Who Are Those Sacks For?
The sacks on the table at the front of the sanctuary are donations for Carpenter Place, formerly known as Maude Carpenter Children’s Home, a girls home in Wichita.
Unlike other girls homes, Carpenter Place provides a Christian home environment. Their aim is help each girl realize her true potential in Christ, with an ultimate goal of reuniting that girl with her family.
Carpenter Place has three homes. Each home has houseparents who provide a Christian example while teaching valuable lessons and life skills.
All houseparents practice Trust-Based Relational Intervention or TBRI. This form of intervention is an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of children from hard places. TBRI uses empowering principles to address physical needs, connecting principles for attachment needs, and correcting principles to disarm fear-based behaviors. While the intervention is based on years of attachment, sensory processing, and neuroscience research, the heartbeat of TBRI is connection.
I think you’ll find it interesting that Westview Boys Home also practices the TBRI methodology, which Rex, Nathan, Levi, Leon and I all got to witness first-hand when we visited Westview last summer. To say the least, it is very impressive to see it in action.
Another part of Carpenter Place is the Shellee Morrison Christian Learning Center, whose mission is, “nurturing deeply hurting girls to restored relationships with God, family and community.” This function of Carpenter Place helps girls that have fallen behind academically to catch up to, and often exceed, their grade level. Built into this program are daily devotionals to help the girls learn Christian principles during each school day.
I think it’s important to not simply fill a sack simply as a form and function of Christian duty, but rather to understand that when we fill that sack with supplies, that we are doing it for Jesus Himself. That’s not how I see it, it’s how He sees it.
Matthew 25:37-40, Jesus taught, Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
I encourage you all to go to the website, https://www.carpenterplace.org/ for more information about this wonderful work.
We have until Wednesday, March 11th to fill a bag and put it on the table!
Much Love,
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
