I recently received this note from a past “youth” involved at Youth for Christ. We recently had our annual banquet with more than 400 people in attendance, for which we are very grateful; this is one more Youth for Christ story we want to share with your readers.

“I would like to share with you what a difference YFC made in my life and to encourage everyone to attend and give their support to this valuable community asset.

“The staff at Youth For Christ taught me how to face teen issues and how to deal with them according to the Lord’s guidance in the Bible. I also learned from them and from fellow teens at YFC what ‘normal’ really was — how normal people interact with each other, and what I could really expect out of life, not the garbage that I was used to. Until then, I had been surrounded by a community that taught me that mistreatment, bitterness and self-loathing were the norm, and that I could never hope for a better life than what I had. I was poor, I’d always be poor, and I should never aspire to lift myself out of my situation because it was hopeless, and even if I had a chance to get out, I was not worthy of better so I should not try. Each time I made a ‘rich’ friend (someone whose family could make ends meet) in school, I’d be ridiculed for getting uppity and for kissing up to the rich, and for trying to be like people that I could never be like.

“But I soon realized when I became a member of YFC and was surrounded by people who did not have that mentality, that that was not how the rest of the world saw things. The normal world saw nothing wrong with trying to be and do the best that a person can, and my mentors encouraged it, both spiritually and functionally. This gave me the support I needed to overcome the immense pressure of the low-income community to keep myself down and to follow its destructive habits and hurtful behaviors.

“I thank the Lord that YFC was there for me in my years growing up in Albert Lea. It made an incredible difference in my life and in my faith. I am thrilled that the ministry has expanded to kids of all ages, enabling YFC to reach kids at a younger age. I am also very happy to see that the ministry now couples its evangelistic mission with a humanitarian one, further showing the love of Christ to young people by providing those from the low-income community with food to sustain them through those times when the food at home has run out. May God continue to bless YFC Albert Lea and to increase its affect on the people of southern Minnesota, making it possible for kids who would otherwise be lost to find the Lord and to bring God into their worlds.”

Robin Gudal

The Rock

Youth For Christ

Albert Lea