So now it’s getting tough. It’s day 8 and I doubt that anyone in the group has gotten a full 8 hours of sleep in quite a while. Mayyyybe members got a full night’s rest at Yosemite, because I think everyone hit the hay pretty early that night after a long afternoon of hiking, but sleep was on and off with the freezing weather conditions we were facing in our tent cabins. When we walked into the cabins, I heard a few people say “A heater?! In California?! WHAT?!”, but they weren’t asking the same question that night when they were freezin’ their tushies off! Man oh man oh MAN did it get cold that evening. A test of endurance faced us, but I am happy to report that everyone survived =) I was able to gaze over Eva’s blog, and I really have nothing more to say about that. Excellent job, Eva.
Yesterday we traveled to Fresno Juvenile Justice Center in preparation for our back to back shows in their Commitment Unit. Today, we did the same. We met Chaplain Ron Climer, and let me tell you, he isn’t your ordinary Chaplain. Ron was quite the trouble maker in his early years, and he considers it a blessing that he is still alive today. To give you a glimpse into the daily life of Ron is to say that he was addicted to heroin, once made a list of all the people he wanted to kill (and proudly shared it with his cousin and wife), and almost lost his wife and children through the writing of that very same list. The list was the final straw for Ron’s wife. She planned to take their two children and run from her husband, but she never did. She did not leave that night because she was open to the calling of God’s will for her life. Chaplain Ron has done his time in and out of correctional facilities; 50 years to be exact. He served time for 13 years, and has been working as a Chaplain for the rest. Why does he choose to wake up every day and willingly walk through the doors of the same place that locked him up years ago? To use his words and not mine, it is because he wants to give back to the system that he so wrongly took from before he knew Jesus. Now tell me THAT guy hasn’t been humbled!
After two days (but only one setup and one teardown–YAY!) and four presentations, we are a tired group. After a rowdy group last evening, a member of Shining Light reminded us that even though they laughed at us, it did not matter. In reality, they were not our audience. God was our audience. Additionally, two of our shows were especially exciting for me because there were GIRLS sitting in front of us! We haven’t had girls in our audience all season! It was such a joy to be able to make eye contact with the girls. Their faces were hard at the beginning of the program, as I expected them to be. But all it took was a smile, and the ice was melted. I gave them my smile, they gave me their hearts. I will certainly be praying for those girls tonight, because I could, at any moment, have made the decisions they did and ended up where they are.
You wanna know about the weasel? (Status: Currently discouraged. Why Because I just lost a substantial amount of information when my internet connection failed.) (Status: Currently encouraged. Why? Because I just looked up from the laptop I’m typing on, saw the mass chaos that just erupted in the school gym as Shining Light members and staff begin to wreak havoc with their suitcases, sleeping bags, and air mattresses, and grinned. I’m gonna miss this group.) Ok, so, the weasel is a super cool dude. A former gangster since the age of 13, the weasel from Salinas, whose real name is Tony Ortiz, is a true testament to what God can do in our lives. Tony was really the worst of the worst; he did time in San Quentin and a variety of other places in the country. How he did not die in gang violence, I do not know. He does not know. His wife does not know. God knows. Only God. He had a bigger plan for Tony Ortiz. A plan to love him, and lead him to Him. Though the power of the Lord, an illiterate man was ordained as a minister. The first book Tony ever read was the Bible. Today, Tony is an extremely influential man throughout the entire country. 29 years ago, the Lord led Tony to found a ministry that is today known as the California Youth Outreach. He and his team go into the streets and talk to youth who are caught up in gangs. They are working on gang prevention. They are not armed with weapons. They are armed with the Word of God. I…well, I have nothing more to say about that. I think that it speaks for itself. I encourage you to pray for Tony Ortiz, his staff, and the hearts of the men and women on the streets. Pray that the Lord and His principles will go ahead of them and calm the storms.
Thank you for reading. I have to thank God for keeping my eyes open while I wrote this. =)
Welp, see ya later!