A Note from the Director

My life in this world sometimes feels like a Hank Williams song. “The preacher man says it’s the end of time and the Mississippi River is going dry. Interest is up and stock markets down and you only get mugged if you go downtown.” Then, I remember that Eddie Money sang, “I got two tickets to paradise. Won’t you pack your bags; we’ll leave tonight.” Luckily, to find a balance between the two, I have a Little House on the Prairie DVD. As this world seems to spin out of control, I think about that episode (season 3, episode 10) when the three brothers start bullying the towns people and running up credit. The youngest brother even goes as far as being Nellie’s “hit man” by pushing and hitting Laura, all for sour balls, while the older brothers assault Caroline. As my daughter, Morgan, and I watch it, she says, “Wait ‘til Pa finds out!” She and I both take comfort in the fact that Charles Ingalls isn’t going to take this lying down. No matter how many times I watch it, I still say to the T.V., “Don’t go alone! Get Mr. Edwards!” But Pa doesn’t listen, and the next thing you know, he’s all busted up. Then, the bullies seem even more determined to terrorize the town. That is, until Pastor Aldron makes a stand at church and orders them out of town. As I finish watching, phrases from two songs come to mind. One is “Islands in the stream, that’s where we are”...and believers need to rely on each other. The other is from George Jones singing, “Who’s going to fill these shoes?”

I pray that I am teaching the staff and youth of Tiger Pause to stand up tall. They might not sing at the Grand Ole Opry, but hopefully, when they witness wrongs being committed their backs will move off the wall and they’ll take a stand against evil, all the while keeping Romans 12 in their hearts and minds.

Semper Fi,

Matt Nance

A Note From The Director

At Tiger Pause we are always preaching, teaching, and showing the love of Christ, and that opportunity in itself is a blessing.  This August at Tiger Pause we got to experience one of the greatest expressions of love when our own Katelyn Blair married Carl Hermann. If being at the wedding wasn’t enough, when the maid of honor got up to give her toast, it brought tears to my eyes as Tiger Pause, the kids of Tiger Pause, and the city of Beaver Falls were mentioned time and again in her tribute. It was one of those moments in ministry when you sit back and say to yourself, “I just won the Super Bowl.” Yoi, double yoi!  You really think I would do a September newsletter without mentioning the greatest game ever played?

Last year, this issue of football mania was sort of prophetic with two of my old teammates moving back to the Beaver County. It couldn’t have come at a better time as Blackhawk is 0-2. So, I’m going to use my gift and go out on a limb: Beaver Falls will beat Aliquippa this year. Don’t call me Joe Namath, just call me Matt Nance, baby.

We have been beating mental toughness into these boys since they entered 6th grade. With Mike and Petey Lyons, the “Brothers of Thunder,” I’m positive the big finger will be pointed heavenward on October 18th, two days after the scheduled birth of my last son, Caleb.

As you can tell it will be an exciting week at the homestead. Maybe just as exciting as Dave Slebodnik’s week as he got engaged to his girlfriend, Kristen Rendulic. The two met while working at a Tiger Pause - Geneva College volunteer day. With a gentle push and some background work from the man who wished he was Magnum P.I., the two made their first date arrangements at the Beez Café, and the rest is history. I’m quite confident I won’t be able to give a toast at the wedding, but I will bring black and orange party poppers to the reception.  Congratulations Dave and Kristen!

Semper Fi,

Matt Nance

A Note from the Board - Celebrating 25 Years of Tiger Pause

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

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,

Matt Nance

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

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.

“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

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