Bay Area Christian Church

Darryl & Tracey Howell

Directors, Spiritual Resource Ministry

San Francisco Church of Christ

When we think back, it is amazing to see the progress our son has made. Although we had become Christians a long time ago (Tracey in 1986 and Darryl in 1988), we weren't prepared for the challenges of having a special needs child.

We remember taking Caylan to Children's Ministry. He would scream practically the entire time. Seeing our son's painful struggle to separate from us and adjust to class added to our frustration and humiliation, especially since Tracey was leading a large part of the children's ministry at that time. Even before we knew something was wrong developmentally, there was no doubt that Caylan was difficult. He would throw himself backward if more than two people looked at him. He couldn't stand being in crowds. We had to stand a block away from people at church. We had to talk with one person at a time in order to have any fellowship at all. When we had Bible talk, Tracey had to stay with Caylan in the bedroom while Darryl had Bible talk with friends in the living room. Participating in normal church activities became burdensome. We became discouraged. Spiritual Resource Ministry helped change all that.  A ministry designed to help children with special needs was our answer to prayer! We're so thankful because, thanks to this ministry, we've seen our son grow in incredible ways. Caylan's Spiritual Resource teachers understand him and we can enjoy service without worrying that he might be miserable. He is no longer the difficult one; instead, he has become the one with the most to say or the one who loves to lead the singing. He's learning about God and is memorizing Scriptures.