4/23/14

Why I don't give my kids an allowance.


I have a confession.  For years I've been hiding the full extent of my parental negligence.  No more.  I'm letting the cat out of the bag.

I do not, nor have I ever, given any of my five children an "allowance".



Years ago when I was a much greener, wet behind the ears, parent I assumed that I would eventually put my children on the dole and that this would be proof my parental provision for them.  They would learn to take care of the money entrusted to them and we would all be happy with the arrangement.
That day never came.  For one reason or another I found other things to spend every last cent of our family's income on.  I squandered it on things like food, shoes that fit growing feet, and keeping the power from being shut off.

Still, I assumed I would give them an allowance someday.  Someday when we had a little more cash left over.  Someday when I'm not such a flake.  Someday when I actually have some sense of stick-to-it-ness, consistency, and follow through. Sadly that day never came...and then it just didn't seem to matter any more.  We still have no cash left over at the end of each month, I'm still a huge flaky space cadet...and somehow my kids have always had everything they need.

I started thinking about it the other day and I realized that what may have started as an unintentional circumstance became something that has actually been quite valuable.  I no longer don't give an allowance by accident...I don't do it on purpose.  If that makes any sort of sense.

I shall preface my reasoning by saying my intention isn't to publicly shame "allowance" giving families, make you feel all icky inside, but rather add perspective to this non-debate and share some observations. In the end I really don't give a flying squirrels fuzzy hiney what other families do with their money.  There is more than one way to skin a cat....or a squirrel.  You parents are quite competent enough to figure out what works for you and your kids.

First of all, not being on a parental dole has taught my kids that they are not entitled to what we have.  Our money is not their money.  This is a lesson best learned before they are expecting us to pay their phone bill when they're 30, or fighting over our inheritance when we croak (or worse yet long before we're dead)....not that there will be one, but you get the point.

They don't, by merely existing, have the right to expect a fistful of dough to be given to them on a regular basis. I want to teach my kids the opposite of entitlement, and it would seem that giving them an allowance would work contrary to that goal.  At least it would make achieving that goal more difficult.

My kids trust that we will look after their needs.  I've told my kids, from the time they could whine, that when they need something we will get it for them.  I ask them if they've ever gone without something they needed and if  they trust that we take care of them.  Often we have purchased what we know they will need (or even just sometimes want) before they even know they need or want it. Sometimes we treat them to something "extra" just because we delight in their delight. We enjoy giving them good things, but I want them to be grateful for what they have.  I want them to carry a simple sense of contentment and gratitude into adulthood with them.

They learn to value money and work for it.  I've noticed something evolving in my oldest kids.  Their rare whine for an allowance, has been replaced with complaining that they need a job.  They are constantly coming up with ways they could make a few extra bucks.  They have been known to scour the ditches for beer cans they can return, or sell lemonade on a hot summer day.  Now that my daughter is 12 she has been babysitting regularly.  She saved up money to take a babysitting course and viewed even that expense as a strategic investment into her budding childcare career.  She is working several hours per week...in fact she was out late babysitting tonight and will be babysitting all day Saturday.  She is a hard worker, she's great with kids, and she doesn't text her friends while she's on the job.  She realizes that if she does a job well it will lead to more jobs.  In the last couple months she has saved up nearly $300 by working hard, proving herself responsible, and not wasting what she did earn.  She now adds up the value of things by asking "how many hours would I have to work to pay for that?".  She doesn't ask us for things she wants, she sets a goal and then goes out and works for it.  Sometimes that goal is just a new pair of jeans.

 My 10 year old son is slightly jealous of his sisters success and is insisting I let him advertise his own lawn mowing business this summer.  I'm not so sure about that one yet, but he is chomping at the bit.   I keep reminding him that if he can prove himself responsible in the small tasks the larger "jobs" will gradually start coming.

One nice thing about the big kids bringing in their own money is that they can buy the things that are "wants".  There is no way on God's green earth that I will buy them a smart phone, or an ipod touch...but I'm more than eager to encourage and cheer on their efforts go buy one themselves. This may sound stingy but mostly it's just reality. When you live off of one income, have five kids to feed, and have some odd priorities like "mission trips" to Mexico and international adoption, the budget gets whittled pretty narrow.  We've been forced to allow them to struggle and "go without" certain things, but now I'm realizing that that struggle is actually a really good thing. I have also noticed that they are generous with the money they earn.   Aili's babysitting money has at times been completely spent on sibling Christmas gifts, and donations to help fund adoptions.

When you work for something you appreciate the value of it, and take care of it.  When you learn to be content you are freed up to be more generous. 

I suppose you could trade an allowance for household chores and create a points system in which an allowance is earned.  I'm just not that organized.

I also think that "chores" are just part of being a family.  I do occasionally pay a child to do an "extra" sort of a non-routine job but for the most part I want my kids to learn that being part of a family, or a community, or a Church means that you serve others. You don't serve in order to get.  You serve your family out of love, and because that's what keeps everything running smoothly.  "Chores" for us constitute anything that needs to be done at any given time.  I really try to avoid the "That's not my job!" scenario.  In this house everything is everyone's job...sometimes certain jobs just get assigned to certain children depending on ability level.

Here's the big idea.  I desire that my kids develop a sense of personal and civic responsibility.  I want them to appreciate what they have and learn what real contentment is.  I want to encourage virtues like ingenuity, creativity, tenacity, and work ethic.  As far as I can tell, not giving them an allowance is just one way to make teaching those things a little easier.

If I'm wrong, they can save up their money to hire a therapist who will sympathize with them as they describe the details of their deprived childhood.





Soli Deo Gloria,

4/19/14

Life as it is. Sunday's coming.


This time of year the stores fill up with plastic eggs, chocolate extravagance, and multicolored stuffed bunnies.  I don't generally over think or over react to the secular variations of Christian holidays (goofy traditions can be fun) but for reasons other than my general revulsion to materialistic gluttony, I struggle to make room for it in my head.  I can't reconcile fluffy overpriced bunnies with the enormity of a blood drenched cross where our murder of God accomplished His own plan to saves us.

 Maybe the muddy snow outside my window puts a grimy damper on the whole daffodils and tulip Easter stereotype, but I think it's more than that.

I look around me and I see this aching and twisted world torn apart by suffering and sin, and all the plastic grass, and food coloring in the world can't hide it from sight.

Last week dear friends of ours received the phone call that every parent fears getting.  Now they wait in a hospital room for their college age son to wake up from a coma.  An athletic young man so full of life, faith, and love...now broken in a hospital bed. Life as they knew it changed in an instant.  Proof, as if I needed any that Karma is a lie, and that the snake oil "prosperity gospel" salesmen who call themselves preachers are liars too.  As if our words have the power to speak good fortune into existence. I am grateful that his family trusts deeply in the One who does breathe life, and who can heal the broken.  Jesus is their sustenance, and the sovereignty of a good God their assurance.

This week we received a message from our second home, telling us that a child we know and dearly love has been sold by her own mother.  A mother I had hoped would not try to sell her children again. A mother who was sold into marriage by her own mother at age 13. I struggle to comprehend the brokenness. Sold like a piece of property, bought by people who satisfy their own wickedness by stripping the soul of a young girl. Thankfully she has escaped with her baby daughter. Can the cycle end?  My ache and rage coexist.

I feel a small taste of God's white hot wrath against sin that enslaves and crushes, as my heart breaks with His love for the sinner.


Daily my newsfeed and computer fills with the faces of orphans desperate to be seen, craving love. How can I not enter in?  How can I refuse to look?  Not seeing doesn't erase them from existence.

Can I claim Christ's mercy and yet refuse to pick up a cross?
Can I claim his grace yet refuse obedience?

The answer is one that I struggle with as the Spirit of God inside wages war on my doubt and selfishness.

I serve a God who came. He entered into our suffering and he bore it on his own bruised and bloodied shoulders.  Broken and poured out for a ragged and rebellious world.

I have one assurance, one place of rest, and one all sufficient provision.  Jesus lived the life I could never live, and died the death I deserved to die.  He finished it.  He bore it all.  He drank the cup of that white hot wrath to the bitter dregs, and rose victorious over my sin and death.

In light of that kind of love and sacrifice, I've been pondering what it looks like to live in this time "in between".   I have no idea how many years I will be given to me on this earth or what those days will look like.  I don't want to take any of this time for granted and waste it on plastic and fluff.  I want it to count.  I want to invest every bit of what God has so graciously and generously given me.

I want to invest in things eternal and significant.  The hard part for me is not being able to be in three places at once doing everything that pops into my heart. I don't have money, but I do have time, and gifts, and a calling. Surrendered is the word that has come into my mind a lot lately.  Living a life that is available and willing.  A constant re-aligning priorities and surrendering those dark corners.

Here's how that pondering fleshed out in real life last week.

After updating our home assessment, our family was put back on the social services call list as an emergency foster home.   I'm actually a little surprised that we haven't received a call, but we live with a daily expectancy of the unknown disrupting our comfortable life.  Who will this child be? How long will they be a part of our family? So many unknowns. A step into the dark..and then just waiting and trusting. Available and willing.

What I do know is there will be sacrifice involved and I'm not gonna lie...I have had a few whining chats with God about it for the past few weeks.

  I'm not necessarily anxious or afraid at the moment, but I am aware and counting the cost. One cost that I cling to the most, which may seem petty, is sleep. Our youngest is four years old now so I have more trepidation over reinstating midnight feedings and sleep deprivation than I do anything else. The other is the inevitable unpredictability and loss involved. It's going to hurt, there is just no way around it but at the end of the day it's just not about me.

It's strange to feel so compelled, and yet so aware of the certain heart break that will ensue.  My heart on the line again, willing to be used up, and poured out...but yet I know without a shadow of a doubt that ultimately someone is in control of it all, and that Sunday is coming.

I consider it a joy.

Resurrection Sunday reminds me that the I can go bravely into battle because the war has already been won.  It will be made right.  There will be justice, the broken will be made whole, truth will dispel the darkness, and every tear will be dried.  We have a hope beyond mere human effort, and "good deeds".  Any good thing I have to offer, anything good that you might see, is all God's grace at work.   This is just me putting one clumsy foot in front of the other, clinging to His strength, certain of my own weakness.


Sunday is coming.

That is our hope.  Jesus is alive, Jesus saves and Jesus makes all things new.

In the meantime, there's a race to be run.










Soli Deo Gloria,

4/12/14

Welcome Home


I wish I could live two consecutive lives.
I want to jump in, with both feet, into two different pools.
For years now my heart has been split between two countries.

This past trip to Baja reignited the familiar desire, or maybe that "this is home" feeling.  This feeling loses it's force the longer I'm home in Canada...simply because life here is also full, and rewarding, and challenging, 
but life there will always call me.

Like everything else I hand it over to God and let him do as he pleases. 

This year we had the honor of serving in a new (to us) ministry.  We were hopeful but hesitant. 

This past year some close friends of ours, who have lived in Mexico for years, were asked to be in leadership.  It's been exciting to see God working and leading in their lives.  They have been through a lot, and I know not one of those experiences will be wasted...but rather used for God's glory and the good of people He brings into their lives.

It wasn't long into our trip that we realized we really like the way this ministry does things.  

Keep in mind that I am about as cynical as it gets.  We've been burnt by "ministry".  We've witnessed first hand corruption, dishonesty, wastefulness, and rampant dysfunction effectively disguised as "ministry".  
Naive we are not.  
But yet we are hopeful and trust God to work.

We've been made into skeptics over the years.  We know that everything with a "christian" label isn't of God. We know that the label (often self appointed) "pastor" is often synonymous with "lazy lying swindler"....simply because it's accurate.  It's tragic, but we've seen it time and time again. 

This ministry
Welcome Home Outreach 
was like a breath of fresh air.
A breath of fresh air into lungs that had almost forgotten how to breath deeply...
wondering if fresh air even existed. 

I decided to write down a few of the things we really appreciated about this organization.  

One thing I noticed was how smooth and healthy the fairly recent transition into new leadership was.  This is both a testament to the last leader who after many years of serving decided it was time to pass the baton, and to the new leadership who humbly received it.

  Another thing I like is that it's small, and small isn't always bad.  Larger doesn't automatically mean more effective.  They do a lot with what they have.  The ministry takes up only a very modest amount of land, only a few town lots.  It doesn't possess acres and acres of unused prime real estate.  There are only a hand full of staff, who also happen to be Mexican (which is something I like).  There aren't a bunch of staff that exist just to support keeping more staff.  It's not a Christian commune.  The very hardworking, loyal, Jesus loving staff show up each morning and then leave to their homes all around the community.  But yet it's so much more than just a job to them.

  They are efficient.  They run lean.  I really really like that.  Not only is good and wise stewardship extremely important but the ability to do more with less will increase it's chances of survival as donor bases change. They don't exist on the assumption that money will roll in by the truckload.

They are generous.  This shows in how the staff are treated and cared for.  Their needs are met and they aren't taken advantage of.  Generosity is something that is either a part of a ministry's culture or it's not. Sometimes it has very little to do with money, and more to do with genuine hospitality, grace, and a love for people.  They model this generosity in so many ways...to the community, to the children they serve, to the volunteers, and to the staff.  We were certainly on the receiving end of this. You can actually tell a lot about an organization, despite it's boasts, by how it's staff and and long term volunteers are treated.

 They embrace change.  Methods must change simply because the physical needs in this area change.  Baja has changed SO much in just the past several years.   A motto of "we've always done it that way"and  "don't question anything" is a sure fire way to know that a ministry is ineffective and quite likely doing more harm than good.  What was needed here 20 years ago may not be needed now.  What is helpful now, maybe harmful ten years from now.  When something is no longer needed, or no longer working....it's time for change. Many ministries resist change, simply because people generally don't like change.  Methods of serving the poor must change, but the timeless message does not.




They work with other ministries, churches, missionaries, local community centers, and schools.  They don't view others as competition to be feared.   They are generous with other organizations and local community groups.  While we were there we sorted and boxed up hundreds and hundreds of Spanish children's books that had been donated years ago. They were rotting and collecting dust in storage closets.  Instead of hoarding items that aren't needed they were a blessing to dozens of local schools.  Schools that don't have libraries.  They give rather than hoard. 


They build houses for families.  The house in the picture is a house that was being built with the cooperation and funding from a few different sources.  It is being built for the family of a girl who has cerebral palsy, that we've known for years.  It was an honor to get to help work on it.  House building isn't something unique to ministries in the area but I respect how carefully our friends get to know people, and how they seek out genuine needs.  The need for "House building"  in this area is slowly changing, and in my observations will probably need to be changed even more in the future.  It's one of those "grey" areas to me.  A free house can be a very helpful thing...we've been involved with a few different house building projects.  On the other hand masses of "free" houses can also cause some not so great side effects within a culture.  This is one example of the principle that what we do is only as effective as HOW we do it.  
 I respect and appreciate how these guys do what they do. They desire to encourage initiative and not crush this cultures natural ingenuity, independence, and strong work ethic with reckless hand outs. 



Quality leadership.

Leaders will make or break a ministry.  A good leader, in my observation, isn't someone who struts around with confidence in their ability to lead.  It's not always the person with the most impressive resume, or the most college degrees.  It's not even the most naturally gifted with charm and charisma.  All of those things might draw a crowd and pull in some money...but they are only surface deep.  I think the biggest pitfall of leadership is pride and seeking the applause of men. 
 It's toxic to a ministry.

I appreciate the leaders of Welcome Home Outreach/ Casa Hogar Bienvenidos.

We've known Neri for several years and 
 it's been inspiring to see God's redemptive purposes unfold in his life. 
We have been witnesses to his consistent life of faithfulness and integrity. 

 He is newly married and has a testimony you wouldn't believe.  God delights in using the most unlikely among us for his great purpose and to His glory. Neri is a good leader because he is humble.  He knows well the depth of God's extravagant grace and leans hard into God's mercy.  He is genuine.  He desires to grow in wisdom, knowledge and holiness.  He has a quiet gentleness about him, but contains a fiery preachers passion and love for those who are lost and hurting.  





Would you believe that Pastor Neri was once a hard core gangster from Southern California? 
Jesus got a hold of his heart and saved him.
Friends, this is what the Holy Spirit does to a man.
Complete transformation.  
From death to life.

He doesn't glamorize or use his past as a platform to bolster attention or inflate pride, 
it just is.  A testament to God's incredible grace, sovereign purpose, and pursuing love. 

Neri is now a Papa to about 50 kids in the daycare.  
They all love him, and I witnessed how he humbly serves. 


A funny conversation between my husband and Neri begs to be shared.
Mind you this is a  paraphrase since I don't have a stellar memory.

Nathanael: "Hey Neri, you really should change the policy that says you only let cute kids into the daycare.  Clearly you're discriminating against the ugly ones. "

Neri: "Well, we like to resist change at all costs. Our policy against ugly people obviously doesn't cross over into our choices of volunteers.  In fact, we prefer the ugly ones.  

Nathanael: "that's good to know"


I really like people that have a sense of humor and don't take themselves too seriously.

These kids are all ridiculously cute.



I like the daycare. 
As much as I don't prefer kids growing up in daycares back home in Canada...
this is a different situation.

This daycare serves poor families in a very helpful way.  One complicating factor of poverty is a prevalence of single parent families.  It's very common for moms to work long hard days in the fields while their young children are left home alone, or in the care of slightly older siblings (who are often kept out of school for that purpose).  Welcome Home began as an orphanage but eventually changed it's vision and method in order to best serve and preserve intact families.  
I believe that this type of daycare actually prevents some poverty based child abandonment.  

The van leaves early in the morning to pick the children up from their scattered homes. The daycare provides two healthy meals at day, a safe place to play, a stimulating learning environment, and lots of love and nurture from the consistent staff.  At the end of the day they are driven back home to their family.   They take the kindergarten age children to their school in town and pick them up when the school day is over at noon.  They also provide children with any needed uniforms and supplies.  

The staff here get to know and encourage each child's family, and support a variety of other practical, emotional and spiritual needs.

I like a ministry that supports and strengthens struggling families.  









Above is a picture of Neri's wife Brigi teaching a group of children in a nearby community. The adults are having a Bible class inside while the kids are taught outside.  Hearing a chorus of little voices reciting 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and then discussing with their teacher all the things they have to be thankful for was a humbling experience.  They are taught that they have a Savior who loves, rescues, and restores.  They are taught that God hears them when they pray. They are shown in dozens of ways that they matter, and that they have purpose. 


Many ministries will boast about evangelism but we've noticed that once again this has more to do with "how" than "what".  This ministry works in many of the surrounding communities.  Not as tour group hosts parading hordes of white northerners into the same community every week to provide a mission trip experience..but as genuine relationship.

Another thing that I found refreshing and encouraging is a desire for the discipleship that comes with that relationship.  Hit and run "evangelism" isn't the same thing as investing into people's messy lives, giving them the gospel of God's amazing grace, and trusting the fruit of that to the Holy Spirit. 


I've been introducing our friends Amber and Saul on my blog here for several years but you can find her blog here.http://becauseloveisalifestyle.com/ 

I appreciate how open and honest she is about her life and even her struggles.  She doesn't paint a utopic, phony picture of life...or ministry...or parenting.  



She loves people.  Like genuinely, gets her hands dirty, opens her home and heart and life (over and over and over) loving the people that many others wouldn't have the time of day for...regardless of how she's treated in return. 

She visits these communities.  She knows these kids. This Canadian born mom (with her Canadian/Mexican kids in tow) can often be found fearlessly walking through the poorest neighborhoods, sitting inside filthy shacks, and sympathetically listening to the most horrific stories.  She does what she can with what she has.  She lives a life of sacrificial giving. 
She has little money, but she has something of so much more value to give them.  She gives them her time and herself.  She gives Jesus.

Amber and her husband, love kids.  They are also adoptive parents, who last year welcomed two teenagers into their young family.  

Her husband Saul, born and raised in this same Mexican town, is the kind of guy who could get along with and see the best in anyone.  Easy going, compassionate, super hard working and the kind of husband and father who puts his family first.  

They are leaders who are lead by love.  Real sacrificial, lay your heart out bare, used up for the Kingdom of God,  Love.

Ministry leaders can be driven by a lot of things....status, power, money, pride, influence, attention, and fame...but a genuine overflow of  LOVE?  The difference shows.







I like that two of the staff (a married couple) can bring their baby to work with them.  People are treated as individuals and children are seen as a blessing.  "Policies" don't rule over caring about people, and allowing parents to parent.  It may seem small...but I like that.  It speaks volumes.





Our kids were welcomed, embraced, and invited to be a part of things.  That may seem small, but in our experience....well we've never actually experienced that with a ministry down here before.  As a parent, priceless.



The last couple days that we were there Elijah and Cece snuck into the daycare classrooms.  They loved being with all the other kids and the teachers were so welcoming and gracious.  






Amber and I having a visit during lunch time.  Most likely solving the worlds problems, or discussing the finer points of adoption, attachment, and the effects of trauma on children.  
We're nerds that way.


We love Welcome Home's cook.  Her name is Cande and she is as sweet as any person could possibly be.  
After several weeks of hanging out in her kitchen you would think I would have caught her on an "off" day or heard her grumble, or fuss about her task.  I know I would have many "off" days if I was cooking for a crowd two meals every day...and washing all the dishes by hand. I would at least do a little moping now and then.

I loved spending time in this kitchen.  Not only did it smell amazing all the time....her beautiful joy filled spirit was just drew me in.  She'd be embarrassed of me posting pictures of her but I like the picture below.  I happened to catch her singing as she made salad. She was always singing and worshiping as she went through her monotonous, non glamorous, tasks. 



She was ridiculously welcoming and sweet to my kids.  I'm the kind of mom who's always worrying that my kids are getting in the way, or being irritating to people.  It was nice to shed some of my hyper vigilance and just relax.  Every morning she wrapped her arms around Elijah, gave him kisses on the cheek and exclaimed  "mi bebe, me corzaon!" (my baby, my heart).  He tolerated the extra attention because he knew that she would sneak him treats and samples of her cooking.  All my kids adored Cande.  Children's tears have been shed since we left
 "I miss Cande, and I miss her cooking"

Something else I really appreciated about this ministry and this cook (who has been cooking here for years and years) is that they cook really healthy meals for the kids.  She cooks everything from scratch and feeds the kids authentic Mexican foods.   She uses fresh local ingredients, including lots of fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables (which are often donated by local farmers).  She finds ways to use everything, and incorporate as much nutrition into the food as she can.  She even makes her own "aguas" using the fresh raspberries and strawberries donated from nearby farmers.  They waste nothing and they make the most of every item they are given.  Even after feeding a cafeteria full of kids there might be one plate of scraps left over after all the dishes are scraped.  Meal left overs are bagged up and given to hungry people who frequently wander into the ministry.  These things may sound fairly common sense and basic...but it was amazing to witness.  We were used to seeing the complete opposite. 





Each one of the staff impressed me.    They work super hard but not in a forced or oppressive way.  They believe in what they're doing and are passionate about it. 
The atmosphere was relaxed, and grace saturated..but yet intentional and united in it's purpose. 



I like that this ministry has a clear vision, a gospel centered purpose, and that it seeks to operate in an ethical, God glorifying way.  


They value people, and respect the dignity of those they serve.



Those in leadership know the cultures, the needs, and the language.  
They are willing to get their hands dirty to live a lifestyle of love, humility and sacrifice.  It was encouraging to spend time with people who don't take themselves at all seriously...but yet who take God and his word very seriously.  Those working hard on the ground, the staff and leadership, are accountable to both a Mexican board and an American board of directors.  There is accountability and oversight and yet they are given enough freedom to lead and serve without having to live under constant scrutiny or have their hands perpetually tied by people living in a different country. 







In an area that is so filled with complex and desperate needs, it's encouraging to know that there are people there who care and are getting stuff done. 

From what we've witnessed after carefully watching, asking lots of questions, and having lots of long conversations over coffee with those who are working hard and leading this ministry (and being friends with them for years)...
I feel confident in recommending Welcome Home Outreach

This is a big step for this cynical blogger.

This is something I have always hesitated to do....simply because I care a lot about donors and I would hate to naively recommend something only to later discover it's something corrupt at the core or that funds are being squandered.

Obviously there is no perfect ministry...just like there is no perfect church.  It's made up of people and people are messy, complicated sinners.  That obvious truth that ministry will always be challenging, and non-perfect, shouldn't keep us from striving for something that is biblical and ethical.  Jesus is our standard. We will fail, and make mistakes, and stumble...and Grace will stand us back up on our feet and remind us where our real strength lies.



If you are looking for somewhere to plug in, and invest into the lives of at risk kids, this is a great way to be involved.  Not everyone can live among and serve migrant field workers in Mexico...but most people can afford to support people and ministries that do. 

A little goes a long way. 

They also facilitate groups who would like to come down and serve at the ministry, or build a house for a family.  My advice would be to ask ahead of time what projects need to be done, where a group could help out the most, and be open to whatever.  

Check out their website for more information.  It's a little outdated (it's on the to-do list of some very busy people) with it's listing of staff and leadership but it probably provides a clearer overview. 


or join the Facebook group to follow along, and enjoy their sweet pictures.

I linked it here.

Thank you Welcome Home for making us feel right at home.







Soli Deo Gloria,