Kathy,

Praying for you guys.  I'm real behind in mail.

Vicki

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Du Bois" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 7:08 AM
Subject: [ECHURCH-USA] update on life with Chris


> HI  Everybody,
>         Well, I haven't written on this subject for a while, so I thought
that I'd
> give you guys an update.  Chris will be home in two weeks, like it or
> not.  Our phone therapy session yesterday went pretty well, at
> first.  Chris is discovering that he likes getting good grades.  He
studies
> because he has to spend a lot of time in his room and there aren't the
> distractions there that there are here.  He was pretty pleasant.  The
> therapist wishes that they could have more time with him, but there is no
> money for that so, I guess, he will be coming home.
>         We had talked to the therapist ahead of time about how things
would change
> once Chris came home and the session turned sour when the therapist urged
> us into discussing those conditions.  He didn't mind too much about not
> having a cell phone any more, but when he learned that his pay check would
> be direct deposit from now on and that, for now at least, his savings
> acount would be changed to a passbook savings account requiring both he
and
> Greg's permission before money could be withdrawn, he lost it.  Now the
> therapist has two weeks to try to calm him down before he comes home.  He
> is supposed to come home on the 18th, but that is the Friday before Palm
> Sunday so we have asked if he could at least stay through Palm Sunday and
> we pick him up then.  Partly, the reason that I want him to stay those
> extra days is because, if he were to come home on that Friday, Greg would
> work at the post office the next day leaving me alone with Chris his first
> day home and I'm afraid of that.  The therapist has tried to reasure   me
> that he has changed, but the groove in the record is dug too deep for me
to
> believe it without seeing it.
>         Greg and I continue to work on finishing his room downstairs
before he
> gets home.  It's really going to llook nice.  Of course, I pray that he
> appreciates it, but there is always the fear that, if he flies off the
> handle, he'll trash it.  Can't you tell that I"m already getting stressed
> out about his home coming?  Sorry about that.
>         We've talked to another Christian school in the area run by
Calvary
> Chapel.  Greg knows the pastor there.  We've given them the low down on
> Chris and they have agreed to interview him when he gets back to Bangor
and
> decide whether or not they will take him for at least one marking period
so
> that Chris can continue to comply with the requirements of his probation,
> one of which is to stay in school.  They're basically going to lay it on
> the line with him.  They see him at a crossroads right now.  If he wants
to
> strive toward a godly life, they'd love to help him, but they aren't
> interested in dealing with rebellion.  If Chris went back to Bangor
> Christion, where our other two children are, I don't know what would
> happen.  He was expelled from there two years ago and he has failed so
many
> classes in the past two years that he would have to be placed with the
> freshmen still and that probably wouldn't be pretty.  He is okay with the
> idea of not going back to his old highschool and he is saying, while he is
> at Cromwell at least, that his latest round of friends weren't good for
> him.  I just pray that he will keep that perspective once he gets home.
>         Greg and I had toyed with the idea of letting him know that his
instant
> messaging would be monitered, but we decided that that, along with tapping
> his phone conversations, we would keep to ourselves still.  It's probably
> just as well considering how he handled the money issues.  Who knows,
maybe
> he really has changed and is really glad for a new start.  Maybe I'm just
> running from a history that we all wish that we could forget.  If so, then
> I'm sorry for not sounding as though I have more hope.  I'm just trying to
> remain realistic and not be overly optimistic.
>         If we can make it through the next seven months, and help Chris to
become
> an independent adult, it will be wonderful.  Even the therapist yesterday
> said that she thinks that Chris is going to be the next pastor in the
> family.  I can't believe how many people have said that to us.  I just
pray
> that he will truly repent and fall so head over heels in love with Jesus
> that he'll have no desire to look back.
> God bless,
> Kathy
> Always for His glory
>