Kayleanna Escalante

This story begins with Kayleanna’s (KK) own words:

“My name is Kayleanna Escalante and I have been very familiar with Remann Hall (Pierce County Juvenile Court) and being locked up. I have a lot of experience with the police and none of it was good. I had been arrested three times for stealing, before I was eleven years old. When I turned twelve I actually got locked up for the first time for assault 4 and Malicious Mischief. My criminal history folder is thick; thicker than any of my friends. When I would get locked up, I didn’t care – it had just become a thing to do for me. By the time I was sixteen, I had been locked up more than thirty times in Remann Hall. Finally when I was sixteen, I got sent up to Naselle Youth Camp to serve an eight month sentence for Assault, Theft and Fraud. At the time, I had been using drugs, involved and affiliated with gangs, regular thefts and assaulting others including police officers. I didn’t listen to anyone, including friends and especially adults. I only did whatever I wanted to and no one could tell me different.”

The rest of the story is that KK has become a student leader. She is now part of our youth leadership team who meets weekly to grow in Christ, pray and plan to help others. She has completely left behind a life of crime and in and out of Juvenile facilities. She has one test to finish her GED and she recently completed her first assignment as a leader at camp.

One area that epitomizes the change in KK’s life is when she became a cabin leader for camp this year. She personally owned recruiting and filling her cabin with teen girls she had met while living in Tillicum. She helped them raise their camp deposits and then followed up with them all the way to the bus the morning we left. We are so proud to see her, through all the ups and downs and struggles from the hood, truly leading the next generation to Christ. During her week at camp, she did an amazing job of keeping her cabin motivated and on track to meeting and experiencing the love of Christ. The week culminated with KK, some of the youth and another leader getting baptized in the pool as all the youth watched them as they proclaimed to be with Jesus. Every one of the girls that KK brought to camp made decisions to follow Christ. She has continued to follow up with those girls and help them in their walk since camp has ended. Those of us on the City Life and JJM teams are so excited to see KK growing and overcoming. She is truly an example of the transformation that is possible only through Jesus Christ.