… But They Take a Piece of Us With Them
By Curt Williams, Founder & Executive Director
This past week has been hard for us at Youth-Reach, as it too often is. That is because another of our Youth-Reach boys, another son, has moved on. It was once said that, if it were up to me, every boy who has ever lived here would still be here. I’d just keep building homes, and we would have generations of men with their wives and kids all living here on our campus. Sure, we would run out of space, and it is not quite realistic, but that doesn’t keep me from wishing.
This time, it was Rony, who came to us over a year ago from Katy, Texas. Many of our boys come from much further away, and some were born in other countries, but Rony just crossed the city to come to us. We teach the boys that the phrase “take advantage” has two different meanings. We have had boys take advantage of Youth-Reach to get out of trouble, to satisfy the desires of a parent, to meet the demands of probation or because they have nowhere else to go. Some of these guys turn the corner and do well, but not many.
The ones who do well take advantage of the opportunity. They take advantage of the opportunity to advance their education. They take advantage of the opportunity to gain a work ethic, a teachable heart and a code of honor. They take advantage of all that you, as an investor in their lives, give to them. Now these are the guys who excel and leave altered and transformed. And then there are the guys who take advantage of what was done for them 2000 years ago at Calvary.
Rony took full advantage of all that Youth-Reach provided him, and though it is hard to see him leave, we know he will do well and go far. Rony came to know Jesus, and he left changed. For all of this, we are deeply grateful that you invested in Rony’s life. It mattered.
