East Side UPDATE!

Many of you may have heard about the man who was killed at Arroyo Burro Beach, also known as Hendry’s Beach, in April of this year,. Police said that the man who committed the murder is a gang member. There was also an article in the NY Times about this tragic killing talking about exposing gang tensions in Santa Barbara. It talks about the 2008 Fourth of July stabbing and also about the 2007 death near Saks Fifth Avenue. What caught my attention from the article was this, “Residents say the killing, both in its viciousness and its location, underscores the need for stronger law enforcement efforts against the town’s two gangs.” The article also mentioned residents asking the city to adopt a gang injunction that will make it difficult for gang members to congregate. There are over 600 active gang members on the east and west side of Santa Barbara. I believe more police would be a good thing, but would not solve the gang problem. One name came to mind, JESUS.

The last three years I have seen and heard the heart breaking stories of kids on the east side. Young Life has gone into the community to seek out those hurting kids. Some kids are in gangs and some not, but all hungry for something. That “something” is LOVE. I believe that pursuing kids on their turf, building relationship and showing them the Love of Christ is what is going to change the lives of kids. This summer, I was able to take 10 boys to a Young Life camp called WoodLeaf. Four of the boys are actively involved in a gang on the East Side. It was one of the best but hardest weeks at camp I have ever had. The one thing that every single kid had in common was that they were all fatherless. All 10 boys do not have their father around because of divorce, imprisoned or abandoned. Each night we would have a cabin time and reflect on what the speaker had to said about Jesus. One of the highlights of camp was during one of our cabin times that lasted 3 hours! Some of the boys talked about how they didn’t believe in God because of all the hard and bad things that had happened to them in their life. The most amazing moment was when Ruben and Carlos started sharing with the group. I met them when they were in 8th grade, now in 11th grade, nearly 4 years ago and God has changed their lives. That night during cabin time they shared their story because they wanted to let everyone know that God changed their path. Ruben shared about how God protected him while he was in a car and gun shots were fired at him. Several shots hit the car, he ducked down and another shot came through the window and hit right were he has sitting. He thanked God for watching over him and for changing his life. Carlos shared about how he was so close to joining a gang but because of God bringing Young Life into his life he changed his mind and life. It was a blessing to hear them tell their story to their friends in order to show them how the love of God changed their lives and HE could change theirs too. Thank you for all your prayers and support. God planted many seeds and I know he will continue to soften the hearts of the kids who are still searching. They all shared about the emptiness they feel, please pray that they would realize that only God can fill it and not the things of this world. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS! Here is a short video of our time at camp. WOODLEAF 2010

This summer I was on assignment in Oregon at a Young Life camp called Washington Family Ranch for about a month. I had the privilege of bringing fun and laughter to kids during a week where kids opened some deep stinging wounds in their lives. The bible says that, “Laughter does good like a medicine.” It a blessing to see over 800 or more kids coming to either meet Christ or return to Him! It was all worth dressing up and pretending to be a world renown stunt man called Tito Painsworth, a.k.a. T-Pain! I was also able to take 3 young men along with me and they worked like they never worked before. Gio, Tony, and Carlos gave up a month of their summer to work for free. They wanted to be a part of giving a kid the best experience possible in order for them to meet Christ! During a special presentation by all the Work Crew, Carlos was able to share his testimony in front of over 700 kids his own age. God used his story to bring other kids closer to accepting the love that God offers. Here is a link to the video of him sharing. CARLOS Please pray for these boys that they would continue to seek God and be positive leaders among their peers.

Over the last 3 years I have formed a special relationship with Angel. I have seen him make right decisions and unfortunately many wrong decisions. God spared his life after being stabbed during the summer of ’08 in a gang related fight. In the summer of ’09 he stood up in front of over 300 high school kids to say he had accepted Christ in to his life. He said “My name in Angel and I have joined God’s gang." This year he spent 8 months at Los Prietos Boys Camp for breaking his probation requirements. I was able to visit him 2 or 3 times a month. Every time I would visit him I would ask him about his future and if he still wanted to be in a gang. He always gave me the same answer, he did not want to leave his gang. The last time a visited him right before he finished his time at the camp he said words that I never thought would come out of his mouth, he said. “I want to leave my gang, it’s the best thing for me.” This was an answer to prayer, but the next challenge for him is to follow through. His gang life is still deeply rooted in him. He now lives in Santa Maria with his father. He was able to go to WoodLeaf this summer and though it was a challenge God continued to speak into his life. Please pray that Angel would find a new identity in Christ! Pray that he would be set free from the lies of the enemy! Thanks again for all you do for kids in our community! Felipe Contreras

My wife and I at WoodLeaf!