Seeing what these kids write on the stones breaks my heart.

As you know, Mercy Chefs has been on-site at the Lonesome Dove Ranch providing hot meals to abused and neglected foster children along with the staff and volunteers here. Each week-long camp concludes with a very emotional gathering in which the children are provided a small white stone and given the opportunity to symbolically write on it something they want to leave in God's hands.

They then place those stones at the foot of a large cross on the camp's grounds.

And they leave the stones there...

...never to pick them up again.

And in that moment, a powerful realization sweeps over them...

There is hope! With God's help and the loving support of faithful friends, they can move past the pain and the abandonment. They can experience better days ahead.

+ + A man-made disaster

Lonesome Dove Ranch reaches out to some of the most troubled children who have faced the most difficult life challenges in the foster system. Of course, we are grateful for the many excellent foster parents who provide nurturing environments to help kids move forward. But sadly, far too many children encounter desperate life challenges in a system that, for these kids, becomes what our Chef Lisa calls a "man-made disaster."

That's why this outreach is so vital, and why I'm thrilled that Mercy Chefs has been able to partner with Lonesome Dove to provide hot meals to these kids and the workers here.

+ + We need your help this week!

Mercy Chefs is in our final week of preparing and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner here at Lonesome Dove.  We'll prepare and serve a few thousand more meals for these kids and the many staff and volunteers who create the environment that makes it possible for these kids to get on the road to healing. 

We've already provided thousands of meals to campers and hundreds more to the staff caring for them. But we are still short of our budgeted need for this outreach and other vital projects under way. Will you partner with us to serve twenty meals for foster children this week at a cost of just $50?.  Go here now to make your tax-deductible gift to help Mercy Chefs meet this need and continue other vital efforts:

This week's camp will conclude with children and staffers gathering around the cross at the center of the ranch. We don't know what this week's kids will write on their stones. But we know God will meet them in a special way.

It is our great honor and privilege to play a part in their story of healing through hot meals provided by the generosity of friends like you. Thank you so much for your prayers and your faithful partnership.

God bless,

Gary LeBlanc, Mercy Chefs

P.S. It costs Mercy Chefs about $2.50 to prepare and serve a hot, nutritious meal for a camper or volunteer. That means your gift of $50 can help feed 20 foster kids this week. Perhaps you can give more to help us reach more kids. Go here: