We gave our report yesterday at the Baptist Missionary Association of Mississippi annual meeting. For those unable to attend or did not receive the October 15th Mississippi Baptist Paper this is the annual report.
It has been a long unprecedented year. I think all of us could have started this paragraph with the same sentence. As uncertain as the times are around us we know we serve The Lord who has never ceased to reign.
Psalm 127
“Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows:
For so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord:
And the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
So are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: They shall not be ashamed,
But they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”
We stepped into this ministry with one child to care for in 2019. As of the writing of this report the Home has quadrupled its long term placements in the past year. I know our God can do anything, but I don’t think I will get the chance to make that announcement again. We have also helped multiple children through short term care anywhere from a day to a week. We are greatly encouraged by the blessings of opportunities to serve these individuals and families.
As encouraged as we are, hindsight is 20/20, as they say. We have not taken every step according to plan. The goal we placed before you last year to have our churches point us to children in need in their communities did not provide the opportunities we had hoped. I did receive a couple of calls, but upon further examination the families in question were taking steps to better care for their children. I would not say we are closing the door to this approach, but we do not feel as if it is going to be the most fruitful avenue.
So, how did we have such a good year when our plan didn’t work? The short answer is, God had another plan. After meeting with a local Judge and receiving our first placement. We had to back date some steps, but Lindsay and I were able to be licensed as Foster Parents through the Director’s Home. This is a loop hole allowing us to keep both placement options available to us. We can still receive children through our Health Department Liscensing at the big house and receive children through the state officially at our personal residence. I know we said last year we don’t want to lose our religious freedoms by going through the state and this loop hole allows us to do just that. Lindsay and I are bound by some rules we don’t fully agree with, but the Home as an entity is not. This also allows us to take aim at the plan we mentioned last year. The difference is the state has already identified the children for us. Now the children we receive will be evaluated for possible long term placement with us at the Home after a period of time to determine the likelihood of reunification with their family.
This is what our caseload has looked like:
1. We took in a 16 year old young man last November, and we have been named his “permanency plan”. This is basically saying because he is now 17, they are no longer trying to reunify him with his mother, and not trying to terminate her rights due to his age. So, he will stay with us until he can make those decisions. He has been our biggest praise of all our placements to this point. He has made a profession of faith and followed the Lord in baptism since coming to us. The fruit of repentance has been a joy to witness.
2. We received a 17 year old young lady in January. She came to us through family placement. We are trying to help her finish an ESL program to get her GED, while praying she would receive her biggest help in Christ. Pray for her and us.
3. In February, we had an emergency case from the MDCPS. A 14 year old young man came to stay with us until his extended family could finish arrangements to take him into their home. Similarly, in June we had a 6 year old boy stay with us for a week on his way to therapeutic treatment. We pray as there may still be a chance for him to be able to return to us in the future.
4. At the end of July we took in an 11 year old boy. His arrival was marked with a difficult time as it was the Saturday we found out we had been exposed to the Corona Virus. Despite the difficult start, he has begun to settle in and we are now exploring the option of permanent placement for he and his brother. This is a faster process in their case because their parental rights were terminated in August leaving a clearer path for us to move forward. Please be in prayer for this process to go as smoothly as it can.
Obviously the worldwide pandemic slowed things down greatly. We also faced a few medical speed bumps through the past year. Through all of these uncertainties we began receiving more phone calls for placements and volunteers by the summer. All in all, despite so many negatives, I don’t think I could have asked for a better year. Thank you for your faithful support.
In His Service,
Director: Dwight Lindsey