I'm so proud to say that several years ago, while a board member for Tiger Pause, I was on a committee along with Tom Karczewski and Pastor Brandon Watkiss (who has since moved from the area) to choose a new director for the Tiger Pause Organization. While we had several excellent candidates for the job, after much prayer and deliberation, the Lord led us to hire Matt Nance as "The Man"!
It is amazing to see not only OUR prayers, but the prayers of the community, being answered as Matt is obedient to the Lord's calling. Good things don't always happen just over night, but. . ."those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength", and I believe that The Lord, through the leadership of Matt Nance and his faithful group of followers, will give back to our city the strength and forward progress we need as we continue to seek Him.
Tiger Pause is fulfilling the vision we had for the organization when we hired Matt several years ago. Keep up the good work, people! Keep moving "Onward,. . . Christian Soldiers".
Sonny Blucher
Former Tiger Pause Board Member
Friday, August 16, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
A Note from the Director
Last summer, I got a call from Bob Javens: “Hi Matt! Bob Javens here. I think I could use your guys to help me help a friend, a family in need.”
“No problem, Mr. Bob. When and where?”
He explained that this family of 14 had been displaced from Texas due to the poor economy and job loss in addition to needing to vacate the house where they were staying as the home owners needed it back. We sent the boys to move their furniture to a smaller house in Chippewa and the rest to a storage facility. It’s providential how God leads certain people in your life like me and Mr. Bob. It’s also providential that God keeps leading young men with a multitude of personalities and a great degree of setbacks and difficulties to Tiger Pause. Yet, in stormy weather or clear skies, they all have “motors” to keep them going and, if I learned anything while playing football, you can win when you got the horses. So, we helped that day and moved on to the next project.
Fast forward to March of this year. I received a call from the head of that household thanking me, once again, for our help last summer and to let me know that he found a job in San Francisco, CA and would like to donate some of his furniture to the Furniture Bank. I’m not sure why, but something inside made me say, “Well, if you like our work, how about letting us move you to San Francisco?”
“You do that?” he asked.
“Like Larry, Darryl, and Darryl from the Bob Newhart show, we do anything for a buck.”
So after some calculating, we struck a deal and the adventure and grand experiment was afoot.
Now, I could use the next two years of the newsletter to describe all the side trips of our journey, and I would love to tell you about them face-to-face over coffee, but here’s the recap.
On the evening of June 16, four adults and five young men set sail with two dogs, a rental car, our cargo van, and a full-size U-Haul truck. Out of respect, I relinquished my captain’s hat to Mr. Karczewski. Tim Bonomo and Dave Slebodnik were the “first mates” and the boys and I looked and felt like the crew in Ben-Hur—crammed and rowing.
Two quick highlights: After driving for two days straight, unloading a truck in the middle of the night and with only two hours of sleep, we headed out to the Golden Gate Bridge where we witnessed the sunrise over the bay as we crossed. The boys acted like giddy old folk on a bus tour and I didn't know if Mr. K was crying because of sheer joy or if the Red Bull was wearing off. Then, we went to Muir Beach where we saw a shark eating a school of fish and, for some of the boys, it was the first time they had ever seen an ocean.
The trip was filled with devotions and teachable moments of God’s grace, majesty, and creation that the leaders took time to drive home in the minds of the young men which accomplished something totally unimaginable but God led. Saturday morning, June 22, roughly 120 hours after our initial departure, they arrived home safe and forever changed.
Semper Fi,
“No problem, Mr. Bob. When and where?”
He explained that this family of 14 had been displaced from Texas due to the poor economy and job loss in addition to needing to vacate the house where they were staying as the home owners needed it back. We sent the boys to move their furniture to a smaller house in Chippewa and the rest to a storage facility. It’s providential how God leads certain people in your life like me and Mr. Bob. It’s also providential that God keeps leading young men with a multitude of personalities and a great degree of setbacks and difficulties to Tiger Pause. Yet, in stormy weather or clear skies, they all have “motors” to keep them going and, if I learned anything while playing football, you can win when you got the horses. So, we helped that day and moved on to the next project.
Fast forward to March of this year. I received a call from the head of that household thanking me, once again, for our help last summer and to let me know that he found a job in San Francisco, CA and would like to donate some of his furniture to the Furniture Bank. I’m not sure why, but something inside made me say, “Well, if you like our work, how about letting us move you to San Francisco?”
“You do that?” he asked.
“Like Larry, Darryl, and Darryl from the Bob Newhart show, we do anything for a buck.”
So after some calculating, we struck a deal and the adventure and grand experiment was afoot.
Now, I could use the next two years of the newsletter to describe all the side trips of our journey, and I would love to tell you about them face-to-face over coffee, but here’s the recap.
On the evening of June 16, four adults and five young men set sail with two dogs, a rental car, our cargo van, and a full-size U-Haul truck. Out of respect, I relinquished my captain’s hat to Mr. Karczewski. Tim Bonomo and Dave Slebodnik were the “first mates” and the boys and I looked and felt like the crew in Ben-Hur—crammed and rowing.
Two quick highlights: After driving for two days straight, unloading a truck in the middle of the night and with only two hours of sleep, we headed out to the Golden Gate Bridge where we witnessed the sunrise over the bay as we crossed. The boys acted like giddy old folk on a bus tour and I didn't know if Mr. K was crying because of sheer joy or if the Red Bull was wearing off. Then, we went to Muir Beach where we saw a shark eating a school of fish and, for some of the boys, it was the first time they had ever seen an ocean.
The trip was filled with devotions and teachable moments of God’s grace, majesty, and creation that the leaders took time to drive home in the minds of the young men which accomplished something totally unimaginable but God led. Saturday morning, June 22, roughly 120 hours after our initial departure, they arrived home safe and forever changed.
Semper Fi,
Matt Nance
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Summer Camp Update
This summer has been extremely hot and rainy. No one knows that better than the staff and campers of Tiger Pause Summer Camp. However, through it all, we continue to go on field trips, play in the park, and praise the Lord.
As we are in the fourth week of summer camp, it's hard to believe all the activities we've been able to enjoy so far. Taking 75 kids plus staff members to the Pittsburgh Zoo, a Pirates' game, and Fun Fore All is no easy task, but we have also been able to travel to Brady's Run, Brush Creek, and Moraine State Parks, as well as swim every Friday at the Midland Pool.
Thursdays are a special day during the week where Mrs. Tina Davis leads the entire camp in praise and worship in order to prepare for the end-of-summer concert.
While all of these adventures are fun for the kids and staff, the camp also focuses on giving back to the community on our service days. Each grade level is responsible for a different service activity, such as picking up trash, weeding the community garden, or cleaning various Tiger Pause properties.
Our summer is flying by, and it is hard to believe that camp is almost over. We pray for the kids and each other as we hope to impact Beaver Falls and the children's lives for Christ. Thank you to those who support and pray for Tiger Pause Youth Ministry as we close out Summer Camp!
Shane Kaufman
Summer Camp Staff
As we are in the fourth week of summer camp, it's hard to believe all the activities we've been able to enjoy so far. Taking 75 kids plus staff members to the Pittsburgh Zoo, a Pirates' game, and Fun Fore All is no easy task, but we have also been able to travel to Brady's Run, Brush Creek, and Moraine State Parks, as well as swim every Friday at the Midland Pool.
Thursdays are a special day during the week where Mrs. Tina Davis leads the entire camp in praise and worship in order to prepare for the end-of-summer concert.
While all of these adventures are fun for the kids and staff, the camp also focuses on giving back to the community on our service days. Each grade level is responsible for a different service activity, such as picking up trash, weeding the community garden, or cleaning various Tiger Pause properties.
Our summer is flying by, and it is hard to believe that camp is almost over. We pray for the kids and each other as we hope to impact Beaver Falls and the children's lives for Christ. Thank you to those who support and pray for Tiger Pause Youth Ministry as we close out Summer Camp!
Shane Kaufman
Summer Camp Staff
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Perspective from the Corner
With May and early June comes a rare break in the hustle and bustle of Tiger Pause programming and events. At such a time, I offer another glimpse of Tiger Pause Youth Ministry from the office or the “corner” of Tiger Pause. From my corner I am witness to a flurry of activity when the young men from our work program come together for Bible study with Mr. Matt, receive their assignments for the day, and then venture out to work and learn. It’s a pleasure to interact with young men who have learned to be gracious and respectful as they greet me and speak in a polite, friendly tone of voice. I am also witness to the great difficulties the young people in our program experience from their broken home lives to peer pressure to a lack of hope as they struggle through this world. It is my pleasure to be ready with a hug, a kind word, a prayer, and occasionally a tear. Even with their difficulties, I see God at work in their lives through the diligence of the staff to love, teach, and guide them by His Word. From my corner, I also see a community hungering for connection, affirmation, and hope. It is even evidenced through our Tiger Pause cat, Rocky. People regularly come into the Furniture Bank to visit Rocky, feed him treats, give him toys, and play with him. I see them light up as they call and he comes. I see them peruse the current stock of furniture for the 10th time that week so they might enjoy a conversation with the staff and a few minutes of respite from regular life.
As we have been planting a garden on 10th Ave., it is evident to me that we are regularly planting another kind of seed in the lives of those we encounter. I am thankful for the opportunity to be a “planter” and a “waterer” at such a respite as Tiger Pause.
Kelly Hammerle
Tiger Pause Office Manager
As we have been planting a garden on 10th Ave., it is evident to me that we are regularly planting another kind of seed in the lives of those we encounter. I am thankful for the opportunity to be a “planter” and a “waterer” at such a respite as Tiger Pause.
“A word fitly spoken and in due season is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”
Proverbs 25:11 AMP
Kelly Hammerle
Tiger Pause Office Manager
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
A Note from the Director
Tiger Pause turns 25 years old this month! Time is but a vapor in the scope of eternity. However, to give some perspective, I’m asking previous board members to share memories and highlights of our last 25 years. So keep an eye out for those.
For myself, 25 years ago I turned 13 years old. I was the new kid in town and spent most of my days in the basement secretly watching MTV videos which, by today’s standards, would be rated G. Of course, being in a new school, some guys thought it was their job to test me. I hadn’t been there a month before I got kicked out for fighting and biting off a chunk of another young man’s shoulder. My dad made me pull out stumps with a pick ax for three days.
Unfortunately, there was no Tiger Pause where I lived. Yet, God knew where I was going. So today, 25 years later, I am in a place where I meet young Matt Nances every day. With them, I go one step further than my dad by not only sharing the value of hard work by busting concrete and the like, but also by sharing God’s word and the value of godly character. Now, the boys and I don’t get it right all the time, but at least we have a place to pause, think about what Christ would do, and then get back to climbing the mountains of life.
Semper Fi,
Matt Nance
For myself, 25 years ago I turned 13 years old. I was the new kid in town and spent most of my days in the basement secretly watching MTV videos which, by today’s standards, would be rated G. Of course, being in a new school, some guys thought it was their job to test me. I hadn’t been there a month before I got kicked out for fighting and biting off a chunk of another young man’s shoulder. My dad made me pull out stumps with a pick ax for three days.
Unfortunately, there was no Tiger Pause where I lived. Yet, God knew where I was going. So today, 25 years later, I am in a place where I meet young Matt Nances every day. With them, I go one step further than my dad by not only sharing the value of hard work by busting concrete and the like, but also by sharing God’s word and the value of godly character. Now, the boys and I don’t get it right all the time, but at least we have a place to pause, think about what Christ would do, and then get back to climbing the mountains of life.
Semper Fi,
Matt Nance
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
A Note from the Director
I’m able to meet with pastors for a Bible study twice each month and was encouraged by one who shared this bit of wisdom with me:
There are three kinds of people you deal with as a leader:
Those who are with you and for you,
those who are with you but not for you,
and those that are neither with you nor for you.
Regardless of where they are with you,
you need to work with them and through them.
I might guess that my friends and readers have had to deal with more than their fair share of problem people as well, many times from inside the church. But, as another pastor friend of mine (one who is with me and for me) said, “The church is like Noah’s Ark. It stinks inside, but sure destruction awaits outside.”
The intent of this letter is not to state the obvious, but to challenge you to focus on the encouragers and remember that God will bring those “for you/with you people” at different seasons in your life. I thought about this as I attended Peggy Javens’ viewing. Her life’s work and dedication to the Lord were evident as the hundreds of people who attended it were touched by her faith. I thought of that summer when her husband Bob, who was struggling with a bad back, withstood 90o heat and humidity to take hundreds of kids to the Pittsburgh Zoo, Science Center, and Pirate Baseball games. If that is not taking grenades into the trenches, then nothing is.
I think in today’s world it’s good to be reminded that there are preachers of Christ who are willing to share wisdom, men and women like Bob and Peggy Javens willing to share their gifts with others, and the waves of life that remind us to get in the boat, find a paddle, suck it up, and sing the Marine Corps Hymn.
Mr. Bob, whenever you look upon heaven’s scene, we pray you are comforted that Miss Peggy walks on streets of gold guarded by United States Marines.
Semper Fi,
Matt Nance
Monday, April 15, 2013
Boys' Center Update
Over the past three months the Boys’ Center, staff and students have experienced positive results from their focus on increased retention during Bible study. The boys have retained several main themes as they relate to the lessons taught by staff members. The staff at the Boys’ Center also worked with the boys to learn the Lord’s Prayer. So far, most of the boys have learned about 80% of it.
During the past three months, the boys had the opportunity to earn privileges, which includes basketball on Monday evenings. While we would have liked to see some better peer interaction and conflict resolution during our Monday evening games, an overnighter on Tuesday, March 26 provided the opportunity for staff to reinforce appropriate behavior. Even though it was hard, we had to tell some boys they couldn’t join us because of behavioral issues.
I had no idea what painful fun awaited me. The overnighter included wings at Quaker Steak and Lube in Cranberry, a movie at Carmike Cinemas on Rt. 18, and all-night basketball at Beaver County Christian School. Even though the boys were pretty tired the next morning, everyone went to the Brighton Hot Dog Shop for pancakes and then paintball at Steel Town Paintball in Emsworth. While tiring and painful (at least for staff as I had to stop for Aleve on the way to paintball), it was an outstanding evening, one in which deserving young men’s positive behavior was reinforced by the reward of a great overnight with a lot of food and fun.
Also, over the past two months, Mr. Matt, Mr. Dave, and I have opened the Boys’ Center on Tuesday through Thursday mornings so the boys could get donuts, juice, and prayer. Several young men show up every morning faithfully with expectant spirits in need of prayer. To God be the glory! God bless!
Mr. Bryan Crawl
P.S. Mr. Bryan stayed awake from 4 p.m. Tuesday until after 1 p.m. Wednesday, proving the medical community correct that people over 50 don’t need as much sleep. - Matt Nance
During the past three months, the boys had the opportunity to earn privileges, which includes basketball on Monday evenings. While we would have liked to see some better peer interaction and conflict resolution during our Monday evening games, an overnighter on Tuesday, March 26 provided the opportunity for staff to reinforce appropriate behavior. Even though it was hard, we had to tell some boys they couldn’t join us because of behavioral issues.
I had no idea what painful fun awaited me. The overnighter included wings at Quaker Steak and Lube in Cranberry, a movie at Carmike Cinemas on Rt. 18, and all-night basketball at Beaver County Christian School. Even though the boys were pretty tired the next morning, everyone went to the Brighton Hot Dog Shop for pancakes and then paintball at Steel Town Paintball in Emsworth. While tiring and painful (at least for staff as I had to stop for Aleve on the way to paintball), it was an outstanding evening, one in which deserving young men’s positive behavior was reinforced by the reward of a great overnight with a lot of food and fun.
Also, over the past two months, Mr. Matt, Mr. Dave, and I have opened the Boys’ Center on Tuesday through Thursday mornings so the boys could get donuts, juice, and prayer. Several young men show up every morning faithfully with expectant spirits in need of prayer. To God be the glory! God bless!
Mr. Bryan Crawl
P.S. Mr. Bryan stayed awake from 4 p.m. Tuesday until after 1 p.m. Wednesday, proving the medical community correct that people over 50 don’t need as much sleep. - Matt Nance
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