Jeff Ashcroft has been working with Anchor House since 2019 as our transition program manager. Change in young people's lives often comes at times when we do not expect it. Often much of the hard work does not turn up until later, sometimes even years after we plant the seed and till the soil.

Jeff remembers such a time as this where he was prayerfully considering if this ministry was what he was called to. Working with traumatized boys is not easy and at times can be discouraging when you do not see immediate change.

When thinking about his impact, Jeff received a call from a boy who had left Anchor House 2 weeks before his consternation about his calling to these youth. This young man had been in and out of the foster care system for his entire life and felt forgotten in the shuffle.

One night, he called Jeff crying to tell him that Jeff was the first person to actually care about him. His impact, though seemingly unseen or felt, had imprinted upon this young man who seemed destined for despair. It was not during the days when he was pouring in hours of energy to care for this young man that he received confirmation of his calling. Sometimes seeds are covered up and appear dead until they spring forth from the ground to live.

The heart that Jeff has for this ministry and his boys is this: "Love without sacrifice isn't love." The charge that Christ gives us is to love our neighbor as ourselves. He showed us the ultimate example of love requiring sacrifice by it costing him his life. With this in mind, the expectation for love should be that it would cost us something and include a risk that comes with vulnerability.