Getting To Know You

Thanks to Tammy who took the pictures now on this site when she was here in June. We are missing two of our girls and we will see about adding them.

I realize that we have been telling you much about our setting and not so much about the reason we are here - the girls. Due to privacy issues we have to be sensitive to what we say, but we find these children to be very open and within a short time willing to share much of their lives. We have most of these children due to the state removing them from their homes because of neglect or abuse. Drug use is a major problem here and the children fall by the wayside. In reading their histories, usually what happens is a neighbor or family member calls the state to notify them that there are children more or less raising themselves. Since we have the older girls on campus, we have several who were playing "mom" while mom was away doing her thing. Most cases the dads are absent.

This situation of being the "mom" presents some interesting challenges to us. For one, there are a lot of bosses in the house. Second of all, these kids haven't had a chance to be kids. The older are very protective of the younger ones. Since we have a group of 4 sisters in the house, we have had to convince the older ones that we will take good care of the younger ones and that they are to assume the role of sibling not parent. We often say let us be the parent. You be the sister. But as you can imagine, it is a learning experience for all of us.

We would like to open the door to the world for our girls. Let them see what is out there and what opportunities they can have by getting an education and choosing to live life differently than has been modeled for them. So when Ray and I choose activities, it is very often in the direction of education/new experiences combined with fun. I've told you about our museum trip. Another outing we had was an eco-dolphin tour out in the bay. The boat pulled a net and then reeled in their catches and showed the marvelous sea life that is beneath the water...all of the girls crowded in to look and listen and hold these creatures. Later that day we walked down a pier and watched the fishermen pulling in their catches. It was a delightful experience for all of us.

Ray and I thank you for your continual prayers. They are the reason we can get up each morning with energy and enthusiasm and thankfulness for this wonderful challenge God has given us.