A Tough Reality

Tomorrow will make a week of my summer here at Oak Ranch.  The time has flown by and it definitely doesn't feel like I have been here that long.  However, that doesn't mean that I have not grown attached to these girls...I know surprising right :).  Last week I really got to know the five young ladies and some of the pieces that have fallen around them.  Then on Friday we loaded them up in cars with people who had a role in pulling apart those very pieces.  We smiled and said "have a good weekend" while trying to do the right thing -- be forgiving and non-judgmental.  These past couple of days we have spent our time trying to pick them back up and boy has it been tough. 

All weekend I couldn't get this out of my head, I kept running the stories over and over in my head trying to make everything fit.  Come Monday when all of them were back, the amount of frustration and tension was simply overwhelming.  I will have to say that this has been a tough reality for me and it's something that I foresee being the biggest challenge of my summer.  I really had to give credit to the workers who are here week in and out as they hold their heads high by the Grace of God and become role models for these hurting young people and families.  The unique thing about Baptist Children's Home is that they work to heal the child as well as help the family.  Their ultimate goal for each child is to have them back with their families. This differs from most other foster care programs in that they only 'treat' the child and not the root of most of the issues, the family. 

I really am excited and glad to be working here, besides all the feed buckets and horses I have to ride, this shouldn't be too bad of a summer.  :)  While everyone is still in school I have been spending my days at the barn working horses, trail riding, feeding goats and well pretty much anything else there is to do.  Hopefully in another week I'll be working more closely with both the horses and the students as they work to overcome their issues and find God amongst the rubble. Today, I got to do my first bible study/devotion with both the girls and boys so we went through the first book of Daniel and talked about his courage and how he was able to be true to his faith in challenging situations.  I am most definitely going to get some good classroom management skills with this group and they are keeping me on my toes with each lesson I share. 

I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers so for this week I ask that you help me be able to work with the guys and learn how to connect with them more.  Please pray that I do not get overwhelmed with lack of knowledge of the situations each young man is in and that I am able to be still and allow God to speak through me in the time I am with them.  Please pray for the 7 boys that are here and the 5 girls, two of which will be leaving next week and then 4 more will be joining us shortly after.  Please pray for the families and that the girl's leaving will have a healthy transition from OR to home. Finally, please pray for the house parents and the workers here that they are encouraged and find patience in the difficult days.

Love you all, I have a 6:30 trail ride in the morning so good night!  :)