Happy New Year!
I hope your holiday with your family and friends was wonderful. After all, one of the biggest blessings during the holidays is being with family.
Unfortunately, this is not a "for sure thing" for many of our kids. This holiday, I had the opportunity to visit one of our teens at the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC). This person has been in and out of JDC many times in their short life, detained for everything from being violent to being a runaway. Looking at this person, you would not expect them to be detained. At RHK, they are kind and have a servant's heart.
They are very protective of their younger sibling. They come on "little kid" nights so they can help. One night, they even asked if they could speak to the little kids while they were in the chapel. We said "yes," even when we weren't sure what would be said. The words they spoke were encouraging to both the kids and the adults as well. They told them it was important to read their Bible and remember that Jesus and the people at RHK loved them.
Despite their struggles, this young person carries a compassionate and giving spirit. Their willingness to speak and encourage the younger kids showed the impact of RHK's work.
While talking with them at JDC, they said they want to do better and be an example. They have a small Bible in their pod and read it every day.
What do you need every day to live? You need food, water, air, and sleep. However, I want to add Jesus to that list. The teen in JDC needs Jesus daily to make it through to the next day. At RHK, we talk about "Jesus 365." This upcoming year, we want more kids to see their need for Jesus 365 days of the year ("Jesus 365"). Just as they need physical things to live, they also need Jesus to thrive.
We have often shared about the need for more RHK volunteers so we can help more kids. At times, the need sounded a bit desperate because we were not trusting Jesus 365. We allowed our humanness to get in the way and closed our eyes to the power of Jesus.
Yes, we still need volunteers. Yes, we want to help more kids. But our focus is different. We want YOU to volunteer, not because we are desperate, but because we don't want YOU to miss out. We want YOU to see what God does through our kids. We want YOU to work with some fantastic young people. We want YOU to receive the blessings we receive each day when we work with the kids. We want YOU to be a part of our RHK volunteer family.
There are hard days, but we can't give up. We can't give up on Jesus' children. I know Jesus didn't give up on me when many others did. I know Jesus is with me 365, and He is with you.
We know some things hold people back from coming to RHK to help with the kids. We also know that each person who supports RHK with their time, talents, and prayers is pivotal in offering hope and a sense of purpose to those who need it most. Stories like the one I started with remind me of the profound difference community and connections can make, even for those facing adversity.
Blessings,
Dee
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