Dear Friends,
YONNY TURNED 14!
The Lord continues showing the children here at Rancho 3M His great love and care for them. One of our children, Yonny, was brought to the Ranch with his siblings when he was a mere four years old. With a background of extreme poverty, the kids had several different dads who each eventually left their mom. Ten years have gone by and Yonny just turned 14 years old!
My sons took the older boys out to Juárez the other night to celebrate Yonny’s birthday. They had a blast eating hamburgers and then going to see a high-action guys’ movie. It turned into a comical evening. In the men’s restroom of the theater, Yonny could not figure out how to turn the sink on. When someone showed him how to wave his hand under the motion sensor, he was thrilled! He couldn’t stop yelling, “Hey guys! Look at this!”. Next, all the boys piled themselves against the snack counter, oblivious to their obstruction of space.
Soon with smiles on their faces and their hands full, they left the concessions, immediately spilling a large coke all over the floor. It just so happened that the electricity had just gone out as well. The manager came swiftly to the rescue, scooped up the cup and lid off the dirty floor, and refilled it for them (ya gotta love Mexico – wouldn’t want to waste a cup)!
REPROGRAMMING THE NEXT GENERATION
We’ve been making an effort to get all the kids out more. Yes, Yonny and our other youth need some training in how to behave in public. But manners are only a scratch on the surface of the life-lessons they need to learn before adulthood. We are working towards reprogramming the next generation in the way they think and act in areas such as: self-control, discipline, honesty, working hard, getting married, eating right, taking care of their possessions, respecting others, planning ahead, tithing, saving, spending money wisely, being trained in useful skills, not stealing, not begging, not tearing others down, and basically – treating others the way they want to be treated.
There is no way we can change their mindsets by our own efforts. Only the word of God can change their minds and their hearts. “For the word of God is living and active…” (Hebrews 4:12). We’ve been discipling the older boys from the book of Proverbs, which has practical wisdom for young men. We are dealing with areas a little at a time and have already had a number of successes, thanks to the Lord! But honestly, these young men have some serious issues. Please pray with us that the seeds of God’s Word would fall on good soil in their hearts, and that they would bear much fruit! Thank you very much for your kindness in partnering together with us to make a real and tangible difference in their lives!
By His grace,
Dean Adamek
Executive Director