God Is Our Valentine All Year Long

As we get ready to celebrate the day when we tell the ones we hold dear that we love them. We may give our wives or girlfriends something shiny, if we have been in the dog house, or flowers, if we waited until the last minute. Even kids may give a Batman or Cinderella valentine with some Sweet Tarts attached to every kid in their class, even the icky boys.

Friday the 14th is a great day to do something else—no, not go see that movie that will make your wife fall in love with you like when you were first dating until you forget to bring home the tool you need to hang some picture. Instead, how about loving God for His providence and sovereignty every day? Need a visual? Let me tell you about the last two weeks.

On Wednesday, I drive middle schoolers from BCCS to the high school so they can stretch their legs at Mrs. V’s gym class. During my up and back runs on 37th street, I saw a lady with two small girls walking on the road since snow was piled up on the sides of the road. I stopped to see if she was alright and she told me that she had run out of gas and was on her way to Sheetz. I told them to jump in. I must have looked safe despite my Angry Birds hat, because they did get inside. As I neared the high school and saw that the Beaver Valley Credit Union sign read –3o, I told the lady I would take them to the school and have Mr. Bryan get some gas for her. As we waited in the lobby of the school, we began that old, familiar banter of “I know you because I’m from Beaver County” 6-degrees of separation talk.

I tell her that I’m from Tiger Pause and she laughs. Earlier that morning she called the Furniture Bank to have us pick-up some scrap metal at her house. Small world, huh? As she went to fill up her car, I waited with the girls until she got back. As a father of a very special princess, I felt great about the day ahead as it was only 9:15 a.m. That was until about 11:00 when I got a call that there was no water at the church except that which was all over the floor. However, Tim Bonomo, who has a huge heart and is always there in case of emergency, was on-hand to save the day for the kids at the after-school program.

Finally, my son Caleb, who has had breathing issues since birth, was scheduled for a cat-scan at Children’s Hospital for a suspected blockage in his left nostril. A peace that passes understanding came upon me and I told my wife that it was going to be alright. And, you know what? It was! We went to Pittsburgh and, what was to be an all-day affair, took less than three hours. We didn’t have to sedate him for the cat-scan and it only took two minutes to complete. The doctor on the third floor had a couple of cancellations and we were able to get the results quickly: whatever was there before was gone! After a few “praise the Lords” and “thank you, Jesuses”, the only people that felt uncomfortable were probably some unbelievers on the medical staff. On the way home, my wife was so happy that she let me stop at Chipotle to eat. Feed my sheep, Matt Nance. No problem, Lord. No problem.

Semper Fi,

Matt Nance

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow!

At the beginning of the school year, I spoke with our director, Mr. Matt Nance, about how many children we would be able to serve during the 2013-14 school year. Because of limited staff and volunteers from Geneva College, we agreed that 12 students would be a good number. We were all set, right? On September 17 at 3:35 p.m., I pulled up to the front of the Morado Community Center. As I patiently waited, I reflected on the previous school year and remembered the “cast of characters” the Lord blessed me with. I was anxious, happy, and anticipating the greeting I would receive from the children.


At 3:45 p.m., the bus unloaded and the students came running across the grassy lawn, laughing, chasing each other, and anything else elementary students do after a long school day. Then, they spotted me! Wow! I cannot describe the feelings we felt as we hugged and said hello. I had missed them and they missed me! And, there were more than 12. There were 19, to be exact. But, there was no way I was going to turn any of them away.


Think about Matthew 9:37-38: “Then saith Jesus unto His disciples, ‘The harvest is truly plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord will send fourth laborers into His harvest’.” Although the staff may be few in number, we trust God. He is a great provider and HE has never come up short. God is supplying our needs, He is energizing our Spirit, and He is blessing our children and their families. We will continue to be that light on top of College Hill, letting our light shine in the community of Morado Dwellings!


Mrs. Sabrina Tench
Morado Center Supervisor

2013 Annual Report

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to report that this past year, compared to the previous two years’ tragedies, has been full of huge successes. Senseless violence has dropped and, after our 14 Blocks prayer initiative, Mark Ongley from Ashes to Life has gathered the pastors in the city to meet and pray for each other regularly and with fervency. Look for another 14 Blocks campaign to occur this April as we will be praying for students as they leave for Easter break – that their eyes and hearts will be open to the true power of His resurrection.

Despite being defrauded by our previous payroll company, we have paid half of the back taxes owed and saw justice served as the culprit, Richard Zakarian, was sentenced to 17 years in prison. We were able to gain such ground mainly due to you, our donors, but also thanks to the growth of our Eye of the Tiger work program earnings, which have grown steadily over the last three years. As always, if you really want to bless us, hire our work crew.

Our main street buildings transformations have hit a full head of steam. Now that the coffee shop is finished and our partnership with SOMA and the 1611 7th Avenue property is underway, by the end of 2014 our total development progress will include: the building or remodeling of eight houses and four main street properties (taxable), one community splash pad park, one garden, and a church. During the last four years alone, we’ve created 97 jobs and employed countless volunteer hours from church and community participants, all in an effort to help revitalize our community.

Click here to keep reading the full Annual Report

Semper Fi,

Matt Nance

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