Dear friends:

This past Saturday, five Aslan teenagers and six adults went on a grueling twenty-eight mile ride in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania.  It was by far the most challenging ride we have ever attempted.  The first twenty-five miles were difficult, but the final few miles were excruciatingly hard.  Most of us were forced to walk and push our bikes a good deal of the way that remained.

When you look into the lives of the kids who went with us, you wonder how they can even get up in the morning - much less get up at 5:00 AM, drive for several hours, ride bicycles up and down mountains for six hours and come back home 16 hours later!  Jerrel* lives with a cousin, while his mother sits in prison in northern Jersey.  Terrance's* mother was only recently released from prison.  He has been living with his aunt for the last 5 years, while his two sisters live elsewhere.  He has no contact with his father.  Cara* lives with her mother and has no contact with her father.  James* lives in a tiny, ramshackled apartment with his mother and a live-in guy he calls his "stepdad."  Daryl* has sickle cell anemia and lives with his grandmother.  It was only recently that his mother overcame her drug addiction.

These children grow up hearing "You can't . . . ! You'll never . . . !"  They have absolutely no confidence in themselves or in any of their abilities.  Aslan is perhaps the only positive influence in their lives to counteract these negative prophecies.  Whenever they are with us, they constantly hear "With God's help, you can . . . ! With hard work and determination, you will . . . !"  We test the limits of their endurance and push them to excel.  However, victories with our Aslan youngsters are not won by the mile but by the inch.  It takes years to undo the devastation in their hearts and rebuild their broken lives.

I only wish you could have heard Jerrel, Terrance, Cara, James and Daryl chatting back and forth after the ride on Saturday.  We adults were exhausted, but the kids were as excited and enthusiastic as they had been at 5:00 that morning!  They had just conquered a mountain, not the least of which was believing in themselves.  They had just accomplished something that, only hours earlier, was not in the realm of possibility.

Thank you for the loving and caring you have expressed through your gifts and prayers.  With your help, mountains are being conquered . . . children's dreams are coming true.

Sincerely in Christ,

 Craig

Craig Bogard