Dear friends:

One day in early February, I was shocked when I opened the newspaper and read about the death of the mother of one of our Aslan kids.  As a college graduate, this beautiful, thirty-year-old woman had a good job and a promising future when complications from asthma led to double pneumonia and her sudden death.

I sat there shaking my head in sadness and disbelief.  I thought of the times I had spoken with her and what a conscientious and good mother she was to her son, *Darien.  It really meant a lot to me that her obituary mentioned she was a member of our Aslan Youth Ministries Parent Association.  What saddened me most was to think about Darien. What will happen to this young man, now that his mother is no longer in his life?  Two very hard questions for me to get past are why did this talented young woman have to die, and why did this ten-year-old boy have to lose the one person that meant more to him than anyone else in the world?  Of one thing I am sure - there will not be an easy answer to either of these questions.

I realize that there is a lot of pain in life for all of us.  What makes it so difficult for our Aslan children is there is rarely any relief.  When we say that we work with "disadvantaged" children, we are not using the word lightly.  Whether from poverty, prejudice, or any of the myriad other problems associated with urban America, nearly all of our kids come into this world at a real disadvantage.  Over 90 percent of our youngsters have little or no relationship with their fathers - ever!  Sitting here writing this letter, I can name fifteen children off the top of my head who live with neither their father or their mother!  I thank God that Darien has the love and support of his grandparents who will continue to raise him.  Some of our kids are not so fortunate.

Last night I saw Darien at Aslan's Wednesday basketball program. While one group of boys was playing basketball for an hour, another group was being mentored by Aslan adults.  The discussion centered around setting life goals.  I watched from the back of the room as Darien worked on his handout sheet.  I thanked God that Darien was there.  I thanked God that Aslan was there for him.  And I was especially thankful to God for each of you who, through your prayers and giving, make it possible for us to be there.  May God richly bless you for your gifts and prayers .  The world is a better place - for Darien and so many others - because of you!

Most sincerely,
 
 Craig Bogard