{"id":6770,"date":"2019-04-10T15:30:38","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T20:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/family.pep.org\/cleveland\/?p=6770"},"modified":"2019-04-10T15:30:38","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T20:30:38","slug":"week-14-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/2019\/04\/10\/week-14-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 14"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\n

Monday, April 1, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were supposed to have our Toastmasters International\nclass today, but it was canceled. In its place, we were called to the computer\nlab for character assessments. It was really good to see how we correspond in\nour thoughts and opinions about one another. We have learned that no matter\nwhat background we come from and despite any issues we may be facing, we are\nall working towards the same goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PEP has shown us that love is a powerful force in life. God\nhas shown us His love through His Son. Now we are able to love one another as\nwell, no matter what we have done, no matter where we come from and no matter\nwhat skin color we may have. Our Toastmasters class has given us the ability to\nproperly express ourselves in public, and Authentic Manhood has helped us to\napply everything. This ability to love and show kindness is why we are known as\nthe Conquerors of Spring \u201919.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back on the pods (dorms), we came together to study for our\nupcoming tests in Entrepreneurship and Living in the Village classes. We are\nalso preparing for the Business Plan Workshop event this Friday. We truly feel\nvery blessed to be here in PEP. We look forward to having a wonderful\ngraduation and moving on to the next phase in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert\nS. (a.k.a. \u201cJohn Coffee\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday, April 2, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today started off with our Fall \u201919 brothers being called\nout to their Leadership Academy class. Those of us in Spring \u201919 who remained\non the pod prepared our questions for the upcoming Business Plan Workshop event\non Friday. With each event that we attend, we become more and more excited. We\ncannot wait to interact with the executives and get feedback on the different\nideas we have for our business plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of us are still talking about the character\nassessments that we completed yesterday. We can\u2019t help but wonder what our\nbrothers think about our character growth. We know that we are changing, but it\nis also good to find out what others think. We try each day to live out PEP\u2019s\n10 Driving Values, knowing that they will produce good character within us. We\nare focused; therefore we will endure!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael O. (a.k.a. \u201cMini Me\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday, April 3, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we were called out\nearly to the PEP room. We had the privilege to sit in on what we refer to as\npray-outs. This is a ceremony in which we say words of encouragement to our\nbrothers who are going home. At the end, everyone gathered together to do one\nbig prayer. We laid hands on the brothers going home and spoke blessings over\nthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 1 p.m., we returned to the\nPEP room for our Entrepreneurship class with Brian T. (a.k.a. \u201cCruella de Vil\u201d).\nWe usually go over chapters in our Entrepreneurship book in preparation for a\ntest. However, since we have an event on Friday, we did something a little\ndifferent. Brian T. wanted to make sure that we were well prepared for the\nevent. We talked about what we wanted to ask the executives and what we hoped to\ngain from the encounter. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jamual\nP. (a.k.a. \u201cSmall Shake\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday, April 4, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we continued to mentor and tutor the class of Fall \u201919\nas the men continued to study for their \u201cBig Five\u201d tests. It has been fun and\nexciting to assist the new classmates as they embark on the same journey that\nwe started approximately six months ago. We try and ease their anxieties,\nanswer their questions and offer advice, so that they can pass those things on\nto the class that follows them. This is a PEP tradition! We are merely passing\nthe same torch to them that the class that we succeeded passed to us. It reminds\nus of the old adage: \u201cas iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.\u201d That\naspect of the program remains evident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We continually study for our weekly Entrepreneurship and\nLiving in the Village tests. We are also reading this awesome book entitled Deadly Viper<\/em>. The book features a\nsegment about the founder of the Prison Entrepreneur Program, Catherine R. Here\nwe are, reading about a program in which we are involved. How cool is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We, the Conquerors of Spring \u201919, are all anxious and\nexcited about the event tomorrow. Our events are always a lot of fun. We have\nthe opportunity to interact with the executives who come to offer advice and\nconstructive criticism. It may seem clich\u00e9, but in an atmosphere that is\nsurrounded by uniformity and structure, the opportunity to see people in\ncivilian clothes, consisting of a wide spectrum of colors, gives us the feeling\nof being with our families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are one day closer to completing this stage of the\nprogram and graduating. Those of us who have made it this far are thoroughly\ncommitted to PEP\u2019s 10 Driving Values and the desire to change. There is a sense\nof camaraderie amongst us as we walk beside one another. It is truly amazing\nfor us to be a part of something this big!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake\nP. (a.k.a. \u201cChris Farley\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, April 5, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today was\na very long, yet rewarding, day for the Conquerors of Spring \u201919. We were\ncalled down to the PEP room, bright and early, for our Living in the Village\nclass. We took a test on Chapters 11, 12 and 13.We were a little behind\nschedule, but we are quickly catching up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An\nhour after class ended, we were called back to prepare for the Business Plan\nWorkshop event. We are always called out way before an event begins so that we\ncan loosen up and get ready for a day spent with the amazing executives who\ncome to share their wonderful knowledge and wisdom with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nexecutives were so eager to listen to our ideas and give us valuable tips to improve\nour business plans. It\u2019s truly amazing to have great people such as these give\nup their entire day and spend it with us. They genuinely care for us and want\nus to succeed, not only in PEP, but in life as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nConquerors of Spring \u201919 have weathered the storm and made it through all of\nthe tests and trials that have been thrown in our path. We now have to go and\nclaim our reward. Let\u2019s keep up the hard work and stay dedicated; we are almost\ndone with this leg of our journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christopher\nS. (a.k.a. \u201cPiggy Bank\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expressions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>It is not good that man should be alone; I will\nmake him a helper that is suitable for him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

             ~ Genesis 2:18<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were created as relational creatures. We\nwere made to fellowship with one another. Contrary to popular belief, it is not\nin our nature to be alone. It was never intended for us to pursue a state of\nsolitary existence, yet these days we tread through a society where people live\nin fear of one another. Wicked living has flooded the streets, resulting in\nextreme trust issues. This is stripping us of any desire to relate personally to\nthose around us, pushing us to hide within the anonymity of social media. This\nproduces an ultimate state of detachment, in which individuals are masquerading\nbehind this fa\u00e7ade of social media. The concept of love and benevolence has all\nbut completely vanished from our daily interactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to combat this social and spiritual\ndeterioration by embracing one another and walking in love. We should be stripping\nourselves of selfish ambitions and picking up the burdens of those around us.\nImagine what we could accomplish if we put the phones down and, in its stead,\nengaged in conversation. Seek out human embrace, not social disgrace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dalton D. (a.k.a. \u201cSweet and Low\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday, April 1, 2019 We were supposed to have our Toastmasters International class today, but it was canceled. In its place, we were called to the computer lab for character assessments. It was really good to see how we correspond in our thoughts and opinions about one another. We have learned that no matter what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clsp19"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6770\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}