SEPTEMBER 2004 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORLast month my father passed away. My dad was a good man. He loved his family and he loved the Lord Jesus. While our family is sad, we are also happy, knowing that we will go to him someday in the future. As I reflected on my dad and my relationship with him, I couldn’t help but contrast some of the heart-wrenching stories I have heard from our gang youth about their fathers. Daniel is only eighteen years old; he has no family members to care for him. At the age of five he watched his uncle murder his father. His mother, who did not have custody of him at the time, kidnapped him and introduced him to marijuana at that tender age. He has been in and out of institutions ever since. Tony is nineteen. When I asked him when he began getting involved in gangs, he said, “I know exactly when it was. I was eight years old when my mom called the cops on my dad and they took him away. I never saw him again. On that day, I began to rebel.” Vang is also nineteen. He can pinpoint the time when he got involved in gangs, too. He was fourteen years old when his dad was murdered. He became angry and took out his frustration on society. Roger Minassian, in his book Gangs to Jobs says, “Since most [of our youth] never had a dad, we have to help them fill in the gaps.” Your prayers and support give us the strength and the tools necessary to help them “fill in the gaps.” Thank you! Please pray that these young men can someday become responsible fathers who can gain the respect and admiration from their sons that I had for my dad. HOPE NOW MADERAAbout 20 miles north of Fresno is the city of Madera with a population of 48,000. We have been contacted by supporters in that area to form a chapter of Hope Now there. According to their Gang Task Force, there are 2,435 identified gang members in the City of Madera; according to the streets, there are 8,000 involved in gang-related activities. Per capita, therefore, Madera has almost four times as many gang members as Fresno. As Hope Now Fresno/Sanger continues to advance under the leadership of Roger Feenstra, Rev. Minassian is now meeting with a Steering Committee headed by Joanne Brazil, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker formerly with Madera County Mental Health. If you live or work in Madera and would like to help, you may contact Joanne at 449-1379. Please pray for Hope Now Madera becoming a self-sufficient affiliate of Hope Now For Youth, to give hope to their streets. MATCHING FUND CHALLENGE MET; ANOTHER OFFEREDThanks to all of you who gave, we have met the $20,000 Matching Fund Challenge from June. Now we have been given a $5,000 Matching Fund Challenge for the month of September. Your gifts this month will be doubled until we reach that amount. God bless, |