Sorry for posting this so late..this was the update for last week
Thanks for all your support and prayers :)
Called out of prison….
After three years of doing no media we decided to do some interviews, (TV, radio, and a local magazine) to find some partners, volunteers, and potential donors to help with the renovation of our new building and to help us with our summer camp. One of our interviews was shown on the 10 o’clock news a couple months ago.
A man who was serving a ‘life’ sentence in prison was watching the news one night. He had prayed to God a couple nights earlier, “If you decide to let me out of here on parole, please show me where I can go and make a difference for you.”. He had become a Christian while in prison. He said he saw our interview on T.V. and knew that God desired that he come back to the neighborhood where he had spent so many years selling drugs and committing various other crimes… our neighborhood. He wanted to help deter others from going down the same road he had chosen.
He was stunned to see our story on the news. He made a commitment to find us if the Lord released him on parole. He got out this morning …. and came straight over to find us. We talked out in the street and it was humbling and overwhelming to hear his story. He is related to some other men who we haven gotten to know, men who have also recently begun to walk with the Lord. Please pray for this dear brother. He is hungry to grow and to serve the Lord. He grew up on our streets, has done it all, and desires to see God change those patterns he bought into while growing up. Kevin and I spoke with him and he said, “We have to stop this generational curse. We have to find a way to keep these kids from going through the same patterns I went through.” He pointed to his son standing nearby and told us, “We have to do this for him, and for them (as he pointed to the middle school)”.
He has a tough road ahead of him as well. May the Lord strengthen him and use him mightily for His Kingdom. May many hear his story and experience and receive the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
‘The Big Picture’…..
This past Friday night 22 young girls from our camp displayed the glory of God through a drama presentation for 150 friends, relatives, and other dear brothers and sisters in the Lord who showed up for encouragement and support. The girls acted, danced, and sang a play called “The Big Picture” that they wrote about the biblical story of ‘creation, fall, and redemption.’ It was a beautiful sight. So many of us watched on with extreme pride and honor as our young girls displayed God’s story so artistically and boldly. It was beautiful… and special. I was overwhelmed as I witnessed the presentation. Many of these young girls have come to know the Lord recently through our time with them. To remember where many of these girl s were when we met them is humbling. To see Christ magnified in their bodies is even more humbling. The seed of faith and the power of transformation shine bright in the context of violence, suffering, and previous hopelessness. Redemption is a beautiful thing. May these young ladies break the cycle of teenage pregnancy, sexual and physical abuse, and destruction on our streets. May they become the models of Godly women that stand in the gap for our community for generations to come.
Workday this weekend (August 1st).....
We need volunteers to help us finish the renovation of our building. Please contact Mike Bunce (http://Mike@cgmal.org) if you can and are willing to come out and help us this weekend for our workday. It is crunch time for us. We can use your help not only for this workday but anytime you have available to come out between now and August 17th, the first day of tutoring!
Please ‘chip-in’ a few bucks to help us complete our basketball court.....
www.6000feetaway.com
A friend of ours developed this fundraising idea and video to help us raise some money for a very nice outdoor basketball court on our property. You can ‘adopt’ a square foot of our 6,000 square foot court for only $3.00.
Click on the link www.6000feetaway.com and check out the short video and consider adopting a foot or more. Please send the link to as many people as you think could give a few bucks towards this. It’s amazing how effective it has been already as people have gotten the word out to their friends and family. It has only been a week and we are up to 10 percent of the goal already.
You can pay with a credit or debit card and it secure and easy