Bullets Fly Close By

Bullets Fly Close By

By Kara Akins

There was a shooting in Emma Wheeler Homes tonight directly across from our afterschool program. The shooting was at 5:46 and our pre-schoolers are let out at 5:30, the rest of the children are let out at 6:00. Well, we were running late, thank goodness, and the pre-schoolers weren’t let out until around 5:55. My niece and daughter drove the pre-schoolers home and happened upon the scene of the shooting. The police were there but hadn’t even put up the yellow tape.  The victim survived… another blessing. The shooter got away.

And I am sad. I am sad that children played alongside the yellow tape right after the shooting as if nothing happened. It’s too normal to them. I am sad that the police didn’t notify us at the school about the shooting and we released children to walk home in the midst of a dangerous situation. I am sad that I didn’t cry. That no one cried at the thought of someone being shot. What is wrong with us?

Wouldn’t it be something if we, the church… the ones who believe people are made in the image of God, would respond to violence with the emotion and attention it deserves? Wouldn’t it be something if we can convey to this generation of youth the value of life by a display of appropriate emotion when life is violated?

After I drove away from the scene, regretting the lack of emotion I modeled before the children, I couldn’t help but envision what it would look like if the church responded to these shootings in mass number. What if we lined the streets of the projects to show sorrow, much like crowds lined Kensington Palace when Princess Diana passed away? What if the youth of the inner city saw people from all over Chattanooga come to cry over the spilt blood on their streets? What if genuine mourning over needless violence was modeled to our youth each time it happened? Would they begin to believe that life is valuable? Would the church begin to believe that if someone who was killed is valuable, then so is the child who still has breath in him or her? Would we all begin to wake up from our numbness? For we have fallen into a slumber. Our love has grown cold and the coldness has ushered us into a deep sleep.

Martin Luther King had a dream and I want to have a dream, too. But I wasn’t allowing myself to dream. I was stuck in rationalizing.  I reasoned I could help maybe ten or twenty children in the inner city to turn their lives around. Maybe. And even that number can change on a given day. Ha! But even if I helped a hundred children to turn their lives around that wouldn’t really be solving Chattanooga’s problems.

There is a verse that caught my attention. I have heard it before but I never needed it as desperately as I feel it is needed now… or I simply wasn’t aware of the need until now.

“If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

I can’t help but to ponder what a land that has been healed looks like. Healing in Emma Wheeler. Healing in Chattanooga. That’s what we need and it is refreshing to remember that God is able to do it. And the formula for healing has a lot to do with the church.

Maybe humbling ourselves is going down to the projects. Maybe it is weeping over those that are slain in our city. Maybe it is allowing the sorrow of what is taking place in our city to drive us to our knees as we cry out to God for mercy.

Maybe (the church) disengaging from our apathy is what turning from our wicked ways looks like. Maybe our apathy and living so much for our own comfort is revolting to God. Mordecai didn’t mince words when he told Esther,

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? (Esther 4:13&14)

According to Neighborhoodscoutreport.com, Chattanooga is ranked to have the 10^th most violent neighborhood in America. OCHS Center says Chattanooga ranks 11^th in the country for crimes, ahead of Detroit and Atlanta. Ironically, American Bible Society ranked Chattanooga third in the most Bible minded cites in America. Let’s face it, we aren’t being nearly as effective as that Bible statistic implies we are. There is a gap from what we (the church people) are learning and what we (the church people) are sowing. Because it’s not that the children in the inner city won’t go to church or Bible study. They will go. There just aren’t enough people who are willing to take them. Didn’t Jesus Himself say, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”. (Matthew 9:37) When you immerse yourself around the needy then you are able to compute how vast the need really is. That is when you find yourself praying for laborers and staying up until 3:30 in the morning writing a blog post about your longing for people to take action… even though it’s referencing a shooting that logically would keep people away. But I am hoping the opposite.  I am hoping that it will serve as a reminder that we need to draw near.

For I have a dream.

I have a dream that one day Chattanooga will be healed. I have a dream that the church will rise up for the distinct purpose of falling to our knees because we care so deeply over the condition of this place. I have a dream that violence won’t be ignored, but that it will be mourned. And I know that when we allow our hearts to break, God will show Himself near for He is always near the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18). Always.

Kara Akins married Mr. Jack Stephen Akins III at age 18.  She is now the mother of six children, ages 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.  Her "7th child" is her niece, Cecily, who also lives with the family.  She has one boy in the bunch who is spoiled rotten.  Along with being a mom, she is also a speaker for the Be Still, Get Real team.

They Keep Coming

"They Keep Coming" 

By Kara Akins

One of the greatest joys of WOW Kids is working with a variety of churches, organizations and volunteers. God has been faithful to keep a steady stream of people coming to the projects. It is nothing short of a miracle.

When we first began WOW Kids we knew our family alone couldn't feed and care for so many people. The first person I spoke to about church groups sending out crews from their own congregation told me that he doubted we could get one church to commit, much less several churches on a rotating basis. He could have been completely right. It's hard for someone with as little influence as I have to get anyone to do anything. But God. Only God has the ability to stir people's hearts. And He did!

God loves these children. He is father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5). If we are willing to be used to meet real needs in their lives, then He is willing to use us. Any of us. 

And the thing is the children recognize His love. The love that compels us to go to where these children are, is the very love they feel when we are near them.

I was with some boys from our after school program the other day. They were brothers. I knew the younger one but not the older one. While we were waiting to go on our field trip I was allowing them to play with my phone. I know some adults don't like to see children with cell phones but I don't mind IF they are willing to practice sharing and it's not during class time, etc. But any strife means I take the phone away until they fix the problem.

Strife happened so I reached to retrieve the phone. The boy who didn't know me had a very negative reaction. He didn't understand that all he had to do was muster up some self-control, say some right words and the phone would be returned. So he started throwing around a very bad attitude. 

But it was what his younger brother said that touched my heart and completely changed the entire situation.

"She's not mean. She's different. She really does loves us. All you have to do is the right thing. She'll help you. When you do the right thing you get the phone back," were his words.

But all I heard was, "She really does love us."

Oh, I would give hundreds of iPhones for them to know it. But it wasn't the phone that made him believe I loved him. It was the love that made me want to share my phone, share my food, share my smiles, share my Bible verses and whatever else I could. That's what love tends to do.

"For God so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3:16)

God has placed people on my path that share a love for these children. Like magnets we come together at the most unlikely places: Chick-fil-A, Walmart, Fall-festivals, schools, FaceBook, churches. And we begin to talk about the children in the projects and in unison our hearts burn to show them that love. 

Because "the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13)

With so much coming against these children, nothing less could ever do. Love, after all, is the only thing that never fails (1 Cor. 13:8). When so many things tend to fail isn't it nice to bring these children something that won't?

And do you know why love won't fail? Because God is love (1 John 4:8). Not our twisted version of love. He is the real thing. And kids discern the difference. 

Kara Akins married Mr. Jack Stephen Akins III at age 18.  She is now the mother of six children, ages 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.  Her "7th child" is her niece, Cecily, who also lives with the family.  She has one boy in the bunch who is spoiled rotten.  Along with being a mom, she also volunteers extensively with Young America Ministries and is a speaker for the Be Still, Get Real team.

A Generous Act

A Generous Act

By Kara Akins

Today at church I was sitting at a table with some inner city kids when a very elderly lady walked by.

One of the children remarked how old she was. When I looked up to see her my heart was taken. She had reached the age that standing up straight was not even an option. Each step she made was slow as she ebbed along with her walker. I marveled at the sight of her. To me she was so beautiful and represented a spectrum of life that we all face but rarely take the time to ponder.

I exclaimed to the children how much I loved this lady, a stranger, yet so familiar to me. I exhorted the children to love her as well. I wanted them to have the ability to recognize things that are clearly precious but so often wrongly overlooked.

I didn't realize the Lord was going to return the favor. God was planning that very day to use an elderly person to see something about the the inner city kids that many people overlook. That they, too, are precious

After church we took the children out to eat. There were 24 of us in our entire group. My husband, Jack, went to stand in line to place our order as the children and I pulled tables together so we would have a place to sit.

When Jack was in line an elderly man began to talk to him. The elderly man had seen us eating with our large group of children on another occasion. He let Jack know how wonderful he thought it was of us to minister to so many children. Jack even introduced the gentleman to me. To be honest I was surprised the gentleman could remember us.  He was very elderly, didn't seem to have good vision and we hadn't frequented that particular restaurant in weeks. His words were kind and I cherished what he said in my heart.

I went back to setting up tables and helping with drinks. As I did so the elderly man approached me again. 

"I want you to know that I really wish I could be doing the work you are doing with these children," he told me. "I really do wish I could. But the fact is I can't."

Then he placed something in my hand. I looked down and I saw what appeared to be a $10 bill. 

"I felt the Lord wanted me to give this to you," he shared.

I was again touched by his kindness.

"I will give this to my husband right now and he can use it to help pay for everyone's lunch. Thank you!" I exclaimed as I gave him a hug.

When I went to hand it to my husband I realized it was $100 bill, not $10.

WOW! 

I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that the Lord provided not only lunch for our crew of children, but that he also was providing for the desire of this man's heart. He allowed him to do exactly what he had seen us doing. Nothing complex. We just feed them. And we love them. And we see them for what they are: precious.

"But blessed are your eyes, for they see..." Matthew 13:16

Kara Akins married Mr. Jack Stephen Akins III at age 18.  She is now the mother of six children, ages 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.  Her "7th child" is her niece, Cecily, who also lives with the family.  She has one boy in the bunch who is spoiled rotten.  Along with being a mom, she also volunteers extensively with Young America Ministries and is a speaker for the Be Still, Get Real team.

Crazy Horse: A Homeless Man

Taking a picture with Crazy Horse!  He's holding the poster.

Paris, my eldest daughter, asked me to write a post for the WOW Kids blog.

My pleasure. 

It's nice to stop every once and awhile and record some thoughts.So here are a couple things on my mind:

Last weekend we picked up a couple kids from Emma Wheeler and took them downtown for ice cream and a walk on the Walnut Street Bridge. As we were walking across the bridge Terrance shared with me that he and his mother ran into Crazy Horse one day while they were downtown. When Terrence saw him he told Crazy Horse hello.

Who is Crazy Horse?

That's exactly what Terrance's mother asked him.

"Who is that, Terrance?"

"He's a homeless man, " was his reply.

"How do you know him?" his mother asked.

"He's a friend of Ms. Akins."

Terrance told me that when he told her he was a friend of Paris' (kids call her Ms. Akins), she went over to Crazy Horse and gave him $10.

"And I didn't even know she would ever do anything like that!" he exclaimed.

I just love it that Terrance's mother showed love for someone that we love simply because she knows we love them. It makes me feel like we are truly a community, players who are all playing for the same team. A heart warmer, for sure.

The other thing I can't seem to get out of my mind is the gang violence Chattanooga is being infiltrated with. This is the thing that bothers me the most: We are the buckle of the Bible belt. Our statement of faith and our actions have not been lining up. We talk more than we walk. Too many kids right in our own back yards are what the Bible describes as "sheep without a shepherd", falling prey to whoever will take them in. 

That calls for compassion. It calls for action. It calls for the type of faith that goes beyond lip service to community service.

I am not trying to bash anyone here. Our family has just begun to get involved in inner city outreach to combat some of these problems. The thing is we, like many of you, always had a heart to do something but we simply didn't know what to do.

I will share with you something I have learned and I will offer it up as a challenge before you: Not one child that we have invited to church or anywhere else has ever told us no. They are willing to go. The question is are we willing to take them?

Kara Akins married Mr. Jack Stephen Akins III at age 18.  She is now the mother of six children, ages 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.  Her "7th child" is her niece, Cecily, who also lives with the family.  She has one boy in the bunch who is spoiled rotten.  Along with being a mom, she also volunteers extensively with Young America Ministries and is a speaker for the Be Still, Get Real team.

Attacked By Carrots!

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(Terrance with Jarvis' brothers and Paris)

A few Sunday's ago we had a rough day with some of the children we had brought to church. One boy ran away and several others were acting defiant. For the first time that I can remember we had to take some of the boys home instead of out to lunch with us. We take our outings seriously. We have got to know that they will act in a worthy manner.

Later that evening my oldest daughter, Paris, and I decided to go visit the boys that weren't able to go to lunch with us. We didn't want things to end on a bad note. We wanted them to know that discipline and love belong together. We wanted to affirm our love for them and give them the gift of restoration.

We turned into the projects and I was about to turn down the street one of the boys lived on when Paris asked if we could drive to the recreation center to pray before we got the boys. The recreation center. The place we were to start our own children's church to over 100 children in a matter of weeks.

"Mom, we had such a tough day today. I just want to take a moment and pray," were her words.

Brilliant. Prayer is exactly what we needed.

We just didn't know how much we needed it.

We arrived at the recreation center to find the two boys we were going to go visit were there with about ten other boys (ages 8-11). The government runs a feeding program in the summer while the children are out of school and not accessible to food on a daily basis. They were finishing up some carrots.

The two boys who knew us leaped with joy when they saw us. When we got out of the car they ran into our arms. They knew we loved them.

I told them to get in our car so we could go ask their parents if we could take them on a special outing. We were wanting to spend some quality time with them and talk. We are very close to these boys, having spent most of every Saturday and/or Sunday with these boys for the last eight months.

As we all began to climb into our car their crowd of friends became insanely jealous. Some of them began punching the boys through an open window. I got back out of the car to put a stop to it. As I got out of the car several children rushed past me to climb into the car through the drivers seat. The ones that weren't punching were hitting every button they could get their fingers on. They opened the trunk. They opened the hood of the car and they rolled up a carrot in the window.

Paris and I were in over our heads it seemed. They were little but they were strong and utterly persistent in their little rebellion. We were trying to pull kids out of the car when they began pummeling us with carrots. We were under attack. And the only thing I could think was, "if we can't handle ten kids, how are we ever going to manage 100?"

When I got the last kid out of the car, I noticed the threats he and another boy were making to the two boys we picked up.

S.O.S.

The boys declared an S.O.S. would be enacted against our two little friends.

"I'm going home to tell my older brother right now," he yelled.

As I began to drive away the two boys were in a full panic. Come to find out S.O.S. means "smash on site". The boys who made the threat had older brothers who were leaders in gangs.

Somehow our good effort to help these boys turned into their lives being threatened. Seeing how the boys were attacked in front of our very eyes, left me no doubt they were were in danger.

When I pulled out onto the street a boy threw a rock at our car. It hit the mirror and left a nick. 

If there is one thing I know you have to have with these kids, it is respect. I knew it was time to retrieve some. I threw the car in park and got right back out of my car while it was in the middle of the road. I turned toward the kid who threw the rock, the same one who threatened the S.O.S., and pointed my finger directly at him.

"I'm going to go see your mother! She is going to hear about this." I declared fearlessly. Never mind I didn't know who or where his mother is.  

That eleven year old boy came back at me fierce. He didn't say a word. He just started coming my way with stomps that should have shaken the core of the earth. He pulled off his shirt in heated rage as he made his way over. Let me remark that he had lots of muscles. Very cut. I decided to hold my ground.

As he made his way over I noticed people had come out onto their porches to witness all the commotion. 

"Do you know who his mother is?" I asked them from the middle of the road.

"I sure do!" was one woman's reply. His uncle is right over there and I'm going to get him now. I've been watching this whole time. I saw what they did to your car." 

She then let the boy have it from about a quarter block away, "I've been watching you and I'm going to tell your momma what you did to this lady!" she yelled with sobering sincerity that immediately deflated the boys rage.

We were saved.

I got back into the car to find two boys scared to tears. Literally. It was the S.O.S. Getting his mom involved made it worse. They felt doomed. And I felt responsible.

We went to see the mothers of the boys we came to pick up. We asked if we could take their boys out for some ice cream at McDonald's. They agreed to let them go. 

I was driving down the street when I saw one of the ring leaders walking down the sidewalk by himself. It wasn't the boy who pulled off his shirt. It was the other one. 

"Let's ask him to go with us to McDonald's," I suggested. Their dreadful response made it look like they were going to wet their pants. 

"No," they began to plead but it was too late. I had already made up my mind.

"Boys, scoot over. I'm going to get you out of the S.O.S.," I assured them as I rolled down the window.

"Hey, want to go with us to McDonald's?" I asked as if no conflict had ever existed between all parties present.

"Sure," he said and he got into the car.

"Where do you live? I need to ask your parents if you can go."

He showed me where he lived and his dad came out. His dad looked the part of what anyone would guess a gangster to look like. Not to stereotype, but everything at that moment had gang written on it to me. 

I asked his dad if I could take his son to McDonald's and then I asked him if he would be willing to help volunteer at the outreach we would be doing in his neighborhood. I knew the kids would respect him. They crave attention from dads. He agreed to both. I got his phone number and we took off.

I used our time driving to make friends with the boy who moments before had been causing so much trouble. Now he was acting like the son of Bill Cosby himself. I introduced myself and apologized that I couldn't take all the kids who were wanting to go with us. He apologized to me for being rude and told the boys he would cancel the S.O.S.

"It doesn't matter because (the other boy) still has one on us," they moaned.

"Well, how about we get him a milkshake and make a little visit?" I wasn't about to give up. I really didn't feel like I could.

The other boy told me he would help us. And that is exactly what we did.

I pulled up to his house with a milkshake. Incredibly, he was outside with his mother. I walked up to him to give him the milkshake. I couldn't help but throw in a hug as well.

"Sorry, I couldn't take all the kids. I didn't have enough room and I didn't know any of you. My name is Ms. Kara."

He was soft as could be at this point, away from the crowd. I introduced myself to his mother and told her what strong leadership skills her son has. I told her that if he could use those skills to do what's right then he could help a lot of people.

She agreed with me and wished out loud he didn't cause so much trouble. I told her about the outreach we would be starting. I told her, in front of him, that I could use his help if he was willing to help me.

He said he was willing. Lord knows I would rather he be for me than against me.

And peace was made. Another S.O.S. canceled.

And two little boys were once again safe.

And Paris and I learned that we do, indeed, need prayer. Lots and lots of it. Because we are in over our heads. But it feels so right to pull people towards the light.

"I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God, so that they may recieve forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified through faith in me." Acts 26:17&18

"For He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son." Colossians 1:13

When we pulled into our driveway we realized we needed to clean out the car. It was full of carrots. 

Kara Akins married Mr. Jack Stephen Akins III at age 18.  She is now the mother of six children, ages 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.  Her "7th child" is her niece, Cecily, who also lives with the family.  She has one boy in the bunch who is spoiler rotten.  Along with being a mom, she also volunteers extensively with Young America Ministries and is a speaker for the Be Still, Get Real team.