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A lot has happened in the last few months. At the beginning of March, several of our youth were arrested for a series of home-invasions/assaults in North York. Half of the teens I know through their direct involvement with Revolution(s), the others, from their acquaintance with our youth. When I first heard about the arrests I was stunned. I never would have imagined these youth ending up in a mess like this. My colleague Jesse and I spent a lot of time in court trying to support the youth and their families. It was particularly hard for me to hear some of the details. During the bail hearings, the crown went into the specifics of the alleged crimes. There were several times that I broke down weeping. How could these youth wind up down such a dark path? How could they be a part of such brutality towards other human beings? I felt helpless and lost. In contrast to this sombering part of ministry, our Earn-a-Bike cohort has been up and running since late February. We have an all time record of four girls enrolled in this cohort of ten. We’ve also had the opportu- nity to connect all of the youth to some part of Spring Garden’s discipleship ministries! One particular highlight was when one of our young ladies accepted an impromptu invitation to join the Spring Garden youth retreat about 15 minutes before the group was set to leave! This was an awesome opportunity for her to hear and experience God’s work in the lives of others. The youth counsellors shared personal testimonies of how Jesus redeemed them from broken families, financial hardship and addiction. God seeks us and meets us no matter where we’re at. In good times and in bad, I need to trust that God is working. No matter how much I want these kids to know Christ, I have to remember that God is pursuing them through ways I can only imagine. Just recently, one of the families of the youth in trouble asked how I became a Chrisitan. They really wanted to under- stand and know why we would go out of our way to help their family in their time of trouble. It was an amazing opportunity to share my testimony! We have the privilege of being a part of God’s work in their lives. Often that means supporting them in the shadowy times of life. Other times, it’s rejoicing with them in times of gladness. Thank you for partnering with me in walking alongside this diverse group of teens. Please keep praying for the youth of North York, that they may experience the love of God no matter how bright or dim their present life circumstances may be. Please pray for the finances of Revolution(s) and my personal support partnerships; that long term financial partnerships would be established. Thank you again. Blessings, Clem Clem’s Spring 2015 Some of our 2015 Earn-a-Bike cohort learning to fix bikes.
