When I was 20…

Nov 4

Dear friends,

Thank you for continuing to support the work at Orchard. We were so encouraged to meet new and old friends at our open house on 10/19 and by your generosity in helping us raise $14,000 towards supporting our young adult men.

For this open house fundraiser, we each reflected on our life circumstance when we were 20 years old to consider the ways in which our lives are like or unlike those of Orchard young adult men. When I was 20, I just graduated from Biola with a degree in mathematics, I was single and driving a 1991 Honda Accord that a friend sold to me before he returned home to Japan, I was doing bookkeeping for an electrical contracting firm at $11/hour (minimum wage was $8.50/hour, I think, so I thought I was rich!), I was living with 3 other roommates at a 2-bedroom apartment at The Mediterranean on Santa Gertrudes and Leffingwell where rent per person was $350/month, and, like any 20 year old, and I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. I can’t list all the people who helped me survive my young adulthood.

As we work with young men in their 20’s today, some circumstances are quite different, if not more difficult. However, the needs of the young adult men remains the same for mentorship, guidance, a safe place to make mistakes and learn from trials and errors, a place one might be able to call home for a season.

We at Orchard are grateful for young adult men who have entrusted a season of their lives to us to journey together. And we are grateful for our former residents who stay in touch. We are so proud of the work that each young adult man is putting into bettering their lives and we pray constantly that they establish a strong foundation and bear much fruit.

Thank you for partnering with us in this work. God bless you.

Mike Liaw

PS: Check out this short video spotlighting us at the open house by Miles, an intern from a partner Non Profit, Empower You.