Earlier this year, a boy named Gabriel walked through our doors full of life, intelligence, love, and joy. As time went on, I learned many things about him. One of those things was that he was not very interested in hearing about Jesus. Still, he kept coming, and that alone spoke volumes. In early December, I had the privilege of celebrating eight years of sobriety. During that time, I shared my testimony and then invited questions or comments. A few were shared, some meaningful and some playful, but one rose above the rest. It came from Gabriel. He said, “When my mom and I were moving here and I first started coming, I didn’t care to hear anything about Jesus. Now I’m excited to hear about Him every Wednesday during devotion.” Smiling wide, he added, “I love coming here.”

 

What a gift it is to serve these young people alongside you. Because of the faithfulness many of you show behind the scenes, I get to witness moments like this firsthand. Thank you.