Aslan Newsletter of January 22, 2000

Dear friends:

Jason* is really a great kid. He is one of those young people that you like immediately – very quiet, with a great sense of humor. Jason has come to Aslan for five years now, but the past few months have been a little rocky. As a fourteen-year-old, he is at a real crossroads in his life – choosing the way his mother and Aslan have taught him or the way of the world. Unfortunately, his older brother Mark* (also very likeable) has been hanging out with the wrong crowd of late, smoking pot and staying out all hours. We’re working overtime to keep Jason from heading down that road!

It seems like Jason, Mark and their younger brother were born coming to Aslan. Many years ago their father played on our high school basketball team. He also was a great guy, but he didn’t let the values and lessons we tried to instill in him take root – spending the past 10 years in and out of prison and drug treatment and rarely a part of his sons’ lives. Jason’s mother, on the other hand, is one of the nicest ladies you would ever want to meet. Guided by her very strong faith, she volunteers for Aslan at the drop of a hat. She works very, very hard to support 3 hungry boys and make ends meet. It is her faith and her perseverance that keeps the family together. Many, many times she has shared with us how very important Aslan Youth Ministries is in the lives of Jason, Mark and her youngest. The love they receive and the discipline they learn at Aslan are critically important to their mental, physical and spiritual growth. As with all the young people we serve, Aslan is a large part of the family they are missing.

In this letter, I want to convey to you why your support is so critically important. Words, however, seem so inadequate. Jason and Mark are living, breathing children whose present and future are hanging in the balance. Perhaps they might someday be engineers, doctors, teachers or social workers. One thing I am sure of is neither Jason nor Mark will be successful without Aslan’s help! They will most likely become one more statistic – another child lost, another dream stolen away.

When you write out your next gift to Aslan, be reminded that you are a partner with us in Jason and Mark’s lives and the lives of hundreds of other children. Without your generosity and your prayers, there could be no Aslan.

Most sincerely!

Craig Bogard