You could be the one God uses to change the life of a child who needs hope.
For Justin,* that hope came in the form of our virtual camp program this summer.
Justin’s grandma signed him up for a week of our Spy Academy online program, and our staff delivered his “spy kit” of supplies to his home. On Monday morning of the week Justin was enrolled, his grandma sent us this message:
“Thank you so much for this amazing camp! Thank you for delivering the Spy Kit to our home. Justin woke up crying then he remembered he gets to open his Spy Kit. What a blessing it was watching him smile as he looked at each item!”
Throughout the week, Justin completed nearly all of the activities we provided for him in his spy kit and on our Spy Academy website. He watched all of our livestreams, talked with our staff on Zoom calls each day, and called to hear a daily mission briefing and leave a message for “the Chief.” (I had a lot of fun engaging with the kids on Zoom and in the livestreams in the role of the Chief!) Justin was repeatedly reminded that God is trustworthy, God is loving, and God is all-powerful.
At the end of the week, we received this message from Justin’s grandma:
“The virtual Spy Camp is such a blessing to our family, we can not thank you enough for providing this wonderful opportunity for kids. It is so good to see Justin our grandson laugh and smile. He is going through a hard time with his dad leaving. He looks so forward to the livestreams and Zoom. Thankful for each of you!”
Justin also left a message for the Chief, asking if he could watch the livestreams and be part of the Zoom calls the next week, too. Of course, the Chief said yes!
At Youth Haven, we are passionate about God’s calling on our lives and our ministry to reach hurting kids with God’s love and hope. We’ve had to change some of our methods recently, but we knew from the start we could not sit idly by and do nothing. We could not have imagined the incredible ways God has blessed our efforts over the last several months!
And that includes you! Your gifts during an uncertain time allowed us to develop new ways to share Jesus with kids who need Him, and to provide some fun and encouragement when everything in their world seems to be changing.
Justin’s story is one of many that demonstrate how your gifts bring kids hope. In addition to our virtual camp, we have also been busy delivering birthday treats to children, sending activities, Bible stories, and handwritten letters in the mail, sending care packages, and hosting day camps at our Michigan campus, in cooperation with the local health department’s guidelines. As you can see in the photos below, our Harvey and Friends characters are having fun visiting children at their homes and bringing smiles to their faces!
All of this is only possible because people like you care about these kids and what they’re going through. We continue to provide all our programs free of charge, and we are not funded by state or federal support. It is your prayers and your financial support that provide the love, encouragement, and hope kids deserve!
There is still a lot of uncertainty as we head into the fall, but as the President of Youth Haven, I promise you that as long as God allows, we will continue to serve the kids who need us. This has been a time of growth, as we have adapted and added new elements to our programming to meet the ever-changing needs of our kids. Please continue to stand with us through your prayers and financial support. Together, we can have a lifelong impact on children who will forever remember this time in their lives. Thank you!
Your Mission Partner,
Lars Carlson
President & CEO
*Name changed for confidentiality.
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