We have started girls night and boys night every Sunday night. Our one girl and her baby come to the staff house will all the girl staff and the two boy staff go to the Shelter house. We do girly things like, watch girly movies, crafts, cook, and we started a Bible study on the life of Sarah. The boys on the other hand, throw colored water balloons at each other, run around like wild indians and watch funny PG action movies and eat snacks. We are working on getting the Bible study on Wild at Heart started for them.
All the kids were baptized 2 weeks ago, and continue to grow and change in their attitudes and behaviors. We are so proud of them all. We are starting a new school arrangement which everybody likes. It's called A.L.S. (Alternative Learning System). It is a modular system created and set up for out of school youth to complete a high school equivalency test. One of our board members has been a high school principal for years and is an incredible educator. She was recently promoted to Dep Ed office which allows her to have weekends off. So she is coming every Saturday to test the kids on the modules they complete during the week. We have had one week so far and everyone LOVES it. The staff are learning to be teachers now and love it! After the kids finish the A.L.S. and pass the final test they can then enter TESDA which is a vocational school where they can learn cooking, restaurant/hotel management, welding, carpentry. auto mechanics etc....
My heart has been heavy with vision...
- I really want to open a girls home. There are so many girls and new ones every day. We just can't take in any more girls in the one house, we really need a separate house for girls. Which means a separate staff for the girls. It takes 7 people to run one house.
- I also want to re-open the drop-in center NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We need 5 people to run that.
- I am also dreaming of an alternative school for all the street kids not just the ones living in our shelters. So for that we would need a whole teaching staff M-F.
- I also have thought about the possibility of starting a business here where the kids could work...thought is a coffee shop where live bands would come and play and board games would be on the tables sort of a family place but definitely a place where street-people could walk in and be welcomed and ministered to.
- I also want to start "Frontline"; their ministry would be strictly to the streets and those who are still in and on the streets. The Frontline team would go out nightly and witness, pray for, bring food and medical help to those on the streets.
- I dream of one day having a YWAM Children At Risk School here in Project Destiny Kids, where people form around the world will come and learn how to do street kid ministry.
- I will be asking one of the local Bible Colleges to partner with us. I would teach a course in the college on street kids then the 5th year Bible College students would intern by working in either the drop-in center or one of the Shelter houses or be part of the Frontline team
All of these dreams will happen in God's timing, it's just that they are burning in my heart now. And kids are literally dieing in the streets now. So we are praying and belieiving for more staff, buildings, and increased financial support.
