January Newsletter

Region 7
Don’t forget our Facebook page!
www.facebook.com/OneChurch
OneChildIdaho
January 1: Happy New Year!!!
January 18: MLK Day
January 23: Baby Expo
January 28: Information Meeting at Journeys in Rigby
Have something to add to the calendar?
Email Becky @ [email protected]
FREE FUN!
IDAHO FALLS
The first Saturday of every month: free
admission to ART museum!
Watch Hockey tournaments Jan 2-3, 9-10,
30-31
REXBURG
1/11-28 Op Art display at Spori Art Gallery
1/19 Woodwind Quintet at Snow Hall
7:30 PM
1/21 Library Book Club, 6:30-7:30 PM
1/29 Music Showcase at Barrus Hall,
7:30 PM
1/30 Snowfest at Smith Park, 11-2:00 PM
RIGBY
Chariot Races every Sat. at fairgrounds
IONA
Storytime at library Tuesdays @ 10:30 AM
SALMON
Pre-school Storytime Wednesdays @
10 AM at public library
Friday morning After School Promise
activities
.
Have any questions or suggestions?
Becky Jackson, OCOC Vista
150 Shoup Ave., Suite 19
(208) 528-5941
[email protected]
10 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
1. King’s birth name was Michael, not Martin.
The civil rights leader was born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929. In 1934, however, his father, a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, traveled to Germany and became inspired by
the Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther. As a result, King Sr. changed his own name as well as that of his 5-year-old son.
2. King entered college at the age of 15.
King was such a gifted student that he skipped grades nine and 12 before enrolling in 1944 at Morehouse College, the alma mater of his father and maternal grandfather. Although he was the
son, grandson and great-grandson of Baptist ministers, King did not intend to follow the family vocation until Morehouse president Benjamin E. Mays, a noted theologian, convinced him
otherwise. King was ordained before graduating college with a degree in sociology.
3. King received his doctorate in systematic theology.
After earning a divinity degree from Pennsylvania’s Crozer Theological Seminary, King attended graduate school at Boston University, where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1955. The title of
his dissertation was “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman.”
4. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was not his first at the Lincoln Memorial.
Six years before his iconic oration at the March on Washington, King was among the civil rights leaders who spoke in the shadow of the Great Emancipator during the Prayer Pilgrimage for
Freedom on May 17, 1957. Before a crowd estimated at between 15,000 and 30,000, King delivered his first national address on the topic of voting rights. His speech, in which he urged
America to “give us the ballot,” drew strong reviews and positioned him at the forefront of the civil rights leadership.
5. King was jailed 29 times.
According to the King Center, the civil rights leader went to jail nearly 30 times. He was arrested for acts of civil disobedience and on trumped-up charges, such as when he was jailed in
Montgomery, Alabama, in 1956 for driving 30 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone.
6. King narrowly escaped an assassination attempt a decade before his death.
On September 20, 1958, King was in Harlem signing copies of his new book, “Stride Toward Freedom,” in Blumstein’s department store when he was approached by Izola Ware Curry. The
woman asked if he was Martin Luther King Jr. After he said yes, Curry said, “I’ve been looking for you for five years,” and she plunged a seven-inch letter opener into his chest. The tip of the
blade came to rest alongside his aorta, and King underwent hours of delicate emergency surgery. Surgeons later told King that just one sneeze could have punctured the aorta and killed him.
From his hospital bed where he convalesced for weeks, King issued a statement affirming his nonviolent principles and saying he felt no ill will toward his mentally ill attacker.
7. King’s last public speech foretold his death.
King had come to Memphis in April 1968 to support the strike of the city’s black garbage workers, and in a speech on the night before his assassination, he told an audience at Mason Temple
Church: “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now … I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want
you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the
coming of the Lord.”
8. Members of King’s family did not believe James Earl Ray acted alone.
Ray, a career criminal, pled guilty to King’s assassination but later recanted. King’s son Dexter met publicly with Ray in 1997 and argued for the case to be reopened. King’s widow, Coretta,
believed the Mafia and local, state and federal government agencies were deeply involved in the murder. She praised the result of a 1999 civil trial in which a Memphis jury decided the
assassination was the result of a conspiracy and that Ray was set up to take the blame. A U.S. Department of Justice investigation released in 2000 reported no evidence of a conspiracy.
9. King’s mother was also slain by a bullet.
On June 30, 1974, as 69-year-old Alberta Williams King played the organ at a Sunday service inside Ebenezer Baptist Church, Marcus Wayne Chenault Jr. rose from the front pew, drew two
pistols and began to fire shots. One of the bullets struck and killed King, who died steps from where her son had preached nonviolence. The deranged gunman said that Christians were his
enemy and that although he had received divine instructions to kill King’s father, who was in the congregation, he killed King’s mother instead because she was closer. The shooting also left a
church deacon dead. Chenault received a death penalty sentence that was later changed to life imprisonment, in part due to the King family’s opposition to capital punishment.
10. George Washington is the only other American to have had his birthday observed as a national holiday.
In 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill that created a federal holiday to honor King. The holiday, first commemorated in 1986, is celebrated on the third Monday in January.
Age: 16
My name is Cody. I'm writing this letter because I want an adoptive family that will make a
commitment to me for a lifetime, not just until I turn 18. I'd like parents who share many of my
same interests, so this seems like a good way to let you know what those are. I like
bodybuilding, hiking, swimming in open water, target practicing, dirt biking, hunting, fishing,
wrestling, baseball, football, basketball, and working on cars. I'd like to learn how to do a lot of
things with a dad. I haven't had that kind of relationship in my life.
Age: 15
Hi, my name is Shyanne, but my friends call me Kamiah. That's the name I might want to change to
when I'm adopted. I'm usually a happy girl and I enjoy laughing. I love nature and being outdoors-like visiting the ocean or having fun in the city. I would love to live in a city or a place with lots of
things to do. I love mountains and forests too.
Age 17
"Hi, I'm Isaiah. I love sports. I love playing basketball and football. My favorite team
is the Seattle Seahawks. I wish I could live near a big city, like Boise, where I can
go to college and professional games. I also like being outside. I want to be able to
go hunting one day.
Parenting Children Who've Experienced Trauma
by Bob DeMarco
When our family joined your ranks as foster parents we didn't know we were bringing children into our family who had special needs. We knew only
that they were a brother and sister who had suffered considerable loss and that there were some behavioral issues that resulted in their being moved
around. Our family was chosen for the kids on Wednesday, they learned of the impending move on Thursday, and they were in our home on Friday.
Taken by Surprise
In the days, weeks, and months that followed we began to experience significant behavioral challenges with the children.
We'd raised four biological children who were pretty well adjusted, and we thought we were "good enough parents" who had something to offer
children who were hurting.
So we were surprised when we couldn't get these children to listen or follow directions. As things in our home became more and more chaotic, my wife
and I became desperate for answers and for help. We reached out to social workers, read books, went to support groups, and attended conferences.
Understanding "Stuck"
We began to learn that children like ours who've endured emotional trauma are in many ways "stuck." They're stuck with anxious feelings that result
from adrenaline, cortisol, and other fear-related chemicals coursing through their bodies. Stuck with negative thoughts and beliefs about themselves,
adults, and the world around them. Stuck with painful memories of their hurts and losses always close at hand. Stuck emotionally at well below their
chronological age (Purvis, Cross & Sunshine, 2007).
What Our Kids Need
As a result of all this, our kids have special needs. They need their parents to help them feel safe; over time this will help reduce their body's fear
responses. They need us to show them that they are valued and loved; over time this will help them to change their belief that they are worthless. They
need us to demonstrate that there are safe adults; over time they will learn to trust others. They need us to listen without judgement to their stories of
their past and their feelings about those stories; over time this will help them process their past and come to terms with it. They need us to understand
and respond to them as if they are emotionally half their age; over time this will help them grow and move through developmental stages they skipped
in order to survive.
Not for the Faint of Heart
Parenting children who've experienced trauma is not for the faint of heart or for those not fully committed to seeing it through. You may be inclined to
take my words at face value, but I encourage you to pause and consider.
Think about what it might mean to parent a child who doesn't believe in their core that they are loveable or that they need you to lead them; a child who
doesn't trust you and truly believes that they--not you--know what's best. Imagine how you might feel as you search for the right response when you
find that your favorite [insert object here] is intentionally broken or stolen. Or the exasperation you might feel at the end of a long day when your
precious one refuses to go to bed until they are good and ready.
In these situations you may find out a lot about yourself that you either didn't know or had previously avoided. You may be pushed beyond what you
think you can bear, only to find that you're stronger than you thought. You may be confronted, as I was, with the reality that "authoritative parenting" (I
didn't even know it had a name) will not work with these children. Or you may find that your feelings of success and failure as a parent have been
rooted in how well your children behave. Perhaps you have an insatiable need to be in control. No matter what your particular challenges may be, you'll
likely find that you, too, have some "special needs."
And though it might not feel like it, this is good news. Why? Because it's an opportunity to identify with your child in a real way. By experiencing how
difficult it can be to overcome a deeply ingrained belief, I'm able to put my money where my mouth is and (try) to live the very advice I give to him.
No, inviting someone who's been traumatized into your family is not for the faint hearted, but it is worth it. The benefits may take time to realize...a long
time. And I'd be less than truthful if I didn't say that there are some pretty hard days, days where I fear I'm just making things worse.
A Journey of Hope
But there are great days, too. Days like today, when my attachment-challenged child prayed for someone she knows who's hurting. It's these days that
make the other days easier to bear, because it's from these days that hope is born.
And hope is one of the main reasons we set ourselves on this journey in the first place.
Bob DeMarco is an adoptive parent in North Carolina