A very exciting month already

November has been a full month for UHA, and quite encouraging as well.

In the last 2 weeks, we've had some very positive and helpful meetings with the Presidents of both Chattanooga Christian School and Covenant College; and we made some deeper connections with members and leaders from Church of the First Born, First Presbyterian, and Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Churches. We had a site visit at another very strong possible location that would be a partnership with a church-run day care. We are even making progress on reaching out to some potential board members who have been invited to come "check us out" over the next 2-3 meetings to see if we might be a good match for each other.

Praise God! He seems to be giving us confirmation that taking the time to lay a solid foundation and build a network of local support is the right thing for us to be doing at this time. Your prayers are powerful and tangible - please keep sending them up on our behalf!

Thoughts on our "first trimester"

If UHA is being "birthed" this year, then we can consider that these first 4 months since I was hired in July as the first trimester.

I don't mean to be over-sentimental here, but I don't think it a coincidence that God has simultaneously entrusted me with the safeguarding of two small but growing organisms. Hence, I can't help but see the resemblances and think of these two "babies" very similarly.

During Urban Hope's first trimester, much has been going on, though it's not always been very apparent from the outside. There has been great excitement - mixed with an occasional dose of fear. There are sleepless nights filled with questions of what the child will be like and visions of my hopes for her. I pray for God to send just the right people into her life. There is more advice and great suggestions than I can ever hope to follow. There is a sense of joy as well as inadequacy thinking of the task ahead. And, I must say, I am definitely being stretched.

But I'm just the "mom." Fortunately, there is an ever-growing family to support and help me with the development of Urban Hope Academy:

-Jim Drexler is the chairman-turned-president of the volunteer committee who'd been pondering over the possibility of starting a school for 3 years started to make the transition to board members governing a non-profit entity.

-Todd McCain is the attorney who's volunteered numerous hours since January to help us file our non-profit status request. And who provided ongoing support with the IRS follow-up questions and requests for more information.

-Larry Kooi is the Christian Schools International consultant and long-time Christian school administrator who in his semi-retirement has spent hundreds of hours helping me develop materials and meet with potential partners.

-Bruce Young & McKenzie Peck are very busy educators at two ends of the Christian education spectrum (pre-school and college) who serve on the board and provide support where needed.

-Greg Bagby, Juana Roberts, Becky Ingram & Giselle Palmer are public school educators who've seen the need for this type of high-quality faith-based education to serve more students in a cross-cultural setting.

-Maggie Rose is the professional business and marketing strategist that has helped us begin to grasp the big picture and get our message out in the community at large.

-Joe Jackson and the Olivet Baptist Church have shown remarkable generosity and interest in partnering with UHA at a substantial level.

-Love Fellowship Baptist, Covenant Presbyterian, and Temple of Faith COGIC Churches are others who are prayerfully considering becoming financial partners with UHA as they prepare their 2010 budgets.

And I could go on about the parents, donors, in-kind contributors, concerned church members, and encouragers. Hopefully, you are also part of this team joining us in prayer to Our Heavenly Father to provide all the components we need for the healthy development of HIS child, Urban Hope Academy.