Something Was Very Wrong!

Something was very wrong with “D”. I could tell something was wrong because, despite his circumstances, D is usually always smiling but that day he wasn’t. I have known D’s family for years and known his family situation. It is a convoluted situation to say the least. It is full of situations that are almost unimaginable. D’s mom left his dad years ago to marry his dad’s brother. D’s dad ended up marrying the widow of his x stepdad. Yes, you read that correctly! D’s grandmother was married to her second (I think) husband. They divorced and he remarried. He dies and his widow ends up with D’s dad. It is almost like the song “I’m My Own Grandpa” but it isn’t funny – it’s very, very sad.

Fourteen year old D has come to day camp every day we had it this summer. I don’t think he’s missed a day. Almost from the start I gave him a helper position. Every day he is smiling and cheerful and does a wonderful job watching the younger kids, helping set up games, and just assisting where needed. One day earlier this week, however, he wasn’t smiling. I took him aside during the day and asked if everything was alright. Making an effort to hold back the tears D explained the latest drama in his life. His dad was leaving his stepmom to marry the sister of one of his best friend’s mom. They were planning on living right down the street from where they lived. D went on to say that everyone in his family was upset with his dad. No one wanted this to happen and that he and his younger brothers had decided that they were going to stay with the stepmom if they could and live with both her and their grandmother who lives across the street.

I feel sorry for D and his two younger brothers. His dad has been married I don’t know how many times and the three boys are almost like a second family. He has older brothers and sisters. He hardly sees his real mom. I knew his older siblings well but for several years had to curtail my ministry in that area of town. This summer we surveyed that are once again and have been inviting the kids from that neighborhood to day camp. Since we have the new “Bible Club Bus” we want to begin a Bible Club in that area this fall.

Please pray with us for D and his brothers. Pray that we can show those boys that, with God’s help, they can break the generational curses that are upon his family. There is much more that I can say about his family situation but I dare not. Enough has been said already for you to get the picture.

Pray for the neighborhood where D lives. It is even more impoverished than the low income housing area where we normally work. Just this morning another one of the boys from the neighborhood told Sarah that he hadn’t had any breakfast and was very hungry. It sounded as if he hadn’t had anything to eat since lunchtime at day camp the day before. We were able to secretly get him something to eat while the other kids were playing a game.

Pray for the Bible Club that we are planning on starting there this fall. We really want to show the children God’s love. There are some older boys in that area that really need mentoring. We thought about starting a separate Bible Study for them but their knowledge of the Bible is very limited and they have really enjoyed the flannelgraph and flashcard lessons that I have done, so we think we’ll just keep them in with the younger kids as long as they continue to not be a distraction. We would also like to eventually reach out to the parents.

Continue to pray for our family financially. We are amazed at how many doors God has opened up for ministry. Pray that God will provide funds so that we don’t have to have part-time jobs that might hinder what God want’s us to do.

If you would like to find out more about our ministry or how to support us please contact us. Our information is below.

Thank you so much ahead of time for your prayers.
Tim and Sarah Tinkel – 904 Lee Drive – Livingston, TN 38570
Tim cell – 931-319-2551 Sarah cell – 931-319-3113