Proverbs from a Restored Youth
Airfeaira Nelson, City Life-Sozo

Every day I get a “devotional” from Airfeira texted to my phone (usually around midnight). Air is one of our youth that has undergone probably the most radical transformation. She now works with me at the REACH Youth Services building, where she was given an AmeriCorp position to do youth outreach (even the secular world recognizes her evangelistic DNA). I love her text devos, and wanted to share snippets with you…
-Doug Jonson, City Life-Sozo

FEBRUARY 2010

At times you may not feel complete. But I got the answer. All you need is Jesus Christ. No weapon formed against you will prosper. He loves you!

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Everyone wants to be loved and find themselves searching for love in all the wrong things. In the end you’re still so lost and confused wanting that same someone that would never stand you. “Why?” is what you ask yourself. Jesus said that His love is unconditional. Jesus said He loved us when we didn’t love ourselves. He will never hurt us nor leave our side even if we hate Him. He died for our sins. That’s real love.

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It’s hard to forgive someone who betrayed you–especially someone you called a friend. It’s hard to forgive a parent that’s not doing its job. It’s hard to trust someone when you’ve been hurt all your life. Jesus said, “Forgive and He shall forgive you. The world says, “Don’t trust no one and you will not get hurt.” I’ve come to realize that by not forgiving you’re only hurting yourself. You’re letting the next get the best of you. Who do you gotta forgive?

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Faith is sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don’t see. Life gets hard, but take your eyes off the moment and put them on the future.

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05 J.C. Saved Me 1

I don’t think there’s anyone that doesn’t think that reaching parents is important in order to have an impact upon kids. Sometimes in youth ministry, it can be really discouraging to see kids give their lives to Christ and begin to have breakthrough, only to return home where they are torn down.  I can’t even tell you how many times we have had the conversation: “If only the parents were being reached in some way…” 

For the past 3 years, I’ve been working with kids in Hilltop of all ages: teens through Sozo and Late Night, and elementary kids through Sozo Kids. With many of the teens that I’ve invested hundreds of hours in, my interaction with the parents has been minimal.  In fact, for some reason, we generally have very little interaction with the parents of our teens. 

Sozo Kids has been our unexpected gateway into the lives of the parents and families. It’s remarkable how many parents, grandmas, and aunties that we know through Sozo Kids. Through Sozo Kids we’ve met the parent or guardian of more than 90% of the families, and have begun developing relationships with many of them. As we’ve been ministering to many of these kids for 3 years now…that also means we’ve been talking with their parents every week for 3 years. What started as simple “Hellos” has developed into Kari and Dequan sharing about their unemployment, Nicky sharing  about her chronic sickness, and Jaci asking for help and prayer for her son’s rage at home and at school. I think of Jose, Virginia’s dad, who is also the step-dad of Kevin. Kevin was one of our original kids at Sozo who was already deep in the gangs and is now locked away in prison for many years. Because of Sozo Kids, we have developed trust and a great relationship with Virginia and Kevin’s parents, and Jose regularly shares his struggles and knows that this is a safe place for both he and his daughter.

 Last week an organization called Families Unlimited Network invited 9 of our families to attend a special Christmas Celebration/Giveaway. Because of our relationships with the kids and families, we were able to know which families needed this opportunity the most. One of the single moms of 7 kids (who has chronic sickness) was crying on the phone because she was so thankful –not because of the gifts, but because we were thinking of her and her children and loved them. Multiple families called me this week to thank me and tell me how much they were blessed. And through this opportunity, our trust and relationship with the families has only grown. 

Consistency in relationships has created so many opportunities to see the real people behind the hard exterior that many of the parents portray. After 1 hour at a Sozo Kids Family BBQ last summer (and a game of Pop Culture Trivia), our relationship with Esther, the grandmother guardian of two girls, forever changed. She used to seem so hard and intimidating, but the Family BBQ completely tore down all the walls and all of the leaders have been astonished how friendly and open she is now. Tonight she told us that she never lets her grandkids do things like our Zoo Lights field trips, but she now completely trusts us. 

At Sozo we used to always say two things, “I wish we could reach the family” and “I wish we could reach them younger.”  And then God gave us Sozo Kids.

Corasia came to stay with me last year for six months. Her mom had lost her job and they had lost their place and were homeless.  I had know Corasia for the past year from SOZO and Late Night. She was in the second semester of her freshmen year at a local high school.  A guy at school who had a few girls prostituting for him started to recruit her, and in her words, she was so close to going that track before she moved into House of Dreams. She lived there with two other girls who were also seeking to pursue their dreams of graduating high school, getting jobs, and growing more into a mighty woman of God.  It was an amazing time with Corasia while she stayed with us. She got her first job, she enrolled in honors classes, and was an active member of our SOZO leadership team. Corasia moved back home with her mom six months later.  We saw her initially and then we would only talk to her from time to time. She kept herself very much at a distance.  During this time she helped with a Drama at her school, but shortly after that hearing from Corasia was rare. She explains this time as trying to do it all on her own and running after things that would never fill her. She got linked up with the college bound program at her High School and was in class everyday with the Pastor of SOZO. Some of the girls in her group started asking her about the drama she had been in. They shared with her how their lives had been changed and touched by what she had been a part of.  God started to speak to Corasia that what she at been a part of in the Drama was to be more frequent in her life and that she needed to get more involved again with the SOZO team.  Corasia started coming back to SOZO leadership meetings!! She shared that she was ready to come back and be involved with what God was doing and that she had realized that He had indented her life to be used for God! She came to our weekly meeting and received pray and ministry in front of everyone, boldly prayed and gave some of the weight she’d been carrying to God.  Then she prayed for others that night and spoke truth into their lives of how they cannot do it on their own, and shared from her own testimony of how she has stuffed everything inside and she can’t do it anymore. That during the time in her life that she was “running away” to things that she thought would make her feel better, the time in her life when her mom was loosing their house, that all she wanted was someone to hold her and let her cry in their arms and comfort her. She wanted someone to tell her that they loved her and help show her which way to go.  But she shared you would never know that was going on inside because outside she kept it together, she came off as stuck up or confident. She never expressed her need and kept her hurt deep inside.  That night at leadership she led 2 other girls to bring what they were carrying on their own to God and encouraged them to allow God to show them who they are and that she was finding out more everyday but she was taking steps to have people in her life that could help her, like the pastors and leaders at SOZO. It was so amazing to see her in tears sharing what God has been doing in her and speaking such truth and hope to encourage the other girls!!! She is an anointed leader for God and we are so honored and blessed to have her be a part of our SOZO family!! She is a courageous woman and has chosen to face her fears of being rejected by sharing what’s really going on in her life, by really diving in to be known by God and by others!!! And she is SO LOVED and has a group of people who will let her know how loved and special she is!!! She is not alone!! She is a leader in an army of youth that will lead many others to know Christ and come into God’s Family!!!!

When we started Sozo three years ago, we always had the vision that these kids in the Hilltop and from Remann Hall would gives their lives to Christ, and would one day be the leaders that replaced us. I’m not going to lie…it seemed like a very lofty goal at best. The minority of the youth who had already given their lives to Christ were still struggling with gangs, drugs and sex and were nowhere near leading their peers in positive lifestyles.

Fast-forward to three years later…

We are seeing the beginning stages of the things that God had promised! Not only has he saved and redeemed kids from Satan’s grasp, but he is developing these youth into leaders that are impacting kids in their community. He’s raising up indigenous leaders—leaders that come from the community to whom they are ministering. I could talk about a lot of our “indigenous leaders”—Justin, Airfeaira, Mister, Patrick, Devan, Miranda, Lecario—but I’m just going to focus on someone who is near and dear to my heart: De’Marko.

De’Marko’s Story:

Three years ago, De’Marko didn’t know Christ. He hated church, and didn’t want to have anything to do with God. He only came to Sozo because of the food and basketball, but the Holy Spirit got hold of him right away and He gave his life to Christ the second month of Sozo. One of our leaders started discipling him right away, and laid a solid foundation of Biblical truth and practical disciplines.

De’Marko’s dad never wanted anything to do with him, and he has no relationship with him. He was raised by his grandparents, but never learned a lot of the practical disciplines like getting up for school and finishing homework. As a result, by the time he was 19 years old, he barely had sophomore credits for high school, and it was looking like he would never be able to finish school.

God gave him hope and support system through Sozo, and he started attending night classes at Bates Technical College. After one year of night classes, De’Marko not only attained his high school diploma from Bates, but he also received a certificate in carpentry and found work doing construction.

That was last January. But God has done so much more in De’Marko’s life since then. I hired De’Marko to work (through Metro Parks, one of our community partners) as a leader at Sozo Kids, our elementary-aged late night. The first week, De’Marko was terrified to work with young kids. By the third week, De’Marko was literally a kid magnet. Everywhere he goes, there are about 15 kids completely drawn to him. He has become an unbelievable leader who loves kids, is easily the kids’ favorite leader, and is often responsible for cleaning and locking up. I also hired him to help me run Sozo and Teen Late Night. De’Marko’s attended Warm Beach Camp with us the last two summers as a camper. But this year, De’Marko was an Assistant Counselor in my cabin.

DeMarko and Sozo

A month ago, we found an internship opportunity with one of our community partners for out-of-school youth. To make a long story short: De’Marko is now paid to mentor middle school students through Tacoma Youth for Christ at Jason Lee Middle School. He is such a role model for the middle school students who are growing up in his community, and at 6’5” he walks with a lot of authority. The Vice Principal is thrilled with De’Marko, the students are being impacted by him, and De’Marko is so thankful for the opportunity to not only be paid, but be used by God. He said he’s learned so much already, and since he’s started leading and giving his life away, he views everything differently.

It’s amazing to see how much life transformation has already occurred among so many of our youth in the last 3 years, and it’s incredible to see how much they’re already beginning to serve and give their lives away. This is only the beginning….I don’t think anything brings me more joy than knowing that in 30 years our youth will be pastors, missionaries, community leaders, and amazing parents who will be breaking generational patterns of poverty.

Friends

Mostly our blogs are about kid stories and reaching the youth of Tacoma and Pierce County, but this time I wanted to share my heart a bit, kind of like a real blog – just share. I started on staff almost 5 years ago with a mission to reach young people who were incarcerated in Tacoma. I didn’t know what i was getting into, I just know God had called me to youth and to YFC. Little did I know that God was about to massively interrupt my idea of ministry – as I met many broken youth from Tacoma, my heart was radically touched and I was overwhelmed with the need for Christ to pour out mercy. The journey had begun – I was alone in my initial mission (except for the Lord) but by God’s grace and his love he began to do miraculous works in the lives of many of these youth and he began to draw volunteers and team mates across my path. God has continued to draw his people together and has birthed City Life, SOZO, Late Night, SOZO kids, Wilson, Jason Lee and Foss and many kids have been reached with the Gospel and love of Christ.

Recently, one of our early volunteers who later became a staff member, Chrisy Wachtler – was promoted to be the Juvenile Justice Ministry Director. I am so proud to have worked with such an amazing woman of God for the past four years and am so encouraged to see her receive her leadership mantle here. She is a gifted leader and the fruit from her life as evidenced in the lives of countless youth in Tacoma has been off the charts. I am so blessed to have been able to work with, lead and empower such a Godly leader.

So let this blog be about how excited I am to see Chrisy become the director and leader that I have always know she is – thank you for your support of this ministry and for the lives of youht and Leaders who have been affected through your support. God bless

?“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Eph 1:4-5).

A couple weeks ago I attended something that was surprisingly emotional… I got to take part in an official adoption process at Remann Hall Juvenile Court. One of our original youth from Sozo and Late Night, Michael Toycen, was adopted at 16 years of age.

After his mom died at age 8, Michael had been in-and-out of over 16 foster homes. In addition to the heart-wrenching pain of losing your mother, Michael had lived his entire life in pain from feeling unwanted and unloved.

 Today I had a deeper understanding of the scriptures that talk about God’s ultimate love for us: adoption. Before Christ, I was just like Michael—Fatherless and without hope. But God, in His infinite love and mercy, chose me to be His son. God the Father, the creator of the universe, chose me to be a member of His family and share in all His blessings.

 Michael no longer wonders if he’s loved; when he was adopted he became their son—a permanent member of the family. When Jesus died on the cross, we were given the invitation to be adopted as God’s son…and permanently join His family and share in His inheritance. And like Michael, we never have to wonder ever again if we’re loved. God demonstrated His love for us while we were still sinners and then He adopted us.

Doug Jonson, City Life

 Appendix A: Michael moved to Puyallup 1 ½ years ago and is now a junior at Rogers High School. He is very involved with JROTC, and is enlisting in the Coast Guard upon graduation. He is a lifeguard at the YMCA and saved his first life last week. His mentor from Sozo, Chris Roberts, has faithfully loved him and mentored him ever since Michael started attending Sozo Discipleship.

 Appendix B: Sarah Snodgrass and Karen Groves, part of the YFC Foster Care team, were at the Courthouse when I arrived to participate in the adoption between one of their families and their foster child. What an amazing ministry they have! They truly exemplify God’s heart on a daily basis (James 1:27).

“We need to talk tomorrow.” These were the last words I said to James. Things have been “heating up” in Tillicum as of late, and on Sunday night there was an incident involving some of the families that we work with. The story, as I understand it now, is that Julie (a former regular in our program) got into a fight with a group of girls. Seeking to deal with the situation, James’ mom went to find the group of girls and, when she did so, got more than she expected. As I sat in my living room Sunday night, I heard the undeniable pop of five rounds. Police soon filled the area and a 19-year-old girl was taken into custody. The whole incident took place just blocks from the newly completed Tillicum Youth & Family Center. 
 
The next day was Monday and things at the Center were quiet. We had fewer kids than normal and there was an obvious tension in the air. It is there that I learned the situation involved Julie and James’ mom. It was a rude awakening to the reality of living and working in Tillicum. It was not my night to work late, so I headed home at 5 to have dinner with my family. After dinner my parents came over to spend time with my girls, so I took the opportunity to take Leah out on a date. As I headed out the door, I realized that I left my jacket at the Center so we swung by to grab it. As I came in, James was there playing ping-pong. I asked him if the rumors that his mom (and his house) was the one that got shot at were true and he confirmed the details with the most casual of shrugs. With the car running and my wife waiting I told James, “We need to talk tomorrow,” and I headed out the door. 
 
I never got to have that tomorrow. That night James and his family packed up and left Tillicum. They moved away and I don’t know if we will ever see him again. Here is what I do know: James knows that God loves him and Jesus died for his sins. James had the opportunity to interact with great men and women of God and shown on a regular basis that a relationship with God is the true key to happiness. I am so heart weary to lose a kid like James. While I am sad and discouraged by his sudden move from this community, it only furthers to strengthen my conviction that we are on the right path to change the lives of these kids. I am reminded of the words that I’ve shared with hundreds of people. “We don’t know how long we have with these kids, it could be six days, six months, or six years. We just don’t know when their family might pack up and be gone overnight”. 
 
So thank you for your prayers, your support and your time in being a part of this ministry. I’ve changed the names of the students involved in this letter, so feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel would benefit from reading.
 
Sincerely,
Daniel Livingston
Tillicum Youth & Family Center

Millie, Air and Miranda Celebrating Millie's Graduation

            Millie began her personal relationship with Jesus while living at the house, and shared one night how she realized he had been with her through everything, and that she could trust Him. She had always struggled to trust and believe and never thought she would be able to trust others or God. However, God had been showing himself to her for many months and she could now see that He had her best in mind and she needed Him. Millie left the House of Dreams this past October as she moved down to Vancouver Washington with her family to take a break from Tacoma for a while.  She enrolled in her fourth high school with graduation in her sights.

            The road was still not easy for her as she had a tough fight this past winter. Not long after moving, one of her closest friends was murdered in Tacoma. Millie took it really hard and began to question her life and what it meant. She also had a run in with the law herself for shoplifting, and even began to consider ending her life.  But Millie again reached out for help with her new family in Tacoma (her YFC friends and mentors) and to God. As a result, she kept on persevering.

            She walked across the stage last night beaming from ear to ear – I and some of her friends from Tacoma were there to celebrate with her. As they announced her name, she was handed her diploma, hugging the authorities of her school. SHE GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL! Graduation is an amazing accomplishment for a young woman who has had to fight for everything in life, including surviving a traumatic birth into the world. She is also seeing how God is and has been fighting on her behalf along with others who God has brought into her life. She understands now that she is not alone. Millie also knows that not every fight will end in failure. She is seeing VICTORY one step at a time and she can now see her FUTURE. She has a goal of starting and finishing college. WE LOVE YOU MILLIE!!! We are so PROUD OF YOU! – Chrisy Wachtler, JJM

In the past couple of months at Sozo, our Tuesday night ministry, we have changed up the environment to make it more focused around the kids and the message of Jesus Christ. We have seen great changes in the morale of our kids.

Kenisha, an eleven year old has started making changes. She used to be a very hard and tough young lady who would not listen to the adults or even look us in the eye. I have totally seen Kenisha change. Lately she has been opening up to one of our leaders, and is having a lot less confrontation with the leaders and other youth. Recently a lot of the walls have really come down in Kenisha’s life, and she is hanging out with that leader this weekend. She is changing into the beautiful young woman that Jesus created her to be. Not only do the leaders see it, but the other youth see it as well. Sasha, another young girl, noticed the change in Kenisha and stated that she too wants to change. The hearts of these girls are open and they are excited to share in the love of Christ, and their open hearts are changing the hardened hearts of others. This truly is a miracle from the Lord.

Coming soon for SOZO is our third annual summer camp at Warm Beach, and we are excited to see the changes that take place in the hearts of our youth. So many of our current student leaders first came to know Christ at Warm Beach over the last two summers. We are so excited to see what Jesus has in store for this year’s summer camp!

-Nicole Gallego, Sozo Volunteer – City Life

This summer SOZO will be hosting its third annual summer camp at Warm Beach Camp from July 5-10. The camp is an awesome opportunity for high school students to grow and experience the love of Jesus Christ.

Many of the youth we’re bringing to camp are considered “high-risk” and have been in Remann Hall, the local Juvenile Detention Center. Many of these kids live on the Hilltop and Eastside areas of Tacoma and have been involved in gangs, prostitution, abuse and poverty. Many of the kids have never even been out of Tacoma.

Here’s a story about one of our youth who had his life changed last summer at Warm Beach:

In the past two years we have seen so many lives transformed. Last summer we brought a youth named “Domonique.” His family was transitionally homeless, and he was actively involved in a gang like his dad. He had been smoking weed and getting drunk five times/week for many years, and was already two years behind in high school. He had an amazing encounter with the Lord while at Warm Beach Camp. At camp, he gave his life to Jesus Christ, and saw hope for the first time in his life! Domonique became friends with some kids at camp who belonged to a rival gang. I remember the last night as he was crying he said, “I used to think these guys were my enemies, but now they’re my brothers. I’m trading my bandana for a Bible!”

Since camp, Domonique has regularly started attending Sozo and is being discipled by one of our leaders. He switched schools to get away from his friends in the gang, and has been free from weed, alcohol and fighting. I recently took Domonique on a 4-day roadtrip, and talked about his experience at camp the whole time. He kept saying that this was the most life-changing experience of his life, and that he’d still be gang-banging and smoking weed if it weren’t for that week at Warm Beach.

This summer we’re going back to camp, and many more kids like Domonique will give their lives to Christ, and have their lives completely transformed! About 95% of these youth cannot afford the $200 cost for camp. We’ll need to raise about $11,000 to send 55 kids to camp. Although the kids are all working hard to “earn” the money through volunteering, this has only been made possible through generous support of people like you.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Please help sponsor kids to camp by sending a donation to Tacoma YFC. Just click on the following link:

https://dlq4.donatelinq.net/qv10/(S(ioxstj45q1llf2jwezxopb55))/Donation.aspx?MerchantID=Tacoma

Choose category: “Summer Camp” and then choose “Sozo Camp at Warm Beach”

Or

Please make checks out to    “Tacoma YFC”

On the memo, please write:  “HS Warm Beach Camp”

Please send the checks to:     ATTN: Doug Jonson           

Tacoma YFC

                                                PO Box 834

                                                Tacoma, WA 98401

All donations go 100% toward sending kids to camp and are tax-deductible. Thank you for your support and for making a difference! Investing in the lives of our youth is one of the best investments you can make.

Sincerely,

Doug Jonson, Sozo Coordinator

City Life