Matthew "Israel" Brown

"Tears of a Child"

In heaven there's an ocean
it's made from the tears of a child
all around the ocean
trees, flowers, beautiful things
they grow wild 
reflected in the waters are over a million faces
timeless, priceless from over a million places
traces of their stories
they wash upon the shore
each and every story its been heard of,
a million times before
more and more. The tears they fill the waters
and the waters they run so deep
they're tender, they're gentle
they're lost, tossed, frightened sheep
tears of a child, salty yet oh so sweet
flooding the city streets
as we just turn off our lights and go to sleep
there's no one there to keep them from drowning
no one to keep them afloat
as we all go down, down, down
in a broken stinking, sinking boat
they're lost in a wilderness of endless sin
destined to suffer a tragic end
without a helping hand, without a loving friend
tears of a child
they drip on broken pavement
crumbling concrete walks
as one by one they come undone
and get erased like colored chalk
we talk that talk and say we care
but they're dying everyday 
and nobody's there
they sell their bodies, steal and get high
all in desperation just getting by
we put on our Sunday best
smile and  pay our tithes
then go about our day to day
ignoring all our cries
we go on with our weeks 
oblivious to their plight
as they're swallowed up by their tears and fears
and spat out into the night
so when your day comes
and the Lord, He comes for you
tell Him about your beautiful robes
your shiny diamond rings
tell Him about your house, your car
and all your fancy things
tell Him about your job, your family 
and how you would never, ever settle for less
see if He's impressed,
by your smile and your style
see how much that counts
next to the tears of a child 

The Numbers

June Food Pantry 937 individuals served & 450 Meals Served

July Food Pantry 1006 individuals served & 570 Meals Served

To Lend a Hand

If you would like to make a donation of your time, please stop in & see us. We would love to have you!
To make a much appreciated monetary donation to
Stepping Stones Outreach Ministries, please send it to the address below:

Stepping Stones Outreach Ministries

c/o Carlene Sands

P.O. Box 256

Urbana, Ohio 43078

Recycling

We now have a Paper Retriever recycling bin located in Stepping Stones parking lot…Please bring your newspapers, school papers, broken down boxes, etc. to help us raise money….Thank you!! 

Director’s Diary

July was an exciting month for us. We held our first ever

Kids Day Camp and it was a huge success. There was an

average of 55 kids in attendance each day ranging from ages

3 to 12. They participated in a wide range of activities from

going bowling and swimming to learning self-defense

Martial Arts and building bug houses. In the mix of things

we had lots of game times and movie times as well as snack

times. We all had so much fun that next year we plan to

hold the day camps the third week of each month during the

summer. In the month of July we also had a sleepover night

for children ages 6 to 12, and we had 24 children participate

in that event. In light of the success we have had recently

with our programs for kids, we are now working on

developing a mentoring program which will involve

separate clubs for boys and girls ages 9 to 14.

Now as we head into August we are preparing to spend a

week at the Champaign County Fair. Look for us in the

Merchants Building.

Awana Program

Starting Wednesday August 22, 2012 7:00pm AWANA Kids Program. 
Sign up is as follows:
$15.00 For Ages 3- Grades 2
$20.00 For Grades 3-6

* Cubbies: Ages 3-4
* Sparks: Grades K-2
* Ultimate Adventurer: Grades 3-4
* Ultimate Challenge: Grades 5-6

We will have mentors from Urbana University assisting the teachers during AWANA.


VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. PLEASE SEE OR CALL JOHN NOLTE AT STEPPING STONES. (937) 652-1303.

Family Fun Events!

We will be having family fun events on the first Saturday every month at Stepping Stones!

We are happy to announce that we will be holding our first EVER Stepping Stones Olympics! 

Saturday, September 8th, 2012

Ages and Categories are as follows:

Ages: 3-5
Time: 2pm-3:30pm
*Races
*Basketball
*Ring Toss
*Speed Walk

Ages: 6-8
Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
*Speed Walking
*Tire Race
*Basketball
*Foosball Tournament
*Races

Ages: 9-12
Time: 4:30pm-5:30pm
*Races
*Long Jump
*Tire Races
*Basketball
*Foosball Tournament


To Register for events call Stepping Stones  (937)652-1303

We hope to see you there!!