Hello Everyone:

God has been so good to us here at Farm Drive!! We finished the school year strong, and blended right into summer. The kids have been awesome and are so much fun. Thank you so much for your continued support of the ministry. When we see kids making progress it reminds me how much God cares for each of them.

We recently kicked off our CRAM Program. This is our mentoring program, where we assign a mentor to each of our students. We started “small” with just our active high schoolers. There are nine of them!!! Praise God that each of them has a mentor!! The mentors have had a chance to get to know the kids, and we look forward to seeing how things develop. But guess what? Soon after we kicked off the program, our 8th graders became 9th graders. We now have four more students who are going to need mentors. Want to know more? Contact Becky Kompelien, our CRAM Director, or Patty or me. We would love to have you on board.

Last week, I was at the Kiwanis International Convention and the keynote speaker was Colin Powell. He has started an organization called America’s Promise, targeting at-risk youth. America’s Promise has a component called Grad Nation------and it’s much like our CRAM Program. Talk about reaffirming!!! Please pray for Lupe, Michelle, Anahi, Cristina, Dariela, Sergio, Jose, Hector and Ruben.

Our summer program is in full swing. We are spending a lot of time with the kids. We have been swimming several times, camping for a weekend, hiking at the Pinnacles, and most recently (today) to the Jelly Belly Factory. We are getting a lot of quality time with these kids---and it shows. One of our middle school girls told Patty today that her brother is a lot nicer since he has been involved at the Center. We always knew him as a gentleman, but I guess I was always nicer in public, too!!! His mom remarked that he has added the word “please” to his vocabulary!!! Pray for us, that we continue to model positive, Christ-like traits with the kids.

Dick Shore has been fixing the kids’ bikes for many months. I don’t think he will ever work himself out of a job. Some of the kids are even beginning to donate the bikes they have outgrown, so that another kid in the neighborhood can use them. They are learning to share!!!

A few things that we have coming up:

National Night Out is Tuesday, August 3rd. It will be in the evening, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. This is a nationwide crime prevention program, aimed at getting people out of their homes and spending time with their neighbors. This year, one of our neighborhood moms is taking the responsibility for organizing the food. Empowering the neighborhood!!! Please feel free to stop by and see what your Farm Drive ministry is doing.

This fall, Iglesia, our Spanish-speaking congregation, will begin a Parenting/Wellness class for the parents in the neighborhood. The classes will be taught by Arturo and Anna, using the Farm Drive Center as the venue. We look forward to seeing great things coming from these classes.

On July 7th, I will be leaving for a short-term missions trip to Kosovo. This is my 11th trip over there. It appears that, among other things, we will be teaching English at the International Center for Public Safety Training. These classes have given the missionaries an entry into a previously-untapped group. Pray for Richard Anselm and me as we go. Some people have asked if there is going to be a duck race this year. My answer to that is “OF COURSE!!!” So, look for news from the Resnick’s Third Annual Duck Race!!

God Bless you for your continued support. We are running somewhat behind budget, but God has been good to us----through you. We appreciate your financial support, but most of all, your prayer support for the kids and the ministry here. When you talk to God, please mention Farm Drive and the kids to Him. They are very special to us, but so much more to Him. Please pray that we continue to show God’s love to them in the things we do and say.

Gary