Today is Friday and another week is coming to a close. Time is FLYING by. God is definitely teaching us that He is in control of things. The kids have been struggling with their attitudes and behaviors lately and they were disciplined last week for some things they did. They were really upset about it, but it was very important. But mass discipline was hard work for us and just not the greatest thing for them. It was hard to fully enforce things and many of the good kids had to be in on the discipline as well.
I also see how much they need attention, support, and counseling. The social work department and the volunteers just aren't enough for them all. There is so much that they need that just cannot be given to them. We have felt overwhelmed and our prays in the last few weeks have been that God would come in this situation and be strong in our weakness, that he would change and minister to the kids' hearts in all the situations when we can't.
This week was an amazing change. The kids had great attitudes and we all had really wonderful times connecting with them. They had renewed kindness to us and to each other and some of the older kids felt the need to dedicate their lives to God. It was amazing to see all this happen when we had nothing left to give for 120 kids. I totally understand why it is so important to get kids into foster families now! Mass parenting is not the way to go!