Dear friends:

We just spent 5 days in the rolling hills of Midwestern Pennsylvania with 10 of our Aslan teenagers. Our trip to Creation Festival is an annual occurrence and one we all love. Camping in tents amidst 100,000 other church youth groups is quite an experience in itself. With four days of nonstop singing groups, speakers and special activities, this is one of the things our Aslan kids look forward to all year long. One of the real thrills of Creation is the evening shower, and I don’t mean rain showers! The water is refreshingly frigid – a real break from the 95 degree days!

The children of Aslan never get the chance to camp out in the woods with their families. Jeremy, whose mother is in prison, lives with his elderly father. Nicholas and his brothers live in a tiny apartment with their sickly, single-parent mom. Marcos and his mother and brothers are crowded in with friends, after being evicted from their Red Bank apartment 4 months ago. His dad has been in and out of jail nearly all of Marcos’ life. Jamal and Hakeem live with their grandmother in a household with 8 other kids and 2 young mothers. Shatira lives with her mom and her mom’s boyfriend. Shayla, her 3 sisters and an elderly grandmother live with their mom in a house where screaming and being backhanded across the room is commonplace. Kara is the only one coming to Creation this year that lives with her biological parents. Her father is a hopeless alcoholic that we often see staggering down the street.

The best thing about Creation Festival is not the musical groups or camping. The best thing is what takes place in the lives and hearts of our Aslan kids. Getting them away from their negative environments and circumstances is so good for them. Their attitudes and behavior are still a real pain at times. However, at Creation they see the world from a different perspective. For a few short moments, they laugh and run and play in a world of hope.

All of us at Aslan really appreciate your support and prayers. Please pray for Jeremy, Nick, Shatira, Kara and the rest. They’re all now back to their daily routines - back in their world of problems. But for a few days last week, they each got a glimpse of God’s love. Their eyes were opened and, hopefully, their lives will never quite be the same.

Craig

Craig Bogard

P.S. I have changed the names of these children to protect their privacy