I Love You. Seriously.

True Life Story

Dear Pastor Castro,

Below is my testimony from the Youth Power Group. I appreciate all that God has done through the YPG, so that's why I decided to write this below. If you like, you can use it someday and cut and edit a few things at your convenience, so it can be readable. At least, it will be posted on my facebook. Thank you. This pic - I appear with my graduation cap and gown - is from when I was 20 y.o. - 3 years ago - I barely got my Associates in Arts degree. Everything was going really smooth, until I got sick and tired of life just because IT IS BORING. EVERYTHING started to bore me. Nothing amused me because everything looks mechanical and it starts with one day I am born, then I grow up, then I'm supposed to have friends, give myself to friends and family, marry one day, have children, raise them, grandkids and all THAT effort to die. Well, it ALL changed when I had an encounter with God. It wasn't easy. Believe me. I went to church every Sunday for three years and my life was the same: dull, lifeless, sad, depressive, EVEN jokes, friends or going outs didn't help. It was until I made the decision to give ALL OF MYSELF to God: dreams, goals, fears, doubts, EVERYTHING! I started to trust God THIS time, so I knew that the YPG would help me. Today, I can't wait for my major graduation in Dec., of 2010 for an English with a focus in Literature and a minor in Media Analysis. PLUS some background in Journalism classes, and ESL classes (English as a Second Language). All these will count for 7 1/2 years in college. I'm already dizzy by saying all these things... well... the thing is that I'm impressed of myself because I thought I would never get ANY TIME TO STUDY, just the way of how I was before... uh oh. Lazy, party girl, drunkard, excessive fun - which was temporal - to the point that I would not care about important stuff and my obligations, and other things that I prefer to not state now for the sake of my fingers pressing the keyboard - as of this writing -, but you get the idea. What can I say today? Thank you, God and YPG for helping me out! I never thought I could EVER reach THIS far today in the U.S.... by being a college student and BE happy ... I'm aware that I still have to learn a LOT to become a succesful woman. By succesful, I don't mean to have money, houses, car, but the INTERIOR. One needs to start with the interior self - spiritual -, so the goodness can be shown throughout the exterior. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). I'm not lying, it says on the Bible. Why do you want external things if you're interior is not good? If you want to take a closer look at this, just look at those rich people's actions and the kind of rewards they receive. Did they do good deeds and received So what I'm doing right now is to get closer to God... closer to Him in prayer, fastings, faith, in my behavior, in my attitudes, etc. God and His church is my Father, Mother, Family, Best Friend. He is my everything.

Marcia del Refugio Quijada Ruiz

YPG Phoenix, Arizona

March 26 at 3:28am

Drastic Plea!

My name is Patricia and I’m 17 years old. I’m very weak right now so I’ve asked my friend, Nurse Dani, to help me write this letter. I want to address all the young people of Brazil before it’s too late:

“I used to be a vivacious teen, raised in an excellent upper-middle class family in Florianopolis, Brazil. My father works as an electrical engineer in the largest power company in our state and always provided the best for my two brothers and me, including the freedom I never learned to appreciate.

At age 13, I participated in a modelling contest for a well-known agency and won. I went far in the competition and in the end a couple of girls were chosen to be game show assistants. I was also chosen to be booked for another modelling agency in Sao Paulo.

My beauty made me stand out. Heads turned wherever I went.

I attended the best college in Florianopolis and all the guys at school were at my feet.

On weekends, I went to the mall, the beach and the movies; I hung out with my friends and did all the things life has to offer beautiful people.

But life threw me a curve ball and my luck began changing in October 2004. I went with a group of friends to Oktoberfest in Blumenau (Santa Catarina, Brazil).

My parents trusted me and let me go without much concern. Everything seemed so fabulous in Blumenau. To get things started off that night we had some drinks at Bude a famous bar on 25th St.

Later that night, we went to ‘Proeb’ where the band ‘Cavalinho Branco’ was putting on an awesome show in the Galician Pavilion.

The crowd was rocking out with excitement.

I had already experimented with a few drinks. Without my mother knowing, I used to drink some Amarula liquor, but never enough to get drunk.

I got drunk on beer for the first time on Thursday, the first day of Oktoberfest.

I was smashed the whole night; what a cool sensation! I kissed like 10 guys. My friends mixed soda and beer in a baby bottle to fool the cops because we were minors and couldn’t legally drink. But we drank all night long and those idiots didn’t even notice.

At about 4’o clock in the morning, I was taken to the Emergency Room by some fire fighters because I was going into an alcoholic coma.

They immediately treated me with glucose injections. I almost threw up my guts when I got back to the apartment, but I must admit that I definitely took advantage of my freedom.

The next day, my body was sore and I had a horrible headache; it felt like premenstrual cramps.

On Saturday, we met a group of boys from Sao Paulo that happened to be renting an apartment in the same building as us. Never in my wildest dreams, did I imagine I’d meet my killer that day.

I drank a little on Saturday. The party wasn’t that good, so at about 5:30 in the morning, we decided to go back to the boys’ apartment and just relax for the rest of the morning. A little bit of everything went on that night and I was finally got to try out a joint.

At first I said, “No” but everyone started calling me a wimp. They made so much fun of us, we ended up trying it. It gave me a weird sensation, like a gloomy feeling, but I smoked some more the next day before leaving their apartment.

Marcus, one of the older guys in the group, formed some lines with a white powder, which I later found out was cocaine, and snorted it. They offered me some but I didn’t have the courage to try it that day.

When we got back home to Florianopolis, I noticed a change in myself. I felt the need to try new things and it wasn’t long before I met back up with my murderer: DRUGS again.

Gradually, those I considered to be close friends wouldn’t come around anymore because I was hanging out with a bad crowd, and without noticing, I became an addict. Drugs became part of my daily life.

I went on hallucinating “trips”, smoked weed laced with horse manure and tried cocaine laced with a whole bunch of junk.

We found out that if we mixed blood in with the cocaine, it had a stronger effect. Soon, we not only shared a syringe, but we also shared blood to dilute the powder.

At first, my allowance pretty much covered the costs because we would split the drugs among ourselves and we could afford it. I started buying coke for about $6.00 a gram, but it wasn’t long before I could only find the good stuff for about $12.00 and by now I was using at least five times a day.

I would go out with my “new friends” on Fridays and only come back home on Sundays. Sometimes we bought ecstasy and danced the whole night at the hottest spots… what a blast!

My behaviour at home also changed. My parents quickly took notice, although I tried to hide it at first and told them to mind their own business.

I would steal small things from around the house to sell or trade for drugs. Little by little, the money I was coming up with wasn’t enough so I started sleeping with these old guys in exchange for money. They paid well.

The thought of selling my body made me sick but I had to do it to get the money. With time, my family was being torn apart.

I was admitted into drug rehab treatment centres several times. With much love, my parents spent a fortune trying to reverse the situation.

I would be fine for a couple days after leaving the centre, but eventually ended up sticking myself with needles again. I abandoned everything: school, good friends and family.

In December 2007, I was given my death sentence. I found out that I had contracted the AIDS virus. I don’t know if it was from shooting up drugs or from the unprotected sex.

I must have passed on the virus to a lot of people because men paid more for sex without a condom.

Gradually, my values were faded: family, friends, parents, religion, God—even God—nothing seemed to have a point, it was ridiculous.

I’ll never stop loving my mother and father because they tried everything to save me. They gave me the most precious gift: life and I threw it down the drain.

I was admitted into the hospital, weighing a mere 53 lbs.; horrible. I don’t want any visitors because I don’t want anyone to see me like this. I don’t know how long I’ll live, but I’m asking all young people, with all of my heart, don’t go on this crazy trip.

You certainly will end up regretting it just like I’m regretting it now. Although, now I realise it’s too late for me.”

NOTE: Patricia was admitted to University Hospital in Florianopolis. Danelise, the nurse who took care of her, announced that Patricia died from respiratory failure as a result of AIDS 14 hours after they wrote this letter.

Where do you stand?

Did you know that only 5% of you will really make a difference? The other 95% are maybe thinking about other things... and this is not something I'm making up. This is real.

Everywhere you look you see people and people, teachers and teachers, lawyers and lawyers, doctors and doctors, etc. People you can count on and people who are just there for the money. This difference applies to all professions.

For example, most bus drivers don't even want to look at you and are rude, but then you are surprised when you find one who is polite and cheerful. There are thousands of football players in the world but only one gets the best player award in the world.

"Did you know that only 5% of you will really make a

difference?..."

There are many names in the Bible (just look through the genealogies in the book of Numbers), but there are only a few you are familiar with - Jesus, Abraham, Paul, Moses etc. Why? Because they are the ones that made a difference. They make up the 5%.

This fact also applies to people's spiritual lives. There are many people in the youth group, many who pray, many who call themselves a 'youth of God', but few who are making a difference - and few will be saved.

So now the question is, which group do you belong to? The 95% who only come to the meeting to sleep or to flirt, or who use the youth meetings as excuse to get away from home, or the 5% who are ready to sacrifice. It's not the teacher, the pastor, your parents or even God who chooses, it’s you - you make yourself chosen.

The problem is that many youths know what they should be doing but they don't act, so they end up in the 95%. What are you doing and what do you want? It’s time to wake up!

"...Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy." (Romans 13.11-13)

Paul is warning the Romans to wake up from their spiritual sleep - to stop living carelessly, just taking care of day-to-day obligations and forgetting that Jesus is coming back! If at that time Paul said 'salvation is nearer than when we first believed' and he lived such a long time ago, how much closer are we to it today?

Dear friends, make yourself part of the 5%. WAKE UP to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the work of salvation He began. We can't afford to waste another minute, so 'cast off the works of darkness'. Don't give room for your flesh to work. If you could do whatever you wanted right now, what would that be? Most probably the opposite of what God wants because that's what the flesh wants. When you understand the will of God, you make no provisions for the flesh.

Pr Luke Castro

Let's Talk About Love

Love on your mind?

Many young people, even in the youth group, spend most of their time wondering, ‘When is the right time to start dating? How do I know so and so is the right person for me? What do I do if I like someone?’ etc. They only have love on their minds.

I get emails everyday from youths who’re unsure, confused and anxious about what to do in their love lives. And despite the advice they receive, they can’t help but look around for a boy/girlfriend and when they see someone they get along with, their heart races out of control and they quickly rush a relationship with that person.

And that’s the problem - not that they like someone, but that they rush. They don’t even consult God in their decision... and regret it later on.

I’m sure you’ve already heard that the decision we make today determines the blessing we’ll get tomorrow. Well, the same applies to our love life. As the most important thing after your relationship with God, your love life is something you have to take care of and not rush into. The key to success in this area of your life is trust; when you place your love life in God’s hands you not only save yourself from disappointments but avoid the heartache that many spend years trying to get over.

"And that’s the problem - not that they like someone, but that they rush. They don’t even consult God in their decision... and regret it later on."

In the book of Genesis, we see Jacob and Rachel (Genesis 30:1-22) and Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 25:20-21), two couples both living in the same time, believing in the same God and facing the same problem - both couples wanted children but both wives were unable to conceive.

Jacob and Rachel dealt with it by emotion. Jacob was angry with his wife’s constant complaining and because of Rachel’s anxiety to have a child, she was prepared to even let her husband sleep with another woman (something which in those days was acceptable) to see this happen.

Though the maid conceived, the result they originally intended did not materialise because at the end of the day, Rachel still didn’t give birth to her own son. It wasn’t until much later that"…God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb." (Genesis 30.22)

In contrast, faced with the same problem, "Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived." (Genesis 25.21)

Though the scenario may be different, the same principal applies. You can either be like Jacob and Rachel when it comes to your love life and follow your heart, which by the way is deceitful above all things, or you can trust in God like Isaac and Rebekah.

Remember, the decision you make in your love life today is what will determine the blessing tomorrow. So don’t be anxious, place your love life in God’s hands.

Tap out!

Last Saturday I had the privilege of baptizing 7 youths from our YPG headquarters here in Houston, Texas. It was my first baptism in water ceremony in this particular youth group. In fact, the first of many. It's so good to see young people giving up on this colorful and deceiving world in order to serve God with the best they have, their youth. Baptism is faith in action. I can only become a true child of God through the baptism.

Until then, I am a mere creature, just like everyone else. There are many youths who avoid doing so due to the seriousness of such ceremony. They know that one must be ready to turn his back on the world and follow God. The question is: do they want to let go of the world? No. The thought of not going to parties, night clubs, getting high, drinking, sleeping around is too much for them.

They can't picture that. It's too much to handle. They say: how can I survive in this world without my friends? Oh mindless generation! They think life with God is dull and tedious. Anyway, it's a matter of choice. My friends gave me nothing. When I came to church they were no where to be found. I frequented night clubs almost every weekend and it added absolutely zilch. I chose to surrender. Just like when a UFC fighter is getting battered by his opponent and he has to tap out. I tapped out! I could not live my life without God anymore. Hence I got baptized.

How about you? Are you willing to tap out or you'll try to remain standing while the world beat the hell out of you?

Can you handle the truth?

This week we begin a series of seven meetings called the 7 Traits of the Ungodly Youth. Trait is a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person. One can be easily identified as the child of a particular person by the features that he or she presents. Even our body tissues or fluids (DNA) can identify who our parents are. The same rule applies to our spiritual life. How can we identify if a person is of God or not?

Within seven weeks we'll be exploring the 7 common traits that ungodly youths have. I'm sure some won't be pleased with what they are about to hear but the truth must be told. Young people don't like to hear the truth as they will be thwarted in their desire to follow the impulses of their own flesh.

And they won't have any excuse to continue living their lives recklessly (by the way, recklessness is one of the topics to be covered). I will be sharing the 7 traits with you weekly. Therefore keep yourself updated to this blog. Can you handle the seven weeks?

Summer Camp

Summer Camp

Bringing youths from different cultures or backgrounds together has never been easy. Today it is all about code area, blacks against whites, whites against Latinos, Latinos against blacks and so on. All this in order to get some recognition, respect and power. And as we see almost every day on TV and newspapers, it never has a good ending. Someone gets shot, stabbed, punched, raped, KILLED! The list goes on.

However the YPG Texas organized a summer camp entitled John 3.16 Camp. We traveled all the way into the middle of… nowhere. Literally. The place is called Forest Glenn in Huntsville, Texas. We took time with the youths in order to invest more in our relationship with God. We held meetings with them and we also played sports, did archery, went blobbing, fire camp, etc. It was awesome!

We told them that they had to leave the camp on Sunday in a different way. We made sure we put youths from different branches together so they could get to know each other. It was very positive. We did so many things that I can’t explain everything with details; otherwise I would need three pages to do so.

Believe you or not, there wasn’t any misunderstanding whatsoever. Nothing like boys and girls fooling around somewhere in the forest. NOTHING! Even if there was someone there with a carnal mind that person had no choice but to gel with the rest of the group as everyone else had one thing in mind, get closer to God.

So you see, it is possible to put a lot of youths from different backgrounds together and still have a lot of fun.

Whenever someone tells you that you will lose by giving your life to God, they really don't know what they are talking about.