The Source May Newsletter 2022

7 min May 2022

We Officially Have Our Fourth Youth Home Open!

This past weekend we welcomed two kids to Birch Meadows. It’s been a long time coming, so it was very exciting to see this beautiful home finally have residents. One of them celebrated their birthday within the first few days of arriving and was all smiles when staff took him to a special dinner and sang “Happy Birthday!” as they brought a cake with candles. Truly a beautiful moment for all of us who have been waiting for Birch Meadows to become a fully functional BRS home. We feel so privileged to be able to enter these kids’ stories in this way. Our hope is to impact their lives in a way that only Love can and see them walk forward with a new sense of hope.

Here are a few snapshots of life at our Riverbluff & Hilltop Youth homes. We continue to have fun interactions in society where our kids can see healthy socialization and practice safe boundaries. Whether enjoying an arcade, caring for animals, or reading together, our goals is to give opportunities for discovery & growth.

Volunteer work brings a very real sense of the needs in our community. It’s easy for any of us to get stuck in a victim-mentality and feel entitled to every service available. But when we see that there are others who also have needs- needs we can help to fill- then we walk with greater purpose, compassion and self-value. “I am capable and can contribute to the needs of others!” This is something we all would do well to realize and act upon.

Ever tried to build a tower out of dried spaghetti noodles and marshmallows? This is good way to determine whether you have a knack for engineering or not!

Encouraging our kids to try their hand at a variety of activities and experiments gives them those opportunities to discover their own interests and talents. To ‘explore and discover’ is a privilege many of us have taken for granted. Giving that chance to someone who has been underprivileged is so rewarding!

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
– Winston Churchill

The Source FAMILY NIGHTS

Good food combined with good people creates an atmosphere of fun and encouragement. That is the goal of our newest effort to connect and unite our staff and their families. The Source Family Nights are meant to bring our crew together in a new way across all 4 homes. Growing in friendship with each other and with God means growing in strength, resilience and stability in a world that needs people with all three of those attributes.

The Beauty of Obscurity

Obscurity is very underrated these days. But I guess it always has been, that’s sort of the point, isn’t it? Underrated, overlooked, in the background, unnoticed. Those are not usually the descriptions we want relating to us or the things we do. We want to matter. We want to make a difference and we want our efforts to be noticed!

But whose attention actually matters? Can we ‘matter’ in obscurity? Can we be contributing to the betterment of the world even if few ever notice?

In this age of Internet and viral fame, there is a strange mentality that has saturated us. This idea of needing validation for everything we do has driven us to photograph and post almost every aspect of our lives. Is the meal I prepared as delicious if I don’t plate it just so, use my macro filter to snap a shot of it, post it and get multiple likes on Instagram? Do my kids know I love them even if I haven’t posted a paragraph of how cool they are on Facebook for their birthday? (public service announcement: Facebook isn’t as cool to the younger generation and my kids hardly use it anyway!)

Before you think this is an anti-social media article, let me get to my point. I don’t think there is anything wrong with sharing pieces of our lives with people in order to build connection, but I do think many of us have fallen into a state of mind that seeks validation from those around us in order to believe that what we are doing is valid. It’s almost as if we believe that it’s not so much WHAT we are doing, or even the DOING of it, but how people respond to us as a result that tells us if we are spending our lives in a valuable way. The problem with this is obvious: who should really have the authority to appraise us and our work?…

Meet Our Staff

Joshua is our Program Manager at the new Birch Meadows Youth Home.

“To be honest I first applied to The Source Spokane because I needed another job. God opened my eyes shortly after starting and I realized how much more it would be. I have come to view this line of work as a calling in my life. I have been with the Source since we opened our first home over 6 years ago. I have had the roles of line staff, assistant manager, and program manager.

“I love the family feel that has been built into the culture here at The Source between both residents and staff. It is a safe place that has life-altering effects through love and kindness.

"I have learned a lot over the years but the thing that sticks out the most is that God’s grace is sufficient. Where I might lack, He is faithful to bring whatever else is needed. My heart is to love these kids, see them healed/set free from bondage and be a safe place for them for now and years to come.”

We are deeply grateful for Joshua, his heart to serve those in need, and to honor the Lord with this life calling. A huge THANK YOU for all that you have contributed to this ministry and your continued courage to love radically and without conditions.

Prayer Points:

Pray for our new residents to adjust well and grow to trust the staff enough to fully receive care and protection.

2. Pray for that the right kids are chosen to fill the 3 open rooms we currently have.

3. Pray for our Program Managers to be strengthened in the midst of much transition and rearrangement. These people carry a lot of responsibilities, for the kids, for the line staff and for the State regulations and requirements. There are many things to juggle, and we are so thankful for those who have taken up this call.

4. Pray for our efforts to connect with other non-profits and churches in the community. Our heart is to support and invest in others who are giving their time and energy to improve our region and to help those in need. Pray that we grow in relationship and unity with the organizations we are reaching out to in the coming months.

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