| When I think of a way to begin a summary of the Micah Project after
it's first full year, the words "once upon a time" come to mind.
If a stranger were told about how the Micah Project started and where it
is today, they may be inclined to think they are hearing a fairy tale.
Rather than a fairy godmother, however, the protagonist of this tale is
a loving God who decided to show us a new level of meaning to the word
"miracle."
A year ago from the time I write this, the Micah Project was no more
than an idea. God put on our hearts a vision to create a place where
boys from impoverished and abusive backgrounds could become leaders; not
only in this world but also in His Kingdom. And this was to happen
beginning in January,2000, as there were eight boys heading back to the
streets at that time due to the lack of funds in their orphanage.
I began telling you about this vision in October of 1999. By December, we had raised sufficient funds to buy our beautiful facility, furnish it, and ready it for our program. By December, we had pulled together a staff that has a combined thirty years of experience in working with poor children, and one in which the work is not at all about a paycheck; it is about a Vision. By January, the same day that the boys had to pack their meager belongings and leave their orphanage, we were ready to take them in. According to fairy tales, that is where the "and they all lived happily ever after" should go, yet for the Micah Project, January, 2000 was only the beginning of the miracles. For me, the biggest miracle of this whole amazing process is that the boys understood our vision, and not only that, they quickly made it their own. The vision of the Micah Project is not detailed in bigger and better buildings, in more and better-trained staff, in blossoming numbers of beneficiaries. While these things may in the future be a means we use to reach an end, they are not our vision. The vision of the Micah Project is written on the hearts of each one of our boys. According to the theory surrounding organizational management, it is important to have measurable "indicators of success." I'll grant that those objectifiable goals are important; however, it seems that in the Micah Project, the immeasurable indicators of success are the ones that truly matter. When a boy chooses to read a book instead of watching t.v.; when he chooses to go a senior citizens center in ministry rather than hang out with friends; when he is able to find words and tears to express his inner anguish to someone he trusts; when he takes the initiative to apologize to a housemate in order to find peace, when he enthusiastically talks to a stranger about his goals in life and how he will reach them...these are the indicators of success that make my heart smile in the realization that God is richly blessing our project. While this miracle year is about nine boys, it also has you woven into its beautiful details. No one told us at the beginning of the Micah Project how much they could donate to us each month; no institutions came forward with huge grants. Yet through the twelve months of our first year, we lacked nothing. We have been able to create the project in the way we saw best for the boys, and the funds were always there to make it happen. Your financial faithfulness and your dedication in prayer are the raw materials that God has used to create this beautiful work. And I hope in some way, as you meet our boys in person and in writing and pictures, the miracle that God has wrought in their lives is also your miracle. Maybe our Lord is telling us through this incredible year, "Look what I am doing in the lives of nine street waifs, of kids thrown away by your society. If I can accomplish great works in their lives, do you believe that I can also accomplish them in yours?" It is the prayer of each one of us here in the Micah Project that the miracles of 2000 and the miracles to come in 2001 would also be yours. --Michael Miller |
