POST by JESSICA: Bus(t)

Jessica in a moto-taxi with Jed and Myron

This past weekend I went along with the Brien kids to support Fran in her Bboy competition.  Whilst there I was also able to visit some of the guy’s (Nicavangelists) homes and meet their families (as if I don’t spend enough time with them during the week).

On Sunday afternoon, while the Brien children were spending some quality time with their mom, I was invited to go to the mall with some of the guys just to walk around and window shop because they had nothing better to do. So after spending about two hours at the mall we headed back to the boys’ barrio.

I went straight to Jose’s house to meet up with Lorenzy and to use the internet. In all honesty, Jose and his mother have got to be to sweetest people I have ever met in my entire life. José’s mother was cooking up this big dinner to feed all of us, and might I say it was delicious!! She made baked chicken (one of my all time faves) and I swear I felt like I had just ordered it from a restaurant. 

I slept the night with the Brien children in the boys’ barrio. The night came fast, but the morning came faster. I was woken up at 7am by Jason, one of the guys in the group, who came to pick me up to head back to Nicavangelists Headquarters.

Well if anyone knows me they know that I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON, so there I was, half asleep, walking down the road to the bus stop at 7am with Jason laughing at me. Knowing I had the most tired/ disgusted look on my face I asked, “What are you laughing at?” which only made him laugh harder.

We finally arrived at the bus stop and it was like perfect timing, the bus was there to pick us up. We got on the bus and headed down the road trying not to be thrown into different people because the drivers here are not easy on the breaks AT ALL. Well before we knew it there were so many people on the bus that we were practically smashed up against the window.

A few stops into our ride there was this old man who looked homeless and he kept chanting the same thing over and over again. The only word I understood was “dinero.”  I looked up and to my little surprise I saw Jason digging around in his pocket and looking at the change we’d received after paying for our bus ride. Whilst looking at me he shrugged his shoulders, and handed the old man his money.

I had the biggest smile on my face and my heart was so happy. The guys (Nicavangelists) really are so amazing! They come from very little to nothing, and yet they are still willing to give some if not all that they have to people whom are not as fortunate as them.

I honestly am so thrilled that God has placed me in this group. God is changing these boys and their hearts daily, and they are becoming AWESOME young men of God.  

If you would like to partner with the Nicavangelists, please CLICK HERE... Thank you for being a part of what God is doing in the hearts and lives of young Nicaraguans... 

POST by JED: California Dreamin (Part 9)

Our Capital on the Edge Troupe, Praying at Hilltop Community Church in Richmond, California

The night to beat all nights! Richmond-bound... Honestly, in coming to San Francisco, I hadn’t quite realised the intricacies of this grandiose city.

In the center, the very heart of the city, the resonating sound was diversity, diversity, DIVERSITY! The boys, embarrassingly, laughed out loud, pointed fingers, held hands and trotted along.

Lots of Frisco people racing around, busy as little bees, with work far too important, the complexities of which you and I could never even begin to fathom. Oh my… The scene was akin to something out of Sydney’s CBD, as close to Circular Quay as possible – without getting your tootsies wet.

Head further south and it starts out with “posh”, but ends up in “middle-America.” We still have pedigree dogs, but you come across less snooty bling-clad restaurants and more golden arches, if you know what I mean. It’s kind of like you go to Sydney’s Bondi Beach, then head south, every kilometer taking you towards the inevitable, Cronulla – the Sharks…

Over on the other side of the bay, and just over the hill, you arrive in Silicon Valley’s Legolanburbia. It is wealth, but the opposite kind of wealth to that of south San Fran.

Stuff is valued because it’s antique in southern SFO, whereas in the dizzying delights of Dublin, new is the prized possession.

In Fris-sur we want convenience, whereas in Walnut Creek we’ll go an extra mile for imported this and handmade that.

In suburbia adjoining the metropolis we take trains, ride bikes, catch the bus… In Concord, we drive Corvettes. If we’re in Sydney, then we’re cruising through the newer parts of the Hills district.

Last but not least is the east side of the bay. Oakland is the hub, but there are many other parts with a similar type of carefree wonder, Richmond being one of them. And yes, in Sydney, the name would possibly remain the same. Get on a train at Central, head out through Strathfield, Parramata and Blacktown… Eventually you’ll hit Richmond, or vice versa.

It was a LONG trip. We left salubrious San Carlos at 4:40pm, and didn’t make it to Richmond until just a little after 7pm. We were moving at all times, and managed to make tight connections, but somehow just took forever to get there. Kind of like getting on at Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, and catching one of Sydney’s notoriously slow trains to the city’s center, stopping at every station along the way, for the convenience of one or less passengers.

But it didn’t matter, we amused ourselves in any case. Sez, of course, humiliated me time-after-time with his incessant train(ing) gymnastics, utilising every metal bar aboard the lazy LOCOmotion to fling himself from near-to-far.

Sezni, on the BART (California)

Yet most of Sezni’s beautifully executed sequences ended in fail, thumbs down, due mostly to the rattling movement of the train. The reproduction of many daring feats inevitably annoyed most of our fellow passengers. Of course I was left to mouth insincere looking apologies, whilst simultaneously and invisibly, disciplining the loveable little critter.

Our travels in the BART (Californian Bay Area Rail Transit) with Sez going LOCOmotion...

What do you do with a child for 3 hours on a train? (please don’t answer this, unless it’s only in your head, or unless you’ve got a kid with Asperger’s  Syndrome or ADD. And I especially don’t want to hear from you folk who’ve only spawn girls,  or if you’ve read your Growing Kids God’s Way book, or worse – done the 4 week course, and now think you’re an expert!)

On the BART (Francesca, Jonny & Lorenzy)

One of our train rides was made especially enjoyable by an overly friendly “homeless man.” I honestly don’t know what was said, the stench was that deafening. My eyes watered for the entire duration of our train trip and the impulse to heave was overpowering.

Then I wondered if I’d remembered to brush my teeth... Perhaps that horrible odor, permeating throughout the carriage, sickening me to the stomach, originated from me. If true, boy was I in trouble. It couldn’t have been. My fellow commuters were far too repulsed, and so I knew it had to be the friendly homeless man. And that’s what I continued to tell myself until we arrived at El Cerrito del Norte – where I whisked my way past my entourage, nearly trompling them all to death, heading straight for the chewy-selling kiosk.

But still, how come all of my boys and kids were so engrossed in this scary looking, homeless man? Why were they all smiling, laughing, chatting, relating, lovingly. I hadn’t specifically told them to love the unlovely. They didn’t even know a lick of English, and yet the conversation flowed.

The homeless man’s face seemed full of pride – he had an audience, he was being friended. My heart swelled with pride too. I loved seeing those with a new hope, giving it away so freely - confident in an unending supply, no worries there…

And as luck would have it, the vagrant turned out to be Father Christmas! (except not groomed, nor as hygienic – but I’ve never met Santa, so it’s all guesses on my part) Not only was he being doted upon, he was also giving away phones. “MEEEEEERRY CHRISTMAS!!!” ho ho ho ho…

Rene was the lucky fellow who received an i-something-or-rather, but the joy amongst the group was almost as tangible as the cloud of stench that hovered around – have I mentioned how RIDICULOUSLY DISGUISTING SOMETHING SMELLED ON THAT TRAIN? If we hadn’t been running so very late, I would have jumped off and caught the next train. Yet because of time constraints, I merely poked my head out of the carriage doors every time they opened at a stop. Unforgettable memories… Cherishable!

Capital on the Edge crew with a homeless man on the BART in San Francisco

Now the one thing you HAVE to know about San Francisco’s Bay is… it’s freezing cold, all year round, the day and month being completely irrelevant. We were quite unprepared for the Arctic conditions of Richmond’s BART station. Who could have foretold that we’d need our mittens, beanies and thermal underwear?

Well, we waited and waited and waited and waited. Of course, I still hadn’t purchased my telephone at this point (thanks Liz!), and so I wasn’t able to call our Church contact, Pastor Corey.

Long story short, Corey was also at the same station as us, but waiting for us at the other end (2 entrances). I approached several people, asking for a loan of their phone, most of whom looked at me like I was some kind of deranged pervert. Eventually a lady, who appeared to be blind, allowed me to use her telecommunicative (I think I just made up my second word in this blog!) device and of course Corey and I were both surprised to learn that we were both there, waiting for each other.

Corey was a cool, bald headed, athletically good lookin lad from San Diego (I liked him in an instant!). He was a nice bloke, softly spoken, but clearly distracted on account of our lateness. We cruised into the Hilltop Community Church parking lot somewhere around 7:30pm, Corey on the phone with his leaders, gently guiding.

We left our Latino and Caucasian World in the van which sat snugly behind us. My eyebrows nearly lifted the toupee from my scalp upon observation of my new friend, Corey the youth pastor, who just seconds before was a white chap from suburbia.

His pants went down about 6 inches and his cap swiveled around 180 degrees. All of a sudden he was wearing sunnies and talking like a gangbanger! His lingo became lazy, he was indeed my brother from another mother…

As a travel agent I learnt that I had to mirror the person in front of me to get the sale. If I was talking with an elderly lady, then out came the tea cups. If I was with a groovy, hip young couple, then I talked everything pop culture. If I was with a mother and her toddler aged children, then hey-presto, I was indeed the daddy-daycare center. And so it was with Corey – he mirrored the culture of his youth and was HIGHLY effective because he did so.

Our troupe COMPLETELY went for it, singing and dancing with all their might. It seemed like a tough crowd at the onset, but from about the 10 minute mark not a word was spoken from the audience. Those on-looking eyes became as big as saucers with plenty of oooohs and aaaahs to-boot. At one point I chuckled to myself, it was like a rock concert. Every hand was in the air with cellular devices capturing every movement.

Praying for Pastor Corey at the end of our night at Hilltop Community Church, in Richmond, California

In the end, we found the people at Hilltop to be quite phenomenal and cannot wait to return there next year. This Church is clearly bent on evangelism and loving their world. The people being brought in were evidence of this love. Yet in my plans to return, I must stipulate and make it quite clear that my pants will always cover my bot-bot, so sorry I’m not hip enough, I hope you’ll still have us... By way of side note, yet again there was a bunch of Nicaraguans in attendance! HELLO to you, thanks for having us…

The BART was full of loons, Yordy & raffy being two of them - check out Fran's interest level to the rear...

And of course our 3 train trip home was hysterical. We laughed and enjoyed the good times – again, plenty of smelly homeless people to love, and yes, Raffy felt the need to witness to each one of them. God love that child!!!

Jed, Raf & Sez, on our INFAMOUS night in Richmond, BART, San Carlos

We arrived at San Carlos without a phone to use (Rene’s newly acquired needed to be charged up), and there wasn’t a soul around to harass for a lend. And so we kicked up our heels up and began to walk. Whilst we started off rather chipper, we nearly crawled through the doors of that San Carlos House. Of course the lads and my darling daughters raced home, but I was left to plod along with Sez and Raf.

Sezzy is always fine, until he’s not. And at that point his problems become everyone’s problems. He becomes intolerable. Of course, Raffy is the all-knowing, all-seeing philosopher when he doesn’t have any problems of his own, or when he wants to be entertained by the problems of others – he’s human too. 

And so Sezni whinged for the duration of our walk home, Rafael countering every complaint with a useful little tidbit or suggestion, each of which only infuriated his older brother all the more. Somehow I managed to fall into the pattern of telling-off Sezni, whenever Rafael spoke, and telling off Raffy whenever Sez spoke. By the end of our trail I was ready to string them both up in complete frustration. Brothers! Who needs 'em! We all do... 

We fell asleep before our heads even hit the pillows - we needed it, the next day was to be one of our most trying.

If you would like to learn more about our ministry, please watch our latest update, CLICK HERE

If you would like to learn more about who our Nica-Youths are, or to support them, please visit their page, SUPPORT Nica-Talent

To learn more about our street theatre production, "CREATED", please visit our page,NICAVANGELISTS: "CREATED", North American Tour (2013)

If you would like to see a video of some of our Nica-Youths practicing, please CLICK HERE

We are not up to budget, and travelling with 14 people is very expensive. We need an investment from Christian people for our next evangelism tour to the Midwest. To support us or make a once off donation, please visit our page, Contemplating SUPPORTING something significant?

To learn more about the House: San Carlos, please CLICK HERE 

To learn more about Hilltop Community Church, please CLICK HERE

POST by JONNY: Finding Happiness in Homelessness

Jonny, before his time with Capital on the Edge

This story comes from my childhood.

When I was 8 years old my family lived in BILLA LIVERTA. At that time my brothers experienced a problem with some guys who came to a home which my family was visiting. About 40 guys began to throw rocks at the house and my dad was standing in the door and was not hurt too badly by the rock throwiang. The family we were visiting became very nervous about what was going on, because the bad blokes wanted to destroy their house!

But my dad had a gun and threatened all of the men with it who were damaging the house. The men, when they saw the gun, ran away. One of the rock-throwing-men hit the dog with a machete on it’s neck. The dog was dying and my dad was very angry and so he went to the police to submit a complaint, but the police did not want to go where the problem was.

My dad was very upset about what was happening and my Mum agreed that we had to leave this place (because of the violence in the neighbourhood). And so we left that place permanently and we lost our house and everything inside. But now we are well, thank God. But now we do not own a home. However, JESUS ​​CHRIST is great and will help us and give us blessings to keep on going. Jesus is my shepherd and I don’t lack anything with Him.


If you would like to support this fellow on a monthly basis, please CLICK here

To learn more about our street theatre production, "CREATED", please visit our page, NICAVANGELISTS: "CREATED", North American Tour (2013)

If you would like to see a video of some of our Nica-Youths practicing, please CLICK HERE. 

We are not up to budget, and travelling with 14 people is very expensive. We need an investment from Christian people for our next evangelism tour to the Midwest. To support us or make a once off donation, please visit our page, Contemplating SUPPORTING something significant?

To learn more about our home Church in Australia, please CLICK HERE

POST by JED: California Dreamin (Part 6)

Several people, in the Churches we visited throughout Northern California in 2013, offered Elizabeth, Francesca, Lorenzy-Ella, Rafael & Anna, a home to stay in, rather than have them sleep on the Churches’ floors. (very kind people)

At New Life Community Church in Sacramento, California, our delectables were invited into the home of a beaut. couple, Steve & Pam, where they had love lavished upon them day and night. The rest of us Nicaraguan riffraff slept on beds made out of church chairs at New Life’s main premises.

At first sight of the sleeping arrangement my top lip did a sort of impermissible, uncontrollable,  unavoidable curling motion, but when my head finally hit the pillow, and after all the teenage pranks and jokes were out of the way (shoe throwing, siren noises, passing enough gas to heat half of Sacramento’s houses), well I slept like a baby.

Morning time and the reality of New Life’s main premises not containing showers became a significant and smelly reality. I would learn to deal with this reoccurring issue, on a daily basis, but initially I begged, stole and borrowed, in order to feel liquid heat sliding down my tired old body.

In any case, a true-blue, young and fun loving couple took pity on our plight, and opened up their home so that we could rinse our woofy physiques. Taylor and Jamie were great hosts for us, mid-twenties, neck-deep in Church and ministry stuff, plus working their jobs and taking care of their daughter.

Once we smelled a bit better, the dude asked us all to sit down and shared his awesome testimony. He’s a man’s man, so it wasn’t too flowery (no flowers, NOT ONE LITTLE DAISY!!!). The sentences were short and meaty. The boys jaws were wide open by the end (gangster lifestyle complete with drugs, sex and rock’n’roll to-boot + a decade of prison time – It was upon learning this that I swapped the recliner beside the fire place for the straight-back-chair by the front door).

This young man left nothing out of his story and offered our lads his love and encouragement to gun (it turned out to be a figure of speech, so I quickly took my hand off of the doorknob)-for-God. It was an emotional time with lots of hugging and prayers – I live for moments like these. Just… Beautiful…

When we were once again sitting comfortably, with everyone on lounges and recliners and me straight-backed by the front door, the man of the house brought out oodles of DC caps, sneakers and t-shirts, enough for everyone to have one or two of each.

The boys became little girls, squealing with delight, and bickering over colours, shapes and sizes. Nicaraguans LOVE clothing, above everything else, and so this will certainly remain a HIGHLIGHT for these boys' trip to California. However, the generosity displayed by this kind fellow was symbolic of the norm at New Life Community Church.

Now on another day we had the awesome privilege of yet again visiting the Dream Center and going with them to spend some time with a few of Sacramento’s poorest people.

In telling our Nica-lads about this trip into a dusky poverty and homelessness, the boys’ faces betrayed them, their expressions revealing shock and horror. They weren’t in America to visit poor people, there was plenty of that at home in Nicaragua.  They were in America to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ AND enjoy the plentiful bounty that was America (Please sir, I want some more).

Nevertheless we got into our people movers, and headed once again to the magnificent Dream Center in downtown Sacramento. We walked into the first room and were confronted with piles of boxes, food stuffs, chaos and love. We were asked to be seated and took our places on the floor.

The hefty gentleman kept everything upbeat and joked between himself and his overweight counterparts, who also laughed through their smoker’s voices and left us all a wee bit bemused on account of their hearty, yet slightly socially misplaced interactions.

We fitfully went through the process of how to pack a gift bag (full to the brim with food and drinking water) and with the do’s and don’ts of interacting with the homeless.

I half didn’t know what to expect when I arrived in one of the shadier areas of Sacramento’s downtown. The Hunchback of Notre Dame? Frankenstein? The Elephant Man? The Grinch??? We gathered at the end of the street and listened to final, last minute instructions.

We were obstructing the bike path and so moved out of the way and re-gathered. Our Nica-fellas listened-on intently, pretending they understood everything.

Receiving last minute instructions, before ministering to the homeless in Sacramento, CA

And we were off! We marched back onto the bicycle path, completely disregarding the first instruction, which was to keep the bicycle path clear at ALL times. Everyone chatted feverishly, trying hard to contain our bubbling excitement.

The moment felt kind of like “weeeeeeeeeeeeeee’re off to see the Wizaaaaaaaaaaaard, the wonderful wizard of Oooooooooooz…” But only because we were a bunch of complete misfits, and not because of who waited for us at the other end – in fact, looking back, I think the homeless people must have wondered if they’d not been informed it was role reversal day! We were a mixture of nationalities, sexes, ages, body types, languages, cultures, socio-economic statuses, etc. Our only uniting feature was our love for God and humanity.

The first bunch of people encountered stood on the path, clearly homeless. They were a bit on the nose, a couple of them appeared to have something wrong with their intellect and they wore shabby clothes. But besides all that, they were human. 

The first people we encountered on our mission of hope to those in poverty (Sacramento)

The one surprising factor to me was the absence of drugs and alcohol. Really, I don’t know what I was thinking, but I was sure there’d be at least one wine-o amongst ‘em, swiggin his booze and singing sailor tunes. No. Not one! In fact, due to their sober state, we were able to converse as if we were sitting in a fancy-pants café somewhere.

They seemed educated! “He’s an engineer” a fellow beside me said. I turned and looked at this unfamiliar chap and wondered for a second if he too were homeless.  But I saw him later, back at headquarters, interacting knowingly with one of the leaders. “I guess he’s with us” I thought to myself.

“Oooooooh” I responded, not quite sure if I’d been staring, and wondering what my next move should be. Too late, the fellow beside me continued, “Yeeeeeah, it was Vietnam that killed him.” Now looking at the food bag in my hand I extended my arm to the homeless chap. “Riiiiiiiiiight…” I said, still talking with the bloke beside me, but looking straight into the eyes of pain and discomfort.

“How are you?” I asked sensitively. Sezni’s hand began squirming in mine. I suddenly realised his poor little limb was losing circulation on account of my crushing clasp. Was I nervous? Uncomfortable? Disgusted with what I was seeing? Angry? I don’t know…  I released the child to frolic with the natives.

Bicycles, it's how the homeless get around Sacramento

The Vietnam Vet. spoke with a mild British accent and with all the manners of a Buckingham Palace official. We chatted for a while and then it was “Tally-Ho” and into the night he rode - They nearly all have bicycles… They’re very, VERY busy, the homeless… They have to get from this feeding center to that one...

Next we came across a bunch of people too far from the path to visit with. We waved and called out and then a small group from the church and Rene detoured from our trail and headed down into the grassy depths below. They wandered behind trees and bushes to where this specific group camped. 

Rene heading off with his crew, to give love to homeless people in Sacramento

I turned around, realising that another small contingent from our army was departing the bike path. I did my mental tally “1,2,3,4 Briens aaaaaaaaaand 1,2,3,4,5,hang on! Start again 1,2,3 – BEYCKER, STOP MOVING!!!” It was to be no use. I would never, in the dark, be able to keep tabs on everyone. I decided to focus on just the Brien children “1,2,3 – GOOD GRACIOUS!” I glanced around just in time to see Lizzie & Sezni’s bodies disappearing around the underside of the bridge. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

Jonny exploring poverty in Sacramento - a tad shocking for the lad

I twirled around in a panic and again saw something quite startling. Two young people, in their late teens or early twenties, blonde as could be and one of them heavily pregnant. The Dream Center folk handed over their goodies, laid hands on the young couple and began to pray.

Still further down the path, my kids and our Nicaraguan youths disappeared into the brush with other youth from New Life Community Church, handing people food and offering to pray with them.

Nicaraguan youths from Capital on the Edge, learning about poverty from white people in Sacramento

We saw many things on our travels through homelessness. Even in America, the 7^th richest country in the world (Forbes Magazine, 2012), it was interesting to note the diversity amongst those who were homeless. It seems homelessness knows no boundaries and is too, multicultural.

We were told there are several thousand homeless people in Sacramento, just one city in an American state that prides itself on forward thinking and social justice. Yet it seems some are just unable to escape the cycle of poverty, even in such a rich country.

Sadder still, so many Californians appear to be completely comfortable with the poverty that surrounds them. Sadder again? The Churches – who are helping Churches like the Dream Center and the Salvation Army? Nearly nobody… Thank you New Life Community Church of Fair Oakes for caring…

We treaded carefully back to the cars, avoiding human waste at every step (YIKES!!!). We were in high spirits, but had been deeply moved and were contemplative. Once back at the Dream Center we participated in a time of debriefing.

Some people from our team felt grateful for what God had bestowed upon them. Others were moved with compassion and had many questions. Rene, our youngest teen from Nicaragua had this to say:

“In Nicaragua we don’t have homeless people (not true). Every person in Nicaragua is helped by the government (also not true). Even the poorest people try to make a house out of something. I think it is very sad that there are people in America, such a rich country, who do not have a bed to sleep on and a house to live in.”

Debriefing at the Dream Center (Sacramento)

Although a bit juvenile and overly simplistic, the sentiment is there. The Nicaraguan boys were deeply shocked, not by the poverty, but by the context of it. Poverty exists, even in America…   

Final moment at the Dream Center in downtown Sacramento (Capital on the Edge & New Life Community Church Youth)

It seemed to be a week of eyes being opened for our team. On another day we trotted off to help at a foodbank in Orangevale. Our group divided into three. One group assisted in a door-to-door letterbox drop. Another group helped at the center, providing free food to the community’s poor. Whilst a third group helped in the garden, moving dirt from point A to point B.

Mr. Food Bank, our mascot (Rafael from Capital on the Edge)

It was a fantabulous time, with everyone involved laughing and joking whilst working away. We ate hotdogs for lunch and were offered an array of drinks to keep us motivated. 

Working our (Capital on the Edge) Nica-fingers to the bone at the Orangevale Food Bank

Of course I was chief whip-cracker and kept the dirt removalists under the microscope. Nicaraguans are proud people, and it was far too easy to keep them going by stating over and over again that nobody on the face of the planet works as hard as a Nicaraguan. The truth is, I believe it! Nicaraguans don’t have machines like we do in the West, so when it comes to manual labour, they win, hands down.

Staff of Orangevale Food Bank with helpers from Capital on the Edge & New Life Community Church

By the afternoon we changed tack and started performing for the public our dyno presentation of bboy (breakdancing) and tricking (street gymnastics/martial arts). Beck-star, a lovely lass from New Life Community Church, shared her testimony and every person who walked through the doors was offered a haircut – several of our Nica-youths also took the opportunity to have their hair tidied up. What a day! It was terrific…

At the Orangevale Foodbank with New Life Community Church (thanks boys from Capital on the Edge)

Now I have to confess that I’m not GREAT with remembering dates. BUT, I think it was Good Friday that we went to the Pastor’s house for showers. Pastor Mark is no ordinary fella. Underneath that tough, handsome exterior, is a tough handsome interior. He and his beautiful wife, Cathy, are true servant hearts and they’d have to be to do what they did!

Capital on the Edge, performing at New Life Community Church (Sacramento)

Our smelly, dirty crew were invited with open arms and love into the home of the Tuckers. It was there that each young fella stripped off and utilized the showers in the Tucker home, even in the MASTER bedroom. The boys were then treated to EVERY pain relief and swelling reducing medicine available in modern medicine. 

Ericson, being tended to in Pastor Tucker's home (Sacramento: New Life Community Church)

One of the Tucker’s kids, at just 18, came second in the state for wrestling. So smelly boys and all that goes with, are just “normal” in this blessed household. Cathy rolled her eyes a few times, but by and large I could tell that she was blessed to be a blessing. Because of their familiarity with physically demanding sports, they were able to assist us with bandages, crèmes, and braces. They had machines to massage, chairs that extended for patient care, loads of sports channels on tv for our amusement (honestly the boys had never SEEN so many channels), and a sack throwing game outside just for fun. Fresh, fruity drinks were served and all I can say is wowowowoowowow! 

Pastor Mark, throwing his sack... (Sacramento: New Life Community Church)

The Tucker family, a model of generosity, which makes loads of sense why their Church is so committed to helping the broken, both within their home, their Church and throughout the city.

And because of the Tucker family, you see a flow through effect to the other pastors, senior figures within the Church and the youth. I have to say at this point, that the New Life youth group were over the top for Jesus and expressing their love for him in every way. At no other place in California did we feel as welcomed, loved and supported as in the youth group of New Life Community Church. Thanks New Life for a marvelous outreach week. We will be back. WE WILL BE BACK!!!

If you would like to learn more about who our Nica-Youths are, or to support them, please visit their page, SUPPORT Nica-Talent

To learn more about our street theatre production, "CREATED", please visit our page, NICAVANGELISTS: "CREATED", North American Tour (2013)

If you would like to see a video of some of our Nica-Youths practicing, please CLICK HERE. 

We are not up to budget, and travelling with 14 people is very expensive. We need an investment from Christian people for our next evangelism tour to the Midwest. To support us or make a once off donation, please visit our page, Contemplating SUPPORTING something significant?

To learn more about New Life Community Church, please CLICK HERE