First, the good news: Our recent City Life camping trip at a ranch near Auburn was wonderful. 24 kids and nearly as many junior leaders and adult mentors spent hours canoeing on a lake, hiking the hills, riding horses, making s’mores, and gazing at millions of stars. Many of these urban kids had never been out of Fresno. The activities, the speakers, and the leaders brought them to a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ. Four kids – Francesca, Alyssa, Angelica, and Chantelle –made decisions for Christ! Four more asked for follow-up to help them understand the Holy Spirit’s working in their hearts. What great news!

Now, the not-so-good news: Three girls gave their counselors lots of grief the first day of camp. By 1:30 am, their unruly behavior had become down-right disobedience and disruption. The next day we got the girls packed up and transported them home. They learned an important lesson through this discipline: Love cares enough to say “no” to destructive behaviors. We will continue to work with these girls to show them how much God loves them – and how much we love them – in spite of their bad behavior.

I tell you this story not to disparage the girls or make you feel sorry for our counselors, but to emphasize that ministry with youth is not always fun, easy, or obviously fruitful. Kids make choices. Sometimes they make the worst possible choices in spite of the best possible modeling and mentoring. But their bad choices are not the end of the story. We hang in with them, allowing God to use us to do a good work in their lives. For we—and the kids—know that: “...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” Philippians 1:6.

Sometimes the kids make the best possible choice – the one that changes them forever – the choice to become followers of Jesus Christ. We will continue to hang in there with these kids. Thanks for hanging in there with us!

Ed Kaczmarek

Executive Director

Announcements:

*SaveMart SHARES Cards – SaveMart, Food Maxx, and Lucky. One easy swipe of the card and 3% of your purchase value is donated to YFC! No cost, no paperwork. Call us for your card.

*See the Story Hour – Thursday, August 26th, 5:30pm at YFC. Call to RSVP for this free lite-dinner and tour.

September dates: Friday, Sept 10, noon; and Tuesday, Sept 28, 5:30pm.  Mark your Calendar - RSVP!