Steven Scott has dedicated his life to working with children. Now, the Whitehaven, Tenn., native has chosen to make Columbus his home, taking over as director of the local branch of Palmer Home for Children as former Executive Director Jeff Miller transfers to the organization”s Hernando campus.
Scott”s first day on the job was Aug. 23, and though he is still settling in, the self-described “visionary” has a lot of ideas about where he”s been and what he hopes to bring to the children of Columbus.
What were you doing before this?
(My wife) and I were kind of homeless. We had left (Mississippi) in January 2005 and moved to Manila, in the Philippines. Our daughter lives in Brandon, so we”ve been staying with her until we could relocate.
How did you end up in the Philippines?
I was working as an admission counselor for Belhaven College in Jackson. I worked there 10 years before going into the missions field … I was one of Belhaven”s top recruiters at the time, but (my wife and I) felt the Lord calling us. Our daughter, a student at Belhaven, had gone on an internship to Manila in 2002, and she came back telling us all the stories and showing us pictures, and our hearts were just tugging. I got excited about it and said, ”Lord, if this is what you really want me to do, you pave the way.”
So you headed to the Philippines in 2005?
We left Jan. 29, 2001. Had to wait until deer season was over. I love hunting, fishing and riding motorcycles.
What did you do in the Philippines?
It was a street kids ministry. The poverty over there is just extreme. Mission to the World built three homes over there, and we housed 30 children per home, with five staff members per home and a director. The other half of the ministry was our church planting movement, which involved 10-15 pastors and the director. I was team leader over the Philippines.
Did you have to learn a new language?
I had to learn Tagalog, a very difficult language. I could communicate, not fluently though. In the Philippines, English is a second language. For a person to be able to pump gas at a gas station, they have to know English, because there”s a strong American influence in the Philippines.
What inspired you to work with children?
I love to be part of their lives. I love to make them laugh. I love to teach them. In our society nowadays, children need that adult interest. Moms and dads get so busy, they sometimes have very little time for the children. It”s an investment in their future. In Manila, we were taking kids literally living on the streets in cardboard boxes and putting them in a home. We fed them, clothed them, provided a home for them, and allowed them to go to school, but we also were very intentional in teaching them about Jesus Christ. We were their parents in that situation, because their parents either could not provide for them or did not want them. They were truly orphans.
Why did you decide to leave Manila?
I had worked myself out of a job. Mission to the World decided they were sufficient enough, they could do the ministry themselves without American leadership … In 2008, an opportunity opened to work in Guadalajara, Mexico, with Mission to the World. I worked on a three-man servant team, giving support, encouragement and instruction to 47 family units located in Mexico.
How was Mexico different from the Philippines?
Mexico was more advanced, technology-wise. There was less traffic, fewer people. Mexico was cleaner than the Philippines, where there”s a lot of pollution and smog.
What brought you back to Mississippi?
I felt like God said it was time to come home. We came home in February 2011 and were living with our daughter in Brandon. I started putting out applications, and my prayer was: ”Lord, I don”t want options. I want you to either open the door wide or slam it shut.” Steve Lanier, at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Jackson, said ”Steve, I”ve got the job for you. You need to work for Palmer Home for Children in Columbus.”
So what changes — if any — do you plan to make at Palmer Home?
We”re trying to determine in exactly what direction we need to go. Our capacity is just about maxed out, so the board of directors is going to have to figure out if we want to build more homes, in which location … unfortunately, there”s a waiting list of children that need to be at Palmer Home. We get three to five calls a week from either judges, social workers, churches or even individuals that contact us.
Why is the need so great?
Some of it”s economical, some of it”s health reasons, the deterioration of marriages … it”s just a multitude of things. We are here to help them and give them hope for the future to live in a lifestyle to grow up to be a productive young man or woman in today”s society. With the deterioration of families, husbands and wives getting divorced, kids have no choice in that. To have a refuge like Palmer Home to assist children is monumental. To love these kids and provide for them and teach them to be responsible and go back into society brings glory to God. We”ve got children that have graduated from college that are engineers, doctors, mothers.
What is the age range of the children at Palmer Home?
Our youngest is nine months old, and the oldest is 21 or 22 and attending college.
Do you offer volunteer opportunities to individuals?
We have two people on staff that help work groups that come in the summer. We try to sit down with individuals and find out what their gifts are as far as service, and we”ll try to plug them in somewhere, whether it”s reading books, tutoring …
How can people help Palmer Home?
We just need your prayers. This is an awesome task that we have been assigned to … Day to day, we need strength, wisdom, encouragement and people to come walk alongside us and help.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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