I had a conversation with a friend who just finished teaching summer school. He shared that over 20% of his 4th grade class were foster children. That is one of every 5 children! It broke his heart as he realized the battle we face, and the children face daily, for life and positive futures.

At Covenant, we strive to impact each child in the Kern County Foster Care system through services that model the love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. The boy to the left is Dylan. Dylan represents the children that were in my friend's classroom. However, Dylan's life has been drastically altered due to the involvment of a Christian family through Covenant Foster Care.

This past summer Dylan was adpoted into the Hourigan family. Rick and Laurie Hourigan had been foster parents with Covenant Foster Care for over 4 years when Dylan was adopted. Dylan was their second adopted child. Now Dylan faces a future not of uncertainty and hopelessness but one of hope and clarity. He is loved, appreciated and valued. Dylan has a forever home. Remember, we may not be able to change the system overnight but we can, and have, changed generations one child at a time. Please follow the link to see opportunties to be involved in changing generations by serving a child today!

"This is the best week of my life!" These words were spoken by an 8 year old boy that attended Royal Family Kids Camp (RFKC) this June. I can agree, as can all that served, that RFKC is one of the best weeks in my life.

RFKC comes around once a year and I anticipate it like Christmas morning. The gifts I receive at RFKC are watching all the amazing staff and volunteers fulfill God's Biblical mandate to serve the fatherless and the smiling recipients of the service ... the fatherless. So when I hear a statement like "this is the best week of my life", my heart melts. This must be one of the best weeks in God's heart as well.

Think of it. 100's of individuals activated in ministry. 100's of prayer partners praying for God to reach the fatherless. Multiple churches engaged in service and prayer. 100's of generous individuals, businesses and organizations giving to send children to camp. And 48 needy and deserving foster children exposed for an entire week to the heart and hands of God through safe adults! Man, what is not to like about Royal Family Kids Camp!

Thank you for praying, Thank you for giving to send us to the children. Thank you for serving. And thanks be to God for His indescribable gift of Jesus Christ that makes all of this possible. Now, let us press on and seek to serve the children the other 360 days a year and thereby end the cycle of child abuse and neglect in our community.

RFKC is a mountaintop experience. The week is completely covered in prayer, the team is trained and ready to go, the entire team is in unity and we are doing God's will. It is definitely a mountaintop experience. Coming home from the mountaintop to the valley can be a daunting experience. The experience at RFKC is so powerful and life-changing for both the children served and the adults that serve. The question that hits everyone's mind, mostly the children, coming down the mountain is, "Now what?"

To be honest - the immediate answer is rest! Everyone gives so much during the week of RFKC that the servants are left tapped and spent. But, the question comes again, "Now what?" The answer is in continued service and effort. The answer is in remembering we can still make a difference. Although one week at RFKC does make a difference I really see RFKC as a launch pad for extended ministries and services that will continue our efforts on a consistent basis.

The answer to "now what?" is continual service, continual prayer, and continual giving! As a friend that served at camp stated - "the children don't stop needing us once we come back home ... in fact, they need us more." Man, that is a powerful statement. The effects of child abuse and neglect don't end when we return from RFKC. It is both our duty and charge to steward the resources God has blessed each of us with. Please consider using yours to help us reach the children everyday.

Specifically, I believe we can answer "now what" by serving the children as mentors. Every child in the system deserves and needs an outside voice of hope and peace ... a mentor or guide. By dedicating one hour a week you can change a child's future and encourage success! Please consider becoming a mentor with Covenant Community Services Jeremiah Project and help us answer the question "Now What?"

The letter to the left was written by a camper this summer at RFKC. Each camper has the choice to write letters from camp. One letter is to God and called a "Dear God" letter, another is a letter of thanks to sponsors, volunteers, prayer partners, donors, and staff. The last, and most powerful letter, is the leave it/take it letter. This letter has items or memories a child wants to leave at camp and memories they want to take home.

At the end of the week, we hold a special ceremony with the children where we create a memorial, an altar, that is basically a deep hole in which we throw all of the leave it/ take it letters. We then cover the letters with dirt, sealing their fate, and pile rocks the children and staff choose upon the hole. The capstone is set upon the pile with the inscription on a large rock "RFKC 2006." This is a special moment for the children in which they are taught how to say a positive goodbye and to create a lasting memory. Imagine the scene, 150 children and adults holding hands and praying for each other and for God to keep us safe until we meet again. What a week. Thanks for giving us the privilege of serving the children. .