VBS volunteers write: On behalf of our Small Group, we would like to thank you for the opportunity to volunteer at Hope’s VBS at Caldwell last Tuesday (6-22-10).  We have a diverse group that meets regularly every other Tuesday night for group meetings. Most of our lessons have been about community and giving back, so we wanted to put into action what we learned. The VBS at Caldwell gave us that opportunity we have been looking for.

We had a great time getting to know the kids and staff individually. We split up the group between games, Bible studies and crafts, which moved us out of our comfort zones for a deeper lesson in community.  We were amazed at just how excited these kids were to be there and how happy it made them. To see those smiling faces was worth every minute of being there! We are proud to be members of Hope Presbyterian and pray there continues to be support for the VBS program.

Again, we thank you for the chance to give back to the community and look forward to many other opportunities!

Sincerely,
Dana Simpson, Amanda McElroy, Debbie Coy, Lee & Kelly Nanny

Volunteer Donna writes:  Recently I was able to accompany a group of students from Humes Preparatory Middle School EPGY Stanford Math Classes to the Broadway Pizza House on Broad Street, Memphis.  The students all participate in a  math program which  focuses on concepts that will allow students use of everyday mathematics. The students listened to a presentation given by the owner of the restaurant about the everyday running of a business including the cost of ordering hundreds of pounds of meat and products to the day to day cost of operating a business. Ater the students made and consumed their own pizzas the students were then asked questions based on the earlier presentation. They had really paid attention and were given prizes for their accurate answers.  Mr. Bigard’s students really enjoyed this real life experience, and the pictures reflect the fun that they had creating a pizza of their own design. The people at Broaday Pizza were wonderful! Oasis of Hope provided bus transportation to Broadway Pizza with some monetary contributions from volunteers in the class and from other organizations to significantly reduce the cost to the student.

It has been a great experience to volunteer my time at Humes. I am a recently retired teacher having moved here from NY state last year.  Two other volunteers also go to Humes on Wednesday afternoon to support students in a math lab setting. The students are very open to the support that they are given.  I love working with them and seeing them light up when they are given a strategy which they can apply on their own to new math problems. The Oasis of Hope partnership with the schools is great and it is easy to see God working as the students  get to know us better and seek our help.  Students have recognized us when we go to other events, and seem very happy to see us on Wednesdays!  It is a most meaningful experience for everyone!

- Donna

As many of you know, it was with much apprehension and anxiety (and plain old FEAR) that I embarked on a week-long adventure last summer to Kids Across America Kamp near Branson, Missouri, with 10 of our inner city youth.

Well, God truly traveled with us on that journey, because not only did I survive, but I was also blessed beyond words to go through such an amazing “mountain-top” Christian experience with these kids!  So much so, that I am going back this summer…this time with 23 of our kids, 1 of their moms, and 1 youth worker - 26 people in all!  I’ve been praying so hard about this, and feel sure that God is going to do miraculous things in the hearts and lives of these kids!

But…we need your help to make this happen!  Not only do we need to raise more money for the additional kids that we are taking, but this means that our transportation costs will be higher, too.

Any donation (click here to donate online or get info about sending a check) would be greatly appreciated!

– $150 will send 1 child to camp

– $200 will cover the camp fee for 1 child, plus provide extra for part of the transportation cost and needed camp supplies

You can check out the following links for more information about KAA and pictures from our trip last summer.  Also, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have!

Thank you so much for ALL you are already doing in the lives of these young people!”

God bless,
Brenda

Oasis of Hope has this amazing partnership with Manassas High School where they allow us - a clearly Christian organization - to provide sports training and mentoring for their athletes!  What an incredible opportunity to mentor and come alongside these teens and support them!  Way to go Coach Michael and all the volunteers who are making a difference in the lives of these boys!  Following is a camp summary written by Coach Michael:

At the inaugural Manassas High School Baseball team camp 16 students were able to learn a lot about baseball and the love Jesus Christ has for them.

Oasis of Hope volunteers opened the doors of Hope to these young men for an overnight camp that featured 2 Christian speakers, Bible study, and a lot of baseball practice.  I heard responses from the young men, such as, “I love this place and don’t want to leave.”  Also, some of the volunteers said, “This was a very rewarding experience”, “what great kids”, and “this is exactly where I need to get plugged in.”

After a productive camp, the team returned home to find a freshly sodded, high quality baseball field that 1 year ago had been a pile of rocks and rubble left over from the basketball courts of an old housing project.  This was the work of nearly 100 volunteers from various faith based organizations, including Oasis of Hope, a day earlier.

The Manassas Tigers hope to do some things in the coming years that have not been done before.  While doing so they will be passing on the Love Christ has bestowed on them through his people this past weekend.

This is a modern day, real life ‘loaves and fishes’ story experienced by Tom & Mary Susan Capon, Oasis Toy Store managers, you don’t want to miss! Read on in Tom’s letter to Oasis of Hope Director, Terry Hoff, to see how a soldier from Iraq, a store of leftover toys, and a promise to God made a HUGE difference.

As I have told you in the past, Mary Susan and I don’t worry too much about the level of toys that we are short shipped from the companies we buy from.  Nor do we worry too much about the amount of donations we receive from the Hope congregation, as God always makes things work out.

The first time we saw God’s work along these lines was 3 or 4 years ago when you called me and told me you had received a load of toys from another Christmas charity that had an over stock of toys, and did we need them.  You as I, never turn something like this down, so you brought them over and WOW did they have an over stock.  I think you had 3 van loads of toys.

Mary Susan and I didn’t think we would ever have enough customers to sell that amount of toys.  As you know, we had an overwhelming number of shoppers the next few days, and without that load of toys we would have never had enough to help those parents provide a little bit better Christmas for their children.

Well, this year’s version of God’s work goes like this…….

For the first week we were open, we had about half the number of shoppers we normally have.  So, the toys were moving, but not at the rate we were used too from previous years.

Again, we weren’t worried as things always work out.

Then the weekend donations came in on that second Monday we were open, and there was an overwhelming amount of toys donated by the Hope congregation.  We were way overstocked and with only 6 days left for the store to be open, and with fewer shoppers so far, I didn’t know how we would move all the toys.

As the final days passed we were still not having the number of customers come to shop, so I was watching the shelves stay full and wondering when things would pick up.  We get to Saturday, the last day, and of the 10 shelving units we started the store with, we still had 6 units full.

So, we began marking down the prices so the customers we did have, could get more items for their children.  We are normally sold out by noon on the last day.  But, this year at noon we still had about 2 shelving units full of toys.

At that point I was checking customers out at the register and Mary Susan was marking the toys even lower so we wouldn’t’ have anything left over.  A lady came through the line and checked out, finding she hadn’t spent all the money she had to spend, she went back and picked out a few more toys.

Once she checked out the second time, once again she had money left to be spent.  So, she went back again.  After the third trip through the check out line, I asked her what her situation was and how many children she was buying for.

At that point she leaned over the cash register as if she wanted to tell me something in private.  I leaned forward so she could tell me what she wanted to say.  She said, “While I was serving in Iraq, I promised God that if he would let me come home in one piece, I would help unwanted and underprivileged children for the rest of my life.  So, I’m spending as much as I can for those children.”  She said it so no one but I could hear, so I truly feel it was the truth.

At that point something came over me.  I had to help her with her mission.  We probably still had $800 worth of toys at regular store retail prices, which would be about $300 at our prices.  I told her, ” maybe I need to sell you the rest of the toys in the store for $100.”  I thought she was going to kiss me.  She did give me a huge hug, and I didn’t think she was going to let me go.

While the employees were bagging up the rest of the toys, I asked her how many children she was buying for.  She was buying for 200 kids that are currently in a variety of agencies, including a couple dozen foster children, and this would provide each of them with at least one gift.

As the last bag of toys was on it’s way out the door to her car, the thought come to me that I was sooo thankful for the overwhelming number of donated toys we had received over the weekend…..and…..that God had once again matched the number of toys we had, to the number of kids that needed them.

Merry Christmas,
Mary Susan and Tom Capon

I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support this season. Your time, money, and prayers were very much appreciated by the team. The success they had on a field is partly due to your generosity. So Thank You!

While the season ended sooner than we all would have liked, it was still a great season. Going 9-2 and winning the first district championship in the history of the school (110 years) are great accomplishments.

I thought you might want to be aware of some exciting stuff that is happening with the team since the season has ended.

1. This Saturday the Liberty Bowl High School Football All Star game will be taking place at MUS. Game time is 2:00. The Manassas Tigers will be well represented at the game with 4 of the seniors playing. They are O.C. Brown, Terrance (T.O.) Oliver, Dexter Alexander, and Joaquin Collins. This is the first time that Manassas has placed 4 players on the all star team. Please come out and support the guys and enjoy a great game featuring the best seniors in Memphis and Shelby County.

2. 20/20 is in town this week to do film a feature on O.C Brown, the Manassas Tigers, and the ManRise Foundation. It is a very exciting opportunity to share the good news surrounding the program. As a result of the movie “The Blindside”, this feature will probably gain a lot of attention when it airs. This segment is currently slated to be televised on Wednesday, December 23. So please mark your calendars and enjoy the story.

3. This week the Best of Preps football awards were announced. Once again the Manassas Tigers are well represented with 6 players getting recognized. The list includes the four guys playing in the all star game as well as two super sophomores, quarterback Will Redmond and tailback Omar Williams.

4. O.C. Brown was  finalist for Tennessee Mr. Football Lineman of the Year. He was one of 3 lineman chosen as finalists. While he did not win the award, it was additional positive recognition for O.C. and the program.

5. During the season, we started a new program to recognize players for the acheivements both on the field and off the field. We patterned it after the book “Uncommon” by coach Tony Dungy. Each week we recognized one or more players as the Uncommon Man of the Week. At the end of the season, we selected an Uncommon Man of the Year from those winners. This years winner is Senior Dexter Alexander. Dexter also had the opportunity to actually meet Coach Dungy at a lucheon recently hosted by the Liberty Bowl. Again, we were able to share with Coach some of the good things going on at Manassas due to Hope Church and the ManRise Foundation.

6. Dexter Alexander was recently selected as one of 5 finalists for the FCA award given each year, the John Bull Bramlett award. This award will be issued on December 29 as a part of the Liberty Bowl festivities. The award is to recognize “the high school football player in Shelby County who best exemplifies excellence on the field, as well as hight character, integrity and godliness off the field.”

So plenty of good things going on with Manassas, ManRise and Hope Church. Again, we couldn’t do it without your support and participation. I hope to see all of you at the ManRise football camp at Hope Church July 29 - Aug 1.

Tim Whalen

Who would have thought that in the last game of the regular season that it would be several firsts that would prove to be so significant?

And none of those firsts were any more significant then the one that came at the conclusion of the game. By defeating Kingsbury High School 27-16 Friday night, the Manassas Tigers became district champions for the first time in the history of the school. Congratulation Tigers, you are the CHAMPIONS! The team left the stadium sporting their new district champs t-shirt.

On a night set aside to honor the seniors, it was a freshman that got things going for Manassas. On the opening kickoff, Kingsbury fumbled.  James Fisher scooped it up and went 37 yards down the sideline for his first score of his high school career. So 8 seconds into the game, the Tigers were up 7-0. That play would be representative of how the night would be. Due to all the rain we have had, the field was torn up, muddy and wet. Keeping your footing and holding onto the football would prove to be a difficult task. The first half would end with the Tigers clinging to their 7-0 lead.

The second half of the game took on a playoff atmosphere as the Tigers and Falcons were fighting for the district championship and improved seeding in the upcoming playoffs. For a while during the 3^rd quarter it looked like Kingsbury had seized control of the game and were going to put an end to the Tigers dream of being district champs. During a 5 minute stretch of the quarter, the Falcons would score 16 points to go up 16-7. Both of these the result of poor special teams play by Manasass. Kingsbury took a punt back 83 yards for the score thanks to many missed tackles along the way. On the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers would turn the ball over with a fumble around their own 40 yard line. Kingsbury drove the ball for their second score of the quarter.

The Tigers could have rolled over and died at that point. Instead they showed a lot of heart and fight to dominate play the rest of the game. It started with a nice sustained drive capped off by a 6 yard run by quarterback Will Redmond. The extra point was blocked and the Tigers were down 16-13 going into the 4^th quarter.

On a drive early in the fourth quarter, Redmond got hurt on a keeper. So the Tigers turned to last years quarterback and senior caption Terrance Oliver. T.O would only need to be in for one play to have an impact on this game. Calling his own number, Terrance went around right end and weaved his way down the sidelines 73 yards to put the Tigers back on top. The two point conversion by Omar Williams put the Tigers up 21-16.

On the ensuing Kingsbury drive, it would be a defensive unit that has played well all season to come up with a huge play to seal the victory. Knowing they had Kingsbury on their heals, the Tigers turned up the pressure. Senior linebacker Dantre Harris came flying across the line to put pressure on the Falcons quarterback. Looking to dump a pass out in the flat, Dantre reached up and deflected the pass into the waiting arms of senior defensive end Julius Parson. 59 yards later, Julius would have his first interception return for a touchdown and the Tigers would have themselves a district championship.

For the night, the defense held the Falcons to only 6 first downs and 130 yards of offense.

Senior night for the Tigers also meant not forgetting about a key member of the squad. Starting offensive lineman Montrail Brown went down earlier this season to a knee injury. While he wasn’t able to play in the last regular season game of his high school career, he was not forgotten. Fellow senior offensive lineman Julius Martin honored his friend by wearing Montrail’s #54 jersey.

So the Tigers now prepare themselves for their second season. And as T.O told his team during the post game meeting, they are only 2/3 of the way to their goal. Five more wins and the Tigers will be state champs. And yes, that would also be the first of those for the Manassas High School football team. In order to get that prize, the Tigers will be working hard to shore up special teams play and to reduce the number of turnovers they make. They know that playing like they did on Friday night will not be good enough to hoist the trophy on December 4.

The Tigers second season begins this Friday night with a first round playoff game against Martin Westview. Game time is 7:00 PM at BTW Stadium. The boys have worked hard to get to this point, come on out and cheer them on to victory.

Fresh off a win over Douglass High School in Soul Bowl 2009, the Manassas Tigers found themselves taking on the Northside Jaguars in what should have been called The Mud Bowl. The Tigers came out flat and struggled through most of the first half against a Northside team that came in with a record of 1-7. It wasn’t until late in the first half that the Tigers put together a drive to go up 8-0 on a nice 29 yard pass play from Will Redmond to Terrance Oliver. This would get Manassas rolling towards an eventual victory, 34-0.

The game marked the first shutout of the season for Manassas. For a defensive unit that has played well most of the season, this was a nice reward for their hard work. And they wasted no time in letting Northside know that they were in for a long night. After kicking off to start the game, the Tigers would make a statement on the first play from scrimmage. Senior Dexter Alexander cut down the Northside running back in the backfield for a loss and set the tone for the rest of the night. On a very wet and muddy field, the defense would make sure the Jaguars would be spinning their wheels most of the night. They would limit Northside to only 6 first downs and 135 yards of offense.

A key player on the defensive side of the ball also proved to be a valuable weapon on special teams and offense. Chavis Daniels played his best all around game of the season and helped to lift his team out of the funk they were in. Chavis would recover an onside kick late in the first half and intercept a pass and return it to the one yard line to set up a score in the second half.  And to top things off, Chavis scored his first touchdown of the season on a 5 yard pass from quarterback Terrance Oliver to complete the scoring in the 4^th quarter. T.O. once again proved how valuable he is to this Manassas team by catching a touchdown pass in the first half and then throwing one in the second half.

In the second half the Tigers proved to be too much for the Jaguars After making some adjustments to account for the defensive schemes of Northside, Manassas would score two touchdowns in the 3^rd quarter to put the game away. The first score came on a 35 yard pass over the middle from Will Redmond to JaTaime Wiggins. Later in the quarter, Will would keep it himself for a one yard touchdown run. And it wouldn’t be a Manassas game without Omar Williams scoring. So in the 4^th quarter, Omar would do just that on a 2 yard run to complete his night. Omar would carry 18 times for 100 yards to lead the rushing attack that also saw Antonio Parker get 51 yards on only 7 carries.

The Tigers shot themselves in the foot a couple of times or the game would have been even more lopsided. Costly penalties on a fake punt that went for a long gain and on a punt return that was called back would take 14 points off the board for Manassas. These types of mistakes could prove to be costly come playoff time. Fortunately the Tigers have one more game to fine tune things prior to playoffs.

The Tigers celebrated the victory and a berth in the playoffs by diving and sliding headfirst across the muddy field. This Friday night the Tigers will wrap up the regular season by celebrating senior night and taking on Kingsbury High. Game time is 7:00 PM at Crump Stadium. Come on out and show your support for the Tigers. They have had a great season and plan on closing it out in style. Don’t miss it.

A football team is composed of three phases; offense, defense and special teams. To be a pretty good team, they need to play well in two out of three of those. To be a special team, they need to play well all three phases. Based on how the Manassas Tigers have played recently, they have a chance to be a special team. And on Thursday night the Tigers didn’t waste much time to put all three phases in action on their way to a 41-12 win over Douglass in Soul Bowl 2009.

After the defense did their job and forced a punt by Douglass, Dexter Alexander continued his remarkable special teams play. For the fourth game in a row, Dexter blocked a kick. The Tigers recovered deep in Douglass territory. A few plays later, quarterback Will Redmond went 9 yards for a touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers surprised Douglass with an onsides kick. After initially catching the kickoff, the Douglass player was rudely greeted by Chavis Daniels. A vicious hit that had the fans in stands going nuts separated the ball from the player. Manassas recovered the fumble in Douglass territory. Next thing you know, Omar Williams goes off tackle and races 46 yards for a score to put Manassas up 14-0 and the rout was on.

The defense continued their dominance the rest of the half and held Douglass scoreless. A 40 yard run by quarterback Will Redmond would finish off the scoring and after another successful kick by Josh Sills, the Tigers went to the locker room with a 21-0 lead.

When asked about his secret to blocking kicks, Dexter Alexander said it comes down to two things. Watching the ball to ensure he gets a good jump and then “going all out” when he gets close to the kicker. And going all out is exactly what he does. Dex lays out on every kick in hopes of helping to turn things in favor of his Tigers.

As the second half got underway, the Tigers kept their foot on the gas. On the first possessions of the half, Omar would score his second of three touchdowns of the night on a 2 yard run. On the very next possession, Will Redmond would find speed burner and last weeks Uncommon Man of the week Terrance Oliver on a 45 yard pass play to put Manassas up 33-0.

Omar Williams would finish off the scoring in the 4^th quarter on a 53 yard run. Douglass would get two second half touchdowns on the tough Manassas defense. Most of the Douglass offense in the second half came on the arm of quarterback Samario Bankston. Samario and his team showed a lot of heart in not giving up despite the outcome of the game. He was 16 of 32 for almost 200 yards.

So back to what it takes to be a special team. One of the aspects to good special teams play is the kicking game. After having lost the past two years in the state playoffs by one point, the Tigers knew they needed to establish a kicking game. Well as they march towards another playoff appearance, the Tigers may have found their secret weapon in kicker Josh Sills. His ability to kick extra points may prove to be the difference in a close game.

The Manassas Tigers are now 7-1 with two important games left on the regular season schedule. This Thursday night, October 22, the Tigers will take on Northside High at 7:00 at Crump Stadium. Come on out and support the Tigers as they continue their march towards the postseason. Buy your tickets in advance at the school to benefit Manassas.

The Manassas Tigers are hoping to eventually break out the old Queen song, “We are the Champions.” But in the mean time, they are living up to an old Doobie Brothers song, “Takin’ care of business.” And this past Thursday night they took care of business against Frayser. In a very methodical and dominating manner, the Tigers beat Frayser 41-6.

Fresh off being named Shelby County Offensive Player of the Week , Omar Williams didn’t take long to get things started for Manassas. On the first play from scrimmage for the Tigers, Omar took the handoff from Will Redmond and went 40 yards for a touchdown.  Omar would score two more touchdowns in the first half and Antonio Parker would take one to the house from 33 yards out. At the half, the Tigers lead Frayser by a score of 27-0.

The defense played a solid game from start to finish. They held Frayser without a first down in the first half. For the entire game, Manassas yielded only 4 first downs and 90 yards of offense to Frayser.

In the second half, the Tigers would score two more touchdowns. The first one, a 4 yard run by quarterback Will Redmond was set up by a blocked punt by Dexter Alexander deep in Frayser territory. Following that score, it looked like Frayser would take the ensuing kick off 90 yards for a touchdown. But kicker Terrance Oliver would have none of that. As the last Tiger between the Frayser player and the Manassas goal line, TO made a beautiful open field tackle. The defense buckled down from there and held Frayser from scoring despite great field position.

In the fourth quarter, Will Redmond finished off the scoring on a nice 43 yard run. That would close out the score and send the Tigers to their sixth win against only one loss.  The Tigers have only three regular season games left. All of those games will be played at Crump Stadium.

The Tigers next test will be this Thursday night, October 15. Manassas will take on Douglass High School in the Soul Bowl at Crump stadium. Game time is 7:00. Come on out and support the Tigers as they continue their march towards the postseason. Buy your tickets in advance at the school to benefit Manassas.