Greetings!
This past March, Olive Crest, a local organization dedicated to the prevention of child abuse, launched a new program in California called Safe Families For Children. Safe Families for Children is an opportunity for volunteers to have a powerful impact in the lives of others while practicing biblical hospitality and extending the love of Christ to people in need - all from their own home!
Volunteers open their homes to children whose parents are experiencing a short-term emergency, such as hospitalization, or a longer-term crisis, such as drug abuse. Designed to extend and strengthen the community safety net for at-risk families, Safe Families is a positive alternative to the state child welfare system, allowing parents to work out their problems without having to worry about losing custody of their kids. The program's goal is to reunite children with their biological parents in a home that is more stable and healthy, in part because of the contribution of the Safe Families intervention. Click here to view a short video abut Safe Families For Children.
Through the Una Esperanza O.C. Kids ministry here in Southern California, we've been providing a safe place for children in our home for several years now. When we first heard about the Safe Families For Children program, we really couldn't find a valid reason why we could not become a Safe Family ourselves. Reaching out to families and children in crisis should be a natural part of what we do, if we call ourselves Christ-followers.
Becoming a Safe Family is relatively easy, and we'd like to encourage you to consider becoming a Safe Family For Children yourselves. We can guide you through the process and can assure you that stepping outside of your comfort zone in such a way will bless you incredibly!
Juarez - The killings, kidnappings, and other violent crimes continue in Juarez, Mexico, in spite of the government's attempts to calm the situation by sending 5000 additional troops into Juarez earlier this year. The crime wave dramatically dropped off immediately after the surge, but crime has since escalated once again and more than 130 have been killed so far this month alone. On our last visit, we experienced first-hand the gravity of the situation due to an incident with a suspicious car on the remote desert highway between Una Esperanza and the US border one evening. It has become unsafe for our family to travel alone to Juarez, at least for now. We do believe that it remains safe to bring teams down, as there is "safety in numbers". Unfortunately, because of the fears associated with safety in Mexico right now, we're finding it nearly impossible to find anyone willing to go, leaving us on our own, and as such, putting us in a vulnerable position when we do go. So for now, we'll continue to go it alone as God leads, and we do appreciate your prayers for wisdom and protection.
God has answered our prayers by providing a new director for Una Esperanza, Raquel Loera. Raquel lives in Juarez, and has been overseeing the ministry center for a few months now and is doing a great job. Having Raquel there to manage the day-to-day operations of the ministry center helps a great deal right now as we are forced to limit our visits.
We were recently blessed by some wonderful friends that were led to cover the cost of a Ford Excursion SUV, enabling us to haul even more kids around this summer! The kids are out of school, and we're shifting into high gear with our local Una Esperanza O.C. Kids ministry here in Orange County. This week, we'll be kicking off our weekly beach Bible studies, neighborhood outreach events, and we'll also be taking the Una Esperanza O.C. Kids on special day-trips, as well as to a youth camp in July. We're also hoping to take the kids for a week-long, Bible-focused, camping trip to Colorado in August.
Please continue to lift us up in prayer as God leads, as we seek to serve the "least of these" in Jesus name!
Brad & Lesli Bieganski
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Update on Alma
We wanted to thank so many of you for praying for Alma, our sweet little girl from Una Esperanza who fell off a roof and sustained a head injury shortly after our March trip to Una Esperanza. We are so happy to report that despite a long time in a coma and many pronouncements that she would not survive, Alma is back at home in good health, blessing all who know her with her sweet spirit and her wonderful smile again. She does not seem to have much in the way of lasting impairment, and we thank God for the miracle that He has done in her life. We thank you for joining us in lifting she and her family up in prayer, and we are convinced that God heard the cries of His people and spared this little girl's life.
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| Last week's Bible lesson at Una Esperanza |
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Click on the above link to view a short video about Safe Families For Children, and feel free to contact us for more information on becoming a Safe Family.
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"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" -- Jim Elliot
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Your love, O LORD,
reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
Psalm 36:5
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