April 8, 2010
Dear Friends,
I am writing to friends and family who have had an impact on my life to share information about the school where I have been working the past two years.
As many of you know, Scott and I experienced the most challenging time of our lives when our daughter, Courtney, went through a very difficult period in her life. She was only 12 years old when we first noticed the cuts on her wrist and discovered she was planning to take her own life. It’s hard to believe it has been seven years since then. God has healed our hearts in many ways. He has used godly counselors, teachers, youth workers, doctors, and friends to share the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.
Shortly after that time, I became an assistant principal at Lyles Middle School, a school where many students were hurting and on the verge of losing hope. I realized many of them had issues like Courtney’s, but very few had resources or supportive people in their lives. We started a Young Life club there and many students have since responded to the gospel through the club and through Young Life summer camps.
In March of 2008, I met Jim and Jane Beckett, who had founded Cornerstone Crossroads Academy two years earlier. They began the school in order to reach teenagers coming out of the juvenile detention setting. They believed that students could be successful in a small family-type setting. Over the past 3 years, over 20 students have graduated, many being the first in their families to graduate from high school. Several have come to know Jesus Christ, and all have heard the redemption story again and again. This year, six students are expected to graduate.
I am writing because we need your help. For the first four years, our school was almost completely funded through one source. As of June 30, that source will no longer be available. We invite you to join with us by supporting the school with your time, talents, and skills.
There are a number of ways you can help. We, like so many other ministries, need funding. We are not asking you to take away from the ministries you already fund, but would you consider making a one-year commitment to help us through this transitional year?
We love opportunities to partner with you for mentoring, tutoring and sharing your life with our students. You can also help by connecting us with community organizations or church groups that would be interested in hearing more about connecting with the school.
Would you join Team Crossroads by using your creativity, talents, and skills to help provide another chance to teenagers who desperately need it? I believe many students are served well through private and public schools. But there is a group of students who remind me of the people in Ezekiel 34 – they are broken, weak, and lost, wandering hopelessly, and in danger of attack, with no one to search or seek after them. By joining Team Crossroads, you have an opportunity to share the story of the Good Shepherd, who says, “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. . . I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered. . . I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. . .”
As one who strayed myself, wandering so far away I didn’t know if the Shepherd would even care to find me, I know how life-changing the hope of Jesus Christ can be. I long to continue serving and loving these teenagers in South Dallas. I hope that you will consider this opportunity to join with me!
Please complete the survey by selecting the link posted above this letter. If you would like to make a donation via PayPal, there is a link just above the photos on the right. I look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you!
