[Below is a true story, but names of the mentor, student and family members involved have been changed to honor their privacy.]
Mikayla is in the third grade. She has had a difficult life. She wants so badly to live with her mom, but her mom is not in a place where she can parent right now and hasn’t been for a long time. Mikayla’s brother is currently seeing a mental health specialist, as he is also in a really difficult season of life.
But praise the Lord for His provision! He has given Mikayla and her brother an aunt and a grandmother that really care for and love the two of them. Mikayla lives with their aunt down the street from their grandmother, Ruth.
When one of our mentor coordinators, Blakely, talked on the phone with Ms. Ruth, the conversation immediately brightened Blakely’s day. Blakely recounts the conversation like this:
Ms. Ruth has a sweet and joyful spirit. She loves God with all of her heart, and she really does trust Him. She too has had a life full of challenges, including fighting breast cancer. But she prayed that the Lord would keep her alive even in the midst of that, and He did! Ms. Ruth believes she is still alive today so that she can walk alongside Mikayla and her brother to make sure they have the best life they can have! She works hard to make sure this can happen and prays daily for God to take care of them.
Mikayla was matched with a mentor named Rachel last week. Rachel and Mikayla are going to be a great pair for many reasons! When Blakely called Ms. Ruth to tell her that Mikayla had been matched, she exclaimed,
This is the best Christmas gift I have ever received! Mikayla is going to be so happy!
Rachel, Mikayla and Ms. Ruth will meet sometime within the next two weeks for the first time. Let’s all pray that this meeting goes well and that God uses this relationship in enduringly beautiful ways!