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Word on the Street

01 Feb

Three years ago, I met Daquan (not his real name) at the park. A friend and I were teaching basketball skills and running drills. I invited him and his best friend to join us. My immediate impression was that Daquan was shy but also very attentive. He became a member of our Walltown Wildcats basketball team, but usually stayed off to the side and didn’t fully participate. Yet he would spend hours at the park practicing the drills alone. His natural quickness and agility has made him the best player in his elementary school and in the neighborhood. Basketball is Daquan’s passion. Unfortunately, school is not. Last spring, I approached Daquan’s 5th grade teacher for a recommendation to register him and his friend in Student U – a summer academic program designed to prepare them for middle school.

Daquan’s teacher was very happy about the support they might get through Student U and this is what she wrote:

“When Daquan joined my class last fall he was the classic bad boy. He came with a notorious reputation. At first, he was sullen and refused to participate in any group activities. But I could tell he had that spark; he was all there. I know as a teacher that I try to treat all students alike, but we have our favorites. Daquan is one of my two favorites in this class. He really made a turn-around this year. He now participates and helps. He can still be quickly triggered into his detached tough-guy posture but he is different now. He told me, ‘I want to get smart because I want to play basketball in high school.’ He is still very fragile and without continual support he can easily become another lost soul who just hangs out at the park and does nothing.”

I’ve been mentoring Daquan and his friend every Monday for the past year. That means we eat fast food and typically talk basketball. Occasionally, the conversation goes deeper but those vulnerable moments are rare. We do, however, read a couple of verses of Scripture each time we are together, believing that sowing seed will eventually bear fruit.

My wife, Page, and I are not in this effort alone. The youth in Walltown don’t just hang out on our front porch. We have guy’s house on the next block where Dan and Louis live and a girls house one street in the opposite direction where Susan, Gerri and Emily live. Plus there is Bahari and Mamie’s house, as well as Jonathan and Leah’s house. Daquan and his friend, as well as dozens of other boys and girls, make the rounds among our houses to hang out, talk, eat, do homework and Bible study. It is a team effort.

To read more about the Urban Hope – visit www.urbanhope.us
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