September 1st is approaching

On September 1st the application for MTR opens :) Lets just say that I am excited. God has put a few people in my life that are in this program and have been a great resource to me. Whenever I think about Memphis I visualize change. I have never even been there- but I have heard a lot of things about it. I have heard it is ghetto, all African Americans poor, hot, that I would stick out like a sore thumb and that I would scream "California." None of those things sound super appealing yet it is still a city that God has asked me to pray for. The other day I was telling someone that the thought of going to Memphis would be me completely outside of my comfort zone and someone I didn't even know was listening chimed in and said "Our life is not suppose to be about comfort!"It was simple, yet so true. Sometimes I find people saying "Well we will see what God wants... He will figure it out." I think we often forget that we can seek, pray, and ask for God's direction throughout the process and we do not have to wait until the end result. Things happen in steps. It is all about being obedient in the small things. That is what I am doing just with applying. 


Here is the website to check out: http://www.memphistr.org/


(Here is a sneak peak from the website)

Nationally,

• Fourth graders growing up in low-income communities are already three grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities.
• Only 7% of low-income 8th grade students complete a bachelor's degree within 12 years.
• About 50% of them won’t graduate from high school by the time they are 18 years old.
• By twelfth grade, African Americans are typically four years behind their more affluent peers.  These students are finishing High School with a Junior High education.
• Those who do not graduate from high school will earn approximately $17,000 annually, and those who only graduate from high school but do not attend college will earn only $20,000 annually – both below the national poverty level. 
• The resulting social chaos from a lifetime of such low earnings potential is extreme.Only 1 in 10 will graduate from college.

In Memphis,

• 97% of African-American children attend public schools.  49% of white children attend public schools.
• More than half of all children living in Memphis live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty (as defined by neighborhoods in which at least 20% of households live beneath the poverty level).
• Half of children living in high poverty neighborhoods change schools at least once per year.  Changing schools is associated with academic under-performance.
• Approximately 5,000 young men and women turn 19 every year in Memphis without a High School diploma. Shelby County residents who work without a High School diploma earn, on average, $17,000 annually.  College graduates earn $44,700 annually.

It doesn't have to be this way.  These statistics can change.