IT'S NICE TO BE NEEDED!

A few weeks ago, while meeting with staff of Williamson County Juvenile Justice about the plans for the new Reset Home, we received an amazing compliment.  
 
The Chief shared that while we're moving ahead with Reset Home, he wanted to make sure we would still do the mentoring, Sunday Funday, and life skill classes.  What that said to me was that Reset Mentoring has become a valuable part of the teens' progress.  I thought to myself, “What a great compliment to the hard work of our mentors who have volunteered their time over the last 9 years.”

This compliment leaves us with an ISSUE!  Most of the teens in CORE (long term custody program) are boys.  We NEED more male mentors!  We are working with kids from Florence to Pflugerville, Taylor to Liberty Hill, and everywhere in between.  We need mentors who are willing to donate four hours a week to shine a light into the lives of these young men.  

What does mentoring look like?  We’re glad you asked!  It looks like movies or walks, playing sports or instruments, driving around or fixing a car, helping with a job hunt or getting plugged into school, taking them to church, getting them connected, and listening.  We say, “Just do life and teach by example!”  A lot of the kids think Christians are just boring and stuffy.  And that couldn’t be further from the truth!  We have power lifting mentors, fishing mentors, mechanic mentors, and adventurous mentors. 

If you are a man who loves Jesus and is fun loving, give us a call! If  you know of any men who love Jesus and are fun loving, encourage them to call us or visit our website.  (Forward this email to them!)  Step in and shine the light!  

This is a great time to become a mentor.  You can start by coming to Sunday Fundays (twice a month, 2-5 pm) to meet all the kids.  It's exciting to see connections being made and mentor relationships forming when a teen and a mentor mesh during Sunday Fundays!  

Thank you very much for carrying for so long and so well this vision that God has given us.  I cannot wait to see what he does next!  Be blessed!

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Ethan's gift

Thursday evening we took some of our teens to the Reset Home to pray over the demo and all that will be happening in the future.  You could feel God throughout the house and it was amazing!  What I didn't know was that God was speaking to one of our teens -- asking him to do something, that to be 100% honest, I might not be able to do.

He leaned over to his adopted dad and told him what God had laid on his heart.  (Ask me the story of a Reset teen who had nowhere to go and his mentor who took him in and gave him a forever home full of siblings, cousins, and love -- and how it changed the course of his life!)

When they got home, they gathered as a family and Ethan shared what God had put on his heart.  And, as they do with every big decision, they prayed.

The next morning Ethan texted to see if I was home and asked if he could stop by.  After I opened the door to my sweet Ethan, he came in and told me that the previous night God had asked him to do something...empty his bank account (the money he had been saving for 2 years to buy a car) and give it to the Reset Home.

I was already crying.  Then he told me how much was in the envelope he held in his hand, and I started bawling like a baby.  "Are you sure Ethan?" I stammered.   I wasn't sure if I could accept it. When Chuck told me that he and Jeanie (adoptive parents) had prayed with him and they okayed it, I knew I couldn't stand in the way of this blessing.

Thank you Ethan for contributing to our triple match.  Your $800 will become $2,400 to help with the construction costs of Reset Home!   I am amazed at how you have grown since you moved into your new home and I love the way you serve the Lord each Sunday.  

Watching Ethan's growth was one of the reasons I became convinced that a home with foster parents who would pour into the lives of teens and get them connected in church and school, would be the answer to the problem of  "What if I have nowhere to go?" 

Won't you consider joining Ethan in donating to the remodeling of Reset Home and impacting the future of the teens who will live there?

Donate Here

ENTRY WRITTEN BY LORIE GOGGIN