Ogden

Ogden, KS.

Population: Around 2,000.

People below thePoverty Level: Around 23%, about double the state average.

There is need in Ogden. Lots of it.

I am growing to love Ogden. God is putting a passion for it in my heart - for its people. Especially for its children. Some of them don't really have a chance. The odds are stacked against them. Their parents are drug and alcohol users and abusers. Or just unemployed and uneducated and doing their best to put food on the table. They've been shuffled around the state and country so that when they wind up [back] in Ogden for 5th grade, they've already gone to 5 0r 6 different schools.
They are starved for attention. After I've talked with them once, maybe twice, they cling to me, they hang on me, they hug me, they hold my hand - they tell me that I'm their best friend. Sometimes I can't even remember their names - but they always remember my name. They light up when I smile at them. They burst with pride if I compliment them on a job well done.

Jesus loves Ogden. I know He does. He loves the children and he loves the parents - the parents that I have a hard time not judging. They have a story. Somehow along the way in their story, they've gotten to the point where they neglect their children or develop a drug or alcohol addiction. I don't know their stories. I can't judge them. I need to love them, like Jesus loves them.

I'm trying to figure out what God wants me to do next in Ogden. How do I get people excited about it? How do I make people understand that by going and hanging out with the kids they're bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth? How do I help cultivate fertile soil in the heart's of the people I interact with? Am I supposed to move to Ogden? Does God want me to stay in Manhattan/Ogden after graduation? Will my work there be finished in May or does He have something more in store for me? These are my questions. I have faith that He will make the way clear. In the mean time, I'm just doing my best to obey and to love.