Summer Blog Series

Please follow this link to our new blog site, featured on www.fortressydc.org. Student bloggers will be giving regular updates on their experience working at Fortress this summer. Follow along, and leave comments to encourage our awesome teams of volunteers!

Thanks, and happy summer!

A thankful staff

At a recent staff meeting, Michael asked us to share praises and things for which we’re thankful. Everyone enjoyed and appreciated the positivity of the exercise.

Please join us as we thank God for His faithfulness, His goodness, and His presence here at Fortress YDC.

Michael
-thankful for this group of employees and what we do here, for our passion, and that each of us see this as more than “a job”. For Cara, who puts up with a lot, especially his weird work hours
Stacy
-thankful for Sunday’s worship experience at Mid-Cities, that God was so powerfully present. For Sunday JAM, that the kids were amazingly cooperative and attentive. That Dani’s college decision is final, and that she’s accepted a job at Camp of the Hills. For Darren and his consistent support and encouragement.
Ms. D
-thankful for being able to come here each day and not sit at home feeling sorry for herself like so many people with her condition tend to do. Being able to communicate easily with people she cares about.
Jessie
-thankful for the staff here, and the service, love and humility shown to the kids and to each other. For Michael, who has led such encouraging staff meetings for the past several weeks.
That God brought her to such a great season of her life. She came to Fort Worth to teach, but God had other things in mind….For the family she found at Richland Hills and that there are so many like-minded, God-loving singles there.
Ramon
-thankful for the accountability we have with each other here, and that when something isn’t right, we get it out in the open and then let it go, not dragging it back up over and over. That Cecily loves Fortress and is as excited about ministering here as he is.
Robert
-thankful for the ability to do what he does here, and knowing that it’s gonna pay off at some point. That God continues to provide and sustain financially. “He gives you what you want whether you realize it or not.” For the way the staff works together, even though we have such different personalities. That Janell and baby boy are healthy and that the pregnancy is going so well this time.
Kristen
-thankful for her singleness. “The reason I’m not married is because God thinks I’m more beneficial to the Kingdom right now as a single person.” For friends who are so supportive of the ministry here, that they participate as mentors and tutors and volunteers, even those who live an hour away. For opportunities to learn.
Terri
-thankful for family. That she and Jeff are weathering the financial crunch so well – his job as a consultant could’ve gone either way. That God’s vision for Building Blocks was so much bigger and broader than her own, and that He’s doing such great things through it.

you found me

I'd heard this song before, but until Monday, I'd never paid much attention to the lyrics. Somehow, the first words caught my attention that day, and I found myself listening, intrigued, hanging on every word as I drove Dani to work.

I found God On the corner of First and Amistad
Where the west Was all but won
All alone Smoking his last cigarette
I said, Where you been? He said, Ask anything.

In my mind, I pictured the Marlboro man, silhouetted as he leaned with his back against a light pole, cigarette dangling between two fingers, his chin low, almost touching his chest. He looked out the top of his eyes, his focus grazing the brim of his traveled hat, as a young man made known his questions.

Where were you When everything was falling apart?
All my days Were spent by the telephone
That never rang And all I needed was a call
It never came To the corner of First and Amistad.

I've been there... waiting for the rescue, for the answer, and wondering why it never came.

[Chorus]
Lost and insecure You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait? Where were you, where were you?
Just a little late You found me, You found me

At this point, I started anticipating the lesson, the answer to the questions, the resolution.

In the end Everyone ends up alone
Losing her The only one who’s ever known
Who I am Who I’m not, and who I want to be
No way to know How long she will be next to me

[Chorus]

Early morning The city breaks
I’ve been calling For years and years and years and years
And you never left me no messages
You never sent me no letters
You got some kind of nerve Taking all I want

I love this verse, especially the last 10 words.
I love that God allows us to rant and rave and demand answers and to wag our finger in the air and tell him He's got some kind of nerve. I love that He's big enough to take it, and real enough to understand my need for it, and gracious enough to love me through it. As the song continued, just like in real life, I grew impatient for the reasoning, the answer, the resolution. I was sure it was coming in the next verse.

Lost and insecure You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor Where were you, where were you?
Lost and insecure You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait? Where were you, where were you?
Just a little late You found me, You found me
Why’d you have to wait To find me, to find me?

It didn't come; the song ended with the same questions. For a half a second, I was annoyed that the lyricist didn't wrap the story up with a neat little bow and call it a day. But as soon as that fleeting emotion died, I celebrated that it was left open-ended. It makes the song so much more meaningful.

And isn't that the way it is in life anyway? Do we ever really know WHY God does what He does? Is it ever our RIGHT to know? Job never knew. He suffered for reasons that he NEVER had a clue about. I'm sure he asked the same questions.

In the end, "You found me."
That's all that really matters, isn't it?
That IS the resolution. The reasoning is irrelevant.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11

My First Month at Fortress

by Jessie Sorenson

Well, here I am, sitting at my desk in the Fortress Literacy Lab, with a month of the Fortress routine under my belt, feeling this odd mixture of the comfort of home and the realization that I still have so much to learn.

I have learned a great deal about the children during this month, but only enough to realize how much I have yet to learn. I am a recent college graduate, having majored in everything from English to Music to Physical Therapy: they call me the professional student where I’m from. With that in mind, you’d think I would have figured a few things out by now, but God keeps surprising me with just how small I am and how limited my perspective is in the grand scheme of things.

I am so thankful for this experience because it has opened my eyes yet again to the great rich diversity of God’s creation. Each of us has experiences in life that shape and mold us, form our perspectives and the lenses with which we view the world. These children have enriched my life in such a way that I feel like my lenses are expanding. They are opening my eyes to an entirely different culture and flavor of life. Their dancing, singing, rapping, laughing, and storytelling give me joy and fill me with an overwhelming sense of God’s goodness.

I thought I was taking this job so that I could impact them, teach them, and show them God’s love (and yes, I still pray that God is using me in that way), but the most astonishing reality is that the very thing I thought I was to bring into their lives, they are bringing into mine. While we don’t always share the same musical taste (I’m working on my appreciation for Lil’ Wayne), we do share the same Lord, and His love is the force that transcends every single cultural, racial, or even personality difference. Our differences only illuminate the power of God’s love working in and through us, creating a unity in spirit that can only be possible because our Creator has made it so.

Jessie is Fortress YDC's newest employee. She facilitates the Literacy Lab with an enviable mix of fortitude, authority and grace. The infectious, euphonious laugh you hear in the Fortress building? That belongs to Jessie. The hearts of both the rowdiest and sweetest kids on our roster? They belong to her, too. :)

Prayer Requests, week of 2-02-09

1. Continue to pray for Robert's sister is dealing with pregnancy complications
2. Continue to pray for Robert and Janell, for an easy pregnancy and healthy baby
3. Cessilye's aunt is in hospital and might need surgery
4. PRAISE report! On Sunday, Cessilye danced for the first time since injuring her leg almost 4 months ago. It went well.
5. Kristen's mom is getting her boot removed tomorrow.
6. Kristen's brother-in-law Tedashii is completing his 2nd CD and doing a lot of traveling/driving
7. Jessie is looking for an add'l part-time job to make ends meet
8. Ramon prays for our beautiful, loveable, sometimes mischievous, wonderful kids, that we love them and that they love one another.

A Day Not Soon Forgotten

written by Dr. Kristen Guillory
Director of Programs




Barack Obama became our first African American president on Jan 20, 2009. It was a day I will never forget.

As I watched the inauguration, I teared up quite a bit. They were tears of joy, as I didn’t think I would see this day so soon, with African Americans not having the same rights as others just 44 years ago.

As I teared up, I thought about my relatives and ancestors and about the youth we serve at Fortress YDC. Being raised in "the 'hood" by a single parent is a formula, to some, for failure. But on Tuesday, our students saw someone who grew up somewhat like them become president.

This election was also different in that even 5 year olds were interested and knew the names of the candidates. Many days when I would pick up the students from school, they would talk about Obama and McCain. I am somewhat embarrassed to say that I did not get remotely interested in an election until I was about 18 or 19. On Inauguration Day, the students got into the van elated, saying, “Barack Obama is President!!! And we watched the Inauguration.” The students felt a sense of pride.

Each day upon arrival, our students have to do "the Fortress Welcome", which includes stating their name, age, and what they want to do when they grow up. Last Tuesday, they all said that they wanted to be president! I was in awe of our 6, 7, and 8 years olds being this excited. Markel, one of our 3rd graders, is his 3rd Grade Class President and one day said to me, “Call me President Obama,”. I replied, "No, you are President Milstead.” Who knows, in just 40 years, he might be the president of our country.

Whatever the students want to do, they are excited about the future. So it is my duty and the duty of all adults to not only pray for President Obama, but for our youth.

photo: Johnnia Milstead with her brother, President Markel Milstead

Prayer Requests, week of 1-12-09

• Praise God for the new volunteers who contacted us this week looking for service opportunities.
• Ms. D prays for Nookie, whose family is still mourning the loss of their grandfather.
• Ms. D prays for the family of Mrs. Washington, who died Saturday. The family will be going through lots of changes.
• Ms. D’s cousin was found dead on Saturday. They think it was a heart attack.
• Staff prays for Kristen’s speedy recovery.
• Ms. D’s daughter is seeking employment.
• Regular monthly funds are slow this month. Praise God for continually providing for Fortress’ needs, and ask that He see us through this slow season.