Healing Relationships: Our Core Values

Last Bell has many different programs serving our young people’s many different needs. But our programs are not arbitrary. How do we decide which avenues of support we should pursue, and which ideas to set aside?

Our Core Values & Behaviors document, developed with much prayer and careful thought, lays out the values from which we operate daily. These principles keep us grounded in what we set out to do and how we set out to do it. The full text is available on our website at http://nmr.145.mwp.accessdomain.com/about/, the third tab under “At a glance.”

Over the next couple of months, we’ll be looking at the three sections of our Core Values, and how they apply practically to Last Bell’s work.

Here’s Section 1 of our Core Values & Behaviors:

1. Healing Relationship

a. We build safe and secure attachments to promote the healing process of orphanage graduates.

b. We provide long-term, consistent, and reparative mentoring and discipleship relationships to inspire long-term transformation.

c. We love boldly and build relational capital to influence our youth towards a life in Christ.

d. All of our youth hear the gospel of Jesus Christ clearly presented in all of our programs, and staff are daily examples of Christ’s love.

*1 Corinthians 13:4-7

In other words, safe, long-term relationships are the key to healing and growth for our youth!

“Long-term” is a deceptively simple phrase – but a powerful commitment. Our staff spend many hours with each young person, mentoring, teaching, comforting, and encouraging. But the relationship doesn’t end when orphanage graduates get a little older and more independent. Kids may “age out” of an orphanage, but they don’t age out of the need for love and support!

“Long-term” means that when orphanage graduates have their own children, the relationship only expands. Their little ones become part of our Last Bell community, too. Through our Stop the Cycle program, we invest in their growing families, making sure they have safe places to live, enough to eat, clothes for every season, and good teaching about how to be parents. When young moms are in crisis, the Shelter offers temporary housing and helps them get back on their feet.

With God’s help, this unconditional, no-matter-what kind of care can truly begin to help our young people heal from the deep hurts of their past.

Moms & babies at the Shelter crisis housing facility last week: