| Excerpts from CHAPTER 11 - Flowers Now |
Lydia H. Minassian One of the most pleasant surprises in directing Hope Now is discovering responsible adults who think we are doing something worthwhile and are not afraid to tell us so. It is also fantastically encouraging to have a board of directors who love me and tell me that Hope Now is doing what pleases God. Many times church pastors don't hear directly about the good they are doing. As a child, I used to hear from others that my dad was proud of me, but not often did I hear that affirmation from him. As a young man I confronted him and said, "Dad, I know you are proud of me, but it would have been nice to hear it directly from you." Dad did his best to change, and I appreciated the effort. My mother is right: Flowers now!... ...this is not brain surgery; instead we are into heart transplants, and not just in gang members. Perhaps in these first few chapters God has changed your heart toward gang members. My prayer is that you now have hope concerning them. Maybe you have begun to envision the possibilities for them, for you, or even for your city? Hope Now, or a variation of Hope Now, developed to fit the needs of your city, could change the lives of hundreds, even thousands of gang members. Hope Now is the gift of God that can be offered to 1,000,000 gang members on 100,000 streets of 10,000 neighborhoods in 1,000 cities throughout America. Chrisian men and women of vision, passion, and purpose will accomplish this, and Jesus will smile. |