News Article

Last month, a reporter and a photographer from the Yakima Herald-Republic came to "Night Out!".  Here's their story:

Special program for special-needs children Yakima Herald-Republic Online

R & R and a little work too

This week (Monday - Wednesday) Steve and I are in New Port, Oregon at the Pastors and Wives retreat for the Pacific conference of the Evangelical church. It's been a wonderful time of relaxing, renewal, and catching up with friends we haven't seen in a while.  I took by text books along to study for my classes, but quickly realized that studying or any kind of "work" wasn't gonna happnen.

But then this afternoon, I  got a phone call from Jane, from the Yakima Herald.  The newspaper is going to be running an article on "Night Out!" She needed a few phone numbers and just a little more information before she could send her article off to be ran in the paper.

 I had to scramble for contact information. I finally found email addresses and thankfully that worked. I really need to get more organized!!  I have no idea when that is going to happen... I simply know that it's a need. 
I am so excited about this article coming out.  Hopefully we will be able to meet the needs of more families.

schedule

It makes it so much easier for everyone (volunteers and families alike) when "Night Out!" can be scheduled the same time each month.  When I looked at the calendar in November to set the new 2010 schedule, I saw that no major holiday conflicted with having "Night Out!" the 2nd Friday of every month.  And so it was set.  Not in stone, but in ink, which is almost as concrete.

I forgot Valentine's Day!! 

The second Friday of February is the 12th... Valentine's weekend.  It will be wonderful for our families.  Parents will be able to have a Valentine's Day date Friday night. 

Saturday evening the youth at our church is putting on a Spaghettie Dinner/Bunco Night Fund raiser. I hope and pray that my volunteers wait until Sunday night to celebrate. 

Simple Faith

My Aunt sent me the following story. I have no idea who the author is, I wish I did. It really touched my heart and I thought that it was worth sharing.

                                      God Lives Under my Bed

I envy Kevin. My brother, Kevin, thinks God lives under his bed. At least that's what I heard him say one night. He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, 'Are you there, God?' he said. 'Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed...'

I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin's unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.

He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he's 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an adult.

He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.

I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life? Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed. The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child. He does not seem dissatisfied.

He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work.

He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day's laundry chores.

And Saturdays - oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my Dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. 'That one's goin' to Chi-car-go! ' Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.

His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.

And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips. He doesn't know what it means to be discontent.

His life is simple.

He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.

His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working. When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it.

He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax.

He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.

He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.

Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere. And he trusts God.

Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child. Kevin seems to know God - to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an 'educated' person to grasp. God seems like his closest companion.

In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.

It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.

It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances - they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God's care.

Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of God.

And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I'll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.

Kevin won't be surprised at all!

I received this story while I was taking a break from studying for my "Doctrine of Christian Holiness" class. My brain was on overload trying to get all the vocabulary straight in my mind and then I read this.  It reminded me that God wants our simple faith. We can take a lesson from our "handicapped" friends as to how to worship God. We don't need to understand "how" everything works, all we need to understand is that God loves us and wants us to be part of our lives. 

June Cleaver in Jane Jetson's world

Recently, I have been told by a few people that they have checked out my blog. My first thought was "great! I'm glad more people are finding out about Mark 10:14 Ministries" my second thought... "oh no! I haven't updated the blog since August!"


Some days I  feel like I'm June Cleaver living in Jane Jetson's world... My plan for this year is to keep up with this blog. There is so much happening. Here's a quick overview on what's been going on since August.

• Amy made T-shirts for the workers... The T-shirts look great!! photo's to come
• Lacie has become our craft person, she has so many crafts planned for each night!
• We have been averaging 19 kids with special needs plus siblings for the past few months
• I enrolled in a seminary program this past September... It's a 3 year program and I go to Portland 4 times each year for classes
• Mark 10:14 Ministries is expanding into more than just "Night Out!" in the works we have:

1. Parenting classes
2. "Sibs  Only" group
3. Volunteer workbook

That's just a few of the things that God has on my heart for the ministry...