Dear friends:

One of the wonderful by-products of genuine love is that it brings people together.  In a world continually divided along ethnic and racial lines, Aslan Youth Ministries stands as a reminder that real love brings people together.  Although our programs have from the beginning been designed to address the particular problems facing urban, African-American youth, children from all ethnic backgrounds have always been welcome.  Aslan is a multi-racial and multi-cultural ministry throughout, from the children we serve to our paid staff to our volunteers (an amazing mix of African-Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, East Indians, Japanese, Chinese and on and on)!

Due to the changing demography of the area, we find a growing number of Hispanic children coming to Aslan.  A few weeks ago, I appeared in court with Maria* and her son, Juan.*  Three years ago, Maria was trying to support her five children (ages 3 – 14) on welfare and food stamps.  With her strong desire for a job (and a little push from the new “workfare” laws), Maria went to school for a year to train as a nurse’s aide.  She now works the 11 PM – 7 AM shift at a local hospital.  It hasn’t been easy to hold down this job and raise her children by herself.  In fact, Maria’s two oldest sons have gotten into some real trouble at school over the past two years.

Juan, aged twelve, missed 60 days of school this year.  Even when Maria was sure he got on the bus, Juan would often just walk out of class and leave school in the middle of the day.  Finally, the judge laid down an ultimatum.  Either Juan goes to school or his mother goes to jail!  Fortunately, a wonderful attorney and friend of Aslan convinced the judge to give us the summer to help get Juan on the right track.  We are now working diligently to arrange for professional counseling for Juan and to get him involved in as many Aslan activities as possible.  When Juan and Maria return to court in the fall, we hope to show the judge that real progress is being made to help this family.

Thank you so much for caring for the children of Aslan through your gifts and your prayers.  Our work is a wonderful tapestry of many colors – from the children to our staff and volunteers.  However, Aslan really isn’t about color – it’s about love!  “The three most important things to have are faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of them is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13, NIrV).

Most sincerely,

  Craig

Craig Bogard