Week #5

Jeff Riddle ~ FLIGHT CAMP ~ July 7 -11

OBAP ACE Academy
(Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals - Aviation Career Education)

Michael Alexander (neighbor/friend to Jarq) participated in the ACE Academy camp last summer and gave it rave reviews. Michael’s relationship with Jarquavious is very much like a leader or a shepherd. Jarq listens to Mike, so naturally Jarq’s interests reflect Mike’s.

For whatever reason on Sunday, Alvin refused to go to the orientation for the ACE Academy. When we originally had filled out the application for camp, Alvin was very unsure of himself and said he was scared by heights and flying. John challenged him to not be ruled by fear and face it. Alvin came around to being okay with it until it came time to go and wouldn’t be convinced by me. So Alvin spent the week around Mike’s house playing video games.

Meanwhile, Jarquavious had the experience of a lifetime!

The program has a big partnership with FedEx, so they were around their facilities throughout the week. They learned many basics with aviation, trained with a flight simulator, toured the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, flew rockets, and JARQ LITERALLY GOT TO FLY A PLANE!

Jarq spoke about his experience in the plane and he was cracking me up!

"As you went higher into the sky, the trees started looking like broccoli."

The pilot let the guys touch the clouds. What an opportunity!

I was very excited to get to pick him up each day from Wooddale High School and have twenty minutes to hear about his day. Due to my commitments with SOS, I arranged for friends to take him to camp in the mornings. After the first day, Jarq said that the leaders got onto everybody about a dress code. They needed to wear nice pants (no blue jeans or shorts). Due to the fire at Jarq’s house that happened three weeks prior, he did not have adequate pants. I took Jarq to Plato’s Closet Monday evening. We bought a button up shirt, dress pants, and a nice belt. 

Tuesday when I picked him up he was dressed up in the finds that he had made at Plato’s Closet the evening prior. He spoke about how dressing up and looking nice boosted his confidence! "When I was dressed up, I had confidence to speak up and answer questions.” One of the instructors said that based on his appearance, he would offer Jarquavious a job if he came asking for one. Jarq wanted to go back to Plato’s on Tuesday afternoon to use some of the money he earned to make some more clothing purchases. He called Plato’s his favorite store and wants to back to find some more deals so he can look sharp.

Some troublesome comments that I heard from Jarq this week were very hard to hear. As I took Jarq to orientation on Sunday, he said he hoped to not be spending the week with “black people.” I was shocked at this comment and confused. After telling him that the Academy was through the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, I asked him to explain himself. Based on that conversation and others throughout the week, I believe he generally associates positive things with white people and negative things with black people. He said that he “loves discipline” and in his neighborhood that is predominantly African American, he sees a lack of discipline. I rebuked Jarq to say that white people do not have life figured out by any means and have plenty of faults. I was very troubled by this limited perception that Jarq currently has.

I want to Jarq to spend meaningful time with African American Christian men. I want him to see himself as a leader for one day leading a family. I want him to be passionately pursuing Christ so that other guys in his neighborhood may come to know the Lord and not have a perception that white people are put together or that black people generally lack discipline. God’s lined up Week Seven of this summer for both Jarquavious and Alvin to spend the week with Shun Abram’s family and the other staff from Binghampton Community Church. I pray that God will use shun to minister to these guys and that they can see his roles as provider, father, pastor, and teacher.

A really cool moment from the past week was seeing Jarq’s mother Robbee and younger brother LaDarius listening to Jarq talk about his experience flying and his visit to the space center. There was joy and laughter. These were things I haven’t seen lately amidst Robbee’s search for some permanent housing for the family after the house fire. Robbee is 7 months pregnant now and unemployed with four children. Pray that God opens doors for provision for the family.