July 11, 2008

Something very cool and very rare occurred at Salem this week; we held a high school graduation.  It is not real common for our boys to finish high school in the time they are here.  Even rarer is the time when three of our boys finish high school relatively close to one another.  It has been two years since the last time this occurred.

 

So on July 8, we celebrated an educational milestone for them.  Sean, Tommy, and Josh H. made the best use of their time by working very hard academically and finishing their studies while they were here.  Tommy completed our program last month and was back for graduation.  He is planning on attending a local community college this fall.  Josh completed our program this past week and will be working and attending college in the fall.  Sean will be finishing our program soon, going home and also will be attending college in the fall.

 

Think about it.  Three guys whose families wondered if they would finish school.  Three guys who likely did not think they would get a high school diploma.  And now three guys who not only finished, but are planning on attending college this fall.  How cool is that!  Great job.  Salem is proud of you and your parents are proud of you.  You did it.  You did the hard work and it will pay off huge dividends in the future.  And you have something no one can ever take from you—an education.

 

Brent

 

July 4, 2008

A few days ago I wrote about the work of Calvary Baptist Church at Salem the second week of June.  In this second part, in true David Letterman fashion, is a compiled list of the top 10 memories that we took away from the trip.  Some are serious, some are funny, but all I hope you enjoy.  These come from the staff, the boys, and me.

 

10.    The team remembering names of staff from previous visits, which spoke to our staff of the committement CBC has to us.

 

  9.  Getting to go to Olive Garden with the team—we love Italian food!

 

  8.  No air conditioning in one of the vehicles we picked the team up in at the

       airport—did we forget to mention that ahead of time—our badJ

 

  7.  Jeff teaching Drew how to delegate and Drew teaching Jeff how to be cool.

 

  6.  Getting to paint with Marla and spend time with her.

 

  5.  Hanging out with Larry because he is funny and hanging out with Wayne

       because he is cool.

 

4.  Getting to hang out and talk with Stacey, Alvaro, and Amy for hours.

 

3.  Sweet Tea!!!

 

2.  The relationships formed between the team and our guys.

 

1.  Jeff blowing on a jalapeno pepper in an effort to cool it down!?

 

Thanks again Calvary Baptist Church of Rocky Mount, NC.  You truly are amazing!

 

Brent

July 3, 2008

On June 20 a significant event happened at Salem.  Tommy graduated.  For those who may not know, Tommy had been here a long time.  Tommy came when Salem re-opened several years ago, and essentially grew up at Salem.  You might say Tommy defined Salem.  Let me try to explain what I mean.

 

To begin with, Tommy had some real challenges that resulted in his being placed at Salem.  Just like all of the boys who come here, Tommy had his own set of issues he was dealing with.  Over the course of time, with counseling, with much hard work from Tommy and his parents, and his own maturity, he has overcome many of the hurdles that stood in his way when he arrived.

 

In addition, Tommy has very supportive parents.  Great people, who love their son deeply, and want the best for him.  His parents worked very hard with the Salem staff to formulate a plan for Tommy’s time here and for his departure.  A true team environment in determining what he needed and how it would be carried out.  We could not ask for more supportive parents than we had with Tommy’s.

 

Tommy is now home and beginning the next phase of his life, with the tools he needs to be successful.  Tommy’s story is truly what Salem is all about: a struggling young man, concerned and loving parents, a needed solution for success, a teamwork approach with family and staff, progress with the challenges of life, and a successful transition home. 

 

Do well Tommy, we will truly miss you.  It has been a blessing to us to have had this time with you.

 

Brent

June 23, 2008

Part 1 of 2

 

Amazing!!!  That is the one best word I can think of when I consider what our mission team from Rocky Mount, NC accomplished last week.  Tasked with painting the insides of two cottages, putting a door on a hay barn, redoing our file room, and doing a makeover of our kitchen, this team rose to the occasion in a truly Christ-honoring way.

 

The team from Calvary Baptist Church arrived on Saturday and used their one free day to see the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  Sunday was spent going to church, doing the preliminary work, and getting ready for it all to begin on Monday.  And begin it did.  The team split into about 5 groups, and along with our guys, got busy early Monday morning.  By Tuesday, I was convinced it would not get done.  By Wednesday, I thought a lot of it would get done.  By Thursday, I knew it would get done except the painting of Smith cottage.  By Friday at dinner, all the work was done. 

 

Then just as we were about to call it good and celebrate, we discovered a plumbing problem.   We told the group we would take care of it, but they would have none of that.  So, opening up a main drain line and dealing with all that comes with that, they were able to fix the clog and clean it out just in time for their 9 pm devotion.

 

The folks of Calvary Baptist Church not only came and worked at our facility; they came and built relationships with our boys.  We allowed our guys to be in and out of school last week so they could be a part of what was happening.  It was a great opportunity for our guys to work side by side with the team and see what selfless acts of love look like.  The people at Calvary do not owe this to us, they are not obligated to us; they do this because they love Christ and they want to show that love through service.  What a great example to our boys of what it means to put others first.

 

Thank you Jeff, Carl, Kay, Steve, April, Scott, Hope, Zack, Scott, Terri, Marla, Ashley, Shane, Kim, David, Amy, Wayne, Donnie, Earl, Larry, Alvaro, Cindy, Susan, Darren, Stacey, and Ms. Julia.  You guys were amazing!  We cannot wait until next year.

 

Keep looking back as we gather the top 10 favorite memories from Calvary’s trip.

 

Brent

June 15, 2008

Last week we had the opportunity to say goodbye to yet another young man who has graduated our program.  Robert was here about 10 months and worked his way through our program as quickly as anyone I have seen.  He came here and after the initial period of time when the shock of being here wore off, got right to work on dealing with his issues.

 

That does not mean it was always smooth sailing for him, or that he always agreed with what we were telling him, or that he was successful all the time.  But what Robert did during his time here was display an excellent overall attitude and make real effort to confront his problems, so that he could return home and do well.

 

There are two things that stick out in my mind about Robert.  The first is that he is a fanatic Pittsburg Penguin fan.  This guy lives ice hockey.  His goal is to play hockey for a living.  I hope he makes it.  The second thing is his heart.  Here is a rough tough country kid who was the first to encourage the guys having problems.  He was the one who was always first to volunteer when someone needed help.  And he too was part of the group whose heart was broken as he witnessed the tragedy of human trafficking.

 

Robert is an awesome kid.  I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for him in the future.  When kids graduate, our social worker Caryn puts a cut out trophy on her wall with the boy’s name and the dates they were here.  Robert, you truly are a trophy.  God bless you as you move from here.  We will miss you!   

 

Brent

June 8, 2008

There are no non-profit organizations that are not dependent on their volunteer work force.  Salem is no exception.  We were reminded of that again this evening when several adults and about a dozen teenagers showed up to minister to us for a couple of days.  Grace Community Church of Newton, KS has showed up in a big way and we plan on both trying to be good hosts and giving them something to do, as there is always work to be done here.  They have volunteered to do some prep work for another mission team who is coming at the end of the week.  Thank you Grace Church for coming to help us. 

 

Then, twenty-eight people will be coming in from Rocky Mount, North Carolina to do some serious overhaul for us; about as close to an extreme ranch makeover as one can get without Ty Pennington himself showing up.  They will be putting a door on the hay barn, getting our greenhouse up and running, painting the interior of Smith Cottage, doing some major plumbing work, and redoing our file room.

 

Both of these teams hold the same value to us even though it may seem one is doing more than the other.  The Bible speaks to this in I Corinthians 12, when Paul writes:  

 

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the

members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is

Christ…  For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot

says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not

for this reason any the less a part of the body.  And if the ear says,

“Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for

this reason any the less a part of the body.  If the whole body were an

eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would

the sense of smell be?  But now God has placed the members, each one

of them, in the body, just as He desired.  If they were all one member,

where would the body be?  But now there are many members, but one body.

 

It takes everyone using the gifts God has given them to make an organization like this run.  And we are extremely thankful for the differing gifts that each volunteer or group of volunteers brings to Salem.  Thanks for all your hard work on our behalf.  It does not go unnoticed.

 

Brent

June 4, 2008

One of the great things about summer is baseball and softball.  At Salem, our boys have formed a team that should be very competitive this summer in our league.  But as with most young men, they overstated their ability as they took on the staff in the annual staff/client softball game this past Monday.  After hearing many comments about age, ability, and endurance, we took to the field and reminded the guys that although we may be older, there is still some game left in us.

 

The guys started off their first at bat by scoring three runs.  It was the last time they would score for several innings.  Staff managed to tie it in the bottom of the inning off the bat of staff principal mighty Mike, who belted a three-run homer. Staff quickly took the lead after that, increasing it to 7-3, before the boys came back to tie the score and take the lead heading into the 6th inning 8-7. 

 

However in the bottom of the inning, the staff got serious, scoring 5 runs, again aided by a two-run homer by Mike, and a series of hits that resulted in the other three runs.  The boys gave a valiant effort in the top of the 7th scoring three runs, to bring the score to 12-10, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the way.  After the big win, we held a cookout where the staff bragged and the boys talked about what would have happened had they had just one more inning. 

 

In the end, age and deliberate play won out again over youth and impulsiveness as the staff will hold bragging rights for yet another year.  It was a sweet moment for us.  Now, does anyone have any Icy-Hot?!

 

Brent

May 30, 2008

Our therapist Ben has been taking the boys through I Samuel in chapel the past few weeks.  As he got to chapter two and was teaching them about how Eli failed as a father, he wanted to share with them why we as parents need to discipline our children.  He shared with them a list of ten reasons.  Here they are:

 

1. If you do not, God will hold you responsible for their sin and discipline you (I Sam. 2.29-30).
2. If you do not, God may punish or discipline them more harshly (I Sam. 2.34).
3. If you do not, you are placing their souls and lives in jeopardy (I Sam. 2.34; Prov.19.18, 23.13-14.)
4. If you do not, you honor your children more than you honor God (I Sam. 2.29).
5. If you do not, you are dishonoring and despising God, and God will not bless you or show you His favor (I Sam. 2.30).
6. If you do not, your grandchildren, their descendents and other people will suffer the consequences (I Sam. 2.33; Ex. 34.7; Num. 14.18).
7. If you do, you prove that you love and delight in your children (Prov. 3.11-12; Heb. 12.5-11).
8. If you do, your children will become wise and pure (Prov. 20.30, 23.13-14).
9. If you do, you may save their lives and deliver their souls from hell (Prov. 23.13-14).
10. If you do, you are honoring and obeying God (Prov. 19.18, 23.13-14).

Wow!  Great job Ben.  Remember parents, discipline does not equal punishment.  Yes, punishment is a part of discipline, but it is much more.  The word ‘discipline’ comes from ‘disciple,’ which means to teach and to train. 

 

And how often are we to do this?  Deuteronomy 6.7 says we are to do it, ‘when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.’  In other words, always!  Let that be our goal as we seek to raise our children in God-honoring ways so that they might mature into God-honoring adults who love the Lord.   

 

Brent

May 22, 2008
Last Saturday produced both great weather and another state title for Salem as we participated in the state track and field meet in Lincoln, IL. Coach Billy and ten of our boys who had qualified for this meet due to their regional placings set out early Saturday for the trip to Lincoln high school. Staff Andrew went along with Billy to assist in getting our guys to their right events at the right times. Participants included: Josh, Kris, Judson, Mike, Dale, Chasen, Robert, David, and Austin.

We compete on as a regional team in this sport at the state level, so we were joined by the qualifiers from other facilities in the Central region to compete against regions from the North, South, and Western parts of Illinois. In the end, our region barely won out against the Southern Region by only 4 points.

Congrats to our guys who represented Salem well. We had several guys who brought awards ranging from first to third in their events. Josh was part of the winning 800m relay team, took second in the softball throw, and third in the 800m. Dale also was part of the 800m relay and placed second in the mile. Chasen took part in the 800m relay. Robert, Kris, Austin and Judson made up 1600m relay team which placed third, while Mike won the title in the shot-put.

Great job guys! Now it is on to softball.

Brent

May 15, 2008

 

One of the things we try to do at Salem is to have our guys express their hearts in non-destructive ways; to have them write or talk about what is going inside them instead of lashing out.  One of the ways they do this is through poetry.  This is a poem from Mike entitled ‘Wake Up!’ that was selected to be published in a young poets book that will be coming out soon. 

 

If we all just take the time to open our eyes,

and realize all this murder that’s been hidden in disguise,

and for so many years we’ve been told all these lies,

that the government portrayed as those years went by,

is like leaving a child in darkness…

and just listening while he cries…

it’s hard to live day by day,

when all you’re carrying is stress,

we have to just hope for a better tomorrow,

and let God do the rest,

because sometimes I just can’t take it anymore!

And if only you knew how I felt!

All this pain…

And all this suffering…

That came with these cards that I was dealt,

so I hope my words hit you,

and they stay in your mind for long,

cause when the going gets tough these days,

it’s hard to stay strong…

 

Mike’s words betray the turmoil in his heart.  ‘When the going gets tough these days, it is hard to stay strong.’  It is a hard thing to grow up these days.  Kids are faced with things we as adults could not imagine.  Sure, some of the things they face, we had to face too.  But it seems to be on a bigger scale.  Where we had to stand up against strong winds, today’s kids are trying to stand up to tornadoes.  And it is our job as adults to help them do that.  Not do it for them, but to show them how.  The phrase, ‘give me food and I eat for a day, teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime,’ was never truer than now.

 

Thanks Mike for sharing your heart with us.  May we seek the wisdom of Scripture in helping these guys find the answers they are looking for and need.

Brent