In The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, educator and author, Steven Covey, encourages people to begin with the end in mind. Putting this wisdom into practice is a major reason Aslan has had such a profound impact in the lives of so many children. Had we focused on the “beginning,” we would have never gone beyond helping a few children through their incredibly difficult lives. Had we focused on the “process” (the countless years in between that take, seemingly forever, to see positive changes), we would have given up long ago. Fortunately, it has always been “the end result of our efforts” that has guided us.
I remember Aaron,* one of our tutoring students, as a prime example. One evening at the school where we held tutoring, the principal walked up to me with a troubled look on her face. She pointed to Aaron and his tutor in a nearby classroom and was literally aghast that he was even there! She told me his horrible behavior had almost single-handedly caused one of her best teachers to retire. “How then?” she asked, “could this same young man be acting so well?”
I told her that Aaron was normally this well-behaved for Aslan because he had his own personal tutor to encourage him, teach him, and help him behave properly. He was a perfect example of why Aslan has one tutor for each child! When he was with Aslan, his behavior was generally excellent. She just shook her head and walked away.
One Aslan teacher suggested we rid ourselves of every trouble maker in our classes and work “only with the good kids.” Although well-meaning, I explained to my friend that our classes would dwindle to three or four kids if we did this! More importantly, many of the students we kicked out of class could easily be the very ones to eventually overcome their problems and succeed.
Every day we offer children “better choices” than what the world is offering them. We teach kids what to value in life and what is worthless in life. We tell them there is no such thing as “your truth” and “my truth,” for truth is not something we vote on or decide on our own. If there is nothing greater than your opinion or my opinion by which we measure ourselves, life has absolutely no meaning.
We try our very best to never browbeat you with requests for support. People sometimes ask me why we send out an announcement about fundraising events. Twenty percent of the funds necessary to keep our doors open to our children are raised through our Golf Classic and Beauty & The Beach Run. So . . . if you love to play golf, click on the link below and sign up. You’ll enjoy the day so much, meet a lot of nice people, and help us continue to bring hope to so many children.
If you cannot participate in these events, we ask that you please pray with us for their success.
And always, always know that we appreciate your support more than words can possibly express. As long as Lynn Ann and I have breath to breathe, we will continue to serve these wonderful children. Thank you for making the impossible possible!
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