Family Care Foundation Newsletter:

Volume 2 -- No. 1 -- March 1998

"Teens-on-Track" — USA

By Dan and Katie Roselle

Katie and I are the directors of the Teens-on-Track program. We have a combined total of 50 years of experience in the field of education and guidance counselling and have worked in many different countries and cultures.

Dan and Katie Roselle

We began Teens-on-Track in 1996 as an answer to the heart-cry of teens and their parents for wholesome activities that not only keep young people out of trouble, but also have a strong positive impact in their lives. Being parents of teens ourselves, we are well aware of the difficulties facing young people today. One of our objectives is to not only educate teenagers, but in the process of doing so, make them more aware of the needs of others.

In 1997, we organized a total of 19 camps, seminars and excursions in which more than 350 young people participated. The programs last from five to 14 days, with small groups of eight to 15 teenagers. Several of these programs involved hiking, camping and biking at such notable locations as the Grand Canyon, Mount Ranier and Baja California. Other camps have centered around computer training, horse-care and animal husbandry. Whatever the program, we interact with the teens virtually 24 hours a day. So, in addition to the educational value of these camps, we are able to counsel with them to improve their communication skills, help them learn teamwork and how to avoid negative peer pressure through group discussion sessions.

Taking a rest stop during a bicycle tour on the San Juan Islands, Washington State

It was a very rewarding and fulfilling year as we saw such dramatic changes in the lives of so many of the young people. It is amazing what can be accomplished just by spending time with them, showing a genuine interest and giving them undivided attention. We are eagerly looking forward to another year of close involvement in the lives of more of the youth of our nation.

Terry, Juanita and Jessica sharing a happy moment

Teens-on-Track React:

Anita (17): "It was a rewarding experience
to work in teamwork and cooperation with other teens."

Milan(13): "Seeing what I could do when
challenged was good for me!"

Marie (15): "I learned that it's not so important
to try to keep up with the others, but to do things
at my own pace, and I'd get there."

Sonny (19): "For me, learning to be a
help and a big brother to the younder
teens was a really good experience."

A Word from Our Executive Director

We have some special articles for you in this issue of our newsletter. In addition to highlighting some exciting new projects in the United States and Eastern Europe, we are revisiting two of the many successful projects we funded last year.

We have a heart-warming account of Sean and Evana McGilvra’s work in Mexico. The McGilvras were featured in our July 1997 newsletter, having moved to Mexico to begin their missionary project. In just over six months, they have accomplished a tremendous amount in Cuernavaca and the surrounding region.

The work of project "Heart-to-Heart" with young street people in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco was also highlighted in our July 1997 newsletter. In this month’s issue, we interview a young man named Jimmy. As you will read, his life was dramatically turned around by the compassionate intervention of "Heart-to-Heart" volunteers.

"Teens-on-Track," recently affiliated with Family Care Foundation, is an educational program for teens. We are sure the opportunities and challenges offered to these young people through the efforts of project managers Dan and Katie Roselle will encourage you, as they have us.

Also featured this month is the East European Christian Correspondence Center (EECCC). The EECCC is the recipient of a one-year FCF grant to enhance the tremendous job they are doing in producing and distributing hundreds of thousands of pieces of Christian literature throughout the formerly Communist countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

In closing, please allow me to once again thank each one of you who are continuing to make a difference in the lives of those served by FCF projects. Your sacrificial giving and tireless efforts on behalf of those less fortunate than ourselves is indeed an example worthy of praise, and encourages the same from others. Thank you very much for your continued partnership with us. We greatly appreciate you.

Sincerely,

Lawrence Corley

Jimi: Rescued from the streets of San Francisco

"From the Heart" is a program in the Haight/Ashbury district of San Francisco helping homeless young people, as featured in the July ’97 edition of Family Care Foundation Newsletter. Among the countless lives the "From the Heart" project has touched is 18-year-old Jimi.

A recent Associated Press article startles the reader with the headline, "Drug-induced hospital visits soar. Users of heroin, speed and LSD are swamping emergency rooms in San Francisco." The article quotes Darryl Inaba, director of the Haight/Ashbury Free Clinic’s detoxification program: "Thirty years after the Summer of Love, the city long known for its drug scene is seeing a re-emergence of overdoses and drug deaths. San Francisco has a reputation in the world among all people that epitomizes Timothy Leary’s ‘Turn on, tune in, drop out’. The belief is that you can get any drug you want."

Following is Jimi’s story:

I am 18 years old, and was born in Bellingham, Washington. My parents divorced when I was about four, leaving my brother and I to be raised by my dad. My dad was taking drugs and drinking a lot at the time. As we grew older, my brother and I became increasingly difficult to handle. By the time I was 12, I decided to leave home.

I slept on the streets of Bellingham with the homeless—under bridges and in abandoned houses, or in the woods when it wasn’t raining. I started drinking alcohol, smoking pot and cigarettes and eventually started taking LSD and other drugs. I would get into fights and often wake up not knowing what had happened. I got picked up by the police repeatedly but each time they took me home, I would run away again.

When I was 16, I hitch-hiked to San Francisco and went to the Haight/Ashbury district where there are a lot of kids like me living on the streets. I was hanging out on the streets and pan-handling for money. I drank a lot of wine and smoked a lot of pot. I had become very depressed with my life and thought there was no way out and that I would be living on the streets for the rest of my life.

During that time I met two people from From the Heart. They had been helping other kids to get off of drugs and find a more useful life. They were remodeling an apartment building and hired me to work for them. They taught me a lot about building and construction so that I am now trained in that vocation. While this was going on, they also taught me about the Bible which I studied with them as I continued my vocational training.

With their help, my life has really changed! I have had a complete turn around. I am completely off drugs and alcohol now and have a deep-rooted love for the Bible and a desire to help others as I was helped. I have also learned a very useful trade and feel that my life now has meaning. The main thing I want to do from now on is to help others that are down and out on the streets or taking drugs, because I know how it feels. I have decided to join the From the Heart team full-time to help other kids like me. I’ve been there and that’s the least I can do.

Jimi when he began his vocational traning with "From the Heart"	Jimi sharing his story at our annual banquet

The Eastern European Christian Correspondence Center (EECCC) began its outreach in 1990 with the objective of providing Christian publications for the citizens of the former Soviet Union and East Bloc countries. They now produce, publish and distribute Christian literature in Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovakian and Slovenian.

Staffed by a small group of dedicated missionaries, the EECCC has established two Bible-based correspondence courses, one for adults, and another for children. Since their ministry began, staff members have translated over 2,800 Christian publications and produced a phenomenal 22 million pages of Christian educational literature. Over 83,000 people from 39 countries have corresponded with the EECCC organization, averaging over 2,000 people a month. Seventy-five percent of those who write in are regular correspondents who are progressing steadily through the mailing course. Each person who writes to the EECCC receives a personal response, as well as instructional and inspirational literature in their language.

The EECCC has corresponded with over 83,000 people in 39 countries

In addition to corresponding with citizens of these countries, when possible, EECCC staff members travel great distances to visit them and often hold local seminars to further their Christian education. To date, about 3,200 people have been visited in their homes, and a further 1,700 have attended EECCC seminars. Though these teams travel extensively and try to visit as many people as possible, there are many correspondents that they cannot see. This is particularly true of those who live in isolated sections of Russia, or are inmates of restricted prisons (gulags), or are invalids of state run institutions.

Here is an excerpt of one of the many touching responses
the EECCC staff receive each month:

"I sometimes go through periods of discouragement, when everything looks bleak and gloomy and there seems to be no hope in sight. Sometimes I feel like God has forgotten me and that the loneliness is too great to bear. Then I get literature from you with explanations of why things are the way they are (and that God is in control even when bad things happen). Your letters are like direct answers to my prayers. You are like a central station that passes on messages from God to me. "

— Henryk (Poland)

The McGilvras in Mexico — What one family can do!

The McGilvra family was featured in our July 1997 newsletter and has been working amongst the disadvantaged in Mexico since that time.

Since our arrival in Mexico our children’s band, "Los Chavitos Pioneros," formerly "The Luvletts," has been very busy. We have performed at orphanages, schools, a senior citizens’ home, as well as for a group which helps underprivileged families find work and overcome problems with alcoholism. The children also sang on a television show and two radio programs. All of these opportunities have enabled us to comfort and encourage thousands of people.

This past Christmas season was a very busy one for us, and we were able to reach many needy and lonely hearts. Along with other volunteers, we helped organize a special meal for the poor of Mexico City on Christmas Day. Local merchants donated food and we served a free hot meal to over 5,000 people at "El Zocalo," the main plaza of downtown Mexico City. It was very moving to see how thankful the people were, not only for the food, but also for the love and concern that it represented. Some of them were shaking when they received their plates, as they hadn’t eaten for two days!

We also participated in a free concert given to those who were fed that day. "Los Chavitos Pioneros" received an enthusiastic response from the audience who demanded several encores! The whole event was a very rewarding experience for our family, and has made us more committed to do all that we can do to help the needy of Mexico.

As another example, only five blocks away from our home, a young woman sells roses on the street corner. She is nine months pregnant with her fourth child. Her husband has deserted them. While she sells flowers, her three sons, ages two, three and nine, play on the sidewalk. The two-year-old spends a lot of time strapped in a little chair so he won’t get run over, as it isn’t possible for his mother to watch him constantly.

When driving home late one evening, our hearts were touched to see this mother still trying to sell flowers. It had obviously not been a good day for her. We both remarked on how cheerful she was in spite of her difficult circumstances. We have started bringing her food, as well as toys and clothes for the children, all of which she is very thankful for. We have also begun a weekly project of distributing bread to many street people like this young mother.

Email: fcf@familycare.org
Copyright 1997-2007 by Family Care Foundation

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