A FATHER’S LOVE

Most father’s love is
unconditional toward
his family.

He does things with his
kids.

Just because the father
is not in the home does
not mean he does not
love you.

Remember not all men
are dogs, there are
some good men out
there.

I will always take care of
my responsibilities.

Just because your father
was a dog doesn’t mean
it runs in the family.

— Written by an inner city teenager.

The saying is, that he who gives to the poor
lends to the Lord.
but it may be said, not unproperly,
the Lord lends to us
to give to the poor.

— William Penn

Jerome and the After School Lesson
&
Stories Over Dinner

I had been working in the after school program for about four months when I started to get used to the CCO families coming and going. It was difficult getting close to the children only to have them move out. I wondered at the impact we were able to make in their lives in such a short amount of time.

I remember the first afternoon Jerome and his sister came to the after-school program. There weren’t very many children that day, so I was able to have one-on-one time with Jerome. He sat all alone at the table, waiting for someone to help him. His first assignment was to write a book report. The book he needed to report on was “The Berenstein Bears.”

Jerome hadn’t read the book yet so we set out to read it together. I was shocked and saddened when I realized that this nine year old third grader had almost no reading skills. It quickly became clear that reading the book was impossible. I have to admit that I felt overwhelmed, but I felt God put it on my heart to work extra hard with Jerome.

For the next two months Jerome brought his homework to me with such motivation to learn that his enthusiasm motivated me to work hard at helping him. Many times we skipped the homework and just wrote letters of the alphabet, practicing the sounds and putting them together to make words, or I read to him hoping it would help him catch on.

One day, seemingly out of nowhere, something clicked. Jerome just got it! I sat in amazement with tears in my eyes as I listened to him read to me, sounding out words on his own, going back and correcting himself when he made a mistake, and stopping to comment on the storyline. I couldn’t believe what progress he had made.

Jerome and his family were only with us two months, but I learned that God’s little ones are not forgotten, and that He will accomplish his purpose for them in whatever amount of time there is.
- Beth Kohlmetz

Stories Over Dinner

Living Life for a Change - The Dinner Guest Program

Rick Gets Moving . . .
Rick stopped by today. He used to frequently be at our dinner guest program, but I hadn’t seen him for about six months.
“Chris, how are you doing?”
“All right, what’s up with you?” I asked.
“You know what?” he said with a touch of pride. “I got myself a moving business.”
“You do?” I said a little incredulously.
Rick went on to tell me he had discovered a way to attract customers. He said that most movers charge high hourly rates and he’d learned how to bid on jobs by offering potential customers one flat rate. His motto is: “One flat rate — if it takes all day, that’s what you pay.”
He told me that things were not only going really well for him, but that he was able to pay his crew a decent wage.
I was amazed that he had come so far. I encouraged him to trust God everyday in his business dealings.
“Yeah, Chris,” he said, “I know I couldn’t handle this by myself. But God doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle.”
“Amen, Rick.” To the Lord I whispered, “Thanks for giving me a lift today. Thanks for showing me that ‘graduating’ from our dinner guest program can be done . . . in a big way.”

-Chris Ramsey

HOME BACK

CCO is in need of cash donations, materials (such as office supplies, blankets, food, used cars, etc.), and volunteer help. If you wish to contribute to our work, there are several ways: To send a check: Make your checks payable to Cornerstone Community Outreach, 939 West Wilson Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

You can also contact them if you have further questions: If you would like to help contribute to our work, please click here.