Update from the Director

Hey Everyone:

Ever had one of those WOW MOMENTS?? We have been having a WOW MONTH!!! Things are hopping at Farm Drive. The kids are just finishing up their second week of school, and we get daily visits from many of them, just to tell us how school is going. It is soooooo cute!!

We have had over 80 kids register for Homework Club. About half of them are new---never been to Homework Club before. That is so awesome. Unfortunately, we don’t have room for all 80 kids. We are exploring ways to make it work, including maybe adding an evening session. Isn’t that cool??? Pray for wisdom for us as we wrestle with these decisions.

Last night was the first night of our Family Wellness/Parenting classes, hosted by our Hispanic congregation, Iglesia Libre. This is a ten (or so) week class taught in Spanish by Arturo and Anna Velarde, members of Iglesia. They came to the Center during National Night Out in August, and 17 people signed up. That was very encouraging, but last night when the classes were to start, there were only two people there. As my faith started to wane, people started to show up, and by the time things really got rolling, there were 16 people in the class!!! Many of those people brought their small children, and we provided childcare for 22 kids!! Thanks, Margaret and Patty, for stepping in and taking charge. We had kids inside, we had kids outside, we had kids inside-out……well, you get the picture!!! I got to do jump rope and the limbo with the mid-range kids. I had it made!! The reports back from Arturo and Anna were outstanding!! God truly answers our prayers, doesn’t he??

I just wanted to give you a glimpse into the Farm Drive Ministry, so that you can get a flavor of what is going on…..

• Our Kollao ABF is teaching cooking to our older kids. A few weeks ago, we had five boys learning to make spaghetti. They made the sauce from scratch, including chopping onions, smashing garlic, and seasoning to taste. I contributed the method to test when the noodles are done. Yeah, that’s right, you throw them against the wall and if they stick, they are done….. OK, maybe it’s a guy thing…… And then, last weekend, nine of our girls made pizza from scratch. They got to make their own creations and then eat them. What fun we have had with these classes. Oh, did I mention?? This is going to be a monthly thing!!!

• Several of our older boys have started attending Church with us on Sundays. A few months ago, one of them had told me, “I’m never going to Church.” Imagine my surprise when he showed up to go one Sunday morning!! God moves, even when we can’t!! Only a God like ours!!! Ruben Escobedo has pressed some of the boys into service ushering on Sunday morning. It provides a sense of belonging for them. Very cool…………

• CRAM, our mentoring program, is already in full swing. We had nine high schoolers commit to being in the program last year. This year, we identified 11 more and had a meeting to gauge interest. Almost all of them showed up and voiced an interest in being involved. CRAM is a great program where we assign an individual mentor to each kid----someone who will monitor the kid’s attendance and performance in high school, and hopefully encourage them to some higher learning after high school. We do need mentors for these kids, too. If you are interested in giving some time back to this great program, please contact Becky Kompelien. We would love to have you. Also, please pray for these kids----for encouragement, for academic stamina, and for the commitment to follow through in CRAM.

• Last weekend, Dave Finkle took seven of our older boys to Henry Coe State Park on a work project. Did you know that Coe Park is the largest State Park in California? I didn’t until one of the boys told me!! See Dave? They were listening!!! They worked, they hiked, they slept outdoors, they had fun………..and Dave had the opportunity to spend some quality time with them!! We are really seeing a difference in behaviors and attitudes!! God is on the move at Farm Drive!!

We are still in need of some volunteers for Homework Club. If you have one afternoon free each week, for just 2 hours, we would love to have you!! The places we really, really need help are Mondays ( 3^rd and 4^th grade boys), Mondays (2^nd and 3^rd grade girls) and Thursdays (7^th and 8^th grade girls). God will really bless you through these kids whom He loves sooooo much.

Thank you so much for your continued support----for your financial support, for you support in donating school supplies for the kids and most of all, for your prayer support. May God bless you in ways you cannot imagine!!

Gary