tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16071147910818733602024-02-06T21:44:27.358-08:00Farm Drive Neighborhood CenterPete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.comBlogger208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-30987573786787828182012-09-17T12:55:00.001-07:002012-09-17T12:55:35.059-07:00Miss you Bill!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I met Bill a couple of years ago. I normally pick up day old
bread from the bakery nearby twice a week and I felt God “nudge” me to stop by
and talk to Bill. My response was no, I am in a hurry, and I would have to go
out of my way to park my truck so I could walk over and talk to him. Finally I
gave in and carried a couple of loaves of bread over to him and started a
conversation with Bill. It was a start of a very interesting but worthwhile
adventure of getting to know Bill. I would normally stop by twice a week as I
picked up bread. I had no agenda but to be in the moment
and see where Bill was or what his needs were. Sometimes it was just listening,
sometimes it was challenging his thoughts, sometimes it was buying him socks,
boots, rain gear, etc. (By the way, I did not have any success at challenging
his thoughts!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I always wondered why I was stopping by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it for him? Was it for me? I never really
knew and I probably won’t ever know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
now believe that all of our relationships, our chance meetings with people, and
our encounters no matter how small, have significant value. Meeting Bill
challenged me to think differently about the homeless and the less fortunate. I
now volunteer weekly at a homeless church that feeds people both spiritually
and physically. The pastor’s goal is to show all people that God loves them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill and I had many spiritual discussions. Some of were
right on. Some were a little different. But one thing for certain was that Bill
was as passionate about Jesus and letting everyone know that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was disappointed when I found out he had a
restraining order from standing on his corner!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How silly that was. That is when things changed for Bill. He no longer
has his “place”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was harder for me to
locate where he was. One day I found him down the street from the corner and as
I was talking to him, the police showed up. I guess he had just gotten into an
argument with a guy who said he pushed him. Bill was getting upset and I tried
to get him to calm down and go with the police. He did. I hope that I had some
impact on him that day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had not seen Bill for a long time when I finally saw him a
week before he passed away. It was a quick encounter but he said that the Lord
was challenging him to show Mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Almost in tears he said it was very hard for him to do that. I told him
to keep listening to Him and keep trying!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I now know that the Lord is showing Mercy and Grace on Bill. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The owner of the Bakery is a good friend of mine and he
called to tell me the news of Bill’s passing. All of his employees were very
sad when they heard of this. Bill had a big impact on all of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was always stopping by over the years for
bread and for cardboard to make his signs. He made lots of friends there. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You always wonder if people like Bill had many friends.
Going by the makeshift memorial on his “corner” initially stunned me with the
outpouring of thoughts and love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I
guess I should not have been surprised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bill has touched so many people over the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It kind of gives you hope for mankind!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I miss Bill. I miss his smile. I miss his kind words. I miss
his signs of hope. I know many that pass by his memorial will miss him
also.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I know for sure he is in a
much better place than he ever was here on Earth!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwT05rG9y9KodHJbTUaR5wjwwPi1rvL1HyvCVswZB4WmIwvRC3vT5Pj38dLTH1yl5GIKpOK7eyOzuihEWjgKOZo43sexazXgFznsODG1_8uwd1dTZAlOVMz2C4Oka2EH9wyr_kr8uJ9kP4/s1600/215167_10150205271017537_3006068_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwT05rG9y9KodHJbTUaR5wjwwPi1rvL1HyvCVswZB4WmIwvRC3vT5Pj38dLTH1yl5GIKpOK7eyOzuihEWjgKOZo43sexazXgFznsODG1_8uwd1dTZAlOVMz2C4Oka2EH9wyr_kr8uJ9kP4/s320/215167_10150205271017537_3006068_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pete</div>
Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-83925480122270469162012-07-12T08:22:00.002-07:002012-07-12T08:24:28.766-07:00Directors Update July 2012<div style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">Hey Everyone:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; tab-stops: 301.5pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">I just wanted to give you a glimpse into what has been happening at Farm Drive at Farm Drive lately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There are so many good things that it is hard to know where to start.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; tab-stops: 301.5pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">Igelsia Libre started a Parents Discovery Group a little over a month ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They have a core group of about 6-8 parents from the neighborhood who are committed to coming and sharing with others in a small group setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There have been some great discussions coming out of the group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Very cool..…</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">Earlier this week, we showed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Sandlot</i> on the back driveway area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We had at least 60 kids here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They ranged in age from Preschool to high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A fun night!!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">On Monday, Diana and Megan Fairchild started a “Creative Writing” class for the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We had 12 kids sign up, and it is neat to see how their writing is changing after only a few one classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Take a look at the picture below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">We have about 50 kids who attend Bible Club on a regular basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They are hearing the Word of God taught each week, and it is cool to see the younger kids faithful in memorizing Bible verses!!!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">We continue to see God working in the ministry here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Javier Navarro, Jose Ortiz and Robert Aguilera were invited to a sports camp put on by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at UCLA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is billed as a sports camp, but they have worship services and other Bible study activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The main speaker was some “old guy” named Tom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They said he was probably in his 50’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They won’t be going back next year if FCA fills their young, impressionable minds with this kind of thing!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is cool to hear them come back singing praise songs!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Even though they are teenagers, I guess they do listen…..</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">Right now, we have three high schoolers signed up to go to Hume Lake with the Hillside Youth Group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is awesome to see them want to participate, and they would not be able to do it without your support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Pray for them----that God will make himself known to them, and that they may find a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and that they come back with a new-found joy in Christ.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">Our kids enjoyed VBS this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We had 15 young ones attending and 8 older kids serving as leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Sweet!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Oh, one of the neighborhood moms came and led a group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>She has already volunteered for next year!!!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">We had eight students in our CRAM program make grades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They are required to maintain a 2.0 GPA, do community service and attend school on a regular basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As time goes along, we are finding that the kids are more committed to keeping their grades up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Anahi Valadez graduated from Pioneer, and we were able to award a laptop to her as our THIRD high school graduate!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">One of our “fringe kids”, Omar Verduzco was the recipient of a $1000 Turn-Around Scholarship from the Kiwanis Club of West Metro San Jose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This scholarship program is for kids who have a rough start in high school and finish by bringing up their grades and graduating!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Omar was a participant in our Homework Club and our Sailing Program about several years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How time flies!!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">We had 15 kids get awards for perfect attendance at Homework Club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They were treated to an “outstanding” meal at Hometown Buffet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Those kids can eat!!! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We had seven kids in Homework Club get all A’s, B’s and C’s------and two of our girls, Anasuzy Lopez and Ivon Aguilera got STRAIGHT A’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Not bad!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>All kids with A’s, B’s and C’s were treated to a special meal at the Spaghetti Factory.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">Ruben Torres is home from the Grizzly Academy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are working with him to explore the next steps in his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You may see him around Hillside some mornings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He is volunteering, helping Matt Olson retrofit the ballasts in our fluorescent lights to make them more energy-efficient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Rumor is that he is becoming quite adept at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Pray for him as he attempts to make life adjustments upon his return.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">We had an AWESOME Open House for our 20<sup>th</sup> Anniversary celebration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are guessing that we had about 200-300 supporters through here that afternoon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Thank you for sharing in the celebration with us.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">If you have been to one of the recent weddings or the Choir Dinner, you may have seen our kids all decked out and serving with our resident caterer, Ruben Escobedo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ruben hires the kids and trains them to be professional servers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you have an event coming up and you need some kids to look nice and serve the crowd, I know many kids who would love to help you out!!!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">Some of our Farm Drive leaders have invited our older boys to go to Family Camp in July.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is not a Farm Drive activity per se (I couldn’t do a week of camping!!), but is Hillside people spending time with the Farm Drive kids, building relationships and showing them how to have a good time in a family setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: wingdings"><span style="mso-list: ignore"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;">v</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: ">National Night Out</span></i><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "> is scheduled for Tuesday, August 7<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is a nationwide crime prevention program, where the emphasis is on getting neighbors out of their homes and interacting with each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We often have uniformed police officers stop by and two years ago, the Police Chief and City Manager showed up!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you aren’t doing anything on August 7<sup>th</sup>, between 5:30-9:00 PM, stop by and say hello to our neighbors.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; tab-stops: 301.5pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;">Thank you for your continued prayers and support for the Farm Drive ministry and for Pete, Patty and me, as well as all of our volunteer leaders here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God is truly making a difference in the lives of the kids and their families with your support and prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God Bless!!!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; tab-stops: 301.5pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; tab-stops: 301.5pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; tab-stops: 301.5pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; tab-stops: 301.5pt"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gary</span></span></p></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifzFH5nMDgkEtIWeKgmNLHUHADZM4dNlRzKKGm3vCD9TAPM8pN5vyPplTikhdqJmB_mCoyLnSj2chWAbKG2BH8XVt225usQIwXWsBQywz0t_CbqSJzwy1obSMykl5YnX21eN_LJC-ZbTTk/s1600/Creative+Writing+Class.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifzFH5nMDgkEtIWeKgmNLHUHADZM4dNlRzKKGm3vCD9TAPM8pN5vyPplTikhdqJmB_mCoyLnSj2chWAbKG2BH8XVt225usQIwXWsBQywz0t_CbqSJzwy1obSMykl5YnX21eN_LJC-ZbTTk/s400/Creative+Writing+Class.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5764303846829234242" border="0" /></a>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-88116013285065746372012-05-09T11:40:00.005-07:002012-05-15T10:01:19.163-07:00Lives ChangedThis <a href="http://farmdrivelifechange.blogspot.com/">blog</a> is from one of the people from Hillside Church who did a project for school about Farm Drive. Here is his explanation of the project plus a link to his blog.<br /><br />The project was part of a practical communication course for my Masters<br />in Communication at Gonzaga University. The assignment was to perform a<br />community profile where we highlighted something in our local community<br />that brought people together, enhanced the feeling of community etc... I<br />choose the Farm Drive Neighborhood Center because it was close to my<br />heart. I knew it was a great outreach and Melissa has supported it by<br />volunteering. I discovered that it has much more impact than I realized<br />when I was able to visit Ruben and see for myself that Farm Drive not<br />only enhances community, it changes lives.<br /><a href="http://http//farmdrivelifechange.blogspot.com"></a>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-80109470925343050332012-04-10T12:23:00.002-07:002012-04-12T08:43:21.021-07:00Some Great News<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LiULRfcqX49G7TojpfO15KRQhoc1MTCbrenjD6YJ55qKBNvwy6uUDaum2YEtHyLo5jYEjX_DSXrMB8d7Pqx4ouKL19hi7TN9VGdLbz8cnEYQC6SwHYgMYe8K9sVkQrnKCBSoxX-sLmsO/s1600/IMG_1110.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LiULRfcqX49G7TojpfO15KRQhoc1MTCbrenjD6YJ55qKBNvwy6uUDaum2YEtHyLo5jYEjX_DSXrMB8d7Pqx4ouKL19hi7TN9VGdLbz8cnEYQC6SwHYgMYe8K9sVkQrnKCBSoxX-sLmsO/s400/IMG_1110.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730540293368176706" border="0" /></a><br /><div dir="ltr"> <div style="FONT-FAMILY:'Calibri';COLOR:#000000;FONT-SIZE:14pt;"> <p style="line-height: 13pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 13pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 13pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal">A cool update from Gary. This is why we live where we live:<br /></p><p style="line-height: 13pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Hey Everyone:</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">I would like to thank each of you who have been encouraging Cadet Ruben Torres, our Farm Drive kid who is attending the Grizzly Academy.<span style=""> </span>He is really doing great.<span style=""> </span>He was home on a home pass and got to talk to a lot of you over the weekend.<span style=""> </span>He told me about the encouragement he received from many people at <i style="">The Scramble</i> on Saturday.<span style=""> </span>Pastor Joe, he was especially appreciative of your comments to him.<span style=""> </span>On Sunday, many people approached him and greeted him, hugged him and told him how proud they were of him.<span style=""> </span>What a smile that kid has.<span style=""> </span>Thanks, Hillside family!!!</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">We have had a lot of time to talk and two things Ruben is working on are anger issues and holding grudges. He said that he isn’t really angry with anyone but himself, and he is having a hard time getting over that.<span style=""> </span>I talked to him about letting go, and letting God work on him.<span style=""> </span>Sunday’s sermon on God’s love really hit home with him.<span style=""> </span>He knows that God loves him and wants the best for him, but he still feels that he has messed up so badly.<span style=""> </span>We talked about how God can work on even the messiest of problems----that’s His specialty.<span style=""> </span>I told him that I remember a song that Ray Boltz sang that talks about David, and says something like “when others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king.”<span style=""> </span>God already sees the potential in Ruben’s life.</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Today, going back to the Academy, we continued our talk.<span style=""> </span>I told him that there are several facts----that God loves him, that God sent His Son to die for him, that nothing he does can be too big for God to work on, and Jesus wants to be his best friend.<span style=""> </span>He said that, in his heart, he knows all that, but that his mind tells him that he’s not worth it.<span style=""> </span>I encouraged him that when he’s ready, to go with the way he feels in his heart.<span style=""> </span>We stopped for pizza before I dropped him off at the Academy, and his little brother asked if he could pray for the food.<span style=""> </span>Not only did he pray for the food, but he prayed for Ruben and his remaining time at the Academy.</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">When the pizza came, Ruben asked if he could pray, too.<span style=""> </span>Of course!!<span style=""> </span>And right there in the pizza place, Ruben acknowledged his life as a sinner, confessed his sins to God, and asked Christ to come into his life and guide him from now on!!!<span style=""> </span>Wow………….<span style=""> </span>A short time later, I asked Ruben who his best friend is, and he replied, “Jesus!”<span style=""> </span>I asked, “100%????”<span style=""> </span>And he said, “Yes, 100%!!!”<span style=""> </span>I was on such a high coming home that I don’t think my tires touched the ground!!</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Ruben is a Farm Drive “kid” who has had a lot of Hillside influence in his life over the years.<span style=""> </span>From Bible Club to Homework Club to CRAM to various activities, many of us have seen him and worked with him and worried about him.<span style=""> </span>Each of you has had a part in Ruben’s life.<span style=""> </span>Thanks for not giving up on him.<span style=""> </span>Is our Farm Drive ministry worth it?<span style=""> </span>You bet it is!!!</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!!<span style=""> </span>And may God truly bless you like you have blessed kids like Ruben.</span><span style=""><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;"> </span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Gary</span></p></div></div>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-64996563105230391242012-03-26T19:31:00.003-07:002012-03-28T09:22:22.778-07:00PopsThis is an excellent video from Union Rescue Mission that serves Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9RdV_hC_0XM" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-39316502044345536502012-03-26T19:13:00.004-07:002012-03-26T19:29:42.818-07:00Update On Reuben TorresFrom Gary the Director of Farm Drive writing about one of the kids that has been involved at Farm Drive off and on over the last few years. Here he is pinning Art his mentor:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3xrmx-jVLoru2jPh2RZ8pGSG2Qu0LOIWscUBk41zOT5_yBYyTixUzp3Aau9ytzi-z7wjpyWH9gDYlCmBZAA3GHSmumftEaSfzuFQXvlJZxYeKLYAKmoJdq32tIxP5CkJ7OcBnyTmAPw7/s1600/Ruben+and+Art+Pinning+%255B800x600%255D.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3xrmx-jVLoru2jPh2RZ8pGSG2Qu0LOIWscUBk41zOT5_yBYyTixUzp3Aau9ytzi-z7wjpyWH9gDYlCmBZAA3GHSmumftEaSfzuFQXvlJZxYeKLYAKmoJdq32tIxP5CkJ7OcBnyTmAPw7/s400/Ruben+and+Art+Pinning+%255B800x600%255D.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724397893455998402" border="0" /></a>And here Reuben is getting to enjoy some sweets at a local restaurant.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8SHoHuwi1_QnrAe5PwKyoW0Ub_J0Ab8nOnUvJFHhw4pSCQuYoE56EU5ZKlcdn5Gp_JmZfWvRWw96wzMrU_F-HnnayTy462-fgNfD-MyXgSGvbF-Dgvs-e_xP4NTN1598uRHbhczTR24N/s1600/Ruben+and+Art+%255B800x600%255D.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8SHoHuwi1_QnrAe5PwKyoW0Ub_J0Ab8nOnUvJFHhw4pSCQuYoE56EU5ZKlcdn5Gp_JmZfWvRWw96wzMrU_F-HnnayTy462-fgNfD-MyXgSGvbF-Dgvs-e_xP4NTN1598uRHbhczTR24N/s400/Ruben+and+Art+%255B800x600%255D.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724397731024913218" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Hey Everyone:<br /><br /><br /><br />I hope that this finds you all well. God is soooo good. This past weekend, Art Hori and I went down to the Grizzly Academy in San Luis Obispo. Art is the mentor for Ruben Torres. Ruben is in his eighth week at the Academy. Can you believe that??? Art is required to go to training, and he asked me to go with him. What a treat!!! At the end of the training, we were allowed not only to see Ruben, but to take him off base for a few hours!!! I just wanted to give you an update and let you know what we saw.<br /><br /><br /><br />We were in a classroom with no low windows, and as the cadets approached the building, we could hear them----not a lot of noise and yelling, but a TEAM of recruits, obviously marching and calling cadence as the approached. That was the FIRST time I almost lost it. Ruben? Our Ruben? Marching and calling cadence as a member of a team??? Wow……..what a change!!! When they released us, we didn’t even get outside and Ruben approached us, sporting the biggest smile that I have ever seen. He hugged us, and genuinely thanked us for coming. Art and I both noticed right away that we were talking with a young MAN, not the little punk kid that Ruben could often be. Ruben has changed!!!<br /><br /><br /><br />The leaders asked us to go outside for a ceremony. The mentors stood in a line across from the line of cadets (their line was straighter than our line!) and each cadet had to “pin” their mentor. As Ruben pinned us, he thanked us for being there for him----and he meant it. This was the SECOND time I almost lost it!! As we were walking off the base, I asked Ruben if he had learned to do “to the rear—MARCH”, which is a march step where the entire platoon makes a 180 degree turn at once and continues marching in the opposite direction. He said, “Oh yeah” and as we were walking, he executed a perfect “to the rear---MARCH” step. Even I was impressed!!<br /><br /><br /><br />We took Ruben down the road to the Madonna Inn for lunch, as it was on the list of places that they recommended. Neither Ruben nor Art had been there before, so we had to visit the restrooms (two men’s and two women’s) before we ate. Still quite impressive after all these years!!! We talked a lot over lunch and got some insights into Grizzly Academy life. They have a Cadet Code: “I will not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do.” We asked him how he felt about that and he said, “We have to live by that, since we are a team. If someone in the team messes up, everyone messes up.” (Ruben??? Is that really you??? He has changed!!!). As we sat there, he said, “I want to tell you guys. I really love you. Thank you for being there for me. I see now that you guys live what you believe.” He also told us that he is figuring out that he has missed out on a lot of things by not doing the things he should have been doing. Wow!!!<br /><br /><br /><br />Part of the Grizzly Academy is school. This is one area where Ruben never excelled---by choice, I might add. He never really saw a need to participate, so he didn’t. The last GPA of his that I saw was a 0.5---that’s a high F (haha). Ruben now has a 3.8 GPA, and his goal is to finish the Academy with at least a 3.5 GPA. (Ruben??? Is that really you??? He has changed!!). Another activity that he has to do is map out goals for himself. These are SMART goals (Specific, Measurable Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound) and he knows what that means!!! I am so glad that he has had the opportunity to be part of the Grizzly Academy.<br /><br /><br /><br />Ruben did say that he has “down days” because he misses his family and friends (“Can you say ‘Hi’ to everyone for me??” So……………”Hello, from Ruben!!”). We asked him what he did when he got to feeling down and he said, “I get out the cards and letters that people have written me and I read them over and over.” Thank you for writing to him. He has gotten letters and notes of encouragement from people he has never met!! And that means a lot to him. I mean-----we took a kid out of the hood and sent him 180 miles away by himself for almost six months. Wow!!!<br /><br /><br /><br />Many of you have asked what you can send him. The answer is, basically, nothing. When he has visitors, he can have snacks or special drinks (vitamin water, in his case), but it has to be consumed before he gets back. When we checked him back in, Sergeant Castillo asked him, “Torres. Do you have anything on you??” “No sir, Sergeant.” (Ruben??? Is that really you???) He does get what he needs from them. There are things along the way that he will need----pictures, field trips, yearbook, stamps, etc. If you want to contribute toward those things, or hygiene items he needs, you can give a few bucks. Just get it to me, and we will start an envelope. He cannot have any money until after Family Day, which is next Saturday, March 10th. If you are interested in that, please let me know.<br /><br /><br /><br />As far as Graduation is concerned, we did get the information, but it is not really good news. Graduation will be on Friday, June 15th, at 10:00 AM. His family can attend, his mentors will get a ticket, and everything else is up in the air. If you choose to attend, you will probably not be able to get inside to watch the graduation due to space considerations. Some of us have talked about a Graduation Celebration when he gets back. This is probably a better option.<br /><br /><br /><br />Thank you all for your support for Ruben. I know that you will be impressed when you see him. He does have a home pass coming up in early April, and I’m sure that he will be around. If you want to write to him, here is his address again:<br /><br /><br /><br />Cadet Ruben Torres, Platoon 2<br /><br />Grizzly Youth Academy<br /><br />PO Box 3209<br /><br />San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-3209<br /><br /><br /><br />God Bless you all for caring……….not only for Ruben, but all of our kids at Farm Drive.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> GaryPete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-65755596633351944702012-02-10T10:34:00.003-08:002012-03-27T09:59:46.898-07:0020 Years!Farm Drive Neighborhood Center will be celebrating 20 years of serving our community this summer.<br /><br />Save the date of June 3rd. We will be having an open house to celebrate what God has been doing in this neighborhood for the past 20 years!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3050044442779.2146668.1http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif013266825&type=3&fb_source=message"><br /></a>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-75968272552684027102011-09-14T19:30:00.000-07:002011-09-14T20:47:16.726-07:00Various EventsThis past summer...Dave Finkle and Jonathan Camacho took some of the Junior High School boys on a weekend trip backpacking in the Sierras. They backpacked into Spicer Meadows and did some fishing, hiking, and swimming. It was the first time for some of the boys to go backpacking and of course there was a lot of complaining!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubWszWA6rySCQdiEb6Q-oEWFtnl2K-NzeDfGDHjp06d7gGE2nu0o54SaRquTp0SSJG00O6YwD2trAy-URaZr0zpMBbbOIUZJwxeDkYtBEbw8-tSADkMlGnSmc6Qs8qQH9EFc8mfdQOibS/s1600/263292_10150288057263254_744463253_7805759_2360807_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubWszWA6rySCQdiEb6Q-oEWFtnl2K-NzeDfGDHjp06d7gGE2nu0o54SaRquTp0SSJG00O6YwD2trAy-URaZr0zpMBbbOIUZJwxeDkYtBEbw8-tSADkMlGnSmc6Qs8qQH9EFc8mfdQOibS/s400/263292_10150288057263254_744463253_7805759_2360807_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652409248018823122" border="0" /></a>July....After a trip to Lake Tahoe for Patty and I, we took some kids to San Francisco. Started in Daly City by taking Bart into the Civic Center and then waiting in line to take a Cable Car over to Fisherman's Wharf. After walking around the Wharf we walked down to Ghiradelli Square for some ice cream. Then we took the same route back to the car. We all loved the Cable Car! The other pictures are of our visit to The Planetarium in San Francisco, a drive up in the mountains and the Junior High girls on a beach trip.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ2K1EQRveKIQTMy44CbaL3WvKMXSyFFfxwp3yKbXy3TDD6NlRMx07bwHggg8Cc6bcDP6RYCgPv4sgMiyGG3N1iVDtLZXO5EDcd7oSNmFhDreXFIFdsmB5XGy1sFo28WPSR-pGW_Y1GV5o/s1600/281346_10150287569543254_744463253_7799969_79326_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ2K1EQRveKIQTMy44CbaL3WvKMXSyFFfxwp3yKbXy3TDD6NlRMx07bwHggg8Cc6bcDP6RYCgPv4sgMiyGG3N1iVDtLZXO5EDcd7oSNmFhDreXFIFdsmB5XGy1sFo28WPSR-pGW_Y1GV5o/s400/281346_10150287569543254_744463253_7799969_79326_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652409172287928418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhms1NG9tSmGKTa8Mhx8j0ByGv0G0MOfS0KtmZ9HorS1D4xkeae8PXq_l216brLxjmGGKpcXWXq5CquWi7LndsPuYGtIeQ9VX2kaPQ2X5F63WfiQauc0cmdYqA5BpIgTBREcFwBr_fEzYlH/s1600/283937_10150272979473254_744463253_7651261_7869755_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhms1NG9tSmGKTa8Mhx8j0ByGv0G0MOfS0KtmZ9HorS1D4xkeae8PXq_l216brLxjmGGKpcXWXq5CquWi7LndsPuYGtIeQ9VX2kaPQ2X5F63WfiQauc0cmdYqA5BpIgTBREcFwBr_fEzYlH/s400/283937_10150272979473254_744463253_7651261_7869755_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652409065221200130" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNDWv11X-A4T_ACcpzEka-TmW0fnbdxIC_IrkSYdQYVw-o7VFv4ykWn4VYY6eSJ-Rba0vT1vCCduj87adZxKoRgeMDYMnZK7r9MYWASF_swzhO5ci9R9IunRHEa4SMlepphyEhQ292oXG/s1600/291814_10150292917788254_744463253_7852177_5955635_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNDWv11X-A4T_ACcpzEka-TmW0fnbdxIC_IrkSYdQYVw-o7VFv4ykWn4VYY6eSJ-Rba0vT1vCCduj87adZxKoRgeMDYMnZK7r9MYWASF_swzhO5ci9R9IunRHEa4SMlepphyEhQ292oXG/s400/291814_10150292917788254_744463253_7852177_5955635_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652408890539340018" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXk16F6TqaJFmnoWXaVuVSbBVB2EpBFa8gZBY8gW2QO_71aMP2cxxfKAVFC0NZdBoswgCbKG1zHOnQ-5ziQ3ioEQSBpmfkGNtImA7qk3iyPpzhfHTtuTnLdes5mk9E1YWRUpZBj0f0aj4/s1600/253341_10150277799093254_744463253_7707873_7652775_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXk16F6TqaJFmnoWXaVuVSbBVB2EpBFa8gZBY8gW2QO_71aMP2cxxfKAVFC0NZdBoswgCbKG1zHOnQ-5ziQ3ioEQSBpmfkGNtImA7qk3iyPpzhfHTtuTnLdes5mk9E1YWRUpZBj0f0aj4/s400/253341_10150277799093254_744463253_7707873_7652775_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652408802177995266" border="0" /></a>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-83671101597627255652011-09-14T18:49:00.001-07:002011-09-14T20:37:30.544-07:00Homework Club Kicks OffWe've kicked off our new fall season of Homework Club. Another set of full groups with kids on waiting lists. Pre-Kinders started off with a new teacher this year as Margaret Coutts stepped down last Spring. We are very excited and happy to have Dawn Escobedo oversee the class!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmzfcJ79sCiAjw0uTQ_PMGaVcLXoHm5abhY0HMuQbhiOQNTgX382ztDxIeQ-8wN-v2VUZTQD2LKcrxanpEpWSKSG4AB1O116QEbMbbwL_O4alSbc65XEai1oMM3uIuc8Kyx3YSqvcGcF7/s1600/321217_10150308035618254_744463253_7992688_4940288_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmzfcJ79sCiAjw0uTQ_PMGaVcLXoHm5abhY0HMuQbhiOQNTgX382ztDxIeQ-8wN-v2VUZTQD2LKcrxanpEpWSKSG4AB1O116QEbMbbwL_O4alSbc65XEai1oMM3uIuc8Kyx3YSqvcGcF7/s400/321217_10150308035618254_744463253_7992688_4940288_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652398763539729746" border="0" /></a>Monday and Wednesday we have the younger kids - 1st thru 5th grade. The picture below is of the kids on their first day at Homework Club.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0m0SMwFj__BLKwHnoj6fEw9UAYNsACU5kCNhwCDG2Mksb_3xjwlDw66BEOyZi5TJDzrE7xda1aRIZYZfmm7vVp0fEIl3pHwV-TGRPBOC0B8QHYGomk_luDwEdKHz5SClR7UYAA2iFt57/s1600/312437_10150308036423254_744463253_7992698_3167945_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0m0SMwFj__BLKwHnoj6fEw9UAYNsACU5kCNhwCDG2Mksb_3xjwlDw66BEOyZi5TJDzrE7xda1aRIZYZfmm7vVp0fEIl3pHwV-TGRPBOC0B8QHYGomk_luDwEdKHz5SClR7UYAA2iFt57/s400/312437_10150308036423254_744463253_7992698_3167945_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652398504791829362" border="0" /></a>After we all meet together, we break into small groups by grade and work with the same leaders every week. This small group model has proved very successful as it allows us to develop deep and meaningful relationships with the kids. This is Lee and the 2nd graders. Then Gretchen with the 4th and 5th graders and lastly, the Pre-Kinders.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38RuN6AXuTA5yG6QT6n5q1eLnnzAzieDO1CbD906MkREjQk0IcSrbj7G2jRsqWyLWxUj5Rfn1TDC6N5aJUwQyd5CVy43sGPOlfPvsqTYdB1lvbe5Qxk8ohIHdU22B_ZXlYZTJInhjB5p3/s1600/300717_10150308036803254_744463253_7992704_2871406_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38RuN6AXuTA5yG6QT6n5q1eLnnzAzieDO1CbD906MkREjQk0IcSrbj7G2jRsqWyLWxUj5Rfn1TDC6N5aJUwQyd5CVy43sGPOlfPvsqTYdB1lvbe5Qxk8ohIHdU22B_ZXlYZTJInhjB5p3/s400/300717_10150308036803254_744463253_7992704_2871406_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652398355513014370" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6Mn53SfM_MciNG8yU955cJjxpIOpP6Yw20ZO35VMPiDSpJETDLiE28s-y45i6PuW3HFLze4T2R6FBH6VvnjfSxUVaJdMtQshjvqcM0ut0EHrb7G_UAUSxhBjwv_Ga27m5DEoswdkhVte/s1600/298672_10150308036683254_744463253_7992702_6401659_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6Mn53SfM_MciNG8yU955cJjxpIOpP6Yw20ZO35VMPiDSpJETDLiE28s-y45i6PuW3HFLze4T2R6FBH6VvnjfSxUVaJdMtQshjvqcM0ut0EHrb7G_UAUSxhBjwv_Ga27m5DEoswdkhVte/s400/298672_10150308036683254_744463253_7992702_6401659_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652398252121820082" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrlyaLrKpX1Y-1hjll__t2LGDYNdlHhtLAWAuSBKEKK44RzlgAz4XjNX-slmM97aeNGm1_28zrneLdb42zMiBvhfRYNvJDCyxIbBsBVGmtTRoamh1VL6s9N4PNPg229lsV-nsFmW7QTlP/s1600/292822_10150308035818254_744463253_7992691_6797096_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrlyaLrKpX1Y-1hjll__t2LGDYNdlHhtLAWAuSBKEKK44RzlgAz4XjNX-slmM97aeNGm1_28zrneLdb42zMiBvhfRYNvJDCyxIbBsBVGmtTRoamh1VL6s9N4PNPg229lsV-nsFmW7QTlP/s400/292822_10150308035818254_744463253_7992691_6797096_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652398156444239666" border="0" /></a>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-82473445057713820022011-09-14T18:27:00.000-07:002011-09-14T20:23:34.827-07:00Hillside Fall Kick Off PicnicSunday September 11th was the annual Hillside Church Picnic held at Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos. It is always a fun time of sharing food, playing games, and spending time with friends. 4 of the Farm Drive kids helped with the food preparation and below you can see them cooking sausages.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jNnfxCW9FOVO1WOMyeZMp2Z5Vwf7S_VOHpgzSEI6atMjT9uj-yYNLCDf5zZjR80FofkARwnxg7D5icEZP7QjvdlZZFnuYwA_PX5wAOsy7_TbTqpu5N5OE4kpamXLfN5LLXdH5hur6_OA/s1600/292801_10150321635203254_744463253_8097685_1945639701_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jNnfxCW9FOVO1WOMyeZMp2Z5Vwf7S_VOHpgzSEI6atMjT9uj-yYNLCDf5zZjR80FofkARwnxg7D5icEZP7QjvdlZZFnuYwA_PX5wAOsy7_TbTqpu5N5OE4kpamXLfN5LLXdH5hur6_OA/s400/292801_10150321635203254_744463253_8097685_1945639701_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652394201099936738" border="0" /></a>The watermelon eating contest by church staff was the most popular spectator event. Below you can see our fearless director Gary sucking down the sweet red melon!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1mCbJsctjbvMIk29VXfKKcttzuaxgMlDLI3nqw97CT30GjwgcGLlmRD4Gx6uQlygg2KuedKgtGlcMKeYilYc6OOzQPczN5nejg7YtTChE38YGqLuG7UX8UkBUCh3Yx_ZxTmzGiZ1MLRvm/s1600/303794_10150321642568254_744463253_8097778_1492655584_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1mCbJsctjbvMIk29VXfKKcttzuaxgMlDLI3nqw97CT30GjwgcGLlmRD4Gx6uQlygg2KuedKgtGlcMKeYilYc6OOzQPczN5nejg7YtTChE38YGqLuG7UX8UkBUCh3Yx_ZxTmzGiZ1MLRvm/s400/303794_10150321642568254_744463253_8097778_1492655584_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652394044168657026" border="0" /></a><br />Of course going to Oak Meadow would not be complete without a ride on the small steam train that takes you around the park and the neighboring Vasona Park. Here are some of our kids enjoying the ride.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyscPw7JctzqDJ6tjXgu38-gAh1oQwlhsrFpWT6QOwZhURYiSl3zZEwiOZzUivXieML9tdPQHwZhPcLhkOPN1q8hltLDcltKy5X1q8pwBG1eUmwkMHp_Y66uVKj5etQV7kaFHA4JVshyphenhyphend/s1600/312056_10150321635503254_744463253_8097689_532533358_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyscPw7JctzqDJ6tjXgu38-gAh1oQwlhsrFpWT6QOwZhURYiSl3zZEwiOZzUivXieML9tdPQHwZhPcLhkOPN1q8hltLDcltKy5X1q8pwBG1eUmwkMHp_Y66uVKj5etQV7kaFHA4JVshyphenhyphend/s400/312056_10150321635503254_744463253_8097689_532533358_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652393876111748050" border="0" /></a>Another contest is the ever popular Kajabi Can Can. One of our younger girls is making it tough on the boys. Go Samantha!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEejPF5lNcDcKeUJCpN-SEzh32PT27bwxZEmRdzSd7UdrFTIO9crfASilaz38PXY7j8Cv2oblIQbP-5985_N2kpjygy8U1F82piSEHHaBv7aZpX5fMmnDlPmVOmkpzxn6z9aUOCGLcdEBv/s1600/319498_10150321641618254_744463253_8097767_1172373165_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEejPF5lNcDcKeUJCpN-SEzh32PT27bwxZEmRdzSd7UdrFTIO9crfASilaz38PXY7j8Cv2oblIQbP-5985_N2kpjygy8U1F82piSEHHaBv7aZpX5fMmnDlPmVOmkpzxn6z9aUOCGLcdEBv/s400/319498_10150321641618254_744463253_8097767_1172373165_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652393726953294786" border="0" /></a>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-359111284490913282011-08-11T09:39:00.000-07:002011-09-14T20:18:02.876-07:00Help Wanted, or better Help Needed!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheK4Wa_Wk2kMmzgRrdD67i6x8uQroc7r7nQ0j76CO34FWhyBChVQVqPHtK3KrtssMngBS6WayB4BqTXutqECb2FZnuXndNz1gvqgo39bto4wO0A6n-DTx9jfAieSPacoBpP4CKioDAEO5N/s1600/185840_10150109315963254_744463253_6367669_4490825_n.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheK4Wa_Wk2kMmzgRrdD67i6x8uQroc7r7nQ0j76CO34FWhyBChVQVqPHtK3KrtssMngBS6WayB4BqTXutqECb2FZnuXndNz1gvqgo39bto4wO0A6n-DTx9jfAieSPacoBpP4CKioDAEO5N/s400/185840_10150109315963254_744463253_6367669_4490825_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639640755641590754" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#776045;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Farm Drive Neighborhood Center</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Pre-Kinders Class and Homework Club started back up the week of August 29th. We have many volunteers helping kids. This is the schedule for now but changes could be made as we see how many kids sign up. If you can help even one day a week, we can use you! We had about 65 kids between Pre-Kinders and High School that were a part of the Center last school year.<br /><br />Pre-Kinders: Monday & Tuesday, 10am - 11:30am<br />1st-4th Grade: Monday & Wednesday, 3pm - 5pm<br />5th grade - High School: Tuesday & Thursday, 3pm - 5pm<br />All Grades evening homework help: Tuesday & Wednesday, 5pm - 7pm</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />We can always use volunteers to help the kids with homework, work on flashcards, learning to tell time, etc.<br />If you are interested in giving two hours per week, and in return, we will promise you a BIG blessing, please email </span></span><span style="color:#0000FF;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="mailto:patty@hillside.org"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">patty@hillside.org</span></a></span></u></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">or </span></span><span style="color:#0000FF;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="mailto:gary@hillside.org"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">gary@hillside.org</span></a></span></u></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, or call Patty at 408.781.5984 or Gary at 408.807.6809.</span></span></span>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-8168510617646363562011-08-04T21:53:00.000-07:002011-08-04T21:57:07.017-07:00Trip to the CityTook 5 kids to San Francisco. Started in Daly City with Bart to the Civic Center. Then took a Cable car to Fisherman's Wharf. Then walked to Ghiradelli Square. Had ice cream and took the Cable Car back. Here is a little video of the day.<br /><br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wd0sINx61I8?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" width="480"></iframe>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-76526468542183384072011-07-27T09:13:00.000-07:002011-07-27T09:16:19.087-07:00A RECENT UPDATE<div id="tabMessageViewerBody_headeri198_1991311783161503"><div id="3_messageHeaderDiv" class="messageHeaderDiv colorWhite fontT2 fontMedGray"><div class="posRel"><table class="fontT2 fontMedGray" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr class="msgHeaderContainer"><td id="3_messageHeaderLabelCell"><nobr id="3_messageHeaderToLabel" class="headerRecipientLabel"></nobr></td><td><br /></td></tr><tr id="3_messageHeaderToContainer" class="msgHeaderContainer"><td><nobr id="3_messageHeaderToLabel" class="headerRecipientLabel"></nobr></td><td><br /></td><td>This is a recent update to the Farm Drive Prayer Team. It gives you a very good update of the goings on around the Center:<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:14.0pt;color:#993300;" >Prayer Team,</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;color:#993300;" > I apologize for not giving a Hume Lake report sooner. I have been really busy. Below are 2 emails I sent Gary and 1 that Pete sent to Gary and I. I know this is long but it is oh so important, esp. for those of you that know the kids that went to Hume Lake . It gives you a glimpse into what went on the day the kids got back from Hume Lake (last Saturday). Take your time and see how prayer works!</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >What a whirlwind. Just got back from taking 2 trips of kids home along with all their stuff. So, Jose suggested we go out and talk. What we are going to do is meet back here at 5 (Dawn, Pete and I and kids) take them out to eat (sit down…they are tired of fast type food and they want to talk) and then we are going to your house to swim. They were all surprised that you weren’t here. Sergio said he wanted to touch your bald head. Jose was disappointed too. Kinda cute. You are loved.</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >Tons of kids coming up and giving them hugs and it went the other way around too. Our guys were going over to cars of kids and giving them hugs, fist bumps, etc. Laney, Greg Begum, Elise, Josh, Bryan and Greg K. all said our kids are amazing. Very fun to be around. Josh did tell me he had the guys (am guessing Alan and Kevin) clean up trash because they weren’t listening in chapel. Marlene commented that they are not now “the Farm Drive kids” but they are Hillside kids. There were 2 kids that don’t even go to Hume but they knew someone at Valley so they signed up. They said (Laura and the guy...he had a nick name) that they are now going to go to Hillside . They made big-time friends with our kids. Lots of people were saying “are you going tomorrow? Brent is speaking and Mark (Stickler) is speaking in high school. All our guys said yes, they will be there. </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >Alan said he and Kevin were the only hispanics. Javier said pretty much the same thing. But they all said they had a blast, that there was so much to do, the speaker was so so but they loved the band. They bought CD’s.</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >Greg Kompelien</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;color:#993300;" > said they did great and he loved being their cabin leader. Sounds like they really bonded with him. Greg Belgum loves those guys too. They are all chums now.</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >They were hugging kids like the Scianna boys, Martinez kids, etc. Rocky said they are all amazing. I told Marlene “now you see why I live where I live?” She said no, you have to let go and let them come over to our place. Great idea!!!!</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >I will give you another report tonite when I get home. We will try to keep the cost down but I want to do a sit-down because then I know they will talk. If we just did fast food, we wouldn’t have enough time for them to really open up.</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >Patty</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >Gary</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;color:#993300;" >, ok…so we went to Applebees. Good time. Heard lots of stories. Then we went to your place and swam. Jose Robert and Javier stayed inside and talked with Pete and I a long time about the trip. Was good. Then we all jumped in. Nice and warm. Just got back. Alan said at dinner that he accepted Jesus into his heart. Cool. He also talked a lot about jr high things boys do. He and Kevin had fun being jr. high boys. We will follow up on Alan for sure. Need to have a one on one talk.</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >We asked them what they learned. At first, most were mainly silly things (at least from Alan and Kevin) but Jose said that God loves me. Javier said something about God is even with you in the bad situations. Later on at your place they got deeper. Made us think that when a bad situation happens, Javier knows God will somehow work it out. Had a little talk about that. Was good. Had a long talk about Catholics, Christians, baptism, difference between the 2, forgiving of sins, very good stuff real laid back at your place while sitting in the living room.</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >Someone made the comment that “we need to tell all these stories again for Gary ”. Sweet. </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >They kept singing (or trying to) parts of songs they heard. Christian worship songs, esp. in the pool. They baptized each other in your pool…a lot of dunking! Justine Morrow I guess was baptized in the lake at the end of the week. They liked that. They were asking about getting baptized again.</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >You can really tell they were away at camp. Doesn’t sound like any of them missed their phones or ipods. Robert said it was hard to use the touch pad at first. They talked about Ruben and how they need to get him out of the house. They all agree that it was a great time.</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >TTFN, Patty</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >This one is from Pete sent Monday morning all about Sunday sent to Gary and I</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >Busy day and I thought I would give you 2 an update on the day. Of course most of the Hume kids went to church except Kevin and Robert. I guess I was a little surprised at Javier and Anahi, actually making it to Hillside . I had to make 2 trips to get them there. (Patty one trip). Total of 14 kids! </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" ><br />Jose and Anahi sat in church with other highs school kids. Jose actually was "grabbed" by his new friend and taken over to their section. We did not take them to lunch - too many. Greg Belgum came by at 1:30 and he picked up Javier, Jose, Sergio, Alan and Javier's sister. He had to watch her and the only way Javier could go was if I brought her back at 4:15. Greg invited me earlier at church and I planned to go anyway. We went swimming. James Martinez showed up also. I came back at 4:15 since I was going to go to the homeless ministry anyway. They boys said that since Patty was gone if we could do a movie night and I said sure come over at 7:30. </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" ><br />Robbie's church was feeding the homeless so I invited him afterwards to come join the movie night. He and Jeremiah came over. When I got back from the homeless ministry the boys were downstairs in apt. 2 with James Martinez and Anahi. I found out that James came over to practice / go over some worship music with Anahi and the boys joined in. According to James he worked with Anahi who wrote a song but needed music. So James helped out. They then just played and practiced worship music together for a couple of hours!</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in;"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >The boys chose 2 movies they were interested in. Both were R and with Alan there I said we needed a PG13 so we watched the Prestige. Near the end of the movie - Robert showed up. Then a little later Robert Escobedo and Brandon Gross showed up. At 10:30 pm these guys were hanging out in our apartment just being guys: Jose, Sergio, Alan, Javier, Robert, Robert E., Brandon, Robbie, James, Jeremiah, Greg Belgum! (and me). Robbie pulled me aside and said it was so cool to see all these guys mixing it up! </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.25in;"><strong><b><u><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;font-size:100%;color:#7f3f00;"><span style=" Comic Sans MS";font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;color:#7F3F00;" >Pete</span></span></u></b></strong><span style="font-family:Garamond;font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family:Garamond;font-size:18.0pt;"></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:14.0pt;color:#993300;" >Prayer Team</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;color:#993300;" >, last night Dawn and Ruben Escobedo , Amanda Schader , Pete and I and I took a bunch of kids to the drive ins, a first for pretty much all of them and we invited the Gathering guys small group. A bunch of them came and we had a blast! Probably 30 of us total. Relationships. Time. Relationships. Time. Relationships. Time.</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" >As you can see from the emails Hume Lake was life changing time for the kids. They are still talking about camp, the friends they met, the high school group on Sunday and love they felt, the staff, the music, on and on and on. People like Ruben, Dawn, Amanda, Robbie, James, Greg, Ian (don’t even all go to Hillside but are involved here at The Center) really have built relationships with the kids and that is what makes the difference…</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><span style=" font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:14.0pt;color:#993300;" >that and all your prayers! God is so so good and we are really seeing a difference in the way these kids live. </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:14.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:14.0pt;color:#993300;" >Keep praying for Sergio, Jose, Javier and Robert that we will get one on one time with them to see where each is spiritually….and of course that they will make a decision (if they haven’t already) for Christ. Anahi is a believer. Pray for Junior Highers Alan and Kevin. Alan turned his life over to Jesus and we will talk with him.</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:14.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:14.0pt;color:#993300;" >Thank you for reading this long letter and please keep praying for all we do here at Farm Drive ! We are busy. Sometimes I get a bit tired and weary and then stuff like this happens and it reenergizes me for sure!</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:14.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:14.0pt;color:#993300;" >Patty, Pete and Gary for the whole Farm Drive Team</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;color:#993300;" ></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:#993300;"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300;" > </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:14.0pt;"><br /></span></span></p>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-55863127116251912022011-07-07T07:09:00.000-07:002011-07-07T07:10:34.632-07:00July Update from Gary<div dir="ltr"> <div style="FONT-FAMILY:'Calibri';COLOR:#000000;FONT-SIZE:14pt;"> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Hey Everyone:</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Wow………….God is so good!!!<span style=""> </span>There are so many good things happening at <span style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310047368_0">Farm Drive</span>.<span style=""> </span>The activity is enough to keep anyone young!!!<span style=""> </span>We are in the middle of summer and are having a great time with the kids.<span style=""> </span>Lots of good stuff!!<span style=""> </span>I want to give you a little glimpse into some “God sightings,” and some praises and prayer requests here.</span><span style=""><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Most of you know that a few of our kids expressed an interest in going to Hume Lake.<span style=""> </span>That few has blossomed into TEN kids-----five high schoolers and five junior highers.<span style=""> </span>Four of the junior high kids are on the waiting list, so pray that it will be possible to get them in.<span style=""> </span>I sent out an email asking for prayer for our kids and Hume Lake, and I must say, I was elated that so many of you have committed financially to making it possible for them to go.<span style=""> </span>Many of you have come up to me and said, “This could be life-changing for these kids.”<span style=""> </span>Thank you so much for your generosity!!!<span style=""> </span>We had the kids working at the Center today to earn their deposit money.<span style=""> </span>They did an awesome job!!!</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">We have kids regularly going to our <span style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310047368_1">Hillside</span> youth groups <span style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310047368_2">on Wednesday nights</span>.<span style=""> </span>This is an answer to prayer and it is so awesome to see them so eager to go!!!<span style=""> </span>Tonight, as we were dropping them off, one of the kids (Jose) took a phone call from someone, and I overheard part of it.<span style=""> </span>He said, “…..I’m at <i style="">my</i> church……”<span style=""> </span>Wow!!!<span style=""> </span>My heart soared!!!</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">And speaking of Jose…………….. he and Sergio just got back from a Sports Camp put on by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.<span style=""> </span>When I picked them up, Jose asked if he could talk to me about “something personal.”<span style=""> </span>Of course, I said yes, and after some prompting, he said he needed to talk to me about Jesus.<span style=""> </span><span style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310047368_3">On Monday morning</span>, I met with Jose.<span style=""> </span>He told me about the camp, and about the times of testimony and worship that they had.<span style=""> </span>It was obvious that he was touched by what he had heard, but he said he was “confused.”<span style=""> </span>He did, however, have a really good grasp on what they were talking about, and about sin, and about who Jesus Christ is, and about his need for a relationship with Jesus.<span style=""> </span>I told Jose that a lot of people have been praying for him for a long, long time.<span style=""> </span>After we talked, he was not ready to make a commitment just then, but we prayed that God would make Himself real to him.<span style=""> </span>Please pray for Jose and for the different leaders here who minister with him.</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Two of our kids, Elian Rivera (3<sup>rd</sup> grade) and Eric Torres (5<sup>th</sup> grade) both prayed to receive Christ during Bible Club!!<span style=""> </span>Sweet!!<span style=""> </span>There are so many people who had a part in these boys’ lives, and each one has been able to let them see a piece of Jesus through them!!!<span style=""> </span>I guess Paul was right when he said that some planted, some watered and some harvested.<span style=""> </span>A perfect example!!</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">CRAM is going strong.<span style=""> </span>This is our mentoring program for high school kids.<span style=""> </span>We are probably adding five new 9<sup>th</sup> graders to the program this fall.<span style=""> </span>We were able to award our second laptop in June, when Dariela Salazar graduated from <span style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310047368_4">Gunderson High School</span>.<span style=""> </span>Very cool!!!<span style=""> </span>There is one of our fringe kids, Elizabeth, who has all but dropped out of high school.<span style=""> </span>School attendance isn’t important to mom, and so it isn’t important to Elizabeth.<span style=""> </span>Enter her CRAM mentor, Paty <span style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310047368_5">Sayre</span>.<span style=""> </span>I saw Elizabeth a few weeks ago and she said that she was going out with Paty in the new few days.<span style=""> </span>I asked how that was going.<span style=""> </span>Elizabeth said, “She gives me homework.”<span style=""> </span>“Homework??” I asked.<span style=""> </span>“Yeah.<span style=""> </span>She gave me math to do and last week she had me write an essay.”<span style=""> </span>“Did you do it??”<span style=""> </span>“Oh, yeah.<span style=""> </span>I <i style="">want</i> to do it!!”<span style=""> </span>And this is from a kid who doesn’t like school!!!!<span style=""> </span>All it takes is someone who is committed to helping these kids a bit.<span style=""> </span>Our end of the year reward for making grades was a trip to Six Flags up in <span style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310047368_6">Vallejo</span>.<span style=""> </span>The high school kids and the big kids who got to drive them had an awesome time.</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">We attended four graduations in two days, handing out 20 balloons to our proud kids!!!<span style=""> </span>It is so neat to be a part of these special events in the kids’ lives.<span style=""> </span></span><span style=""><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Our Bike Ministry is still going strong.<span style=""> </span>We have several committed guys----Brian Zylka, Jeff Moore, Dieter Haas and Dave Belgum, who try to get here every week to keep these kids rolling through the neighborhood.<span style=""> </span>One of our ABF’s, Salt and Light, came down on a Saturday, worked on bikes, hung out with the kids and cooked them a hot dog lunch!!<span style=""> </span>Very cool…………..</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">We were able to get free tickets to the <span style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310047368_7">Monterey Bay Aquarium</span> and the <span style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1310047368_8">De Anza</span> Planetarium this summer.<span style=""> </span>Both of these trips were very educational.<span style=""> </span>We had 22 kids and five leaders go to the Aquarium, and ten kids and two leaders go to the Planetarium.<span style=""> </span>I still can’t see those constellations that they show………the Hunter, Orion, etc.<span style=""> </span>Whatever…………I just have to believe!!!<span style=""> </span>We went to see fireworks the other night and one of the kids lay down on the ground and looked up and said, “I see Orion.”<span style=""> </span>Whatever…………..<span style=""> </span>But I do believe!!!</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">We had seven kids go to our “Reward Breakfast.”<span style=""> </span>These are the kids who went to every Homework Day, from January to the end of May.<span style=""> </span>This is the first year we have done this, and I already know that we will have a bunch more than seven next time.<span style=""> </span>Hometown Buffet can be tempting, huh???</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Most of you know that my sister-in-law, Dona, passed away in June.<span style=""> </span>She had been on our Farm Drive Prayer List for many months, and the kids would regularly ask how she was doing.<span style=""> </span>The kids here showed real compassion when Dona passed away.<span style=""> </span>I got hugs and many sincere “I’m sorrys” from our kids.<span style=""> </span>They are sooooo cool.<span style=""> </span>Dona’s death really opened the door for us to talk to the kids.<span style=""> </span>Most kids don’t understand deep subjects like this.<span style=""> </span>Some of them have already experienced this type of loss first-hand.<span style=""> </span>We were able to talk to kids like Marcus Barajas, who lost his mom to cancer just two years ago, about such things as why some people die from cancer, and some don’t.<span style=""> </span>God does open doors……..</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">·</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="FONT-SIZE:7pt;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">This weekend, we are taking two groups up to Camp MayMac to support Iglesia during their Family Camp.<span style=""> </span>Our kids will be working with the younger kids from Iglesia so that the parents can be involved in the camp program.<span style=""> </span>It is so neat to see them serving.<span style=""> </span>This is why kids like Jose say, “I’m at MY church.”<span style=""> </span>Isn’t that awesome????</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Thank you for your continued support of Farm Drive.<span style=""> </span>Your prayer for the kids and their families is vital to the ministry here.<span style=""> </span>God is so good, and we keep seeing it over and over!!!<span style=""> </span>May God bless you much!!!</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;"> </span></span><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Gary</span></p></div></div>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-11423272899618298552011-06-24T07:17:00.001-07:002011-06-24T07:18:02.348-07:00Update From the Director<div dir="ltr"> <div style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:14pt;color:#000000;"> <div style=""> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Hello Everyone: </span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">For a long, long time, we have been hoping and praying that our Farm Drive <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1308923571_0">high schoolers</span> would join in and become part of our Hillside High School group. This past Sunday, three of our guys went to the High School group and someone invited them to a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1308923571_1">beach party</span> that was happening today. “Can we go,” they asked? Of course we said yes!!! This afternoon, six of our kids joined the Hillside High Schoolers on their beach trip. They had an awesome time!!!</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Well, we picked the kids up at Church tonight, and got another question----“They were talking about <span style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1308923571_2">Hume Lake</span>. Do you think we could go??” Most of you know that our high schoolers go to Hume Lake every summer, and it is one of the most awesomely fun and spiritual times that one could attend!!! Four of our kids are drastically serious about attending. We get the feeling that at least two of these kids are on the verge of making a decision regarding salvation. Isn’t that awesome??? Do we want them to go to Hume Lake this summer?? Of course we do!!! Camp is in about three weeks. There is a <u>minor</u> stumbling block----the cost of the week-long camp is $495. None of these kids will be able to afford camp on their own, but I know that our God has a way to make this possibility into a reality.</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Would you do me a favor??? Would you begin praying with us for Anahi, Javier, Jose and Sergio?? Pray that they will follow through with the camp applications. Pray that if it is truly God’s will, we can find a way to help these kids go to Hume Lake this year. And of course, if God lays it upon your heart to help financially, that would be awesome, too. Just let me know!!! This would be a true investment in the Kingdom!!</span><br /><br /></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">May God Bless you much!!!</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;"> Gary</span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT:13pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size:11pt;">PS: I hope to have a more complete update out to you this weekend. Watch for it!!! There is a lot going on!! </span></i></p></div></div></div>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-62375434031517184852011-06-05T16:45:00.000-07:002011-06-07T10:01:23.921-07:00Weekend Camping TripIn May we had our annual camping trip to the coast. We have gone the last few years to Memorial Park but it was closed this year. We went back to Portola State Park near La Honda where we have been to in the past. It turned out not to be a very good weather weekend being cold with a chance of rain. We actually left Saturday night with a storm coming in. We spent the night at Gary's house and cooked breakfast there. But we did get over 24 hours of true camping. Below is Gary leading a talk around the campfire about what our fears are. Great discussion.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixf3WB74StZeJNjPcVIz_bH2aAX-qE3iXoYisLMbMPd_D9CrGGedWbVHOD1uUocTwKu8FFxRWne9Arn4hK-ddF_D1VANM01ROzHdUPJfIn-QcJADyiyRLPO8b93w4gT7dBqETaxpf4Ydht/s1600/225860_10150200500568254_744463253_7069086_4253504_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614886843689471266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixf3WB74StZeJNjPcVIz_bH2aAX-qE3iXoYisLMbMPd_D9CrGGedWbVHOD1uUocTwKu8FFxRWne9Arn4hK-ddF_D1VANM01ROzHdUPJfIn-QcJADyiyRLPO8b93w4gT7dBqETaxpf4Ydht/s400/225860_10150200500568254_744463253_7069086_4253504_n.jpg" /></a>Some of the different things that we did were play board games.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPSH-Q94_su-WKDcZ0gKJrkGyTiNBKx3XzHPdOoY90hOZq0YJix7tdDE8pAxlvVV0mwnSqMtqd8L0Ube-Wa-jIefAELdTQwqaLe0gren7QMzcrl3D-viDLskXwaIHLj6o8lx7H4gLDctV/s1600/229083_10150200501858254_744463253_7069109_952224_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614886738360313858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPSH-Q94_su-WKDcZ0gKJrkGyTiNBKx3XzHPdOoY90hOZq0YJix7tdDE8pAxlvVV0mwnSqMtqd8L0Ube-Wa-jIefAELdTQwqaLe0gren7QMzcrl3D-viDLskXwaIHLj6o8lx7H4gLDctV/s400/229083_10150200501858254_744463253_7069109_952224_n.jpg" /></a>The campsite as we prepared a meal. Everyone took part in helping cooking and clean up.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQ22RTOkPV7qTVjzILnTIQ6X_HLXufnMjOZswZ1edPyIoLCmNX0-02qhI8Mc8rLD48NrvTN0SwhlSkSYetP6HxXN-Xs1QMBxb4ULM7fhJT931l8A4T5T9DxggPsHQY69xxp32iDKcPiNZ/s1600/230247_10150200504928254_744463253_7069164_1703441_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614886672571463506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQ22RTOkPV7qTVjzILnTIQ6X_HLXufnMjOZswZ1edPyIoLCmNX0-02qhI8Mc8rLD48NrvTN0SwhlSkSYetP6HxXN-Xs1QMBxb4ULM7fhJT931l8A4T5T9DxggPsHQY69xxp32iDKcPiNZ/s400/230247_10150200504928254_744463253_7069164_1703441_n.jpg" /></a>Saturday afternoon some of us went on a hike. Exploring the redwoods and the creek is always fun.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWhCGfec4VcTEZVnEicjcNZzoBoTRW6-SBrR-mSd9iXp5uXhR3vPGlfvMzo9Zq63fnsChBaTtq33tw4ST6nBRqeruKU9sGignUqUJZO20BYhTdl034kxjBmIU_ae_ZkEmw5ZhBvDEltwGK/s1600/230307_10150200507843254_744463253_7069218_1541676_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614886593531818530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWhCGfec4VcTEZVnEicjcNZzoBoTRW6-SBrR-mSd9iXp5uXhR3vPGlfvMzo9Zq63fnsChBaTtq33tw4ST6nBRqeruKU9sGignUqUJZO20BYhTdl034kxjBmIU_ae_ZkEmw5ZhBvDEltwGK/s400/230307_10150200507843254_744463253_7069218_1541676_n.jpg" /></a><br />We found a rope hanging from a tree along the creek not far from our campsite. Although the water was extremely cold a few brave souls went for a "swim"! Brrrr!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzyP7aFFeatsyaljaFPVHgSmPD40UC7Szmqq0H_YFRM-k-g8aRADZxYdQFhUaf-njSTwoKbfuZvadY5M-ztA_mQ7Wpo0jk1Tj7JXHtj9MQM5AatsUQKNQeJy5poxx-lrYYYvv99aZHi3A/s1600/230418_10150200508468254_744463253_7069230_7426840_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614886490264583058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzyP7aFFeatsyaljaFPVHgSmPD40UC7Szmqq0H_YFRM-k-g8aRADZxYdQFhUaf-njSTwoKbfuZvadY5M-ztA_mQ7Wpo0jk1Tj7JXHtj9MQM5AatsUQKNQeJy5poxx-lrYYYvv99aZHi3A/s400/230418_10150200508468254_744463253_7069230_7426840_n.jpg" /></a>This is the hiking group.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimoLxVT-kxdnRK0lCxi_aw3ZsWHww1MwdEP2BtsyyHnhq2r7ihFmpMsKKz2esNhQmAip4tgxvHfN5J1Rbo1DatZ0pyU6Y1c2oIxjGmsq0BxpnNuWWBBp6ePz7h6zGykTqibEQjJVpE9D-0/s1600/225781_10150200507213254_744463253_7069208_6430757_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614886398752219378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimoLxVT-kxdnRK0lCxi_aw3ZsWHww1MwdEP2BtsyyHnhq2r7ihFmpMsKKz2esNhQmAip4tgxvHfN5J1Rbo1DatZ0pyU6Y1c2oIxjGmsq0BxpnNuWWBBp6ePz7h6zGykTqibEQjJVpE9D-0/s400/225781_10150200507213254_744463253_7069208_6430757_n.jpg" /></a>This is one of the best trips we do every year as it is a great time to build relationships and get away from the grind of every day life. The kids always love it. It always builds memories for everyone!Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-41374005232798670132011-06-04T10:41:00.000-07:002011-06-07T09:58:21.078-07:00Comments from MentorsI have shared in the past about our CRAM program. We have just completed the 2nd school year of the program and here are a few comments about some of the work that is going on.<br /><br />This first one is written by Patty (Havens) telling about a mentor, Paty S. and her relationship with a mentee:<br /><br /><span style="font-family:';color:blue;">I want to add one thing to all the mentors and that is that Elizabeth is feeling the love from Paty. They are meeting regularly, Paty is giving Elizabeth homework, and Elizabeth is actually doing the homework. Elizabeth is one of our harder to reach students. She is doing individual studies, only goes to school one day a week. We had no clue that Paty would be the perfect mentor for Elizabeth. Elizabeth feels love and care from Paty and for Elizabeth, that is huge.<br /><br />The following comments are f rom Betty Watson, a mentor. </span><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';color:#548dd4;">I also want to share with all of you some amazing and wonderful info about another Elizabeth, or as she prefers to be called “Eli”. Eli has had a very hard year losing a close friend about a year ago to death in a gang “drive by shooting”. She tells everyone in authority that I am her “advocate” and her Mom has actually signed papers legalizing that position for me in Eli’s life which has given me opportunity and open doors in both the school and the medical field with her doctors and counselor. It has been a long haul this year with Eli, up and down – in and out of school – meetings, appointments with doctors and counselors, school nurse, attendance personnel, etc. </span></b></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';color:#548dd4;">But, finally in the last few weeks there has been a significant turnaround in Eli choices and attitudes. Yesterday when I picked her up after school she told me she was sorry the year was over and she was going to miss school. She also told me next year was a new opportunity for her to make good choices and have a fresh start. In the last month I am seeing a new Eli, whose attitude has changed; she smiles, talks, shares her feelings, made a cake to take to her class two weeks ago to share in a party there, took her camera to take pictures at the last Frosh pep rally, etc. All of a sudden she is coming alive in a way I have never seen before. Yesterday when she came up to my car to get in, she was glowing!! I told her she was beautiful. After school she told me others noticed and commented on how pretty she looked. I told her it was because she was smiling – even her eyes were shining with life. That her beauty was coming from inside her. (She tells me she has given her life to Jesus.</span></b></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';color:#548dd4;">I will continue to take her to her weekly counseling appointments this summer which will keep us connected the next two months. We will do lunch along with those trips as well as some other little things. I pray God will continue to bring hope into Eli’s life as we continue to talk about what a relationship with Jesus looks like. </span></b><br /></p><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';color:#548dd4;">Also, Lupe just completed two entire years at Broadway yesterday. She just kept saying on the way home – “I can’t believe two whole years have gone by.” This is a huge accomplishment as she had only 30 credits toward her graduation requirement of 240 credits when she began at Broadway. It looks as though she may be able to graduate next February. She has also been getting special after school reading tutoring in the “Barton Program” two afternoons a week since February and this summer it will increase to 4 times a week. She is working so hard to learn to overcome her <span id="lw_1307209205_0" class="yshortcuts">learning disabilities</span> and to raise her son well! And she is doing it. Mikey is a bright little boy nearly 2 ½ years old. It is a joy to watch how much he is learning at school also. </span></b><br /></p><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';color:#548dd4;">I just wanted all of you to be encouraged at how God is working in these three lives. As my long time mentor always told me while at Farm Drive – “Keep pressin’ on”. God is faithful, He will use us if we show up. That is what keeps me going when I feel overwhelmed. </span></b><br /></p><b><span style="font-family:'sans-serif';color:#548dd4;">Have a wonderful summer in the Lord!! Blessings, Betty </span></b><br /><span style="font-family:';color:blue;"><br /></span>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-6594164634944376322011-04-02T16:59:00.000-07:002011-04-19T20:11:38.212-07:00Love and Faith Celebration DinnerOn April 1st, Hillside Church had a Celebration Dinner starting off their Love and Faith Stewardship Campaign. They asked Ruben to cook the meal so he had some Farm Drive kids help with food preparation but more importantly, to serve the food. Below is the group getting last minute instructions.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vWy8COjtbnBMqyjRS_UHnGKcg2J6MF5z6-HiHbOaKOeWXfjLLrCMhE_qhIG09a1YFE3ihPdEizjoA3JpX8KDo7W71mbsGx9KBh2cruJCqAqvDRhDyXkKhiKawBuczPJkf7Up4N1pgnkH/s1600/205180_10150159279183254_744463253_6707494_158427_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591145186838423874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vWy8COjtbnBMqyjRS_UHnGKcg2J6MF5z6-HiHbOaKOeWXfjLLrCMhE_qhIG09a1YFE3ihPdEizjoA3JpX8KDo7W71mbsGx9KBh2cruJCqAqvDRhDyXkKhiKawBuczPJkf7Up4N1pgnkH/s400/205180_10150159279183254_744463253_6707494_158427_n.jpg" /></a>We had two lines of people getting food.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBk37I4H81-W3-I0WwZG_8s-tSkNRecrLZkRvirwOX6DX_RimtqaV802DmHO5BJ4Uxk1VO7ymUdrs0VMbj4ZDvsfulFV6bOW7XNWGBrebFa5LpQrBeyNR10R9L7aRof13AaBvq3OHZ-VZ/s1600/206632_10150159279723254_744463253_6707499_4312983_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591145075396675250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBk37I4H81-W3-I0WwZG_8s-tSkNRecrLZkRvirwOX6DX_RimtqaV802DmHO5BJ4Uxk1VO7ymUdrs0VMbj4ZDvsfulFV6bOW7XNWGBrebFa5LpQrBeyNR10R9L7aRof13AaBvq3OHZ-VZ/s400/206632_10150159279723254_744463253_6707499_4312983_n.jpg" /></a>Cristina was doing an outstanding job of serving. She was talking to everyone by name. Many were surprised that she knew their name not realizing they were wearing name tags!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FIkZWzf1IuSgKi-1GdQ1F_OOREQ7kyk4SXi5SOcOY8WS50h8aq82dXq13onwnd76j3-mNG-hFw_c05H5bpwIZqARSr50wOQ69AUrX1Vp1S5_MEDlT1EDdw0sv4qOkqim1Idw-Awlk48g/s1600/207660_10150159279498254_744463253_6707497_3259368_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591144942307479170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FIkZWzf1IuSgKi-1GdQ1F_OOREQ7kyk4SXi5SOcOY8WS50h8aq82dXq13onwnd76j3-mNG-hFw_c05H5bpwIZqARSr50wOQ69AUrX1Vp1S5_MEDlT1EDdw0sv4qOkqim1Idw-Awlk48g/s400/207660_10150159279498254_744463253_6707497_3259368_n.jpg" /></a>Cristina and Jessica were in charge of drinks for the dessert.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zC_3rEvkttPHFqZIUQXSgCBfpf4u3Q6wbFVsofjZQ4uvMUx_hEUj8BrFoO4rjZB1KeBTSWuGFpEn1yVO-fOXwItzzPYtqIuf031Q2JibyTrjC8ilry50Kbk0fCKrF2bpr5rvwxOZAZ74/s1600/197428_10150159281478254_744463253_6707530_2948130_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591144823758685330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zC_3rEvkttPHFqZIUQXSgCBfpf4u3Q6wbFVsofjZQ4uvMUx_hEUj8BrFoO4rjZB1KeBTSWuGFpEn1yVO-fOXwItzzPYtqIuf031Q2JibyTrjC8ilry50Kbk0fCKrF2bpr5rvwxOZAZ74/s400/197428_10150159281478254_744463253_6707530_2948130_n.jpg" /></a>Lupe and Dariela like to bake. They both would like to make a career out of baking. We asked them if they would like to bake the desserts for the Celebration. They did lots of different types of cookies, cupcakes, and cakes. They did an excellent job.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3y-U9DDyhRRbtIauZHX9rbkk_00fxGVUZNurN7uniJ-7Bc7nCZzuFdDUqmY6CeovvGCL_E8utR66MBKSXGdsYBJPpFa7VlSzimbVrye9krgb0VDW9cQTDqVhsD3WSOtwimCT2b7lAet5/s1600/196844_10150159280343254_744463253_6707514_4909233_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591144735359529186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3y-U9DDyhRRbtIauZHX9rbkk_00fxGVUZNurN7uniJ-7Bc7nCZzuFdDUqmY6CeovvGCL_E8utR66MBKSXGdsYBJPpFa7VlSzimbVrye9krgb0VDW9cQTDqVhsD3WSOtwimCT2b7lAet5/s400/196844_10150159280343254_744463253_6707514_4909233_n.jpg" /></a>Since Farm Drive is one of the recipients of some of the money raised during this campaign, they asked if we had somebody who would share about their experiences. Jose, below, shared how the Center has made an impact on his life and on his family too!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_XJov686Gxt-jbM7rztwzLxIq1bVhZ0nbjcZkC5WA5rmm6ysmhbsDwtev2P3eqCPmjdEjDdzVDuOIk3NFfmTXWFJWHSwV90yeHeC8kxVGlp0CKOSkjI9r8QNIvrAmLlZ_L5D6tpLpk9Q/s1600/198064_10150159281078254_744463253_6707525_4326448_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591144533145236178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_XJov686Gxt-jbM7rztwzLxIq1bVhZ0nbjcZkC5WA5rmm6ysmhbsDwtev2P3eqCPmjdEjDdzVDuOIk3NFfmTXWFJWHSwV90yeHeC8kxVGlp0CKOSkjI9r8QNIvrAmLlZ_L5D6tpLpk9Q/s400/198064_10150159281078254_744463253_6707525_4326448_n.jpg" /></a>Group picture! We had a very long and hard day with preparation, serving, and cleaning up. But it was well worth it! What a great team!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBytDMmZF86ThRXFpoMZsZQ6Ol8J4V6QoFgHIg_XZ0LqMy7ghsc7Af79vHMuwv2t6j2rheBz8AwUP1-yIoXdU2vd9sA_XwZalfopk5wNcsoiRcHAvn98AY-9sbdhUHweCNNJpoAixhdNQ3/s1600/197584_10150159281213254_744463253_6707527_7883550_n%25281%2529.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591143569478129602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBytDMmZF86ThRXFpoMZsZQ6Ol8J4V6QoFgHIg_XZ0LqMy7ghsc7Af79vHMuwv2t6j2rheBz8AwUP1-yIoXdU2vd9sA_XwZalfopk5wNcsoiRcHAvn98AY-9sbdhUHweCNNJpoAixhdNQ3/s400/197584_10150159281213254_744463253_6707527_7883550_n%25281%2529.jpg" /></a>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-79400416455229501102011-04-02T16:15:00.000-07:002011-04-19T14:40:51.548-07:00A Couple of Park DaysA couple times a year the kids have a day off due to a holiday or a teacher in service day. With the kids not having much to do, we schedule different events. Even with the lousy weather this past winter, we had a couple of park days where we got fortunate with the weather. The next two pictures are from Alamaden Park.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnoyEm1fRSdUz5uKDkjZREu3NiMTW_3rHKNo5OV-y7RyoLm8myAOiZBianurKK22yf05IIYM69Q-ohr-tEDti85-8qiSS_EfGAfD_hc3zJcBJQLnrtjsRZfUPjAlZw7KB4wjq7HbpsyMU/s1600/180953_10150114510493254_744463253_6419576_6809472_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnoyEm1fRSdUz5uKDkjZREu3NiMTW_3rHKNo5OV-y7RyoLm8myAOiZBianurKK22yf05IIYM69Q-ohr-tEDti85-8qiSS_EfGAfD_hc3zJcBJQLnrtjsRZfUPjAlZw7KB4wjq7HbpsyMU/s400/180953_10150114510493254_744463253_6419576_6809472_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591130188744023506" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfv0jWxYUWAB8Dpz9r3kFEfSRYbbc2ZWyC34yL8eYwv0Qu9BiAxi467KiPM1U2uNqwsFWRIhVpdl_ddSyZTkcVhcOqhnCKgioWqvuIf2cOXTILe61zTNbuop83-abV9wDpPYXC-slWp_I/s1600/184863_10150114510823254_744463253_6419587_7104844_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfv0jWxYUWAB8Dpz9r3kFEfSRYbbc2ZWyC34yL8eYwv0Qu9BiAxi467KiPM1U2uNqwsFWRIhVpdl_ddSyZTkcVhcOqhnCKgioWqvuIf2cOXTILe61zTNbuop83-abV9wDpPYXC-slWp_I/s400/184863_10150114510823254_744463253_6419587_7104844_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591130116829023314" border="0" /></a>The next group of pictures were from another day at the park. This is at Hellyer Park. Beautiful Park.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVJtP2RkH0k6Qb_2i0Ik_v4mnjH680ajlinMdu3FlHn5P4AmDMR9CTamqTM85RuTSONDYtmobl94UHzpF-FHHL9uW8fBWN9TrsTVUxnHxSmKOAGr5pl00AXJm21_7XU3zmcV7mX_IQurK/s1600/200226_10150129734388254_744463253_6563638_1662496_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVJtP2RkH0k6Qb_2i0Ik_v4mnjH680ajlinMdu3FlHn5P4AmDMR9CTamqTM85RuTSONDYtmobl94UHzpF-FHHL9uW8fBWN9TrsTVUxnHxSmKOAGr5pl00AXJm21_7XU3zmcV7mX_IQurK/s400/200226_10150129734388254_744463253_6563638_1662496_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591130013701086434" border="0" /></a><br />Played a little Bocce Ball. A few of our helpers - Lee, Kay, and Amanda with Michael.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-f6CYKK9em3Nndt6VprdjMpBofVr9dDSo_Z2IDQ75AifFRpWpF5J27x5yRAwVgr4X-fhw5SGGiUBmcgwoUH0FPD3pemM-RjSQMjlIYzDWME-0G9gRxHkvJFHc6orTs8mJnO2tgZ7neOm4/s1600/190776_10150129733763254_744463253_6563622_2158482_n+-+Copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-f6CYKK9em3Nndt6VprdjMpBofVr9dDSo_Z2IDQ75AifFRpWpF5J27x5yRAwVgr4X-fhw5SGGiUBmcgwoUH0FPD3pemM-RjSQMjlIYzDWME-0G9gRxHkvJFHc6orTs8mJnO2tgZ7neOm4/s400/190776_10150129733763254_744463253_6563622_2158482_n+-+Copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591129887504707426" border="0" /></a>The whole gang. Taking the picture is Gary's friend from Kosovo who was visiting him. He is currently in college in Texas.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixF00myT-zFBFO5TB7BtmmwpaDSoQizp3cumoNpeIUrdWWB5QxIoPo0yhZy9jtWX95s2yJYrE4hsI_eHCW6l9R3iP-8NSV-qFzgNG-TWsFNjQLXWnMH5i8y0A9MMm_L46OTxUs-Rz3W1iH/s1600/199118_10150129734728254_744463253_6563645_71777_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixF00myT-zFBFO5TB7BtmmwpaDSoQizp3cumoNpeIUrdWWB5QxIoPo0yhZy9jtWX95s2yJYrE4hsI_eHCW6l9R3iP-8NSV-qFzgNG-TWsFNjQLXWnMH5i8y0A9MMm_L46OTxUs-Rz3W1iH/s400/199118_10150129734728254_744463253_6563645_71777_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591129747138601378" border="0" /></a>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-59455192072217588092011-04-02T14:33:00.000-07:002011-04-02T15:38:28.037-07:00Crystal's QuinceaneraCrystal who is a part of the Center had her Quinceanera last week. A few of us were involved as Padrina's. Below is Crystal with Ruben and Gary. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAB9fz8H9EJltIBFYpR5mAGTsc1ySt5gBur6ZBcGC3PGQsCmLxOfB5kd8Hed3f9cA4D4iov1QemzLoUAQauu1QtCnOFjWZ5fg7CArMQPt44orTjJoHEam_Gq1X86wLaRL90DqbaIRSa7c/s1600/200761_10150140631778254_744463253_6660270_7488507_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591104590856826274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAB9fz8H9EJltIBFYpR5mAGTsc1ySt5gBur6ZBcGC3PGQsCmLxOfB5kd8Hed3f9cA4D4iov1QemzLoUAQauu1QtCnOFjWZ5fg7CArMQPt44orTjJoHEam_Gq1X86wLaRL90DqbaIRSa7c/s400/200761_10150140631778254_744463253_6660270_7488507_n.jpg" /></a>One of the things they do at a quinceanera is Crystal picks kids to be a part of a special dance. They are called <i>chambelanes</i>. They practice a special dance, in Crystal's case, a waltz, with the birthday girl. Below is some of the chambelanes actually performing the waltz during the ceremony. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rRUtnBS_yeMM5ru1do-rD0PFSdn_I126Rj1HV1Uxosm1tSGW6Pwn0jXrl7Lj66p05sD1KyYT6lZfngSV2K_ykr6t29eokbRrelfymDTA_eMx6wjQ15R9ONyc1HSiUqijr_Z3FYFgqNcK/s1600/200133_10150140639923254_744463253_6660442_2129216_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591104494128530914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rRUtnBS_yeMM5ru1do-rD0PFSdn_I126Rj1HV1Uxosm1tSGW6Pwn0jXrl7Lj66p05sD1KyYT6lZfngSV2K_ykr6t29eokbRrelfymDTA_eMx6wjQ15R9ONyc1HSiUqijr_Z3FYFgqNcK/s400/200133_10150140639923254_744463253_6660442_2129216_n.jpg" /></a> Two of the chambalenes were Sergio and Jose who are here pictured with Rocky Martinez. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3C8clLfNBAsBeMtDyay5hplhW3IOeCesn69Wd-f74Kf-IQLj50Ka93Gzx0Hbe_V3NXZtwQQ0l3Bturqps9y2xAUks7_sSdLcqXy4e6u7Tr5uYTVyk389IVNe2GaKDGGPguvGoY_coyKw/s1600/199297_10150140632743254_744463253_6660298_3978427_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591104377342173938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3C8clLfNBAsBeMtDyay5hplhW3IOeCesn69Wd-f74Kf-IQLj50Ka93Gzx0Hbe_V3NXZtwQQ0l3Bturqps9y2xAUks7_sSdLcqXy4e6u7Tr5uYTVyk389IVNe2GaKDGGPguvGoY_coyKw/s400/199297_10150140632743254_744463253_6660298_3978427_n.jpg" /></a>Lesley, Jose, Sergio, and Crystal's brother Fidel were all Chambelanes. The next little guy is Crystal's other little brother, Danny. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTGGfcXfR7xVIA-Ro0h-4YOpVn8egTotAkWZxFefsHw37_EyJjEMOynGJqhh19wsTMitLfi-NxHDZCtrbIz-jWRpQFTYtectdgxD4ciJtTvqK7DZQno5EMRb-Dm0WRwH1iMQrPqcGp0wE/s1600/199249_10150140634198254_744463253_6660325_5894256_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591104260134583746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTGGfcXfR7xVIA-Ro0h-4YOpVn8egTotAkWZxFefsHw37_EyJjEMOynGJqhh19wsTMitLfi-NxHDZCtrbIz-jWRpQFTYtectdgxD4ciJtTvqK7DZQno5EMRb-Dm0WRwH1iMQrPqcGp0wE/s400/199249_10150140634198254_744463253_6660325_5894256_n.jpg" /></a> Rocky and Crystal. Rocky is Crystal's mentor in the CRAM program at the Center. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDL4B3ftxhkfHf__H7XGDGx5O37HBwuF3wcJd7Il0exImzwJUmFh56yUsPS369yr9twTFipbKpZFlK9wepN09IST8r2TwTh6hmuES-f1Fqvd1q-ZQtVILbkXtnua04_NeaqWKiWCU63pm/s1600/190707_10150140632368254_744463253_6660286_2804437_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591104101595434082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDL4B3ftxhkfHf__H7XGDGx5O37HBwuF3wcJd7Il0exImzwJUmFh56yUsPS369yr9twTFipbKpZFlK9wepN09IST8r2TwTh6hmuES-f1Fqvd1q-ZQtVILbkXtnua04_NeaqWKiWCU63pm/s400/190707_10150140632368254_744463253_6660286_2804437_n.jpg" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cmiqS02zMTdnsFKOf0AQ7_3d73D4Qlc8qPRCEjCs4RWHvA96IHEqfuyOjFQlCwPsg1OqkbR-eSurrp0cF9E0ao2fESC3Ak5DOTGKMpkqMe9lByzr-J6ovTxntaXUsRV3_ejfHjfQLSIe/s1600/190135_10150140639328254_744463253_6660432_2440993_n.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591104016042997570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cmiqS02zMTdnsFKOf0AQ7_3d73D4Qlc8qPRCEjCs4RWHvA96IHEqfuyOjFQlCwPsg1OqkbR-eSurrp0cF9E0ao2fESC3Ak5DOTGKMpkqMe9lByzr-J6ovTxntaXUsRV3_ejfHjfQLSIe/s400/190135_10150140639328254_744463253_6660432_2440993_n.jpg" /></a>It was a fun evening down in Morgan Hill. Us American's are not used to a slow relaxing pace for an event! It is supposed to be a time of just enjoying the moment with friends and family and if it takes a long time to get through the planned events, that's ok. Just need to be out of the place by one in the morning!Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-70861363252122626152011-03-29T14:31:00.000-07:002011-03-29T15:56:33.279-07:00Special Education CertificateI just realized that we have not posted here in about a month. Kinda get busy and forget to post some updates of the goings on around here! Last night Gary, Patty, and I (Pete) went to an awards presentation of a community Advisory Committee who started 3 years ago recognizing people and institutions who do outstanding work in the area of special needs in the San Jose Unified School District area. Someone nominated Farm Drive and we were recognized at the awards ceremony last night! Each person/group that was recognized had a short little tidbit on what they do and why they were nominated. Many were teachers from the district. It was truly an inspiring night! Below is our certificate! Good job Gary and Patty! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswIwp6qOQtXRK5bD3TLWsWyciBsImhkTNRaAuzOxtOM9D4Anz-8HSbHhpZmZbNV9TOdO0OJ2pMmjGusNiyvq_HO8jG7hBvrG720CGtRkO8p1kbBr_1enuZqxQHdikxox-ycLKqoGW4ham/s1600/DSCN2684.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 288px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589617880351409058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswIwp6qOQtXRK5bD3TLWsWyciBsImhkTNRaAuzOxtOM9D4Anz-8HSbHhpZmZbNV9TOdO0OJ2pMmjGusNiyvq_HO8jG7hBvrG720CGtRkO8p1kbBr_1enuZqxQHdikxox-ycLKqoGW4ham/s400/DSCN2684.JPG" /></a>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-91502742260348534502011-02-28T09:26:00.000-08:002011-02-28T09:30:08.268-08:00Update From the DirectorHey Everyone:<br /><br /><br /><br />I want to start by saying thank you for your continued support for Farm Drive. Things are happening down here. It is so neat to be part of such a vital and vibrant ministry. It is evident that God is on the move in the neighborhood. I hope that you are all doing well. I am currently in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for a gymnastics tournament. No, no………….I am not competing!! I am a total spectator. Even trying to get up on that balance beam would be treacherous!!! We just wanted to update you on a few things happening in the neighborhood.<br /><br /><br /><br />· In January, we took 10 of our older kids to the snow. Thanks to Mike and Terry Sodergren, we had a great place to stay. I don’t particularly like snow, but for some reason the kids love it!! We decided to “tell our stories” to the kids, and Patty, Pete and I each shared our journeys in life---all very different, but all with a consistent theme----God is in control and we can trust Him. Afterward, we gave each of the kids a time to share, and there were some very intimate moments, including broken families, families with substance abuse, split families due to deportation of a parent, etc. One of their consistent themes was that they find love and respect at the Farm Drive Neighborhood Center. No matter what our situation, God loves us and has something better in store for us. This was a highlight of my time at Farm Drive!!<br /><br /><br /><br />· Earlier this year, we decided to open up the Center for homework extra homework assistance on Wednesday evenings. We started slow………..one or two kids and four or five leaders. For the last several weeks, we have been having 8-10 kids show up for help. Not bad when we are dealing with 3rd and 4th grade homework. Know what these kids are learning now?? Try graphing equations, figuring out which elements have negative ions, solving quadratic equations by completing the square, etc. Remember that stuff??? I remember hearing about them!!! Math was a really easy subject for me in school, but I tell you what---a lot of that is gone from my memory now!! If you have math and science skills, we could sure use you!!! Talk to Patty or me for more details. One of our most recent attendees is Ruben T, who has kind of written school off…..it’s just not important. For the last few weeks, he has been attending and I admire him for the strides he is making!!<br /><br /><br /><br />· Several of our kids are helping out at Hillside on Sunday mornings. For several months, Sergio and Jose have been ushering for the first service. Now Alan has joined in the usher ranks!! These three guys are also helping in the nursery when needed, and are joined by Crystal, Jessica and Inez. It’s good to see the kids in “serving roles.” Oh, talking about serving-----we have about 12 kids who are going to be serving at the Faith and Love Beyond Ourselves Celebration banquet on April 1st. Normally, our resident caterer, Ruben Escobedo HIRES the kids to work events and pays them for their service. We asked them to consider helping to serve at this event with no pay, to give back to Hillside for all of the things our Church has done for them. EVERYONE OF THE KIDS WE ASKED IS EAGER TO SERVE!!! Isn’t that neat??? Please mark your calendar----this is an event that you won’t want to miss. One of our kids will be sharing his experience with the Farm Drive Neighborhood Center. I’m eager to hear what he has to say!!!<br /><br /><br /><br />· Our CRAM Program is moving along. We have seven kids who “made the grade” for this past grading period. This is AWESOME. Some of them are just below the mark, and are trying hard to get their grades up. Each of these kids was given a gift card to Panda Express as a reward for achieving their goal. We have a Hillside member who is contributing $5 for every “A” during a grading period, and as soon as our wandering CRAM Director (Becky Kompelien) comes back from Africa, we will be giving out $100 for “A”s. Very cool. I do have to tell you about Omar. Omar had pretty much straight “F”s at the end of the first semester in December. I had a long talk with him about the importance of education and all that. He did tell me he would try harder this semester. About a week before the end of the grading period, Omar texted me and asked if I had checked his grades. I told him that I had not had a chance and asked what his grades were. He told me he had four “A”s and two “B”s. I remember looking at Patty and saying, “I don’t know if he’s messing with me, or what.” Well, he wasn’t!!! When I asked him what changed, he said, “I gave you my word that I would try.” Talk about commitment!! Isn’t that awesome???<br /><br /><br /><br />· We recently had a momentary slip in judgment and scheduled what we called “19 Hours of Fun”, an overnight experience lasting, duh, 19 hours!!! What were we thinking??? We had 23 kids and nine leaders (five stayed all night!!). We played in the park, we BBQed, we played Wii, Farkle and Wii, we made cookies-----and several of the braver kids even swam!! What fun these kids are. We made it through all 19 hours, and had all 23 kids at the end………….and they were even the same kids we started with!!! This is the stuff memories are made of!<br /><br /><br /><br />· A few of our older kids have expressed an interest in participating on a short-term missions trip to Kosovo this summer. They have heard me talk about my experiences and the work we do that, and are interested in checking it out. I know it would be an eye-opener for them. It is a bit more costly than other trips we take with the kids and we will need some divine intervention to work out finances. Please pray with us about direction for this trip. If it is something that God wants us to do, He will work it out.<br /><br /><br /><br />Thank you so much for all you do to support the ministry at Farm Drive. Kids and families are being touched on a regular basis. We could not do it without your prayers and financial support. May God Bless you as you have blessed the families in the neighborhood!!!<br /><br /><br /><br />GaryPete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-31901346770559857212011-02-26T13:36:00.000-08:002011-02-27T08:08:56.763-08:0019 hours of fun - praying for dinnerAnother video shot that night. Turn up your volume...pretty cute.<br /><br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RY2Q236XotM?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" width="480" frameborder="0" height="295"></iframe>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-85841665814240371962011-02-26T13:25:00.000-08:002011-02-27T08:06:58.669-08:0019 Hours of Fun - Wii playing at Gary'sDuring the week of February 21st, the kids were out of school for the holidays. Numerous events were planned but the first one was called 19 Hours of Fun. From 3 pm on Monday afternoon until 11 am the next day, 20 kids plus a few adults spent the time at Gary's house. From playing at the local park, to swimming, to playing different games, playing cops and robbers at the park in the dark, the time was packed with fun. Here are a few videos I took. More pictures later.<br /><br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yuthTDuwy8k?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" width="480" frameborder="0" height="295"></iframe>Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1607114791081873360.post-30694772900986107992011-02-15T15:49:00.000-08:002011-02-19T08:56:25.131-08:00When 1000 Grandmothers PrayGary, Patty and I went to a CCDA Regional Conference (<a href="http://www.ccda.org/">Christian Community Development</a> Conference) this past weekend. At lunch Gary and I met Loretta. She goes into various girls homes and foster homes and just hangs out with the girls. She has also met a lot of women like her that are older and society tells them they don't have much to offer. But she says we can pray for these girls. She started a blog and sends out emails to grandmothers who sign up for her blog to pray for different girls every week.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmUvnrPuH_F8vZMxlAGim44JknF67qTbvBn3GNgu7vwsRBQeTXVZtYUwi6R6ZxD4yTzUBBAgJjvNyJsSYJCFpX9GBAYOSDzfZmkUH2bYmKjmGyYxSwHziQIze3IhCGKK0k16J9naMDHEF/s1600/royalkidsprayingforme.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmUvnrPuH_F8vZMxlAGim44JknF67qTbvBn3GNgu7vwsRBQeTXVZtYUwi6R6ZxD4yTzUBBAgJjvNyJsSYJCFpX9GBAYOSDzfZmkUH2bYmKjmGyYxSwHziQIze3IhCGKK0k16J9naMDHEF/s400/royalkidsprayingforme.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574067875868848418" border="0" /></a>The blog is called <a href="http://when1000grandmotherspray.blogspot.com/">When 1000 Grandmothers Pray</a>.<br /><br />She sure was inspiring to talk to. I hope and pray that I can be that focused and determined at that age!<br /><br />Check it out.Pete and Pattyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12389329903553610963noreply@blogger.com0