๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ต๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐: ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ฑ’๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐ข๐๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐!
While many of the stories we tell come to us from Haiti and Ethiopia, the addition of the BrickHouse program to our LSM family has given us more to talk about on the domestic front. The BrickHouse program provides structured foster care services to hard-to-place young people living in Northeast Indiana and offers free counseling services to area foster and adoptive families. Our BrickHouse farm store helps fund our efforts by selling delicious, reasonably-priced meat and eggs, and all for an excellent cause. In addition to BrickHouse, we must also remember that God is working through LSM family sponsorship and service opportunities to touch the hearts of those here in the U.S. who are freely giving and volunteering. We often tell the stories of those who are recipients of generosity, but sometimes the stories of how God transforms and touches the heart of the giver are equally important. Here are several stories of generosity and ingenuity that have come out of the U.S. recently โ as well as a notes regarding a couple of crucial opportunities that are still available.
๐๐ถ๐๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ต: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ
โAt the heart of LSM Family Sponsorship is the idea of a lot of people doing a little bit. For us, budgeting to give to LSM each month is something we can do fairly easily. It hardly changes our lives. And yet we see that for those hurting or in need, our giving truly can make a life-changing impact. We appreciate how LSM takes the long approach, not just in terms of sustainable change, but also eternity. Weโve been particularly impressed by how LSM uses business as a tool for ministry, and we always look forward to Ed’s updates. But fundamentally, we know that the focus remains on helping vulnerable children and families. We love the concept of families helping families for God’s glory. Glad to do our part!โย โBlaine and Alyssa Aschliman
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๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
The best person to guide any of us on our path to obtaining a new quality of character or new set of skills is a mentor, someone who has walked the path ahead of us. Mentors are particularly crucial to the hard-to-place foster youth in our care at LSM BrickHouse, who often need a little extra help in finding their way to the path that is possible for them. Do you have a skill that you would like to teach our children, such as leadership or public speaking? Maybe something hands-on like servicing a vehicle or playing a musical instrument? Contact Adam Carroll, adam@loving-shepherd.org, to learn how you can step up and change the course of young lives!
๐๐ฆ๐ ’๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ ๐๐น๐๐ณ๐ณ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐
LSM BrickHouse offers structured foster care for hard-to-place foster care youth living in Northeast Indiana. At our girls’ home in downtown Bluffton, Kevin and Michele Mechling provide a loving home, plus valuable mentorship opportunities, skills training, and life experiences to help the girls reach their God-given potential. Do you know a couple in the Bluffton area who might be a good fit for our program? LSM is seeking foster parents to take residence at our 40-acre farm and provide a home for hard-to-place boys. After empowering vulnerable children in Haiti and Ethiopia for years, we’re excited to see God bring similar restoration and redemption to our own community here in the United States!
๐๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐น๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ง๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป โ ๐ฏ๐ฑ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ!
In 1985, our founder, Ed Schwartz, who was a church minister back then, traveled to Haiti for the first time to help build a school. That trip planted the seed for what would become LSM’s work in the country 20 years later. On his 1985 trip, Ed met a hard-working young man named Sylvain, a former orphan who was being helped by the two missionaries overseeing the repair project. Fast forward to 2019 when Sylvain, now an experienced supervisor, was hired to join our construction team. He recently played a significant part in our construction of the new steel building at LSM’s Industrial Site: “I never dreamed I’d work with Ed again. It is only by God’s grace!”
๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐
In the summer of 2020, a group of local Boy Scouts donated their time at LSM’s BrickHouse farm in Bluffton, IN. Projects included stacking nearly 180 bales of straw, mulching around and cleaning the interior of the farm house, cleaning out pens and a feeder wagon, and washing vehicles. During the group’s lunch break, Adam Carroll led a short training on the importance of positive thinking. When their projects were completed, the boys celebrated their hard work with a water balloon fight. Our farm exists to help bring vital foster care and counseling resources to hard-to-place youth in the area. August Stettner, 13, says, “Volunteering at BrickHouse was a great chance to work with friends and to help others at the same time!” Thanks for lending us a hand, Troop 140!
๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ป!
In the summer of 2020, Kevin and Michele Mechling moved into LSM’s BrickHouse property in downtown Bluffton as foster parents. Together, the two of them provide the love of a Christian family for up to five hard-to-place teenage girls! LSM BrickHouse also provides additional support by helping to equip these young ladies with valuable life skills, including emotional and spiritual counseling, preparing them to thrive and positively impact our community for Christ! Thank you for your continued support as we pursue these exciting avenues for helping vulnerable teens in Adams and Wells Counties and engage with the needs here on our own doorstep!
๐ข๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐๐น๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ!
IN early 2020, LSM received an opportunity to invest in the next generation of advocates for vulnerable children and families at Taylor University’s Care Conference, hosted by TU’s Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) office. We had numerous exciting encounters throughout the scheduled lineup of speakers, panels, and breakout sessions, including Keegan, a junior at TU who was mentored years ago by an LSM staff member that shared with him our Business Development Plan for Haiti, inspiring him to attend TU and study OVC and Business Development. Seeds planted today may bring a harvest in generations to come!
๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐จ๐ฝ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ถ
In early 2020, Construction Project Manager Troy Leyse used our office studio to record a video for Haitian Home of Hope parents in which he explained and demonstrated some exciting new cooking equipment. A rice cooker and warmer, two induction burners, and a set of compatible pots and pans were shipped down to nearly all of LSM’s Homes of Hope to replace more expensive and less reliable propane burners and equipment. The cost of propane was going up, and we anticipated that the rise would continue. Also, unrest in Haiti at the time was causing a supply shortage that further escalated the issue. Our solution uses electrical solar panels, meaning our Homes will be able to cook effectively and inexpensively without propane โ or even local power. Bon Appรฉtit!
๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒโ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฑ:
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