group kids to a Young Life Camp. Not knowing anything about Young Life, I was excited to see beautiful cabins, basketball courts, zip lines, pool tables, ping pong, large fields, and a staff that was determined to change things for God. As the 200 urban teens from all over the southeast, gathered in the crevices of the North Georgia Mountains; I took a breath and wondered how I got there.

Throughout each day, the entire camp would meet for worship and then the speaker would share. He spoke on change and the love of Jesus. You could feel the crowd squirm when he asked what we, as individuals, needed to change. Afterwards, we would head back to our cabins and discuss what we just heard. The girls in my room quickly admitted that they knew that they needed to change, but that they were not ready to give things up. I thought about my life and how resistant to change I tended to be. I thought about the pain that is in that room, that cabin, that camp. I thought about the man in Matthew 19:13-30, who walks up to Jesus and asks him, “What good thing must I do to get into heaven?” Jesus replies, “If you want to give it all you’ve got, go see your possessions; give everything to the poor.” The distraught man leaves Jesus behind because he just can’t give things up.

Ten years ago I was graduating from high school with absolutely no plans of living in the inner city, working with urban teens, or living in an intentional community. Now, these things have become the building blocks to who I am. My plans, the few that I had, were chicken scratched doodles on a piece of scrap paper, when all the while; God had perfectly painted plans on only the best of canvas. Although, if I had seen the painted plan ten years ago, I would have laughed at God and told him that there were things I was “just not ready to give up”. Thankfully, God is full of grace and patience and is willing to wait until we are ready to give things up.

This month, please pray for us as a house embarking on a new journey. Pray that we will be able to give up the things that are taking the space where God’s canvas belongs. That is our prayer for you, our youth, our neighbors, and our house.

Andra & The Jubilee House at South Atlanta

P.S. Thanks to all of you who have supported us financially and through prayers! We have had a strong start and plan to meet our goal of a raised $600/month. Again, for more information see www.fcsministries.org (we will soon be listed on the website) or write to us at atljubileehouse@gmail.com.

Donations can be made to The Jubilee House, FCS Ministries, #0112, 750 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30315.

Change chasing us into the New Year.

Friends! This was The Jubilee House Holiday Newsletter. We are posting it here for those of you who did not receive it for one reason or another. Happy New Year!!!

There are a lot of things that members of my house and I do that cause people to stare blankly at us and say things like, “you what?” We share a car. We ride the bus. We pay each others’ bills when and if necessary. We pray together in the mornings. We eat together in the evenings. We continue on with a shrug when our things are stolen. We believe that Jesus is bigger than what is on the streets of our neighborhood.

These things have paved the road that has led us to our newest, possibly dumbest, definitely scariest, “you what?” moment yet in The Jubilee House. Less roommates, a new house, different jobs, mounds of change, but one thing remains the same: our passion for the children in the neighborhood and our desire to do something for them.

So, the idea is simple. We pool all of our money together, do some fundraising, and create a full-time, South Atlanta Neighborhood Youth Minister position.

This is where even the house members stare blankly at each other and say, “This is exciting! But, should we actually do it?” We mull over it for quite a while. Pray. We second guess. Pray some more. Count our money. Pray some more. Count our lack of money. Pray some more. Watch the kids on the streets. Pray some more. See the dealers and prostitutes. Pray some more. Hear the statistics about young, black males from the inner city. Pray some more. Remember that Atlanta is one of the sex trade capitals of the world. Pray some more.

Then, we are reminded of Abraham climbing the mountain with his son, risking it all to follow God. Trusting that God is bigger than what Abraham can see. We pray some more and decide. A full time South Atlanta Youth Minister is going to be the newest piece to our house. Our newest, “you do what?” As a house, we have decided that [Andra] will be the one to fill the position, starting in January. Plans for an afterschool arts program, kids club, parent lunches, and a small Bible study group are already in the works.

This means we need YOU. We need your prayers, your love, and any financial gift you can offer. Our goal is to raise $600/month. Please prayerfully consider the option of donating $10/month, or a one-time gift of $120. We wish you a joyous holiday season and thank you for always being our extended family. If you would more information please visit the FCS website, www.fcsministries.org. Donations can be made payable to FCS, The Jubilee House, #0112, 750 Glenwood Ave, Atlanta, GA 30316.

Thank you always,
Love In Christ,
Andra, Mike, & Katie, The Jubilee House at South Atlanta

I recently saw the new Sandra Bullock movie, Blindside. For those of you who know me, know that I love going to the movies. I love the smell of popcorn and the big cushy seats. I love the laughter and sniffles of others in the audience. I love the two blissful hours of putting life on hold in order to be swept away by a story. These are things that make the $10 price tag worth while, at least once in a while.
As usual, I was as excited about these things as the hundreds of other times I have gone to the movies. It was a sure fire bet that I was going to like the movie (tear jerkers are my favorites) and it was the end to a particularly stressful week, so a movie is just what I needed. What I didn't know was how deeply affected I would be by such a simply told story.
It wasn't five minutes into the film when I noticed that there was footage from just a mile or so from my house. As the film progressed, more shots from my neighborhood. More realities of my life on the big screen in front of me. Granted, this was exciting, but as the story progressed, I began to think about the kids in my neighborhood.

The movie ended and I was in tears. When we got to the car, Katie was shocked to see that I was still in tears. What about the kids that aren't Mike Oher? The kids that permanently slip through the cracks? What if one of my kids slips through the cracks? We sighed, turned Christmas music on, and drove home.
The next morning I woke up thinking about Christmas and remembering the movie from the night before. An overwhelming sense of promise filled me. We are called to something more and I am determined to be part of it...determined to do something. This Christmas season let's be reminded that ultimately, Jesus has eternally filled in the cracks for us. And in gratitude, we determine ourselves to fill the cracks for others.

The first block on my street is always brimming with people. These neighbors of mine are on their porches morning, noon, and night. They are accompanied by at least half a dozen children under the age of five, who spend their time wandering the sidewalks in their diapers, chasing cars in the street, and pretending to shoot me as I drive by. Chills run down my back every time that little boy lifts his hand, points it at me like a gun, and pretends to pull the trigger.

The voices of our society run though my head, "Little punk." "Great another gang banger in the making." "That poor kid doesn't have a chance.", as I half wave at him.


Drowning in shame, the gentle whisper of Jesus pushes the lies away, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14) The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these: the little one with his gun shaped fist pointed at my head.

The hardness immediately melted away. A child, God's child, lives up the street from me, and the kingdom belongs to him. He points, he shoots, and I smile because I know God's got him.

" I am not my own,
For I have been made new
Please don't let me go,
I desperately need you"
~Meteor Shower, Owl City~

Lil updates are better than no updates.

Yes-the time is not long now. Dare to begin to be happy. If you will go forward in the way before you, you will soon receive the promise and I will give you your heart’s desire.
The Shepherd, Hinds’ Feet on High Places, Hannah Hurnard.

Blogging, as of late, has not been easy. Our house has been in a constant state of change the last few months. Less housemates, an unexpected move, the loss of a car, the gain of another car, new jobs, old jobs, huge bills, new ideas...the list goes on and on. Fortunately, change brings growth, and with growth, MORE CHANGE.

As a house, we have recently decided to take the plunge and pool all of our finances. This gives us a little bit of extra money to save for some ideas we have for our neighborhood.

We also have decided that as a house, we want to support a house member to be full time in the neighborhood. This will require the dreaded fundraising, grant writing, etc., but we are all passionate enough about it to make it seem worth it.

Lately the streets are just filled with children. Every day we watch them hang out on the corners with prostitutes, drug dealers, and pimps who want to prostitute them out. With an abandoned house every three blocks and a lack of anything to do. These kids are left to vandalize, steal, and run the streets. There has got to be something we can do.

So, in short, be on the look out for upcoming fundraising letters, pray for the children of our neighborhood, and pray for us.

In Christ,
Andra, Katie, & Mike

Matthew 10. “Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.”

Seasons Change...So Does Life.

Let me first start by apologizing for the length of time that has past since out last post. The end of summer not only brought school, fall weather, and pumpkin lattes, but was also accompanied by change and lots of it. This is my attempt to bring you up to speed without boring with you with an unnecessary novel.



Here we go:

The Jubilee House at Lakewood is now The Jubilee House at South Atlanta. We moved! The move itself was unexpected due to a rodent/flea infestation of our previous house. Three attempted houses later, God opened the door to a quaint house in South Atlanta. Thank you to all who provided us with a place to stay in the interim and with money/food to survive an surprise, very expensive situation.

Jubilee House Members:

Mike-
Community Grounds, Mike's baby, has moved to South Atlanta, as well as joined the non-profit Community Economic Development. Mike is currently trying to get the building ready for the next health inspection. He continues co-lead youth group with me, and had a great summer with summer camp.

Katie-
Last year Katie taught at Paladin, a new, Christian middle school in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, donations for Paladin were low and the school was unable to open this year. Katie is currently employed with Briggs, assisting special needs individuals with employment. This was Katie's first year as the academics teacher in summer camp. We look forward to seeing her next year.

Andra (me)-
I am persistently in between jobs (looking for the next best thing God has for me). Still barista-ing at Barnes & Noble part time, youth leading in the neighborhood, and babysitting in between. This was one of the best summers ever and I look forward to summer camp next year.

Zach-
Zach has left us to join the ranks of teacher-in-training, engaged man, and super coach. We are excited to see what else God has planned for Zach.

Antwain-
Antwain also left us in midst of the move. He still works at The Marketplace/Community Grounds with Mike and is taking classes to get his GED.

So, that's the "short" of it. Our new house is right in the thick of where our ministries happen and it is exciting. Please pray:
1) That we can continue to be a positive influence in the lives of those around us.
2) For our neighbor. Someone stole her purse, keys, and attempted to take her car right out of her driveway. She has 7 kids and lost her job a year ago. She not only needs some financial support, but peace that the person that stole her things will not steal her identity or come back and try to break into her house.

More to come...that stays the same.

Camp and then some.

"Miss Andra! Miss Andra! She's eating cheetos on the van!" "Miss Andra, he's crying in the back seat!" "Miss Andra! Turn up the radio!" "Miss Andra! I'm hot!" I take a closer listen to the song on the radio before turning it up. Nope, Lil Wayne doesn't get played on my van. I quickly turn the station, listen again, and turn it up, despite the groans of complaints coming from the 13 campers behind me. Ah, summer camp.

It's 95 degrees today, with what seems like 1000% humidity. My soaked tank top and slippery sunglasses are reminders of the heat. Overnight camp. Phew. Three days, two nights. Three 15 passenger vans, 1 mini-van, and a pickup truck full of coolers. Swimming, bunkbeds, bugs, basketball, crying 5 year olds, night chatter, talent show, devotionals, smores, and early morning trips for coffee. Little sleep. A lot of conversation. I pull the van up to the curb in front of the church. "Alright, everybody off. Grab a bag on your way out! See you all Monday!"

The air in the church is thick. The little window units are working overtime to keep up with the heat. The campers are gone. The counselors are gone. The halls are empty. I sit down on the steps to catch the greatness of the moment, of the summer, of my life. Moments from the week dance in and out of my thoughts. One in particular pushes the others away. A little girl, holding my hand, standing with me on the front steps to the church. She looks up at me, tells me that my skin is soft, and that she wishes she was white. I immediately well up. "No sweetie, God made you exactly how you are supposed to be. Wonderful, beautiful, and brown. Don't forget that." "Ok" she says.

The church doorbell rings. My roommates are here to pick me up. I grab my pillow and bag, and pull the church door closed. The words of the little girl echo through the halls. Utterly overwhelmed. Then I remember: "he won't disregard the small and the insignificant, but he'll steadily and firmly set things right. He won't tire out and quit. He won't be stopped until he's finished his work-to set things right down on earth." Isaiah 42:3-4 (The Message) and I look forward to Monday.


Andra Burns