Hope. It is not a word we started using after being nominated for the Hope Awards. It also is not a word we conjured up because it’s good marketing. The Four Corners Home for Children started with hope when Jack Drake caught a vision to set up a tent and provide a place for children without one. Our Hope is Jesus Christ and He is the leader of The Four Corners Home for Children. Without Him there is no restoration, no healing, and no hope.

Hope is the integral ingredient in all we do – everyday! Recently, we stumbled upon a letter written by a young lady who was in our children’s home when she was a child. These words have touched our hearts, refreshed us, and reminded us why we’re here. With her full permission, here they are …

  I grew up at The Four Corners Home for Children, I was given a childhood I would not otherwise have got. Basically, my mother was unfit to care for me, social services took me away. I was put in the foster system at 7y/o.

   I was told and shown on a daily basis that I didn’t matter, that I deserved to be in foster care because no one loved me. The worst part is I believed that.

  Then one shining, glorious day, I was brought to Navajo Mission. Just driving into the place was wondrous; I knew this was something different. I stayed with the Terpsma’s, who are still on grounds, spreading the same love and joy as the first day I met them. Sadly, I wasn’t there long. But I’ve noticed that no matter how many times the world dragged me away from the mission, God always brought me back, always.

  I’ve had two amazing sets of house parents during the time God allowed me at the ministry. One taught the importance of manners, education, respect and your love for the Lord. The other taught me how to love myself, the reality of the world and most importantly, to use my past as a way to build up, and only up.

  Every part of the mission is just that. A mission to provide genuine love, care and HOPE to broken children – children who come from desolate places. Children who just want someone to tell them that they matter, to give hugs when they really need it and have a place to call home that doesn’t scare them. The ministry is all that and more. It’s one thing to explain what they do and a complete other thing to witness and feel everything they have done.

  I would not be, remotely, the person I am today without the people who have come into my life through the ministry. I remember this place the most because it brought my family together. There were 5 of us taken into foster care, no one foster family could take us all, so we were always split up. Can you imagine not seeing your brother and sister for months at a time? The ministry was the first place that took all of us. ❤ In the foster system, that is a big victory.

  They saved my life and are at work every day, doing the same for many more children. Keep their light alive, keep the children’s hope alive. And if you truly want to help, become a sponsor. ❤ – SD

It all revolves around hope. If you don’t usually share these weekly “lines” with anyone – this is a good one to share. In SD’s words this is what we’re all about. Lives changed, filled with love hope and faith. We don’t always see those changes on a daily basis but when we look back; there are many more stories we could share.

We don’t simply care for kids until their old enough to move on. We don’t just protect them from harm until they are able to stand up for themselves. We provide a place where they can heal and one day rise up full of hope to be who God created them to me. Not defeated. Not victims. No – triumphant overcomers full of life and potential. That potential is what we minister to.

I’m looking forward to the next story we hear. I’m expectant to see the next life changed through The Four Corners Home for Children and the Four Corners Home for Children. I hope you’re watching too! God is orchestrating it as we speak … here it comes!

Hope remains!

Thank you for standing with us and being a partner in providing Hope, Healing, and Restoration!

Randall Jeffrey