Just the journey from the parking lot to the entrance took me back over ten years to when I was a student at Baker Middle School.  The same sights, and even smells, greeted me as I walked through the door.  Never did I think I would be back at Baker Middle School, yet when God leads, you just have to follow.

Our first semester at Baker has been amazing, exciting, and challenging.  It has definitely been a road full of hope and promise.  We have received support from several local churches; we continually lift our team and Campus Life ministry up in prayer.  Not only is club attendance consistent, but relationships are being built between our leaders and students—as that is key as we share the love of Christ with these young people.  The Word of God is being shared and declared to a student body that desperately needs it. 

One example of that desperation is the conversation I had with several eighth graders on my first visit to Baker.  They expressed fears of going to high school, struggling with gangs, and being pressured by peers to do drugs or quit school – even at their young ages.  Since October we have been talking about God’s answer to those fears, eternal life, amazing grace and love, and peace that surpasses understanding.  Words cannot begin to describe the great contrast offered by the Gospel.

Baker Campus Life, just like our fellow CL clubs across Pierce County, is also an exciting and fun place to be.  There are always a ton of laughs, even if sometimes it is at a leader’s expense. It is all in good fun.  Just last week we had a great time competing against one another in the “Oscar the Grouch”.  Who knew trying to pull a friend into a large empty trash could be so fun?  We even played that great ole’ favorite, “Red Light, Green Light”.  Every week is something new, and every week God is moving through Baker Campus Life. 

I am excited for the semester ahead as Campus Life continues to become a fixture at Baker and the Holy Spirit continues to work through our team to reach this generation of young people.  I am confident in God’s ability to change and transform lives.  He definitely did it for me, and I believe He can and will do it at Baker Middle School.   Awesome times are ahead for Baker and the South Tacoma/South End community!

While most of us are with our families, enjoying party after party, gift exchanges, exorbitant amounts of food and singing songs like “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, Christmas in foster care can be starkly different.  While our foster parents do an excellent job of making their foster children a part of their family, and loving them like their own, for our birth parents, it can be a very painful time.  For some, it is the first Christmas without their children. To some, it’s just another day. No presents are exchanged, and no special meal is cooked.                                                                                                                                       Over the past couple years, we’ve started giving some sort of Christmas gift to our birth parents, who are actively involved in their children’s lives through visitation at our agency. We decided to do something a little bit different this year for our parents. I’ve recently taken an interest in photography and purchased had just purchased my first DSLR camera this year, so we decided back in November to start taking really nice pictures of these precious kids and doing 8 x 10 prints for these parents. With the help of our awesome church partner, Chapel Hill and some community members in  Gig Harbor, who had contacted us asking how they could help, we were provided with 35 nice frames for these prints. I wish I could share with you these pictures, however,  we have to keep from posting any pictures of specific foster kids on the web.  Just know that they turned out so incredibly well. Giving these gifts to our parents went over beautifully. Many parents shed tears of gratefulness as they unwrapped these pictures, and told us where they would hang them in their home, or who they couldn’t wait to show. I, myself, was convicted heavily as to what I take for granted during this time of year. Even something like photographs, which are an abundant commodity to most Americans in our age of digital photography, email and facebook, can be the most treasured  and appreciated gift, in their simplest form.  - Sarah

Every year YFC hosts a Christmas Party for all our families, a time to celebrate the season and bless our foster families.  Four years ago a foster mom, Becky Rhodes, a prior teacher decided that she wanted to start the Hand-in-Hand program to celebrate our foster kids with her students. Becky is no longer a teacher but now a staff at YFC and every year since she has worked tirelessly to recruit churches, businesses, and individual families to help sponsor this night.

On December 17th, 2009 over 100 families gathered to celebrate Christmas. Youth for Christ was honored to sever 248 Children; these children included, foster, adopted, and biological children of TYFC foster families. Children in Receiving Care that were placed hours before the party and After Care children received gifts as well. What a blessing it was to TYFC staff to watch over 200 children open presents and celebrate the season.

The night included a catered dinner for all, Christmas crafts, Carol singing, Elfs named Gumdrop and Sprinkles, and present time!!! Below are some pictures of our favorite Elves!

We would like to thank the below sponsors for helping to make this night a success!!

Trinity Church

The Roby Family & Harbor Covenant Church

Life Christian School

The Allpress Family & Abundant Life Foursquare

The Carver Family & Spirit and Truth Foursquare

The Hollstrom Family
The Schulhauser Family

And other who chose to remain anonymous.

I just returned from an afternoon in Tillicum–lunch at Gertie’s with my friend, Chuck Remsberg, and then a quick visit to the new Youth & Family Center.  It’s hard to believe that just over 3 years ago this continue