September Campus Udate
“…Fall. It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils” is a quote from a movie that always pops in my head during this time of year. I was texting with a donor last night and she was organizing and cleaning which made me smile because I feel like everyone is doing that right now. It must be the Fall. Our kids started their Fall semester, newly sharpened pencils and planners all set for them. We almost have a full teaching staff!! Our veterans, Mike Zandstra, our Interim Principal teaching Math & Science, and Fathe Davis, teaching History, was joined by Maddi Nelson, housemom, who is a licensed Indiana teacher and is now teaching English, and Fred Lucas, housedad, is a teacher’s aide. Prayers for our teachers and our students!
August brought us a lot of new friends as groups from Livonia (Michigan), Eagle Valley (Indianapolis, Indiana), Muscatine (Iowa), and Cloverdale (Indiana) came. We have enjoyed meeting new people, making memories with each group that comes. And words cannot express how much we appreciate the hard work they all have put in. On a campus as large as ours, it is awesome to receive help with all the projects!
We are gearing up for Annual Day, Saturday, September 15th! We have booths of food and crafts.
We have our awesome KidZone with inflatable Bounce House and Obstacle Course. One congregation in IL is trying to organize more teen focused activities throughout the day. We have our Benefit Auction. And, we have the BEST Garage Sale in our gym. Practically fills our entire gym. Clothes. Home Décor. Furniture. So much stuff! Look forward to seeing you!!!
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For the children,
Beth Frump
Beth Frump, Director of Development
August Campus Update
I just finished my “module” of training with our NEW HOUSEPARENTS, Kim & Fred Lucas. What an awesome couple! I can’t wait for you to meet them! They come to us from Arkansas where they were houseparents at a Christian children’s home. They wanted to move back to Indiana to be closer to their kids and grandkids. They arrived mid-July and they truly just fit in. They are an awesome blessing to our houseparenting staff!
We are still in need of houseparents as Derric & Aley are leaving us this month. As I’m sure you are aware, Derric has been accepted into preaching school. We are excited for their future, but they will be dearly missed!
Besides the changes in staff, July was JAM PACKED with awesome activities. We started the month with a 4th of July party at our Executive Director’s home. The kids had a great time playing baseball and enjoyed the fireworks show that Glenn put together for them.
We had a brand new group from Northeast (Detroit) who gave a day of service to us and enjoyed some time with our kids and staff.
Plymouth came mid-month. And while they worked hard and got so many things accomplished for the campus, the lasting memory of the trip will be the 1st No Fun Color Run. Don’t let the name deceive you. It was one of the most fun days we have ever had. All over our campus there were “obstacles” for the kids to do and as they successfully completed the tasks, they “earned their colors”. We ended that night with a cook-out and a Bean Bag Toss Tournament. What an awesome day.
Literally just hours after Plymouth left campus, a group from Florissant, MO, arrived. They brought 35 people! THIRTY-FIVE! That’s is the LARGEST group we have ever had on campus. When they arrived, I told them that we had some challenges with having that many people visiting campus, but this group is amazing. They do such a great job of breaking into smaller chaperone-led teams and tackling projects. They are hard-working and do such an awesome job of being patient and considerate. They have brought smaller groups to campus over the years, and they always just do an incredible job working with us.
The last group of July was Park Forest. They joined us on Day of Prayer & Giving at church and joined us in prayer for the agency and for the kids. What an awesome opportunity. They also spent the afternoon serving by doing some deep cleaning, sorting in the pantry, and even some office work for us. Park Forest is located less than an hour away and we are truly blessed to work with them throughout the year with various projects. We are blessed to have them so close!
It is so refueling and energizing to spend time with groups and with you. I cannot wait to see you on Annual Day, Saturday, September 15th! Come spend the day with
us. Let me introduce you to our new houseparents. Come eat some amazing pie with me and catch me up on how things are going in your congregation.
July was a busy, busy month. And August is looking to be the same….and I LOVE IT!
See you soon!
For the children,
Beth Frump,
Beth Frump, Director of Development
July Campus Update
Campus Update for July
I had to sign and date a form today and quickly had to scratch out the “6” and make it a “7”. Just like that, June was over! But we made some awesome memories in that month!
Our amazing friends from Whiteland Church of Christ (Indiana) came and worked hard on various projects around campus. They also took us all out for a fun Saturday with pizza and a movie! They have made that part of their trip for several years and we are so very thankful for the entire congregation for allowing us to have such an awesome day out!
We welcomed a brand new group from Green Valley (Indiana). What a fun group! They helped with some work down at the barn, yard work, and other various projects during some major heat wave days. What a great group of positive, hardworking kids (and adults!).
The other group we were able to spend time with last month was from Greenfield, Indiana. Typically, this group makes the journey during the winter, and usually during some major snow storm. So this year, they changed it up and came in June….and managed to come on one of the hottest days of the year, thus far. My question, “which is worse, fighting the snow storms or working in the heat?”. Jury’s still out, but either way, we always appreciate their visit to campus. They brought some great gifts for the homes, helping us cross off some of our houseparent’s “Wish List” items.
Besides groups, we had our Annual Golf Tournament in June. The rain and storms that were predicted and ALL around us, stayed away. We prayed for a BUBBLE around the golf course as the stormy weather was less than 10 miles away. And God provided a beautiful day with not a single drop of rain. So thankful for that and for the opportunity to spend time with my favorite golfers as we raised money for the children and families of Shults-Lewis!
As our new Executive Director, Angela Robertson, is settling into to her role, we are excited about the future of Shults-Lewis. However, to continue our ministry, we NEED STAFF! We need a clinical therapist!!! Right now, our Program Director is having to handle all things program related, as well as do the individual counseling and family therapy. Share the word that we need a clinical therapist, please!
We also need houseparents. We do have a new couple who will be joining us this month and we are extremely excited to work with them. However, as they arrive, the Franklins will be leaving (They are headed to Preaching School!). We would like to hire TWO more sets of houseparents. Who will you tell today about our need for a therapist and houseparents?
Thank you for being a part of our community. You are making a difference in the lives of children and families!
For the children,
Beth Frump, Director of Development
June Campus Update
One of the things we do each morning with our kids is a Community Meeting, and one of the things we ask each person is “How are you feeling?”. This is not a quick “good” or “fine” answer but rather, it is to be answered with an honest emotion—I’m happy, sad, angry, frustrated. We do this for many reasons, but one of the reasons is that we would rather a child TELL us they are angry, than SHOW us they are angry.
Today I am feeling discombobulated. I completely understand the phrase “herding cats” as today I am trying to get things accomplished off of my To Do List, while stopping to answer questions, give directions, answer phone calls, and have had several people just pop in today. Here’s a secret—I LOVE IT. It’s a Mary vs Martha thing in my world. Sometimes, the To Do List needs to wait and I need to spend some time listening to a co-worker that is struggling or spend some time rejoicing with one of our kids who is proud of their grades.
This m
onth, like all months, I have had many, many emotions. Today I am excited that our newly appointed Executive Director will be taking office tomorrow (June 1st). Angela Robertson, who has served as Program Director for the past several years, will be leading this agency forward.
Along with that, I am feeling grateful that we were able to spend this last month with Peter Bumpass, a Board Member, as our Interim Executive Director. He has been a major blessing to the staff as he worked alongside us. He has spent several hours each week at the school helping the kids with their assignments, especially in Math.
Proud is the best word I can use to describe my feelings at the annual Celebration of Strengths Banquet as we watched the kids receive their various awards. Each child is recognized with a strength that the staff sees in them. They also each received an award for their academic achievements.
As the school year ended, we had four of our kids leave our program. I am happy for them, sad for me (going to miss those kids!), and concerned for their future. Please pray that they will continue to use the tools that they know and that they will be successful!
Every day, I am grateful for you. You are the reason we are able to continue ministering to children and families. THANK YOU!!! Thank you for being a part of our community. You are making a difference in the lives of children and families!
For the children,
Beth Frump, Director of Development
Faith. Family. Future.
May Campus Update
As I walked out of the office last night, the kids had just finished doing some prep work on the Raised Garden Bed at the school, and were enjoying some time on the swings. Earlier this week 
they had spent time down at the Barn, giving our Barn and our goats a Spring Cleaning. Our 4H Program has been such a blessing for our kids. They are learning all kinds of skills and responsibilities. We are so thankful for everyone who was a part of Day of Prayer & Giving in 2017 who made our dream of the 4H program a reality!
Our theme of the month for April was Empowering the Future. We had a guest speaker who came to talk to the staff and the kids about Human Trafficking. It’s a topic that breaks my heart, but something we want our kids to be very aware of, in hopes that we can help protect them from that evil. Our hope is to provide them with tools and knowledge that they are able to have a healthy, productive future.
In April, several staff members were able to attend the Network 1:27 (formerly Christian Child & Family Services Association) Conference. The con
ference is full of educational opportunities for furthering our knowledge in our specific fields, but it also allows us to spend time fellowshipping with the other agencies that provide residential, foster care, and adoption services. “Lighthouses don’t compete” was one of my favorite quotes from the conference, as I love how the conference allows us to brainstorm together and work together as each agency works to serve children and families. We are truly all in this together, sharing God’s light to children and families throughout the country.
We continually receive phone calls from families needing our assistance for their child, and we are limited on how many kids we can help because we need houseparents. Pray for our need of houseparents and please share our need with others. We are looking for couples/families who are willing to simply say, “Lord, here I am, send me”.
We also have other employment opportunities such as Intake Coordinator and teachers. If you have interest in any of those positions, please contact us!
Thank you for being a part of our community. You are making a difference in the lives of children and families!
For the children,
Beth Frump
Beth Frump, Director of Development
Faith. Family. Future.