August 2006 Newsletter
Back-to-School Block Party
What an event the “Back-to-School Block Party” turned out to be. The week began with a possible Tropical Storm and after dodging that bullet we ended with a 60% chance of rain in the forecast. Well, when the Love Out Loud volunteers from Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale arrived, we congregated in the Palma Nova Community Center to plot the last few strategies and then start our work. At this time the rain was coming down in buckets. We all then broke up in groups and prayed for the weather and that the event would be a blessing to the community and to the Kingdom of God.
When the prayer time ended, so did the rain and for the rest of the afternoon all we had was sunny skies. The people turned out in droves as between 300 and 400 people were in attendance. Everyone was blessed as we were able to give away large bags of groceries for 75 needy families and our 260 backpacks full of needed school supplies flew into the hands of grateful parents and smiling children. This along with the great drama and music brought by Calvary Chapel set the stage for the best part of all, the presentation of the Gospel.
I was honored to share the message, along with the translation help of my wife Janeth, of how Jesus cares for all of us regardless of race, color, or economic position. These simple words were filled with power as the Holy Spirit ministered in the hearts of needy people. The response to the invitation to receive Christ was so great that the Calvary ministry team who brought two cases of Bibles almost exhausted their supply. It is truly a blessing and a privilege to be used by the Lord to bring healing to hurting souls.
More Firewall Activities…
The summer was full of activities for Firewall Ministries. We had a weekly Thursday night event that included fun, games, and prizes for the youth along with some solid spiritual and moral lessons. We rewarded the 26 regular participants with a couple of nights of bowling where fun was had by all.
The summer also included a Kid Crusade with the Teen Challenge Ladies from Davie and the Ablaze Drama Troupe from Faith Family Worship Center in Plant City, Florida. Over 120 kids and parents showed up for a night of drama, music, and pizza. The Lord touched many lives with a message centered on “Choices”.
What’s next for Firewall?
As we begin this academic year, we reflect on how much more we can do to impact more families with our program and the love of Christ.
Exciting things are happening for us. We will soon have a larger facility that will give us room to expand classroom space, a computer lab, and a recreational activity center for the youth.
We continue to work closely with the schools these kids attend and they see us as an organization making an invaluable contribution to their efforts to educate area youth.
July 2006 Newsletter
School Year Wrap-Up
Well, the school year is over and the tutoring wrapped up on a high note. We started out with 12 and finished the year above our capacity with 18 students. We had almost fifty teens participate throughout the year and they received help on a variety of projects and tests. The academic and behavioral improvements were substantial in many of the students.
It was definitely challenging to juggle the tutoring along with hurricane interruptions, but it is so rewarding to see the impact we make daily in the lives of young people. It is an awesome responsibility and privilege to touch so many young lives and it is hard to express the satisfaction we feel when just one comes in with a positive report or an improvement in their grades. The thing that is really humbling is when we think back and see that all our kids passed and where they would be if we were not there to tutor and mentor them.
Although not all of the youth substantially improve academically, we know that without our presence in their lives, not only would they possibly be failing in school, but they would be following their peers into all kinds of self destructive activities (like drugs, sex, alcohol). We have become a community hangout and a safe haven for many of these kids.
Success Story: Pricilla Le Bellot
Pricilla began the year struggling in math but with a little help and a lot of hard work she ended the year with a 3.5 GPA. Her FCAT scores improved as well. She began to participate in our program late last school year and continued throughout this year.
This year she was nominated for an academic scholarship which gives her four-years of free tuition at a state university if she can manage to maintain a 3.0 or above throughout her middle and high school years.
Her mom, Mariel is a single mom of four who is proud that her daughter is succeeding. She is happy that Firewall Ministries is a part of her community and there to help her child. We are proud to be a small part of her success.
Service to Immigrants
One of the most important things our ministry is able to do is work with the kids of many new immigrants who have not only economic difficulties but also struggle with language barriers. Helping their children with homework and projects is nearly impossible for these parents.
Many parents also have to work two jobs just to make ends meet, leaving little time to devote to their children’s academics.
We stand in that gap and provide these kids with an opportunity to succeed they never would have had otherwise.
What’s next for Firewall?
As we close this academic year, we reflect on how much more we can do to impact more teens with our program and the love of Christ.
Exciting things are happening for us. We will have a larger facility that will give us room to expand classroom space, a computer lab, and a recreational activity center for the kids.
We continue to work closely with the schools these kids attend and they see us as an organization making an invaluable contribution to their efforts to educate area youth.
January 2006 Newsletter
Abundant Harvest
November of last year witnessed an abundant harvest followed by a December of plenty.
Palma Nova was the site of our outdoor evangelistic rally, a praise event held November 6th that followed on the heels of Hurricane Wilma. The message themes to the residents were simple, highlighting how God can make a difference in their daily lives, praise for the emergency assistance the Lord helped us provide and the gratitude for the caring ministries in the aftermath of the catastrophic storm. Over 125 residents turned out to hear the word preached and with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, 17 came forward to commit their lives to Christ. What a blessing! The harvest was coming in.
Two weeks later on the 20th, Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale teamed up with our ministry for a huge community Block Party that included food and fun for the entire family. Aside from the festivities that included music, drama, and a gospel presentation, we were able to provide oversized bags of groceries for over 100 families. More residents responded to the invitation to commit their lives to Christ at this event with over a dozen people coming forward. The Lord truly is allowing us to make a difference in the lives of these people. How? By gifting our ministry with the ability to individually pray and follow-up with the residents as an integral part of their neighborhood. Once again, the harvest is coming in.
November blessings for families and children of Palma Nova were merely a prelude to those in December. God provided plentifully by sending a large contingent of volunteers from Calvary Sawgrass, including Pastor Gary with an abundance of Christmas gifts for 20 families and over 60 children. One four-year-old boy by the name of Kevin said it all as he came up to Janeth in disbelief and asked “Is this all for me?” What a great experience!
Volunteers from Christ the Rock came to make our first annual Christmas festival a reality. There were basketball tournaments, fun for the kids, food for everyone, and a lot of individual outreach ministries. Toys for Tots came as well and provided toys for almost 200 children. About 400 people showed up and everyone was blessed.
One noteworthy story underscores the impact the Lord is allowing our ministry and partners to make on His behalf. We received a call from a single mother with 4 kids and a 79-year-old disabled aunt that had just been relocated into a FEMA trailer in Palma Nova. They lost everything in the storm and asked if we could help provide anything for them for Christmas. We gave them all gifts including a scooter for the boy and the two girls each received new bikes that they immediately put to use. We were even able to bless mom by helping her with the utility deposit. God gets all the glory for laying on the hearts of the Stacy Foundation, the South Florida Christian Community Foundation, several local doctors and individuals to provide bicycles and over $50.00 worth of gifts and gift cards to another 40 needy children. He used so many different people to help us provide for so many basic needs this month.
Christmas is now over and a New Year is upon us. We want to thank all our supporters this past year. You are all a blessing to us. Special thanks to Austin Forman and the Palma Nova management and maintenance team who do so much to make our work possible. As we reflect upon on all that God enabled us to accomplish this year, we can be assured that there are greater things to be done in 2006. Keep us in your prayers and please consider making a monthly pledge of support to our ministry. God bless you all.
November 2005 Newsletter
G o d P r o v i d e s!
Wow! What an experience the last two weeks have been! I was preparing this newsletter to send it out before the end of the month when Hurricane Wilma blew through South Florida and wreaked havoc in Palma Nova. This changed my priorities and emergency relief became the focus. There was no power in the mobile home park for 12 days, dozens of the homes were deemed uninhabitable and condemned by the Town of Davie, and over 150 more sustained roof damage that required a tarp to be placed over them. As I drove through the park on the Tuesday morning after the storm my only thoughts were on how I could help provide emergency assistance for this devastated community. I started calling different churches and organizations to come and help in the relief effort and the Lord did the rest. Convoy of Hope came on Friday together with Samaritan’s Purse to passout supplies of water, ice, and food to almost 400 families. Then throughout the next ten days with the help of several local churches we were able to coordinate additional shipments of emergency supplies. We were also able through Samaritan’s Purse, Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale, and the men of Tarpon Springs Highest Praise Family Church to provide and place tarps over 70 homes. These servants of the Lord also cleared trash, cut down trees, and did whatever they could to meet immediate needs. The people were blessed by their efforts and the providers were doubly blessed bycarrying out Jesus mandate to help those in need and to spread the Gospel through their words as well as their deeds. Many thanked us, but God got all the glory for miraculously providing us with the resources to make a difference.
One instance that will always remain with me was the story of the (—-family). We walked into their small, older mobile home and it was falling apart. The floor in the kitchen had a hole where mom had already fallen through because of the rotting and humid floorboards. The ceiling in the living room had caved in from water damage and the only thing left was the supporting frame with the center one already cracked to the point that it could collapse at any time. They had patched the floor with some rough deck wood from outside and the one-year-old would be walking through the area with the possibility of either falling through the floor or receiving a splinter in her foot. This sad situation put the men from Tarpon Spring into action. In one day they replaced her kitchen floor, fixed the walls, and provided the family with a new ceiling. The gratitude from the family and their relatives who also live in the area was more than I can express in words. They called us Angels and we all prayed together as the husband shed tears because he knew that there was no way he would ever have been able to do this work on his own. So we are all tired right now, but the help we were able to provide is a testament to what can be accomplished when the people of God pool their resources to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than themselves. Our efforts were so large and efficient that FEMA and some in the Town of Davie Emergency Response Center asked if we would be able to aid some other neighboring communities that did not have such a well-coordinated effort.
God bless all of you that support us as our presence and relationships in the community made a tremendous impact this month.
Angelo’s Story
I have been in the Firewall program since the 6th grade and I just finished the 11th grade at Western High School. I have good grades and have even received a scholarship to go to college. I have a good attitude towards the leaders at Firewall. I also maintain all A’s, B’s, and C’s, do my chores around the center, and follow directions.
Firewall has helped me to not give into peer pressure and be a part of the bad things that everyone else does, like drugs. It has also helped me love and respect others including my family more than ever before. Firewall has pushed me to think about my future and to do my best in everything so that I will succeed in life and go to college.
Barney’s Story
“Since I joined the Firewall program two years ago, my vision in life has changed. The program has made a difference in my grades and behavior. Also, I have been able to develop a strong relationship with God. This relationship enables me to make good decisions. Without Firewall, I would probably have been hanging out with people that would influence me in a negative way.
Instead, I chose to be a part of the Firewall program because Mr. Andy and Mrs. Janeth are two of the most dedicated people I know. That tells me that I’m in good hands.
Firewall is a second family to me. This is where my friends are! This is where I come because this is where people are that are like me, trying to make better choices every day. I am looking forward to graduating this year, going to college, and becoming a firefighter. That way, I can make an impact in my community by giving back and being a mentor to others like Mr. Andy and Mrs. Janeth have been to me.”
Edriana’s Story
“I have been a part of Firewall for three years. At the beginning of this year, I struggled with my academics. I had just switched to a different high school and had a hard time getting used to it. But I realized that this was no excuse. I finally decided to quit being lazy, work hard, and be determined to get my work done even if I didn’t want to. My attitude and actions toward life improved and I will make the honor roll this quarter.
Firewall has also improved my relationship with God because it allows me to realize that it isn’t always about me, but it’s about my surroundings and having empathy for others. I have learned to be more patient and to listen. I have become a person of integrity because I’m beginning to respect others more and be more organized without anyone telling me to. Firewall staff members always encourage me to do my best and not to slack off and daydream. They tell me to dedicate all my efforts into what I do.”