I’ve been privileged to witness many fruits of Kinship of Greater Minneapolis these past 21 years. Pictured at left is Joshua who was highlighted earlier this year in my blog. Thanks to his Kinship friends, the Westphals, he is harvesting a tomato from the garden they planted together earlier this year.
Yesterday I enjoyed participating in the Cookie Cart’s 21st anniversary. Like Kinship they had a moving story of a recipient of their program graduating from law school this year. Those early seeds that were planted, watered and cultivated are now being realized as fruit.
It has also been 21 years since I was called to help launch Kinship of Greater Minneapolis as a separate nonprofit organization from its parent organization, the Plymouth Christian Youth Center. Quite a journey it has been for me and the over 1,600 mentors, children and families served. Along the way it has been affirming to witness the power of long-term caring relationships to redeem and change lives.
One of my favorite expressions is “good things take time”. I like to add, “really good things take a really long time”. Learning a language, becoming proficient at a sport or musical instrument, the list goes on. So it is with mentoring. It isn’t a quick fix kind of thing. It takes considerable time to develop trust and the additional outcomes we seek: responsibility, respect, social skills and optimism.
Thanks to all who have volunteered, worked and contributed financially to help kids realize their God given potential through Kinship these past 21 years. Your support is yielding tremendous results!
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