Angel's Baptism

On January 22, 2012 after months of patiently waiting, our Angel was baptized! Pastor Chad, our amazing  Children's Minister, performed the baptism. He and Angel have a sweet bond, so that made it extra special. 

 Angel smiled ear to ear the whole time and his big dimples were evident even from the balcony as we watched on the big screen! We will get some closer up pictures in the coming month from the church photographer, so I will be sure to show you those when they become available. I know I can't wait to see them!

 Angel is so proud of his certificate of baptism and church membership.

We had some friends and family over for a pizza lunch to celebrate after church. Aunt Sarah and cousin Owen came all the way from Dallas for the occasion and we are so grateful for all those who came to celebrate this special day!  Poor Jeff could barely open his eyes because he had PRK (Laisk surgery) two days before. Gran and Poppa D, Sarah and Owen, and our little family posed for a picture with our precious Angel!

Dearest Angel,

We are so proud of your decision to follow Jesus and your growing passion for our Savior! I pray you continue to strive to serve Him each day with your life. I know He has big plans for you! You are already telling us that you want to be a missionary when you grow up! I will continue to pray daily for the wisdom and grace to parent you and support you as you pursue God's vision for your life! Our dear friends, the Mwanda's wrote to you about this verse and reminded us of God's promise from his Word. 

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

Luke 2:52

May you follow Jesus' example and may God receive all the glory for it!

With all our Love,

Mom and Dad

Fellowship and Service are Rising

I have had these pictures loaded on the blog just waiting to be blogged about for almost a month. Oh my am I behind! I think it has something to do with how tired I am of posting the back of the kids' heads. But, in less than a month that will be no more!

We recently started a new Sunday School class with 11 other couples at our church. The class is called the Rising and we have already found such community with the other couples and membership is growing! It is rare to find this level of authenticity and a true desire to spur one another on in our walks with the Lord! We have a different mission project each month planned by a different couple each time and geared toward the kids being able to be involved as well. Our first month we served here...

Our kids scoped and bagged beans with all the other kiddos and "A" sweetly helped a gentleman sweep up after! He is really into cleaning, much more like his daddy than his mommy in this way!
Here "J" is sporting one of our class t-shirts with our class scripture.
We also recently went camping with several of the other families from the class. I was a little nervous about how the boys would do with that much room to roam, but the other couples (even those without kids) were so good about helping corral all the kids! I told you there was true community! Kristina was smart and brought those light up necklaces for the kids to wear so we could see them in the dark! She saved me from having a heart attack, I am sure of it! We made smores around a camp fire together too! So fun!
Here's my hubby after he put up our tent! I think this is the first time I have ever slept in a tent, but I'm sure not the last because our boys LOVED it!
We woke up to beautiful scenery and more sweet fellowship!

We had a great camping site right by the lake!
All the kids get along so well! They played together digging in the dirt and running around. Who needs toys when you have fun and creative play mates like these!?!
I think this game is called bauche ball, but whatever it is the boys enjoyed it!
This is "J" and his lil' friend Cole! They have played together several times because Cole's momma Summer is a sweet friend of mine!
Jeff and I "competed" in a couple's competition.Some how we "missed" all the other games (AKA my hubby was hiding) but horseshoes...

and this game whatever it is called where you hook this ring to the tree. Jeff was really good at it!

The boys enjoyed pounding the guts out of this pinata! "A" has some serious swing! Maybe we should try baseball!

Since the camping trip, the Rising has had another family service day at a nursing home. Our family made visits to several rooms praying for the residents, handing out gift bags and crafts the kids made. The kids also sang for the residents and helped them play bingo. The son of one of the residents told us he could truly tell how it brought joy to the residents who he says are often sad when he comes to visit! I love that our class is so dedicated to teaching our kids how to love God and serve Him through serving others!

This fresh perspective on what truly matters is really at the heart of how God is moving in our little family! He is calling us to simplicity. We are simplifying our schedule and prioritizing God and one another over more activities and things. I am pretty sure God is just beginning this work in us, but I am so grateful that He is teaching us this so early in our kids' lives. I would hate to look back in 10 years and wish we had modeled for them how to truly cherish family and be self sacrificing with their time and belongings!

Amazing Grace

I have been writing and rewriting this post in my head for weeks. Recently God brought these thoughts together to remind me of some very simple but powerful truths. Again, I am putting myself out there and seeking to be authentic. If you read our blog just to learn about the daily adventures of our family, this may not interest you as much. But I believe strongly that as a Christian it is important to share about God's work in my life in hopes that it will encourage other believers or plant seeds for emerging faith in non-believers.

I have very strong memories of the day I met Jesus. I was 7 (exactly "A"s age) and we were coming home from Wednesday night church. We picked up fried chicken to take home for dinner. I heard an Amy Grant song on the radio. My sister was her biggest fan, we frequented her concerts, and definitely had a GIANT poster of her in our house. For the life of me I don't know what the song was called or any of the lyrics, but I clearly remember the message. It was that without a personal relationship with Christ I would spend an eternity in hell, separated from Him. I knew I loved Jesus and I wanted to be with Him forever. So, with simple child like faith I asked my mom to help me pray to become a Christian. She drew a picture that showed the gap between us and God and the bridge that is the cross that makes it possible for us to draw near to God. I had grown up in the church and knew about Jesus, but that day He became my Savior. I remember I had 2 French braids in my hair the day I was baptized and I remember that our sweet family friends, FH and Mary came to our church that day to celebrate with us. I am so grateful that these memories don't fade. I pray that my boys will come to know the Lord at a young age as well.

However, since I became a mom I have realized that I have taken my salvation for granted. In pride, I don't consider myself to be in need of grace. I admit that I sin, but it isn't that "bad". At least I don't commit the big sins, like... How ridiculous a thought, that sin would be on a continuum from really bad to permissible. Thank God, my pride has crumbled recently in light of my precious boys. In the last few months God has urged me to teach them with the mindset that the behavior or sin may be ugly, but they are of great worth. They will always be worthy of my forgiveness and unconditional love! No matter what they do I will always forgive, because they are my children. This is just a reflection of the type of love God offers me. I can forgive them in this way, because God has forgiven me with such perfect grace and mercy. Isn't that such a simple truth, yet so profound?! I never fully grasped this truth until I experienced the love of a parent for their child. How much more does God look at my sin, grieve for my waywardness, but long for me to seek His forgiveness and restore relationship with me? Still He sacrificed the life of His Son to make a way for this type of redemption. It is truly amazing! Our Sunday School teacher spoke about Pride and Forgiveness last week and this verse struck me like a lightening bolt!

"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved."

Ephesians 2:4-5

Lord, please continue to convict me of the ugly sin of pride each time it creeps up in me! I want to be ever mindful of the depth of my need for your grace!

I have experienced such joy and renewed awe for God's amazing grace! This version of the classic hymn has touched me since the first time I heard it, but now I sing it with greater conviction and tears of joy! I am praying that God uses it to remind you of His ever present and amazing grace!

Daily Dependence

So I try hard not to get on soup boxes on here because in general I don't want to offend anyone, but today it may seem like I am on one. Perhaps I am, but what I really want to convey through all of this is our faith in God's sovereignty and our love of our precious boys.

We are going through a particularly difficult junction in our journey as a family with daily reminders of how fleeting it all could be. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this particular experience is not something most families encounter. Perhaps just foster/adoptive families and families who journey through life threatening health issues share this practical daily need to treasure every moment. We are in the midst of doing just that and truly I am so grateful that I have the honor of spending every day with our boys, especially at this time of uncertainty. Speaking of uncertainty, it has placed a tremendous strain on all of of our earthly relationships. Friendships that once brought mutual encouragement, have become distant and injured by very vulnerable emotions. At the same time, a couple of friendships have flourished and grown and provided me in particular an outlet to share my heart freely without fear. For these I am very grateful. One sweet friend recently drew my attention to the verses that follow the verse we have on the boys wall. I have begun praying this truth over us and our boys. The entire passage of Isaiah 43 is awesome but here are some particularly powerful verses for our present circumstance:

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

³ For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.

⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.

⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

Through these verses I am reminded of God's characteristic of sacrificial love which protects His children at all costs!

While praying recently about our situation and seeking God's wisdom. He very clearly gave me another verse which I pray many times a day to center myself on His sovereign plan for our family and His ultimate will to receive glory. Again, the entire chapter brings comfort but this little phrase is always on my lips:

^{Psalm 46:10}

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

Please continue to pray for us as we grow closer to God and to one another during this difficult time of uncertainty. Your prayers and encouragement on our behalf truly mean more to us than we can express!

Stuck in the Muddy Mud

So, I have done some silly things in the past, one of which was lock myself in the garage...actually I've repeated that mistake a few times. But today was too funny of a goof up not to share.

"J" and I had a perfectly pleasant morning complete with an appearance from Spider man and a lot of cape wearing. When it came time to go to his weekly OT appointment, we headed off on the 20 minute trek to the clinic. I was feeling quite accomplished because we were on target to be early even with the stop to get gas. We were happily cruising down a 2 lane dirt road when the truck in front of us dropped his ladder out of the cab of his truck. The ladder didn't hit us, thank God and landed right in between the 2 lanes on the road, directly on the double yellow (do not pass) lines. At this point I start honking my horn and trying to get the man's attention so he won't lose his ladder. He keeps waving at us, thinking I guess we are someone he knows. I follow him all the way into his neighborhood where he finally pulls over to see what I want. He kindly thanks me after I inform him of the lost ladder and where he dropped it. He offers for me to follow him back to the road as I have totally lost my way in the unknown neighborhood. Here is where I make my first big mistake. I should have parted ways when I found my way instead of curiously following the man to see if the ladder was still there. In case you were worried, it was and someone had very kindly taken it out of the road and leaned it up against a fence. Did I mention the area is a tad bit more rural than other areas nearby and apparently everyone there is quite thoughtful?

Even after the detour we are still going to be on time to our appointment, that is until I try to turn around on the narrow 2 lane dirt road. I pull into what looked like a driveway but was really a very short, narrow rocky path that let to a fence that had a sign on it that read "Beware high voltage." Not the best place for me and my precious "J" to say the least! I was too chicken to stick my tail end out there in the road so I made my 2nd major mistake. I tried to turn around on the dirt driveway that was surrounded by mud. Yes, we got stuck in the mud and the harder I tried to get us out the worse it got. Mud was flying everywhere and at that instant I wished I had a SUV instead of my low lying Saturn sedan. I tried to explain to "J" to be calm, but we were stuck. It's almost comical that the boys often pretend their toy cars are "stuck in the muddy mud." It was for real no matter how much I wished we were pretending. Just then "ladder man" pulls over and offers to help us. I laughed about how I paid it forward and the return was much quicker than expected. Our bald super hero for the day and another kind gentleman who stopped to help made a make shift tow cable of what looked like an old fire hose and pulled us out of the mud. The lady with ladder man commented that this is what you call "southern engineering."

Despite the antics, it was an excellent opportunity for me to clearly show "J" the value of helping other people. At one point he asked to get out of the car while the men were trying to get us out of the mud, probably wanting to help. I got to tell him that when he is a man he can help other people like our friend the ladder man was doing for us now. I love any chance to plant seeds of character in my little men! We needed a good car wash anyway and the boys got a kick out of that experience too!

Give Life

We will update you on our fun Saturday of basketball games and birthday parties soon, but today we are focusing on a prayer of thanksgiving and intercession. This week we have all been praying for the country of Haiti and the families forever changed by the devastation. One family we know of has adopted 2 children from Haiti, one of which is still in the country. Please join us in praying for the Ivey's and their son, Amos as well as all the families experiencing similar heartache and fear.

Today we also stop to pray as a part of Sanctity of Life Sunday. Many of you probably took part in this day of remembrance and prayer that seeks to shed light on the dark issue of abortion. Houston is especially broken today because tomorrow the 2nd largest abortion clinic in the world will open here. You can read more about the effort local churches are making to make a peaceful stand against this facility and for the unborn at this site. I encourage you to watch the video as well which only takes a few moments but will surely change the way you think about this issue.

Today in the service I was reminded to pray for our children's birth mother for the very first time. I have let her remain nameless and faceless in my mind until today, mainly out of fear of the feelings I might have towards her. Her name is on the children's birth certificates, which I have but I never really took note of it. I could chose to hold such anger towards her for the choices she made which have had life altering effects on them. The choices she made that did not protect them and instead harmed them are always on my mind. This is where I have been, but today I chose to be grateful that she chose life for my boys. I will forever be endeared to her for that, because of them. I will also pray that God will capture her heart for Him and make her a new creation for His glory.

Psalm 139

13For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

Heart to Heart

So, I usually try to be positive. People close to me would probably describe me that way. However, I have learned throughout my life that authenticity is a much more favorable characteristic. I don't necessarily love to show people the non-"shiny happy people" side of myself, but lately I have had no other choice. In fact I usually prefer just to hide all together when I am feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Up until this point in our journey with our boys, I have pretty much done just that. That's not an option any more though because this will eat me up if I do.

Things have been hard to say the least, but God has brought us through all kinds of challenges in life and I know He will do the same for us now. Jeff and I are no stranger to difficulty and we have made it through job loss, health issues, and stressful family situations already in our short 2 1/2 year marriage. So, there's a taste of the positive spin. The Lord has been growing us to trust Him, which is always a lesson I need to receive a refresher on.

The icky part is that it is really easy to feel isolated. I cried through church on Sunday, surrounded by young couples like us experiencing new parenthood much differently than us. It is difficult to explain because I don't covet their experience and I know it brings it's own set of trials. I do however wish for camaraderie. The "we are all in this together" kind of feeling that many new parents bond with. We however know no one in a similar situation to our own. Well, I should say we didn't know anyone else.

We have been immensely blessed by an adoption ministry we are a part of at our church. One of the sweet couples we met there, though they are parenting a precious baby girl, reached out to us. She offered to connect us with their neighbor who has adopted siblings through CPS. She mentioned it to me on several occasions before she sat me down and made me schedule a date and time to meet. Though I longed for this connection, I was nervous at the same time to be vulnerable - to admit I didn't have it all together.

Well, today was the day. "J" and I went to my sweet friend's house where she had prepared a lovely breakfast and she watched the kids while I met my new Mommy friend. This experienced Mom encouraged me, hugged me, and shared her story. Giving me information, but most importantly making sure I knew I wasn't alone. This was such a precious gift. She gave me her number and made me promise to call her when I need it. Another blessing I couldn't have asked for, but truly needed. I have also been connected through Facebook to another friend of a friend with a story like ours. God has been so good to us to bring people into our lives to encourage us! So, forgive me if I'm not in a "shiny happy people" kind of mood next time we talk or meet, but please just love me through it. I think that's what community is all about and even more so the body of Christ. I don't know where we got the idea that we had to hide all of our troubles from each other, but I know it wasn't from Christ. He offers quite the opposite model for redemption and love.

170 Million Minus 2

Last night we attended a live telecast at our church in honor of Orphan Sunday. We won't discuss the fact that my children were throwing paper at the speaker and rolling under the pews. Anyway, Steven Curtis Chapman and others from his ministry and that of Focus on the Family came together to mobilize"the Church" to consider the plight of the orphan. Testimonies were given of the work God is doing through His church to care for "the least of these" around the world. Foster care was discussed along with statistics like this one: Can you believe a child becomes an orphan every 18 seconds?!

Steven shared his heart for this ministry and outreach but even more present was the heart of God. I have been struggling over the last couple of weeks with frustration about the bureaucratic system that we are entangled in as a family right now and all the unknowns. God has been ministering to my heart through songs like Addison Road's "What Do I know of Holy?" and others. Last night was another opportunity for God to remind me that He is sovereign. He has our children's names written on His hands and they are ultimately His alone. We are entrusted with them for now and for that we will be forever grateful. No one is promised tomorrow and so we will thank God for every moment we share with our precious sons, even if we don't share the same last name. A statistic was given last night that there are currently 170 million orphans worldwide. Make that 170 million minus 2!

Psalm 68:5-6a

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families"

Please read about Steven's ministry and consider getting involved in this cause.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Truth

WARNING - This is a long post.

It was 6 1/2 weeks ago that I wrote this entry to share the news that we were officially a waiting family. I know I haven't shared much since then about the matching process we are going through and to be honest I didn't know how much I wanted to share. It has been gut wrenching and a compete emotional roller coaster! I have decided though that I need to be transparent and as scared as I am to be vulnerable during this time, God has called me to do so.

I would love to tell you that this process has been all smiles and warm fuzzes, but it hasn't. Most people have that idea of adoption. That it is somehow an "easier" way to bring a child in your family, but it is not. In the same way that God chooses the specific child that a couple will bring into their family through childbirth, He chooses the children He has planned for adoptive families. Our adoption worker told us yesterday that being matched with your child is a miracle and I believe it is just as much a miracle as childbirth. Our adoption ministers at church say, "some babies grow in their mommy's tummy, and other babies grow in their mommy's heart." This experience is stretching my heart to be filled by the abundant love I will have for my child(ren). But there are growing pains, that's for sure.

During this time we have been impacted by the stories of 6 children. Though we are unsure which if any of the 6 will be placed in our home, they will forever be in our hearts! If you remember, shortly after we were verified we were asked to consider taking 2 children at once to accommodate the need to place siblings together. The specific children we were presented with are brothers. The youngest is an almost 4 year old and the oldest brother is a recent 6. We were immediately drawn to their stories and prayed and planned for if/how we could meet their needs. We hadn't planned for day care so we had to figure out cost and availability. Ultimately we decided to submit for the boys. A few days later we were told that the boys also have 2 sisters that they are not currently placed with and CPS wants to try to find a home for all 4 to be together, possibly with a relative. We experienced our first disappointment, but these brothers have continued to be brought to our hearts and are in our prayers daily.

A couple of weeks went by and we were getting ready for vacation when we were approached about a 2 year old boy. We decided to have our home study submitted for consideration for him. We haven't heard about his status, but if we had been chosen for the RAZ we would probably know by now. The Monday after we returned from vacation, we were approached about a 5 year old boy. We submitted for him as well. Again, we haven't heard anything and we probably would have if we were supposed to.

While we were waiting to hear about the status of the 2 year old and 5 year, we were asked about another set of brothers. The phone call came the very next day after we had submitted for the 5 year old. This set of brothers consists of an 8 year old and 5 year old that we heard about 5 days before they had to be moved from their current foster home. We had to make a quick decision, so we went to work planning/preparing for their arrival including considering how to transfer their school records. We learned about them on a Wednesday and we had planned for them to move in on the following Saturday. It was a whirlwind! I asked my boss about taking time off next week to help them transition and she discussed them having a big kid shower for me when they came and we knew all their sizes and preferences. Well, because

these children's parental rights are terminated but they are waiting for the adoption prep unit at CPS to complete the formal process for finding their permanent home, this worker wanted to read our home study before deciding they would move to our home. Thursday afternoon, we were shocked when we were told by our agency, that the CPS worker did not want the boys placed with us because we are Caucasian and the boys are African American. This is the only reason she gave and she even went so far as to say that if an African American foster to adopt family couldn't be found by the deadline for the move (in two days) to move the children to an African American foster home. She made the decision that she'd rather these children be moved twice in a short period of time, then they live with us because we are Caucasian. I was angry for us, but more importantly for the boys. I spent the next several days grieving, crying at the drop of a hat and all around not functioning. I had to tell my boss and the family members we had told that they weren't coming. I could write a whole blog entry about what I think about this subject, but I will leave you this link to review the facts about the number of African American children in foster care and their increased waiting time for an adoptive family. However we are grateful for God's provision in our lives. Our agency is Christian and the adoption matching specialist we've been working with is a man of God (that happens to be African American). He told us that "some people have agendas, but God has a plan." We are holding firm to this promise in these days of uncertainty.

By Tuesday of this week, I was starting to be able to function again, resting in a bit more peace. Another curve ball came the very next afternoon. I was driving back to the office from a visit when Jeff called me and said in a very serious tone, "do you have a few minutes to talk?" I pulled into the McDonald's parking lot to hear the bombshell. A week since we had first heard about the 2nd set of brothers, we were approached again about the first set. I won't share much about how this is manifesting itself, but we feel God's hand all over it! We are cautiously hopeful that we will be closer to growing our family in the coming weeks! Please continue to keep us and the children we've mentioned in your prayers!

Faith and works

So, it's the life long question/debate that can be heard in Christian circles. The old faith in relation to works discussion is frequent, but I never have thought about it the way I heard it in the sermon at our church last Sunday.

Our church, HFBC, has been renovating the sanctuary and giving it a much needed update and improving the sound and lighting systems. Sunday was the first official Sunday in the "new" sanctuary. The seats were packed and there was a lot of excitement, but what was most exciting to me was the refreshing message with a new perspective on our role as Christians.

As anyone who frequents our blog can tell, I have been experience some major "burn out" at work for over 6 months now. This, I'm ashamed to admit has also deeply effected my attitude and therefore relationships outside of work as well. This sounds like a tangent, but it isn't. Pastor Greg's sermon spoke to me regarding this. He began a series on 1 Thessalonians in which we examine the church in Thessalonica in relationship to who we are as a church body. The first section is called "Gathering Our Hearts", to be followed by "Grow our Souls" and "Give our Lives." If you are still with me, I am going to list the points in the sermon.

1. Grace then peace - Ignoring His grace forfeits His peace
* Pastor Greg urged us to "humbly acknowledge our need for God's leadership"
2. Our faith produces (catapults) our work
3. Our love prompts our labor - this is my favorite point!
4. Our hope (expectation of God's work) inspires our endurance.

It has been some time since I experienced peace and this message got me thinking about why. I "know" that I need to trust God and depend on him for strength to live each day, but I truly don't do it. If I did, I would experience peace and I would be prompted by His love to labor with endurance.

So, this week I have been working on this. Though it is an ongoing issue, I do feel more cognoscente of my part in surrendering my work to God so that I may experience His Peace!

Encouragement from an Unlikely Source

Okay, so most of you know that it has been a difficult few months at my job and I have really considered making changes. Well, due to some recent events it appears that God has other plans and He would like me to stay, at least for now, working with foster families. Last night I recieved some news of rejection from another opportunity and in the very next moment, I came across this in the blog of one of my foster mothers:

"when it feels like everything is falling apart around me and my anxiety level over things out of my control has reached a toxic level. I am so thankful to have a clinician with the agency I am through who not only supports me and my worries, but is also a Christian and not afraid to remind me of God's sovereign plan, love and peace."

Isn't it wonderful that God uses other people to bless us right at the exact moment when we need it?! I was feeling really hurt and rejected and I read this and God ministered to me greatly by these words that the foster mother did not even expect me to read. Praise God for His ever personal and loving manner of encouraging us in pursuing His will!

Houston Project 2008

Last night we completed Houston Project 2008. I mentioned it in an earlier post, but this is our church's approach to get as many people as possible involved in local missions. We were at one of the 8 sites, called Allen Parkway Village. We truly loved getting to know the community and the kids! We had a VBS, middle school and high school program (w/ real rappers), a ladies' Bible Study, and evangelism at the site. I was also able to connect with a couple of the moms of our children, which was a pleasure. Jeff and I directed the 5 year old group and boy, they were active to say the least. The most difficult part was that we were outside under tents that had no sides. We tried to put up netting to keep all the kids in, but it was a constant struggle to contain them. They were literally in their own backyard and are used to having free reign of the whole complex.

Tavoris, Kaleub, Deneshia, and I


Jeff and I after completing our first year doing Houston Project together:


A group picture of all the couples from our Sunday School class that served at our site:


We did our best to keep all the kids together and God gave us the opportunity to spend a lot of one on one time with one of the kids that liked to escape, Kaleub. I immediatley knew that some of Kaleub's actions were beyond his control. It wasn't until last night that I understood. Kaleub shared with me that his mom recently went to jail. In the same evening one of our other frequent run aways told me she saw her cousin go to jail for shooting someone. My heart goes out to these kids, who in their first 5 years experienced things that no one would want a child to experience! If you would, please pray for these precious children and their families, we would appreciate it.