Dear friends:

Aaron is a nice kid with a wonderful, warm sense of humor and a smile that wins your heart the second you meet him. However, Aaron is facing difficulties no 14-year-old should have to experience. A few weeks ago, he and his mother and brothers were evicted from their tiny apartment. Until "Mom" can locate another place, she is living with a friend and the boys are spread out among other families. Aaron is living with his cousin and best friend, Mark, in a house already overloaded with 4 kids, a pregnant cousin and an elderly grandmother. Mark’s grandmother does her best to care for everyone, but there literally aren’t enough beds for the kids who are there - much less for one more growing, hungry teenager!

Aslan has a limited window of opportunity to keep Aaron on the straight and narrow. His oldest brother has been expelled from high school and the middle brother is failing. That’s why Lynn Ann knew she had to ask Aaron to be a junior leader for our upcoming two-day, 60-mile Cheesequake Challenge bicycle ride. Before the first training ride last month, Lynn Ann sat Aaron down and asked him if he would accept the responsibility to set a good example for the other kids and be a real leader. Normally light-hearted about everything, Aaron sat in silence. Riding bicycles for long hours on busy highways with unpredictable hazards at every turn is no game. He understood this was serious business! You continually shout commands to the riders behind you to avoid potholes, branches and gratings. You have to be extremely careful at each intersection – helping stop traffic for a line of 15 or more riders. One false move or silly action could cause someone to get hurt – seriously hurt! Being a rider (and a follower) is one thing. Being a leader is a whole different ballgame.

I only wish you who read this letter could see how Aaron has risen to this challenge. In the past 5 weeks (some of the hardest in his life), he has gained a year in maturity and self-confidence! What’s amazing is the kids are following him! They no longer see him as just a peer. Now he’s a leader. Next Saturday and Sunday – with helmet strapped and gloves on –Aaron will take his place at the front of the line with the quiet confidence of a young man who knows that God can help us through the most difficult times.

Thanks to all of you who allow us the privilege of building and training leaders like Aaron! Please remember the ministry and children of Aslan when you pray. With your help, Aaron and so many others are given the chance to rise above their seemingly hopeless situations and become everything God desires for them to be.

Craig

Craig Bogard