Dear Friends,
Thank you for partnering with The Dam in your 25th anniversary year. This year's support seems extra special to recognize something beautiful in the midst of difficult times. There is much to celebrate. There is hope in the midst of lockdowns. There are ways to still do meaningful ministry.
I got a new recipe for yummy mac and cheese. My son told me that it was okay, but he preferred Kraft Dinner. It reminded me of a story from The Dam when Laura and Sam told me that they had made fake Kraft Dinner. What is fake Kraft Dinner? It is when you grate cheese to add to the macaroni instead of using the cheese packet. They were so proud of their invention, having no idea that there could be something beyond their normal experience of Kraft Dinner.
While there is fun and laughter in discovering that there is food that isn’t pre-packaged, the learning about what is real love and fake love is much harder. For Rebecca, it is normal for her mom to tell her that she isn’t good at anything. Maybe Rebecca’s mom thinks that it is love to keep her from becoming prideful. The discovery that real love is encouraging takes longer to learn about than a session in the kitchen grating cheese.
As we come towards the hopeful end of lockdowns and isolation, there is hope that we can one day be in the kitchen again teaching the basics of healthy eating. Yet whether we are meeting youth online or in-person, the long reaching discovery of healthy love is still happening in mentoring times, text messages, and teaching times.
Thank you for continuing to support youth who need places like The Dam to discover they are the real thing, completely worth being loved well.
Carol Reist
Executive Director
__________________________________________________________