The title of this blog post is borrowed from the title of a letter
we received from TALKS Mentoring.
Kent Hollis is a brother and friend in Christ who is the Mentor Coordinator
in this organization. They recruit adults to volunteer 60 min a week, and each person meets with three children
for 30 min in school to teach some basic communication
skills and provide much needed encouragement and critical guidance to children. Without this loving input, many “at-risk” children in our society wind up like Adam in the story below. This is a powerful example how God uses an
individual with a heart for a young man in trouble to bring hope and love one person at a time. The name of
the young man is changed to protect his identity.
———————————————————-
Who Cares?
I’ve been working with a young man named Adam for about 2 months now. I met Adam when he was locked up at the Juvenile Detention Center. He had been arrested for skipping school, drinking a beer, and stealing a $5 item from a store. It was not his first time he had been in trouble. The judge made him stay in jail for an extra week because he had a bad attitude while locked up. Adam cried when he heard that.
I meet with Adam about three times a week now. He is actually a nice kid and seems to be teachable. I can tell he likes me and appreciates our relationship.
As I’ve gotten to know Adam I’ve learned that his dad died from cancer about five years ago. Since that time he has sort of existed on his own. For the past few years he has constantly been in trouble for doing stupid things like drinking, skipping school, and hanging out with the wrong crowd. The problem I see is that Adam doesn’t have anyone in his life who cares about him. There is not a single adult who is looking out for him. He lives with his mother, but she is barely existing as well. There are no men in his life giving him any sort of guidance, discipline, or encouragement.
Can you imagine being Adam? It breaks my heart to think of living the way he does. He is supposed to have healthy caring adults in his life providing him the stability, discipline and support every kid needs in order to mature in to a healthy adult young man.
The TALKS Mentoring Thesis Statement says “Every boy needs a man in his face challenging him with wisdom regarding critical issues and decisions in his life.” We believe that every boy needs a man who will firmly, unflinchingly and lovingly correct him with wisdom when he has made a bad decision. Our prisons are full of young men who had no one to get in their face and tell them that they were wrong and then provide them with a solution.
Please pray for Adam. You and I might be the only people who have ever mentioned Adam’s name before God. I believe God has great plans for Adam, and that He can redeem all that Adam is dealing with. Pray for me as well as I strive to help Adam grow and mature.
I believe Adam is slowly discovering that someone else really cares about him. That’s a big deal!
Thanks for caring as well!
Kent Hollis
———————————————————-
Thanks for sharing this with us Kent.
As an added comment, I believe God is utilizing Kent to reach many “at-risk” children in the Champaign County community. Kent is one of the few in our community working to break down the walls around marginalized kids in our society. Please pray about taking action to join Kent, and give 60 min a week and/or financial support to the TALKS Mentoring organization. You can read more about their excellent program at this “About Us” link to their webpage.
Home page for TALKS Mentoring of Champaign County
Champaign, IL
351-5889
