Upward Basketball Ends With a Bang!

This past Sunday, we finished up our Upward basketball seasons with a fun and entertaining end of the season party. The afternoon started off with each of the eight teams getting to play their parents. This was quite the hoot as most of the adults had no idea how to play basketball. But what they lacked in skill they more than made up for in their competitiveness. Erin put her artistic skills to work as the official facepainter for the afternoon. After the games, we had pizza and pop, which was then followed by a short program. Each of us coaches were able to publicly praise our players in front of their parents, a basketball entertainer performed some amazing tricks, and a short presentation of the Gospel was given. It was a fine day and was enjoyed by parents and players alike.

It really was an amazing privilege for us to work with these basketball leagues. Youth sports in this rough neighborhood are a necessity to the growth and development of these kids. They need activities that keep them involved and working towards something bigger than themselves. I have definitely been impressed with how important these programs are and how cool it is to do it all with the backdrop of Christianity.

A few other notes this week:
- We had a All-Worship night at youth group last Friday and it was received well. This Friday, we will be having an outreach emphasis as we will be having a St. Patty's Day party.
- Erin's dad is back over on business for a week, starting today. We are looking forward to some time with him and will be taking in some of the many festivities surrounding St. Patrick's Day this Saturday.

With love,

Tyler and Erin