Hello all,

I know that it has been forever since I have updated our blog, and I apologize for this. It seems like life has gotten so hectic around here that we have a hard time just keeping up.

As most of you know, it has been team season for the past few months here. We have had a number of teams come in from the US to serve with us over the summer. For the most part they have been a real blessing, but they have also been a handful as well. There are some teams that have been wonderful workers and have been good with the kids, and there have been others that have been terrible. It has been hard on Bobby and I because we do not get a free day when the teams are here. So this basically means that we haven't had a free day since June. We do get to go with the teams on their free day, but it isn't a true free day for us because we are still working (driving them around everyone, taking care of them, and we have to do whatever they want to do). The team that is here right now is from Ohio and they will be leaving on Saturday. We then get two weeks off until the next team comes on August 26th. Then, after that team leaves, we won't have anymore until December! YEAH!!

We are still running group here on Saturday night with the teens. As you know, our group was brought down to 7 back in April due to bad grades. We were unhappy with this at first, but we later found out that this small group of kids was perfect! We were able to form deeper bonds with the kids, and they were willing to open up and talk more because we had the smaller number. Just this past Saturday we had 2 more kids join our group (because their grades had improved). It was kind of weird having them their and it through the flow of the group off a bit. We kind of felt like we had started back from the beginning because the kids were being bad, but we know that it was just because these new people had joined us. We are still trying to figure this whole group thing out and we need lots of prayer with it.

My heart right now is a little broken because one of our teenage boys is leaving on Monday. Bobby and I had formed a very close relationship with William and he will be leaving on Monday to go and live with his brother. He got bad grades last year in school and so they pulled him out this year. He is going to school on Saturdays though in an adult GED type program. About 2 months ago they made him start working and paying room and board to live here (I agree with the work, but I don't know about the room and board). Anyway, he hasn't been getting along well with his house parent, so they have asked him to leave the home. I am really worried because I am afraid that he won't finish school. Also, his brother is not a great person and is a poor example for him. We are hoping to continue our friendship with him after he leaves so that we can help him in any way possible.

I also found out this morning that 2 of the other teenage boys were caught stealing stuff from the tool shed. Hma Roseanne told me that they are going to have the boys leave the home. One is 16 and the other only 13. They are both really good boys, they just have a lot of problems. I have really mixed feelings about this because I feel like they are just giving up on them.

Bobby and I don't know what to do because we feel like something just isn't right here (well we knew that from the beginning!), but these teenagers are just being thrown out left and right when they make a mistake. We have not seen a success story yet here. We don't have the answers, but we recognize that what they are doing is not working. Something else needs to happen! We need to pray a lot for these kids and that God would show us what to do.

Well, I think that I have written enough for now so I will go. I will try and post more frequently from now on.

Thanks to everyone for all of your support!

God Bless,
Britney