Our Dear Friends,
We hope the crispness of the November air and the beautiful colors of fall are filling your hearts with thanksgiving! There are many organizations out there that work with children and do good things, but there’s only one Aslan. No matter what problems each child faces, we start with the words of the amazing Nigerian vocalist, Ada Ehi,
“What can’t God Do?”
What is “too big” for God? What need can’t He meet? What problem can’t He solve? Many years ago, a mother who truly loved her daughter sent her to our area to live with relatives. Mom knew that growing up in the housing projects in New York City would ruin any chance that her daughter, Diondra*, might have. But growing up in our area was still no picnic. There were way too many people already in the tiny house she came to live in. I remember, on many occasions, finding Diondra sitting on the curb outside doing homework on her lap. There was simply no place inside the house to spread out her papers and study!
Had we looked at the confusing mess her little life was at one moment in time, we would’t have had the heart to go further. With every child, however, Aslan always begins with the end in mind. And we live by these words,
“What can’t God Do?”
There are no shortcuts to changing a life. So much of what we do is plant seeds of hope. The world says our children should go every direction except towards God and tells our children they don’t need Him in their lives. But Aslan says the opposite. If you go God’s direction you can truly live a happier life.
Hope is something our Aslan kids never have enough of. The only way they can break through generations of poverty, neglect and discrimination is by finding hope. Their lives, from birth, are filled with one problem after another. One of the worst things they face is overcoming low expectations. Were it not for our one-on-one tutoring program, Diondra might have been another bad statistic. Through our College Prep leadership group in high school, Diondra began to take everything we said seriously. She was going to beat the odds, no matter how hard she had to fight to do so!
After graduating from high school, Diondra was accepted to Morehouse College in Atlanta. Aslan was able to give her $5,000 a year from our college scholarship fund as she excelled and graduated from Morehouse. For many years, this talented young woman worked for a large church in Atlanta, and now Diondra works for Microsoft in North Carolina. Like the song says,
“What can’t God Do?”
As we all thank God for the blessings in our lives, please remember that He uses people like you to keep Aslan’s doors open. We know how much the bad economy has hurt everyone. The rise in gasoline and food prices alone have caused many problems, and both our personal and church donations are significantly down from last year. Aslan needs to have a strong November & December to help us start the New Year out strong. Please give generously to support Aslan’s life-transforming work! Here are some areas of special need.
We wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!
