Testimony of a girl raised in a crack house:
We had a girl who had a major lack of trust for adults and it greatly concerned her teachers at school. She was living with her aunt and uncle, as her mother had been sent to prison for using and dealing crack. After attending YOYO for several months- learning how to pray, learning about Jesus, being able to just be a child and feeling safe and loved she began to flourish. She began building deep trust with the YOYO leaders. One evening her aunt came and shared with us that her reports at school began coming back very positive- she was beginning to trust adults. Her teachers were wondering how the change came to be! Praise God! A young girl's life was transformed through the love of Jesus.
Testimony of a teen who had been cutting:
There was a teen girl attending YOYO. She had recently gotten into using drugs, sleeping around and to cope with the pain of her father not being involved in her life, was also cutting. After a summer of attending YOYO- hearing about the love of her heavenly father, how she was enough and her identity was as a daughter- she gave her heart to the Lord. She didn't really even strive to give up her addictions, she just lost the desires. She now is a strength to her friends, praying for them and also focusing on doing better in school. God is so good! He redeems all.
The power of forgiveness & the miraculous at work:
There was a young girl from a very large family. Her father had taught them, if someone wrongs you or hurts you, you must be strong and you must fight back. It was engrained in this little girl's mind- fighting was natural to her, it's what she knew. One evening she was acting out quite violently and one of the leaders pulled her aside- shared on how unforgiveness being bondage and forgiveness being freedom. After a lot of praying with her and teaching.... the leader said, "If you're not ready to forgive you can do it at home in private between you and Jesus- even while brushing your teeth." This little girl had also sprained her ankle in school that day and had a large limp. The leader prayed for the sprained ankle to heal.
A week later the little girl ran up to the leader at YOYO and said, "GUESS WHAT? My ankle got healed right away.... AND the next day, while brushing my teeth, I talked to God and forgave everyone who ever hurt me." Its these moments, where the Holy Spirit breaks in and the life of a youth turns a new direction.
Violent and secluded to a healthy, interactive boy
We had a young boy that attended YOYO who was very violent, very physical and was also known for swearing. He would throw rocks, push girls, punch and rarely got involved with activities. It was difficult at first because any time we pulled him aside and talked to him, it seemed like he was far off elsewhere in his mind. He would pretend not to hear us and would never answer questions; he refused to speak. We began just praying over him weekly and began to tell him how Jesus sees him and the destiny he has. We would say you're a good boy, I see good in you. You're very smart. You care a lot for your sister and family. You're so loved. We love you! You will go far in life. God has a great plan. This boy made a complete 180. He began to talk to the leaders, play and not fight, get involved with story and game time, and built trust with us. This boy has suffered physical and verbal abuse and has the void of a father and mother who are not in his life (residing with his grandmother). How incredible to see the power of declaring truth, prophesying destiny over a child and imparting the love of his Heavenly father. It literally transformed this young boy's life.
*In the 3 years + YOYO has been going on we've had 12 entire families of children we were connected with move from the neighborhood. This is a normal occurrence in the area. Many of these are stories of youth who have been impacted and moved from the neighborhood.