5 Years Later - "I Have Found God!"

So today as I was working out at the gym I received a text message from a friend of mine who was in my youth program years ago. He told me that this past Saturday he had finally "found God". Now I know what he meant by this statement, that he had accepted Christ in his life and made the decision to follow Him. This made my morning as any occasion like this would!. It has been on my mind all day, so I figured i would share two stories of two young men who decided recently to follow Christ.
This first young man I'll talk about (the one who text me this morning) met me when I called him nearly five years ago, he was in eighth grade. I needed another drummer for the youth band, so I asked the students in my youth group if they knew of one. Well, his name came up so I told her (the girl who mentioned him) to tell him I will be calling. I knew ahead of time that he was not a Christian but to me that did not make a difference. I know sometimes we feel that it is a recipe for disaster, but my mission was the person, not the band. After contacting this young man he agreed to come to rehearsal and play. After meeting him I instantly knew God had a plan for him. He shared with me that his stepdad was an atheist and was not excited or supportive of anything he did with us. This attitude of course spilled over to his level of involvement beyond playing for our midweek program. After about a year he informed me that he had to stop playing drums for us, due to tension in the household and his stepdad. I thanked him for the time he spent with us and told him we will keep in touch. He later moved to Bakersfield and would only occasionally come back to Napa on holidays or special occasions. We kept in touch through phone calls, texts, AIM, etc, and would have an occasional lunch when he was in the area on one of his Napa visits. He found a girlfriend in Bakersfield who was a devoted Christian. In fact the entire family, including her parents, were solid bible believing Christians. All of this helped him to reach this magnificent moment where he could say, "I found God."
Sometimes we forget that the path to eternal life is a journey. We grow impatient and forget that we do not and can not change anyone, it is Christ alone that changes a life. All we do is point people in the right direction so they can encounter Christ. We also need to acknowledge that often time it takes multiple people, circumstances, and events to make it possible for someone to find Christ. I understand that I alone did mot bring this young man to God, it was a collective effort from many people, along with certain circumstances and events. Sometimes it takes years of praying, teaching, and mentoring for this to occur. Today's event is evidence of this, but it is completely worth it. Today I found out another person is entering the kingdom, and the angels are having a party!
The second story that I want to share is about a student who did not go through my youth ministry. He was a young man who came to Sierra Pines Camp as a camper, which is how we met. This was about six years ago at the Junior High Summer Camp. He seemed to not fit in with anyone from his church except for one person. One night he got into a fight with his cabin mates, so I decided to take him into my cabin because we had already began to make a friendship. For the rest of the week I got to know more about him and knew that he needed God in his life bigtime. I think he went to one more camp after this intiail camp and did not return. For a few years after his camp years we kept in touch through phone and email. However eventually the conversations stopped, and I never knew what happened to him. Well, earlier this year he had contacted me through email (he found my email address on the Sierra Pines website) and caught me up on his life. The cliff notes version goes like this:

• He ended up in a gang
• Stopped attending church
• Started using drugs and committing crimes

One oh his crimes got him in trouble to the point of him fleeing the country. He decided to come back when the authorities made a deal with him to drop the charges in exchange for information. Now those who know gangs understand that this puts him in a very dangerous situation. I will not go into great detail here, because he wants his identity to be kept a secret. At the time he contacted me he had no one else to talk to.His family is frightened and  all he can do is wait for the opportunity to relocate as he keeps his current location a secret. Imagine barely leaving your house and talking to no one because you are scared for your life. This is his current situation. There is good news though. He has realized God has rescued him from the gangster lifestyle and he has returned to following Christ. He has an interview soon for an opportunity at a location far away from his gang troubles and old acquaintances.
If you're reading this I would ask that you please remember these two young men in your prayers. Those who know me understand that ministry is not a job for me, it is my life. I thank God that he has put me in situations where I can bring people closer to Him. I have learned that it is always not a quick journey. You may have to walk along someone for many years. If you are in a situation where you are completely frustrated with a friend or loved one I would encourage you to have patience. We may not see it but God is working. Keep praying  and being that friend, because one day soon you will hear them say, "I have found God"