Loving Fatherless Children
August 7, 2006
Betty first met Mike-Mike when he came to her kindergarten class at Gregory Lincoln Elementary. She has taught there for six years, and we have always believed that there would be a connection between Harbor’s ministry and the needs of the Gregory Lincoln children.
We are introducing you to Mike-Mike because the Bomar Community of Harbor is officially launching a new mission initiative this fall. We will focus on young boys who do not have a dad in their homes or their lives. We took a first step toward launching this work in July when we took Mike-Mike and three other children from Betty’s summer school class to see an Astros’ game.
Mike-Mike is in some ways a prototype of the focus of our mission. He lives with his grandmother, Mrs. H. He, along with his 11 year old sister and a 10 year old cousin, has lived most of his life with her. Mike-Mike’s young mother is in and out of his life but is not a consistent parent figure. The only male figure that is in his life is the boyfriend of the grandmother, although he doesn’t live in their home. Mike-Mike and Mrs. H. live in Allen Parkway Village, a historical housing development that has been renovated in recent years.
Mike-Mike (his formal name is Marshall) will be repeating 1st grade this next year. The on-going conflict between what his mother requires of him and what his grandmother requires of him has resulted in a lack of stability and structure as well as inconsistency in discipline. In a conversation with Ms. H, Betty experienced a sense of urgency in making sure that this year Mike-Mike has a successful year in school. It is our hope that we can be a part of the missing link by having a male role-model who would play, interact and tutor him so that when he finished his 2nd year of 1st grade he would be more equipped academically. He would also grow emotionally as he has the support and care of a man in his life who showed him genuine love and care.
We are not going to do occasional projects with these boys. We believe God is calling us to become an extended family to them - folding them into our community life in an ongoing, long-term way. At this point we believe we are supposed to start small – probably three or maybe four boys – providing some after school tutoring, visiting the boys and those with whom they live on an occasional basis, and perhaps inviting them to an occasional outing like a picnic or trip to the zoo or an Astros game. As trust is built between us and their primary care givers, we will ask God for guidance in knowing how to intensify the connections.
Please pray for us as we seek God’s direction. In the near future we hope to give you a profile on each of the boys to whom we are ministering so that you can pray specifically for each one.