The next right thing

​​THE NEXT RIGHT THING
 by Lorie Goggin, Executive Director

Do the next right thing… that was the title of my sermon last week. 
Do the next right thing, even when it’s hard, even if it seems impossible. 
As I walked into church service at the Williamson County Juvenile Justice Center this week, the teens were excited to tell me how they ‘chose the next right thing’ during the week.  Excited because they knew that if they began choosing to do the next right thing, soon God could trust them with the next right HARD thing.  A skill they will need as they prepare to be released back into places where they may have been hurt before, where they will have to face tough choices and make hard decisions. 

But today I want to talk about Reset Mentoring’s ‘next right step.’  
​It is a step that seems impossible at worst and hard at best, but it will be a step that will offer more ‘next right choices’ for the teens we serve.  Here’s the heartbreak that led to the ‘next right step':
   A boy, I’ll call him L., made some mistakes.  He lived life in a hard place with a mom addicted to drugs and unable to care for him.  While in custody L. did the hard work of growing and learning.  When the time came for his release, there was no parent to take him.  After an exhaustive search, the decision had to be made to turn him over to CPS.  Heartbreaking for a boy who tried and grew and changed so much.  Heartbreaking for a boy who had just accepted Jesus and had to reconcile that with the fact that no one wanted him.   This year another boy so proud of himself for obtaining a GED, going through job skill training, and kicking drugs.  Yet we all quickly saw what happened when his only choice was to put him back into a home where there were no food, directions, or boundaries.  Frustrated because his mom needed him to earn money quickly to help with the bills, he started making money the old way.  Soon at 17 he was faced with adult jail time.   An 18-year-old, who ‘aged out of the system’ and couldn’t go back home.  Given an apartment paid for one month, he would need to find a way to be an adult.  But without ID, social security card, driver’s license, bank account, or even a job, how would he be able to do that on his own?   Thankfully he didn’t have to as Reset Mentoring (which is mostly privately funded) walked with him through each step he would need to take.  He now has a driver’s license, a job, is paying his bills, and he opened both a checking and savings account.  THANK YOU to our Monthly Partners!  
My heart has grieved over these situations for years, and I have prayed and asked God to step in and do something.  Then UGH just like in 2010 when I asked God to do something for little Jessica, he answered this way, “I’m sending you and Reset Mentoring in to do the next best step.”  A transitional living home where four to five boys, aged 16-19, can live in a family environment, giving them normalcy and the steps they need to become successful thriving adults.  Where they will learn the life skills needed, from budgeting to laundry to meal prep to home repairs.  Plus, they would have a chance to finish school, attend college, and get further grounded before facing the world on their own.

First, I am asking you to PRAY.  Once again God has downloaded to me the ‘programming side.’  We have life skill classes planned and are ready to walk them through the Nine Steps to successful adulthood.  Yet the more research and licensing meetings I attend, the more I realize the enormous size of the task to which we are being called.  Our team will need more wisdom than ever before and more knowledge than we possess.

Before we can even apply for licensing we have to have the property and home set up and ready to receive teens.  That means funding must be in place.  We are hoping to find a property to lease in Round Rock at a relatively low monthly lease.  (Unless someone has a property with 4-5 acres they would like to donate on which we could build!)  Which means we need 25 people to partner with us at $100 a month OR  12 people willing to make a one time donation of $2,500 to get us through the first year.   During the next year as we set up to receive licensing and find the house parents, we will use the home for teen nights, life skill trainings, and office space.  For my part, I will be finishing my bachelor’s degree so that I can administer the home and save Reset Mentoring the expense of hiring a full-time administrator. 
I told you, it was the next right, impossibly hard thing to do.  But below is my mantra for this year, so when you see the team tired or fearful or doubting, when another teen has disappointed and we are questioning if their lives are even worth it, remind us of the mantra, and consider partnering with us.
 
"Impossible is where God starts. Miracles are what God does."

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LOVE CAME DOWN AT CHRISTMAS

After weeks and weeks of careful planning and a lot of love being poured out by sponsors and volunteers, we launched our annual Love Came Down at Christmas!  We did it not once but TWICE this year -- one for teens not in custody (Thank you The Exchange Church for use of your facilities!) and one for CORE teens in custody at the Williamson County Juvenile Center.  The first party for the non custody teens was a “grinchy wonderland” with Whoville decor galore!  Teens enjoyed food, games, laughter, and a beautiful message delivered by our own Lorie Goggin!  Each teen was able to create, assemble, and take home 7-8 different types of gifts for family members.  Then our teens were blessed by receiving gifts of their very own from generous gift sponsors.   The following week we held the second Love Came Down at Christmas Party at the Juvenile Center.  Finger foods, games, and gift making were all enjoyed by the grateful teens!

There were so many mixed reactions from both groups of our teens, some expressing gratitude for being able to break bread and eat the only hot meal they would receive this Christmas.  Some were beyond thankful they had gifts to give to their own families rather than showing up empty handed!  These events are favorites at Reset Mentoring and hands down one of the teens' favorites.  It’s our opportunity (and yours) to pour out the love of Christ, the reason for the season, and fill their hearts and bellies when some would normally go without.  We are so thankful for the amazing help from our sponsors and volunteers as without them none of this would have been possible!