"Creating a Mentoring Community That Foster Children Can Rely Upon"

[AdrieneI]

So...I have felt this calling to respond to the issue of justice, particularly around children. I will start by including a portion of the blog I wrote after returning from a mission trip to Tanzania, which inluded summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro, as it sets the stage for how this vision has developed.

"I think we usually just get a glimpse of that vision, that mountain He wants us to climb, but it may only be a glimpse. If we choose to follow the course He sets before us, we may only see a few steps ahead. Sometimes that is a good thing. Perhaps if we saw the entire road we would turn back, discouraged or afraid. Sometimes along the way we may run into difficulty, feel like we can't continue, and in those instances, we need people to pray for us and encourage us, and in turn, we need to do the same for others. At the same time, we need to be sure we have prepared, using the disciplines of prayer, scripture reading and meditation.
So the question I leave Kili with is, what summit is God calling me to go after? After attending the Doing Justice conference, I know it has something to do with justice for children. I am excited to see what glimpse of the trail He might show me over the course of the next few months, what mountain He might ask me to climb. I guess I better start training now."

I won't spend time relating all of the ways God has spoken to me over these past couple of months, but I can tell you He has definitely brought me to this place. With Pastor Ralph, we have developed a vision statement (the title of this posting) that we will use to both explain this ministry and use in decision-making to determine what we will and won't take on. The central piece will be to bring together a community of people who are willing to share an hour or two of their time, sharing their experience and passion. This might be in helping an emanicipated minor (a foster child who has turned 18 ) or a foster child buy their first car, fill out a job application or get ready for an interview. It may be simply taking them to a sporting event, ballet, play or musical (something many of them have never experienced). In this way, we can create a resource base for these children that can support them through many stages of their life, especially at a time when the system no longer supports them.

This community will meet once a month to pray, share what current needs there are throughout the foster child community, and to see who in the community might have the skills and time available to meet those needs. It will be a community open to anyone: members of St. Matthew, members of other Valley churches, and still others who have no church affiliation.

So what I would love now is to hear from you and solicit your prayers. Is this a ministry you might be called to? Is there another aspect of the ministry that comes up for you? Perhaps you would just like to join us by praying for us. I am excited about this new mountain I have been called to and hope you will join me if you are feeling that calling, too.

[Jo]

I'm not sure if I'm receiving the same vision that you are, but I definitely know kids that could benefit from this type of contact. I'm thinking of one in particular, but I'm sure I could find others. So....maybe you were thinking about working through an agency. But if you weren't sure about where to "hook up" with the kids...maybe I could help. Jo