This afternoon we went down to the Byerlys’ house on the lake for a few hours. They invited our small group from church and one of the boys homes from Wears Valley Ranch. WVR is an organization that takes in kids from difficult circumstances and places them in a family atmosphere with house parents. We got to spend time with Mike and Kathy Mercer and the seven boys that live in their house. It was amazing to see how they’ve built a family from the boys in their care. It’s also pretty thought-provoking to see two people giving their lives away to others, and it provides evidence to the contrary when you sometimes doubt that individual people can make a real difference. Mike and Kathy are making all the difference in the world to those seven boys.