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There was once a family of bears who lived in a cave high on the side of a mountain. There was a momma bear, a papa bear and a baby bear. The mama and papa bear had one rule they taught the baby bear. The rule was never cross the big creek outside the cave, for beyond the creek lay a deep, dark forest. They reminded baby bear of the rule often. But baby bear really wanted to cross the big creek.

One day baby bear couldn't stand it any longer. He waited until momma bear and papa bear were very busy. Then he went outside and quickly crossed the creek!

At first, baby bear thought it was exciting to be on the other side of the creek. He ran along the bank, always staying within eye distance of the cave. Then he became bolder and followed a trail he found heading into the forest. Soon it became very dark all around him. When he saw it becoming darker he became frightened. He tried to follow the trail back to the creek, but somehow he'd lost the trail. It was getting late and he finally realized he was lost. This made him more frightened and he began to cry.

As he sat and wondered what to do, he heard a noise in the woods drawing near him. This frightened baby bear even more. He was about to run away from the noise, when suddenly a big moose broke through the trees. It was just the moose that had made all the noise. The moose saw the baby bear and greeted him.

"Hi baby bear, it is nice to meet you. But what are you doing in the deep, dark forest? I thought all the papa and momma bears taught their babies not to walk in the forest."

Baby bear said, "I'm lost, big moose, and I'm very scared. Can you tell me how to get to the big creek?"

The moose recognized baby bear as belonging to the momma and papa bear that lived in the cave on the side of the mountain. The moose told baby bear to follow him.

After a little walking baby bear heard the creek and recognized where he was. They finally came out of the dark woods and crossed the creek to his cave. Mama and Papa were worried and jumped for joy because the moose brought baby bear home. They thanked the moose greatly, and baby bear gave the moose a big hug!

To us, the world is like the forest. When we are given boundaries like the creek, we have a natural desire to go where we should not go. When we do something we shouldn't do it feels good at first. But then we often get lost – and frightened. The moose is like Jesus Christ. He knows where we are, and if we ask Him he'll bring us to safely back to God.

Luke 15:11-24.

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It's been over a week and time to turn towards home. I fly out early Monday Morning so I thought I would write down A few thoughts. 1) Ministry at this type of event has many forms. Praying for the athletes who compete - For their safety and well being and for their families as well. This I did a lot of especially with Catholic athletes. One on one ministry takes place as well - God had a way of providing translators when they were needed. During our fellowship and devotional times it may have taken time with translations, but God rewarded those who were there with His presence and some very good fellowship. Mexican and Brazilian are extremely passionate about there faith. It's like worshiping with someone who drank hundred cups of coffee and on caffeine pills. Thanks for all the prayers they were answered. 2) People in Mexico are a very excitable people. But they also know how to give out of their own needs. There is a big difference between the poor and rich. It is senn throughout these cities. But what challenged me was the poor gave to those in need. They gave despite of their own poverty. God Bless and hope to see you all soon. In His Service, Pastor Craig. Bueno Steeas!!!

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There is a group of people that sometimes get left out of the church. Some people call this group the "invisible ones", we know this group as the people with special needs. There are many stories from Special Needs families similar to the one shared by a Pastor in North Carolina: "I remember meeting a single mom and her two sons after a church service one weekend. The eldest did not have a disability but the younger son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder with Psychomotor Retardation at the age of three. As I grew to know this mom, she shared that they had been asked to leave many churches because of her youngest son. The churches didn't know how to care for him and instead of learning how to serve these families, they excluded them." Statistics show that incidences of Special Needs children are on the rise. A study from the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities show that incidences of special needs children have risen. Data from the study showed that developmental disabilities (DDs) are common: about 1 in 6 children in the U.S. had a DD in 2006–2008. These data also showed that prevalence of parent-reported DDs has increased 17.1% from 1997 to 2008. This study underscores the increasing need for health, education and social services, and more specialized health services for people with DDs. Here are a few statistics regarding Developmental Disabilities (DD) from 1997 - 2008. Prevalence of any DD in 1997-2008 was 13.8% Prevalence of learning disabilities was 7.66%; Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was 6.69%; Prevalence of other developmental delay was 3.65%; and, Prevalence of autism was 0.47%. Over the last 12 years the prevalence of DDs has increased : 17.1%—that's about 1.8 million more children with DDs in 2006–2008 compared to a decade earlier; Autism increased 289.5%; ADHD increased 33.0%; Hearing loss decreased 30.9%. Males had twice the prevalence of any DD than females and more specifically had higher prevalence of ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, stuttering/stammering and other DDs; Statistics today show that about 1 in 6 children in the U.S. had a developmental disability in 2006-2008, ranging from mild disabilities such as speech and language impairments to serious developmental disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, and autism. Other studies show this rate to be as much as 1 in 5 people having any type of disability. With the statistics going up like this the church needs to find away to become more inclusive. We cannot let the families of the special needs children fall away from church because we lack the help in a children's church situation. There is a simple way to meet the needs in a children's church situation and that is through the buddy system! A lot of these parents judge our churches by the question "Can they meet my child's need?" In a special needs situation it is "Are they going to pull me out of service for my child?". As a former pastor implementing the buddy system may appear to be difficult. But with a little forethought it is not as difficult as it appears. First, let's take a look at what a buddy system is. The buddy system uses one person to assist the special-needs child. You use this person as an assistant to the special-needs child in times of children's church or Sunday school. They can be used to help explain principles taught in those classes. Or they may be able to assist the child, when the child begins to get agitated or out of control. They are to be considered part of the children's staff. But are not assigned specific assignments, like music, storytime, or games. They are assigned to one specific special needs child. These helpers actually are an extension of the child. They help the child process the information that is coming in, they also help the child with any situation they face. They in effect become like a wheelchair or assistive device which allow the child to be themselves, but not a distraction to the service or class they are participating in. When assigning a buddy to a child it must be a one to one ratio. The buddy may be a teenager aged 16 or older or any adult willing to assist the special-needs child. The full purpose of this article is to show there is a need for special needs children out there. A lot of special needs children desire to be in church, and we need to give them opportunity with a buddy system. They need the opportunity to hear the gospel at their level and come to Christ. There is also a need for special needs families to be able to participate in the church that you pastor. They have spiritual needs just like anyone else in your church. The article also emphasizes that setting up a buddy system does not have to be difficult. It can be accomplished with relative ease. It takes two people in your church to run. Can be used as a tool to reach the special needs children for Christ. For further information on setting up the buddy system please contact: Shepherd's Staff ministries at pcsheppard63@gmail.com.