Dear family and friends,

My name is Octavio Morales. I’m 21 years old and I’ve been involved with Neighborhood Ministries for the past 4 years. Throughout the years life has been really rough on me starting from family problems that eventually lead to gangs and violence.

I would like to tell you guys a little bit about myself, and how I’ve struggled through life. Well, to be honest, my life has been real sad having to be without a father for 17 years. Even as a child I struggled through being the older brother and having to take care of 3 little brothers and one little sister so my mother could work and bring food to the table. I got into gangs when I was 14 years old and just did a lot of bad things. To me life was a joke. I wanted to die basically `cause I never got mother love or father love and I felt like my family hated me.

The reason why I started coming to church was because the most important and only person in my life passed away 4 years ago, my brother. That really hit me because my brother and I were always together and had the same friends. When he passed away, I saw my own life flash before my eyes. Another reason why I started coming to church was because I had heard that there were a lot of hot high school girls and I didn’t care about nothing but girls and being cool. Later on I realized that the real reason why I was so drawn to church was because I had so much pain inside and I didn’t know what to do with it. I found a mentor, Chris Brewster, and he showed me what coming to church was all about.
Chris showed me many ways of life. He expressed his way as if God was everything and as if God would help no matter what I did or what I was going through. But to me it was all fake after having witnessed the recent death of my brother who I’d cared about so much. It just brought me down thinking of how he passed away fourteen days before I turned eighteen years old. All this put me even further from God. I took it as if He was punishing me for all the bad things in my life. I took it as a punishment as if God was saying “You did this and promised this and didn’t keep a promise so I’m taking the most important thing in you life.” I felt as if God had turned His back on me and was punishing me for all the bad things I had done. It was hard thinking that first my family was blaming me for my brother’s death and also thinking God had turned His back on me. I was so lonely and scared that I turned back to the old ways and didn’t want be in this world hearing my parents say to me “It’s your fault he died. I wish you were dead instead of him.” This made me wonder what would have happened if instead of my brother dying, I had died instead….would they have cared that I had died?
Chris Brewster began showing me how to be brave. I began to see how I could be a whole new person by following Christ. At first I was like “What? God betrayed me so why do I want Him in my life?” He had taken the most important thing and now I suffer for what He did. I had no one but my friends that showed how to be down and how to be a down gangster and get locked up…that’s all I thought I needed. I thought to myself that Chris was tripin’. That was my reaction- that’s what I said at first.
Then one day, as I was in church, it hit when we were worshiping. I heard an amazing song that changed me completely. The song was called “I have a Father.” When I heard that song tears dripped from my eyes and I had this weird feeling I had never felt before telling me “It’s ok to cry out to Me…Its ok to take your anger out on Me. I know you’re suffering…I’m here for you. I’ll never leave you no matter what happens.”

I Have a Father

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in His hands

Chorus:
He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He’ll never leave me
No matter where I go

That’s what changed me. Ever since that happened I’ve been a whole new person. I’ve joined Monday nights’ Kids Life and have been with my guys since they were in 1st grade and now they’re 4th graders. I also help out on Tuesday nights with my Jr. High boys and on Wednesdays with my high school boys. It makes me so happy to be with them. I have also been helping as a Neighborhood Ministries summer intern for the past 2 years and have been a great addition to the team.
That’s why I write this letter to you. I ask that you pray for me to get sponsored and that I am able raise the amount of $2000 dollars for my internship. Please consider your own involvement in being part of the support team. I hope you understand that I’m doing this to be with my kids and to show them the way to Christ.

Sincerely,
Octavio Morales

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Kids Club 2006 was without a doubt one of the greatest experiences of my life;
It is there where I began a journey that has forever changed my heart.

By being born and raised in Downtown Phoenix (and one of the very first kids to attend Kids Club, which seems almost a lifetime ago) you would think that continuing a walk with Christ would have come second nature to me. But, that couldn’t be more far from the truth. My story is almost identical to many others who are from the Inner City. Whether it be told as a child of today or one from a decade ago, we seem to tragically misinterpret our adversity in this community as some kind of birthright. Having no direction or value for my life or the lives of others lead me to commit a terrible crime. This put me in prison for nearly a decade, which in one way or another became a reason why I lost contact with Neighborhood Ministries. But the connection I had with God had always been there.
Once I was released from prison, I eventually found myself living in dangerous territory. This territory could also be referred to as a repetitive cycle. I knew that if I didn’t start making changes that it would eventually cost me my life. I really had to look deep within myself, so I began praying and asking the Lord to please help me find some kind of purpose in life. I needed God to help me find a reason why I was still alive, because I couldn’t answer that question on my own. Summer finally arrived, and I knew I wanted to do something productive this year.

I came back to Neighborhood Ministries to visit and help out with the children, with no expectations of anything else. Spending time with these children really brought out the best in me, it allowed a part of me to shine, that I thought no longer existed.
It also gave me an opportunity to spend a lot of time with Victor Lopez, (an old friend of mine from the neighborhood.) He shared with me the wonderful experience of God’s love and helped me realize that if I wanted to find true happiness and purpose for myself, that God was the only way. The last day of Kids Club, I decided that I wanted to surrender my entire being to God. The following day, I was baptized. And I’m happy to say that I’ve been walking with the Lord since. I have become more involved at Neighborhood Ministries as I have seen and experienced for myself the good that they do in bringing Jesus Christ to the Inner City. I am now a full time volunteer and have been given the opportunity to be a summer intern. God has truly been preparing me for this journey in ways that I did not know. He has been developing my heart as He is teaching me things about His unconditional love. I am so enthused about being a summer intern this summer. I truly believe that it will be a tremendous personal fulfillment and an opportunity to participate in giving something of true value to my community. I am now dedicated to helping these children know of God’s love and knowing how precious their lives are; that they are worth more than they could ever imagine to our living God. Neighborhood Ministries has been involved in most of my entire life, but only up until recently have I come to understand what God’s unconditional love is truly about.

I ask that you please pray that the Lord will use me in mighty ways in this ministry and in my community and allow these experiences to continue to change my life. This summer, as wonderful as it’s going to be, will also be very challenging. I need people who will pray with me, for me, and for the kids who I will be working with. I also need a financial support team. I am raising $2000 for my summer support. I am asking you if you would prayerfully consider being on my team. If you could let me know by filling out the enclosed card and checking how you would be involved; both with prayer and with a financial gift. I would very much appreciate it. Thank you and God Bless!

Love,
Marcos Marquez

Dear Family and Friends,

My name is Luis Lemus, I’m 22 years of age. I currently volunteer at Neighborhood Ministries, a non - profit faith-based inner-city ministry that believes in the power of relationships. The relationships are built through a variety of programs such as a food and clothing bank, weekly after school programs (k-12), summer programs like day camps and summer camps, plus tutoring/mentoring programs, and the Neighborhood Health Clinic. The center is located at 19th Avenue W. Van Buren St. in the middle of our inner city community in downtown Phoenix.

As a kid I attended Neighborhood Ministries. It was the only safe and healthy place I knew growing up and it was there I first learned about God and His Son, Jesus. I always liked going there and I was involved in various programs that Neighborhood Ministries provided for the inner city kids in our neighborhood and it was there then I became a Christian and experienced God changing me deep, and on the inside. Now that I have grown older I realize I want to give back to the community and this ministry, so this summer, 2007, I will be part of the summer internship with Neighborhood Ministries. I became a 6th and 8th grade youth leader and that was one of most exciting things God has ever provided for me. Being a leader has helped me understand kids more and knowing where many of them come from helps me reach kids at a level perhaps other people can’t reach. When I work with the kids I like to find the guys who are like me and do the same things I did. I understand them and know why they are the way they are. Not only has my relationship with these children grown since I’ve been involved with the ministry, but also with everyone on staff. I’ve learned how to interact with people I don’t even know and who are different from me. I have even found I can be friends with guys from rival gangs. People who would have wanted to fight me or even kill me, or me them, are now my friends, because of Jesus.
 
Last summer God gave me the opportunity to meet four young men who come from backgrounds just like mine. God has built a strong relationship between all of us last summer. It was a blessing from God to make this happen. We have great conversations and we share our lives stories, they are really exciting.

I would love for you to be a part of my journey, mainly through your prayers and financial support. I have two questions for you. Would you keep me in your prayers throughout this summer? Would you also pray about helping fund this important mission? I have just begun to raise support with a goal of $2,000.

If you have any questions please call me at Neighborhood Ministries (602) 252-5225.or feel free to email me at luis.lemus@nmaz.net

In Him,
Luis Lemus