Dear Friends,
“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” -Isaiah 9:6I’m fairly sure the verse above is familiar to all who are churched. It is shared at Christmas Eve services and regular church services during the Advent season on a regular basis. The problem with the familiar is we tend to take those familiar things for granted, don’t we? I know I certainly do!
Can we stop and meditate on this verse and what it actually says for a few minutes? Let’s start with who is being given this child? To US a child is born. To US a son is given. Us is YOU! Us is ME! WE are being given this child! Everything that follows is for you and me and the rest of the world. So, let’s take a look at who this child is according to the Word of God.
“The government will rest on his shoulders.” I don’t know about you but I take GREAT comfort in that. In our current political climate with all of the nastiness and anger and hatred that seems to prevail, I VERY much look forward to the day when the government will rest on HIS shoulders, not ours. I take great hope for that day!
“He will be called Wonderful Counselor,” Again, I can only speak for myself but I need all the wonderful counseling I can get! And I can say with assurance that HIS counsel has never taken me to dark places. Only when I listen to my own counsel or the wisdom of this world do I seem to find those dark, dark places.“Mighty God,” When I hear the word “mighty” I think of POWER. Not just the power that created the heavens and the earth but because of this son being given power that can actually impact me personally…when I allow it to.
“Everlasting Father,” I always think of my own frailty and shortcomings when I hear the word “father.” But this is not a father who has human weaknesses or maybe a father who has never been there for you. EVERLASTING father. He will be my father today, tomorrow and forever. Wow.And finally, “Prince of Peace.” Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Especially amid the insanity of our current times, having a Ruler who brings peace, not sadness or confusion or fear sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? I know it does for me!
I encourage you, this Christmas Season, to listen a little more closely to what God says about the birth we are celebrating. Maybe, just maybe, all of us can find a little more peace, wise counsel, and power to navigate these times.
I’m sure you read numerous end of the year letters because of your generosity. But there are end of the year appeal letters and then there’s THIS letter.
I’m not asking you to prayerfully consider supporting LifeQuest because it’s the end of the year and we need to move into 2022 with a decent reserve. I’m asking because we have SO MUCH outreach going on with our youth that we are overwhelmed (in a good way)!
Starting in January of 2022 we will begin doing programming WITHIN the juvenile facilities once again! In fact we did Christmas parties with the youth at Camino Nuevo and YDDC on December 6th and 7th. The young men and women were SO grateful to receive their Christmas Care Kits and pizzas from Dion’s and the cookies and sodas. It was the first time we had been able to sit at a table with these young men and women since March/2020. It was wonderful.
In January we will begin full blown operations with weekly Bible studies, Character Development groups. GED tutoring, recovery groups, and one-on-one in-person mentoring sessions! In addition we are already preparing to bring Straight Ahead ministries from Boston back to all three State juvenile facilities this Spring for our three day seminar, Ready4Life. We’re so excited to be back in complete operation with these young men and women.
AND then there is our new community outreach called The 4:13 Journey. We launched this new adventure based outreach in 2021 and the results were phenomenal! This 12 week series consists of 12 classroom settings teaching life principles such as faith, compassion, integrity, responsibility, and others and then every other week we provide an adventure; rock climbing, rappelling, hiking, a weekend at Glorieta Camp, and a music and animal experience. And The 4:13 Journey is for ALL New Mexico youth. And, for every youth that completes the 12 week program successfully our capstone event is a hike of the Grand Canyon! We did that first hike the end of October this year and it was incredible!
We need you! Our plan is to launch THREE 4:13 Journey groups in the Spring of 2022, two in Albuquerque and one in Las Cruces. And that’s where we desperately need your help! There is ZERO cost to the youth to participate in this life-changing program. Your financial gift allows numerous young people to experience adventures, life lessons, and build relationships that they might otherwise never experience. So as you consider your end of the year gifts this year would you please include LifeQuest? We are only able to do what we do because of your generosity.
May you have a most blessed Christmas and wonderful New Year! And thank you for all you have done throughout 2021.
Merry Christmas from the Board of Directors and the staff at LifeQuest USA!
John D. Jones