2014 Turning Points - October/November

Children At Heart Ministries Newsletter Vol. 8, No. 4 - Oct/Nov 2014

A Not-So-Typical Success Story

Stories of Lives You Have Helped Change

Inside: Miracle Farm他A Not-So-Typical Success Story Page 3 Page 4 TBCH他 On Mission in South Texas Page 5 Gracewood他Building a Better Home Page 6 STARRY他Counseling in Uniform

Freedom for All

M

y family and I went to New York this summer for several days. We enjoyed being tourists and doing the things that tourists do. One of the highlights for me was the day that we went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. When I was in junior high school, a music evangelist came to our church on the northwest side of Houston. I can’t remember his name, but I can relive almost as if it was yesterday him singing a song in a deep baritone voice called “Statue of Liberty.” The song fascinated me. I have since that time thought if I ever get to New York I want to see the statue.

The song itself was written in the early 1970’s by a southern gospel musician named Neil Enloe. Groups like the Couriers, Cathedrals, the Blackwood Brothers, Ivan Parker, and many others have recorded versions of the song. The song compares the physical liberty represented by the Statue of Liberty and spiritual liberty found at Calvary’s Cross. The first verse says this: In New York Harbor stands a lady, With a torch raised to the sky; And all who see her know she stands for Liberty for you and me.

I’m so proud to be called an American, To be named with the brave and the free; I will honor our flag and our trust in God, And the Statue of Liberty.

If you could see the number of pictures I took of the Statue of Liberty, you would know that either I was truly

Vol. 8, No. 4 Oct/Nov 2014

Published for friends of

Children At Heart Ministries 1301 N Mays Round Rock TX 78664 (512) 255-3668 ChildrenAtHeartMinistries.org Todd L. Roberson President/CEO On the cover: Alek at Miracle Farm.

Photo by Jessica Schmale, Everest Road Photography

fascinated or my finger got stuck on the camera’s shutter button.

My eyes filled with tears as we approached the statue by boat coming across the harbor and I recalled this song and thought about the millions of immigrants whose first symbol of freedom over the years was this very Statue of Liberty.

As we left New York to return home, we rode in a taxi to get back to the airport. Our driver was from Bangladesh. The two of us talked all the way back to the airport. He practiced his English on me, and I asked him all sorts of questions.

He said he was working on his U.S. citizenship and has less than a year to go. His family is still in Bangladesh, but he exclaimed to me that U.S. citizenship will give him freedom that he has never known, the ability to come and go as he pleases, and most of all opportunity. It really made that statue come alive for me.

As well, I couldn’t help but think of the children and families who have passed through the doors of Texas Baptist Children’s Home, Miracle Farm, STARRY and Gracewood over the years. Freedom, opportunity and often a fresh start are themes that are heard as testaments to the work and ministry that has happened one by one in the lives of those arriving at our doors since 1950. Thank you for helping to make hope and healing possible for thousands of children and families each year through the family of Children At Heart Ministries!

Gratefully,

Todd L. Roberson, President/CEO www.ChildrenAtHeartMinistries.org

“ We are a family of Christian ministries that exists to honor God and build a better world by serving children and strengthening families.”

Communications Office Bill Martin Director of Communications Danna Reeves Graphic Designer Ginger Swann Communications Coordinator Haley Smith Joshua Dam Contributing Writers ©2014 Children At Heart Ministries Printing by Sunset Press, Inc.

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A Letter from Our President

Home, Hope and Healing

Gracewood Don Forrester, President Debbie Rippstein, Executive Director 1617 Elmview, Houston TX 77080 (713) 988-9757 www.Gracewood.org Miracle Farm Don Forrester, President Alex Hamilton, Executive Director 10802 FM 2621, Brenham TX 77833 (979) 836-0901 www.MiracleFarm.org STARRY Don Forrester, President Richard Singleton, Executive Director 1300 N Mays, Round Rock TX 78664 (512) 246-4288 www.STARRYonline.org Texas Baptist Children’s Home Don Forrester, President Keith Dyer, Executive Director 1101 N Mays, Round Rock TX 78664 (512) 255-3682 www.TBCH.org

www.ChildrenAtHeartMinistries.org

A Not-So-Typical Success Story

T

here are at least two things that set Alek apart from the rest of the boys at Miracle Farm. He is a perfect example of the changes that the Farm can make in the life of a teenager.

First, the ways he is different.

He has been at the Farm for three years, longer than any boy now in residence, and about twice the time a boy typically stays.

Then there’s the fact that he doesn’t much care for horses, a staple of the Miracle Farm riding and roping curriculum.

Those aside, there are many ways that Alek is very typical of the boys who benefit from the Miracle Farm environment.

Like many boys, he was far behind in school and very much unmotivated when he arrived in 2011. But he turned things around, completing three years of studies at the oncampus charter high school to put himself on schedule to graduate.

And, like many of the young men who complete the Miracle Farm program, when the 18-year-old leaves he will know exactly what career path he wants to pursue.

But one of the biggest changes, the one with the promise of an eternal blessing, is that he gave his life to Christ on June 26, 2011, at a summer camp the year he arrived. He was led to salvation by a Miracle Farm staff member.

Classroom success, career goals and a life committed to Jesus serve to more than balance the early lack of achievement in school and his strong dislike for horses. Alek leaves as his own person, with his boots planted firmly on a path to a future of hope and opportunity.

“I was stubborn,” Alek says, describing the boy who arrived at the Farm three years ago. “I had tunnel vision and ignored everything around me. I wanted to do what I wanted to do.

I was going to have it my way, not anyone else’s way. I didn’t think I had a problem.”

Miracle Farm changed things. While still describing himself

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MIRACLE FARM

as “polite, but a loner,” an introvert who likes to keep to himself, Alek says he has learned there is a world outside of his own.

“When I first got here, I didn’t want to be here,” he says. “It took a year for me to open my eyes and look around and see that it is not all about me. My grades went from Cs to Bs to straight As.” “Alek was not one of those dramatic turnaround stories,” says Executive Director Alex Hamilton. “His was more of a long, slow grind, with small changes over time and then all of a sudden you look back and say, ‘wow, he has come a very long way.’”

After completing courses at the Farm’s on-campus Premier High School, Alek plans to enroll in Blinn College. He eventually wants to attend Texas A&M University and pursue a career in computers and software engineering.

Alek started working at Independence Coffee Company in Brenham earlier this year and is proud that he recently received a very nice raise. He hopes to continue that job once he starts school.

“He still has hurdles ahead of him to practice the selfdiscipline needed to succeed in college, but he has worked hard at honing those skills,” Alex said.

— Bill Martin

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On Mission in South Texas

TEXAS BAPTIST CHILDREN’S HOME

This summer, a team of TBCH Campus Life residents and house parents spent a week on mission in the small South Texas town of Penitas, working with local youth and helping build a church. The team took part in activities, helped build a church in three days, and joined in nightly worship services with local residents.

Children At Heart Welcomes Kirk Kriegel to the Family!

We are pleased to introduce Kirk Kriegel as the new CAHM Vice President for Business Operations. Kirk holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University and a Master of Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His personal life purpose statement is “to love God with everything and to invest my life in my wife, my family and others to influence the culture for Christ.” We are thankful that the Lord has brought him into our family!

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www.ChildrenAtHeartMinistries.org

Building a Better Home

A

GRACEWOOD

fter 10 years of marriage to her childhood sweetheart, Kristhel Garza found herself abandoned and a single mother to four children. She came to Gracewood to build a better home and future for her children.

“I had been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years,” said Kristhel.

“Aside from a part-time job driving school buses and previous work as a receptionist, I did not have the skills or experience necessary to provide for my family.”

For a time she received child support, barely enough for her to make payments on her house and for her family to survive. When her ex-husband lost his job, she knew she had to make it on her own and started taking classes at a local Kristhel Garza’s beautiful children: Isaiah, Daniel, Nyomi, and Alynha. community college.

“I knew my income alone was not In the meantime, Kristhel is using her time at Gracewood to enough to maintain our home,” said attain a teaching degree from the University of Houston. She is Kristhel. scheduled to graduate in December 2015.

About that time, Kristhel attended a conference at her Daniel graduated from high school and is attending Blinn church, Champion Forest Baptist, where Gracewood showed College in Brenham. Kristhel was the first in her family to go to a video and hosted a booth. After picking up a pamphlet at college and is proud to see Daniel following in her footsteps. the conference, Kristhel scheduled an intake interview at Alynha is now playing high school basketball and recently Gracewood. received an award for her success in honors English. Kristhel’s “I had attempted to reach out to other agencies for help other two children, Nyomi (9) and Isaiah (8), have also adjusted with bills. They always gave me a hard time, telling me that well and are excelling in school. it was my fault for being in this predicament,” said Kristhel.

“Kristhel’s story is one that could happen to anyone,” said “Everyone at Gracewood was so caring, truly sorry that my Debbie Rippstein, Executive Director of Gracewood. “Watching children and I were suffering. They genuinely wanted to help.” the transformation in Kristhel and her children as well as Kristhel had her doubts about uprooting her children for helping both mother and children achieve the dream of a the move to Gracewood. Prior to moving, Kristhel’s kids were college education is what this ministry is all about.” struggling in school. Her daughter, Alynha (now 15), who had — Haley Smith been an honor roll student, failed a grade, and her son, Daniel (now 17), dropped out of his extracurricular activities.

“Amazingly, when I approached my children about moving, they seemed excited. They saw how we struggled,” said Kristhel. “When we pulled onto the property, we were expecting a shelter. We could not believe this was where the moms and their children actually lived.”

Donate Upon coming to Gracewood, Kristhel was advised to not sell her home, considering the mortgage was less than CAHM.org/Donate apartment rent. With the help of volunteers from Clay Road Baptist Church and financial support from Bayou City Fellowship, the house was updated and transformed into a beautiful rental property, providing Kristhel and her children with a place to go when they are ready to leave Gracewood.

Donate easily online.

www.ChildrenAtHeartMinistries.org

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Counseling in Uniform

STARRY

I

t is difficult to imagine the pain that an overseas deployment can inflict on a military family – before, during and after it occurs.

While those who deploy are surrounded by brothers and sisters-in-arms and are kept busy with the hectic schedules of military life, each of the family members left behind, especially the children, face an entirely different set of circumstances.

The STARRY Counseling Program has service locations throughout Central Texas, including one on the doorstep of Fort Hood in Killeen. Counselors frequently find themselves called upon to address a variety of military-related issues that have an impact on both parents and children alike.

“One of the more heartbreaking things about working with families struggling with deployment is the effect it has on small children,” said counselor Michelle Goodwin.

“We recently served a young client who called his dad his ‘screen daddy’ because he only talked to him on the computer. His grandfather was his ‘home daddy.’ When I asked him if he was excited about his father coming home, he didn’t understand that the man he spoke to on the computer was indeed his ‘home daddy’ and would be in the house again.”

Counselor Debra Rodriguez met with a military wife who was struggling to deal with her defiant teenager. In addressing the issue, the teen’s problems were overshadowed by a father suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and pain from war injuries that he suffered in Afghanistan.

“The family was living in silence due to the father’s intense head pain and all of them were walking on egg shells because the PTSD caused unpredictable anger outbursts,” Debra explained. “The father couldn’t understand why the family complained about his behavior and the family couldn’t understand why the father was so angry all the time.”

In counseling, the family found a safe place to share and to express their individual needs. Opening the door to clear communication led to each family member accommodating

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the others and making intentional efforts to maintain a peaceful household.

Many of STARRY’s counselors come from military families, which gives them a unique understanding of the situations military families face.

“Providing a counselor with military family experience makes the difference because the client feels like you share a struggle no one else can relate to,” said Angela Bulls, STARRY’s Director of Counseling Services.

There are many things that ordinary civilians may not understand, such as why a mom might be so attached to her phone, or why there is a webcam at the dinner table, or why a child can’t go outside to play at a certain time because he might miss a chance to talk to a military parent when he or she calls.

“There are missed birthdays, the frustration of raising a family alone,” Angela said. “In the back of your mind you are constantly aware that every conversation could be your last.”

The STARRY Counseling Program works with children and parents to help them find ways to stay connected, especially when a parent is deployed.

“When you think about the experiences you plan to share with a spouse as you build your family, you never plan to do those things alone,” Angela said. “Photo albums are always missing someone, but you have to take the pictures because life does not stop just because of deployment.”

STARRY is honored to have the opportunity to come alongside men and women in the service, as well as their families, to help ease the transitions involved in military life.

Each family’s story is unique and we are blessed to walk with them through the joys and difficulties of every season of life.

— Joshua Dam www.ChildrenAtHeartMinistries.org

Campus Life Alumni Reunion

TEXAS BAPTIST CHILDREN’S HOME

Alumni, friends and family from Texas Baptist Children’s Home were on campus on Saturday, July 26, for the biennial TBCH Campus Life Reunion. What a great opportunity to renew old friendships and make new ones!

ALOHA

ALOHA www.ChildrenAtHeartMinistries.org

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Don Cramer Leaves a Legacy

I

t was a blessed day, indeed, on July 1, 1978, when Don Cramer arrived at Texas Baptist Children’s Home to serve as Assistant Director of Development. Then TBCH Administrator Charles Wright had convinced Don to uproot his family from Tennessee and move to a sleepy little town in Texas in order to begin a career as a development officer.

The intervening 36 years have been years of great blessing for Texas Baptist Children’s Home and for all of the Children At Heart family of ministries.

Don’s leadership of development efforts grew over the years, eventually leading to him being named as Vice President and COO of the Children At Heart Foundation, a position he held until February 2012 when he transitioned to a part-time role as Director of Gift Planning.

He recently decided to make another transition and retired from Children At Heart effective August 31 to become a gift planning consultant with Thompson & Associates. In this role,

CAHF

he will continue to serve Children At Heart’s mission by assisting donors with confidential, values-based estate planning to further their personal, family and spiritual goals.

Don began his nonprofit ministry career at the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home as a house parent in 1974. He came to Round Rock to try his skills as a fundraiser and he quickly distinguished himself as a master relationship-builder with donors, staff, trustees and clients.

“In the 20-plus years that I have known Don Cramer, I have never heard an unkind or unflattering word spoken of him,” said Children At Heart Ministries CEO Todd Roberson. “He is one of the most respected and humble men I’ve ever known.

“Though he would be quick to credit the Lord for his accomplishments, it’s clear looking back that his efforts have dramatically changed the face of our ministries.”

His accomplishments are too numerous to mention, but chief among them is stewarding many key relationships that have led to a phenomenal increase in the endowment funds that provide perpetual support for the ministries of Children At Heart. Without Don’s faithfulness and God’s abundant provision, it’s unlikely that Children At Heart would exist as it does today.

Don has been faithful in many, many areas and his legacy will be felt among the children and families served by Children At Heart Ministries for generations.

Blessings Abundant,

Plans are underway for a retirement reception later this fall. If you wish to be notified of the specifics of the reception, please email info@cahgift.org.

Dawson Clark, CFRE, is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Children At Heart Foundation. You can reach him at (512) 246-4221 or email him at dawson.clark@cahgift.org.

We ask you to prayerfully consider a gift to strengthen families and improve the lives of children all across the Children at Heart family of ministries.

To make a gift, visit www.CAHM.org/Donate

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1301 N Mays St Round Rock, Texas 78664-2945 www.CAHM.org | info@cahmin.org

www.ChildrenAtHeartMinistries.org