I had to post this email I got from the mission I help out with in Chicago. You hear kids complain all the time about needing designer cloths, but all this one wants is something new. If you feel you want to help, contact me. The person who wrote this is one of the pastors at the mission. It’s that time of year again. Children and teens arrayed in new clothes bustle with anticipation at a new year of school. Pictures are posted to Facebook to announce parents’ expectations for a great year of learning and social growth for their children. Today is the first day of school for the Chicago Public School system. Last night I talked with a 16-year-old boy on the phone for half an hour as he cried and told me he wasn’t going to school because no one cares. He was recently kicked out of his home and went to live with his aunt. His 14-year-old sister was put in a group home. He keeps calling his mom, but she ignores his calls until he calls from an unknown number. When asked where she is, his mom comes up with one lie after another. I’ve been talking to him for a couple months now about starting school—he was excited and ready until his last conversation with his mom. “She doesn’t care no more, so I don’t care. I’m just gonna take off and not tell no one where I’m going.” After half an hour of crying on the phone, I drove out and picked him up so he could spend the night at our house. He’s had one bag of clothes all summer, and that’s what he’s expected to wear to school. He was going to start today at a large school in the Chicago suburbs where he would be a new student. The conversation with his mom bolstered by the thought of wearing old clothes to meet new people in a new unfamiliar place has him convinced that school is not for him anymore. Please pray for Drequan as he wrestles with this emotional battle and considering dropping out of school altogether. Pray that I would have wisdom in my interactions with him and in encouraging him to continue school (he’ll be a junior this year). If God puts it on your heart to make a special gift so I can buy him some new clothes and a pair of shoes, please let me know-I believe that fresh new clothes not only encourage social acceptance but also boost confidence to young people to do well in school. Our family is coming around Drequan and encouraging him that we love him and believe he can do well in school and should not give up just because others have given up on him.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 23:06:55 +0000
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