It has been wisely said that the seed once sown takes long to flower. In a world filled with "instant everything," people often see serious societal issues like welfare reform as an easy fix. Just tell all those "lazy" people to get a job! Just tell all those kids out robbing stores and killing people to stop it. Build a few more prisons, lock them up and throw away the key! Potatoes can be instant; a Big Mac and fries can be instant; and we definitely live in the instant information age. However, it still takes nine months for a baby to grow within the womb, and you cannot undo years and years of abuse and problems in people's lives in a matter of a few moments.
Aslan Youth Ministries takes a long-term approach
to our work. The behavioral problems we deal with are so serious and frustrating
that five minutes with our Aslan kids would literally drive most people
to drink! Last Saturday's bicycle training ride is all too good an example
of this. It is a challenge in itself to try and control 23 kids spread
out along a busy highway for a 3 hour ride. When you factor in certain
kids weaving in and out, spitting into mailboxes and treating our volunteers
with total disrespect, it can add up to a pretty miserable day. It would
be easy to solve a lot of the problems by just removing all the trouble-
makers from the ride. However, we would end up with less than a third of
the kids left. It is Aslan's job to work with troubled kids.
It takes time, patience and a good deal of love to melt the hardness in
a child's heart. It does not happen instantly!
Dashon** is a good example of this. His negative attitude caused major problems on the Saturday ride, but a few days later he was begging to go with us to the bike shop where we were having some equipment repaired. Along the way he was talking a mile a minute when he suddenly stopped to say, "Lynn Ann, how old can you be and still be in Aslan?" When she told him he can be in Aslan as long as he wants to, a huge smile broke out on his face. He said, "I don't ever want to quit Aslan. Even when I'm 20, I still want to come!" This is the same kid that has told us on more than one occasion that he was never coming back.
You need to know that through your giving you play an extremely important part in the lives of Dashon and so many other children. Without question there will be a lot of frustration and problems along Dashon's path, and the changes in his life will not be instantaneous. With a good dose of love and patience, however, he will one day be okay. Step by step and row by row, God's great love is healing broken lives through the significant work of Aslan Youth Ministries.
Most sincerely,
- S. Craig Bogard
** Dashon’s name has been changed to protect his identity.