March 24 Email Update

A lot has happened since the last update we sent. I have been given greater responsibility and trust on the coaching staff, and my relationship with the players is growing as well. I'll use a list form to give you a few details:

• I'm still only going to after-school workouts, but now I take a group of athletes and train them on my own after our weight workout
• We are going to start taking guys out to eat on Fridays after they work out...This Friday will be the first time we go, and I'm anxious to see if Golden Corral is going to allow us to come back next week!
• I always give guys rides home from practice, and it's a great time for conversation
• Kristin made her first big sale yesterday, and we're hoping that her business will grow as our network of relationships grows.
• She also has just recovered from foot surgery, and expects to begin volunteering some at the high school next week.

That's the positive news. On the more sobering end of things, we've had three shootings in the last week. This isn't abnormal, as violence increases with temperature in our area. One of the shootings was at an intersection I pass by twice each day--a sobering reminder that our earthly lives are temporal, and we ought to be about what truly matters. I tell you this to ask you to pray that this trend doesn't continue. One of the victims was one of our seniors who had signed with the University of Illinois to play football. We think he'll have surgery and recover enough to play, but this is just such a picture of what these kids face every day--and the "matter-of-factness" with which they talk about these incidents is even more indicative of the obstacles they face in East St. Louis. Please pray with us that this does not continue to be the norm.