08/28/2022
Hey everyone! Just a little update on how things are going for us! We’ve been able to cut away a lot of the Cedar trees, and dead cherry trees away from the building on the outside, and inside we’ve been able to clear out 6 of the 8 class rooms! There’s still a bunch of garbage that has to be moved out and we will have an inspector come into the building shortly to inform us on what needs changed, built, or torn down. We are still extremely excited and motivated! We plan on doing a lot more cleaning up around the outside, so these pictures will have to be updated again quite soon.
On another note we were able to attend a meeting in the Village of Sparta on August 8th about our plans to use the old school as a home for kids who do not have a home. When we arrived at the meeting we were instantly received with what seemed like anger and confusion, and even some hostility. We spent two hours talking about our vision and how safe it will be, and how many kids lives will be improved through our plans as well as answering any questions the Village people had.
The Majority of the 25 people there seemed to already have made up their minds about not wanting this in their community, or still even after we explained the vision multiple times did not understand our plans. The Village council even brought up voting, and even rezoning the property’s in the Village of Sparta which would make building a group home in Sparta much more difficult. We were also made aware that the Village indeed has ordinances that we were previously told didn’t exist and we have requested them to make sure our project stays in the guidelines that have been set.
To say this has been an uphill battle is an understatement but we are still motivated and encouraged to see our project through until it’s completion and we know God will continue to bless us and fight these battles with us. We will not stop working towards a better future for our youth, and thank you all so much for your support!
