The end of semester draws near....

I suddenly have an internet connection this evening, so I thought I would quickly write up on my blog here, before I lose the net again for a couple of weeks!

Things are goin great here. It's nearing the end of the semester once again....actually next week is our last week! I can't believe that all this time has already passed! But I guess that's what time does!

Last week I met a mother names Tyesha who has twin boys. (They are adorable!) She used to come to Yogi Bear Sunday School when she was a kid. She came to our Indoor Sunday School, which is on Saturdays. But she just moved out to Pink Houses and saw our truck and remember it from when she was a kid. So she brought her two little guys out. It was so interesting to talk to her. All her memories of Sunday School are such sweet memories. You can tell that when she was a kid, it was definitely one of the hilights of her week. And it's true. Many of these kids that come to Yogi Bear, look forward to it all week. They know that it is the one place where there are people who will give them a hug, and tell them that they are loved, and that they really are cared for. When I say that a lot of these kids are told that they are "worthless" and are a "mistake", I'm not exaggerating in any way at all. These kids have become so hardened to their way of life, because they have to be tough just to survive out here. I'm noticing though that the more I get to know these kids, they more I can see their pain. I had one of my girls come up to me after she got out of school. She was one of the first girls to come out, so I was able to spend a quick moment with her. But right away I knew that something was wrong. She couldn't speak at all, so I just wrapped my arms around her while she cried. I still don't know why she was so upset, but she knew that she could trust me enough to let me see her "tough" front down for just a moment. It breaks my heart to see my kids living through so much hell. Sure, some of them come from half decent homes, but when you see a mother smack her kid across the face out on the street or an older brother or sister curse out their little sibling in front of everybody, you're reminded once again that these kids go through so much more behind closed doors.

A couple of weeks ago I drove up to one of the buildings at my Projects, and at the end of the street ambulances and police cars were just rolling in with their lights and sirens on. We later found out that a shooting had happened just minutes before I had come to pick up my people for church. Stuff goes down so fast here. One of our teenagers that comes to church with us (Jessica. Age 14.) was jumped a couple weeks back by three men. They jumped her just to steal her cell phone. One of my kids Brian, age 9, was jumped in the middle of his school cafeteria. You wouldn't believe your eyes if you saw the painful bruises all up his arms. One of the boys that comes to Yogi Bear on Tuesdays broke a girl's arm because he says he hates her so much. Tamir and Derrick, two boys that come on my bus on Saturdays, were told by their father to "never come back home, cause you've already ruined my day". This was said in front of Seth, another staff member, and myself.
It's no wonder these kids are so messed up. They have so many issues, so many deep rooted anger problems, attention problems, bitterness, unforgiveness. It tears me up inside. It's so different seeing all this stuff happening first hand. And these are just a few of the stories of kids, that I can think of just from the past couple of weeks. I know I'm here for a purpose, and I thank God each and everyday for choosing me for this purpose. As hard as it is, as heart wrenching as it is, my desire is to see these kids changed - to have a purpose to life - to have God their life.

Last night we had our Annual Worker's Banquet to honor the kids that we've made our Workers. These are the kids that help us out visiting and at site during the lesson and things like that. I have 4 workers right now: Josh, Raheem, Ayahna, and Antoinette. I love these kids so much! Anyways, there was a raffle last night, and Raheem (10 years old) won a ghetto blaster and $7.00!!!! He couldn't believe it. At first he didn't realize it was his ticket that had been called, so there I was goin balistic "It's you! It's you!" while he sitting there shaking his head, "No it's not. Not it's not". It was the sweetest thing ever! Finally it settled in that he really did win, so off he went up onto the stage. He was in his glory last night!

Hope all is well back in Kelowna. I miss you all so much. I pray that each of you is growing in your passion for God and the things of God. You're only gonna get out what you put into your relationship with Christ. Remember that. Love you guys.