One of the biggest blessings and highlights from our time in Alaska was spending time with the Baptist Boys Home. There are 10 teenage boys in this home right now. They are all there for different reasons. They may have been in trouble for various reasons, but there are others who were taken from their homes due to abuse.
This is the place that broke our hearts the most, gave us the most joy and that gives us so much to be praying about! We just love these boys!
The first day we went to spend time with them, they were very unresponsive. Not many of them talked to us at all. The second day we could tell a big difference. And by the end of the week, the boys were coming up to each of us and asking for hugs. I found myself wondering when they had a hug last. By the end of the week, we had several boys who made decisions for Christ. They all raised their hands (several with tears in their eyes) saying they wanted a change in their lives.
The last night we spent with them, we gave them each a teenage Bible with devotions in it as well as a survival kit from Lifeway. This is a book that goes through the basics of being a Christian. That is one of our biggest prayer concerns – leaving these boys so open to the Lord’s work – and hoping, praying that someone will come alongside them and encourage them and disciple them.
The last night we left we also learned that one of the boys would likely be headed to prison in the next few days. These boys need our prayers…please be praying with us!
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