As 2020 comes to an end, we would like to reflect on the year. Yes, there were many trials, struggles and some sadness. But there was also much to be thankful for as well, and that is what I want to focus on in this end-of-year newsletter.
First and foremost, we wish to thank God for His Grace over this ministry, and for Him sending us such terrific people to work with. Throughout this letter we want to thank some of those incredible people. I know we may forget some, and for that we apologize, and we will only be using first names as none of these people want any glory for themselves. So, here we go… 2020 Year in review.
IN JAIL PROGRAM:
- In March 2020 we completed our 30th Semester, it was a great semester. Unfortunately, before we could start semester #31, our program, like all the other educational programs inside the jail, had to be put on hold due to COVID-19 concerns. GOOD NEWS! As of this posting, we are scheduled to go back inside in early 2021!
- Special thanks to the LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT and to you Sgt. Jake and CA Gayle for all of your continued support of our program, and your desires to truly help these inmates inside your facility.
- Since we could not go into the jail, we switched our focus and concentrated even more on our re-entry programs highlighted below.
ALUMNI-CONTINUUM & STRAIGHT & NARROW
- In mid-March our in-person meetings were forced to stop by stay at home orders, but a special thanks to Zoom Technology which allowed us to continue to hold both of these meetings. I think we were only down for two weeks. Because of Zoom, we have been able to increase attendance. We have people from as far away as Washington State and Montana who have been able to attend. Thank you to Richard for leading our Alumni-Continuum each week, thank you Tony for leading music, and thank you to Matthew for leading our Straight & Narrow Men’s Group.
- We also want to thank John for filling in wherever needed. All four of these men have such terrific servant hearts to lead these important Bible-Based groups, and give such wise council to our men and women.
- We also held our very first Church Service. Our Chaplain Matthew gave a very moving sermon on “The Thief on the Cross.” Tony once again did a terrific job with the praise music. A huge thank you to Grace Baptist Church for allowing us to use the amphitheater for our service.
HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS REHABILITION & VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
- Again, thanks to Zoom, in 2020 we were able to hold many classes. We had a (6) week acting class that was a real blast. It wasn’t to make everyone actors, it was just to be able to have some fun. Thank you, Dominic. Next, we had (6) weeks of iPad Editing Class – Learned a ton. Thank you, Stan, for donating the loaner iPads and for your terrific teaching abilities.
- As soon as we finished editing classes, we moved on to an (8) week class to learn Closed-Captioning for television shows and movies. The closed-captioning class has enabled our guys to get paid. We are now working on close-captioning several projects for CDCR TV (Calif. Department of Corrections) Thank you, Yelena and John, for teaching and leading this class and giving us an opportunity to get our students paid jobs when so desperately needed-perfect timing!
- We also were hired by Lifeline Global Ministries to film their Malachi Dad’s series, which will now be utilized for teaching in all of the California Prisons. Much thanks to Pastor Mike and all of the folks at Lifeline Global for giving us this production job.
MIRACLE MOUNTAIN CAMPUS (In Castaic, Calif.)
- Although we have had to limit the number of people, plus wear masks and practice social distancing, we have still been able to use the campus quite affectively. Prior to the lockdown were able to get some good workdays in cleaning up the campus. This is not just about cleaning the campus but also a time of fellowship and bonding.
- We also held another Fire Prevention/Brush Abatement School, which lead to a lot of jobs. Thanks to Darryl for teaching again this year, and also, thank you to the Federal Government for giving us some much-needed PPP (Payroll Protection Plan). All of the money they gave us went directly to paying our guys. I did not mention before, but one huge downside with the shut down was we had to cancel our big annual fundraiser, so money was tight, but this PPP money really helped.
- Our tractor barn at Miracle Mountain was in very bad shape, so by working in small teams on alternate weekends we have been able to repair it. We are still working on replacing the tin roof. A huge thank you to Brent who oversaw this project. Then his team of Rick, Vartan, Charlie, Tony, Richard, and Sheree.
- Special thanks to LAFD, LACoFD and the U.S. Forest Service Fire Department.
- The fire that started near Lake Hughes got to within one mile of the Miracle Mountain Campus but turned and went in another direction. Thanking the fire departments involved and God. It was an answer to prayer.
GENERAL NEWS
- Also, one of our original students who has now been out over ten years, made us an 11 foot cross, which is incredible. A road trip of Tony, Cyndi and Gary got it down to Los Angeles from Washington State. The person that made it, has asked to stop being thanked… he is a very humble man who gave us an incredible gift.
- Although we had to cancel our main in-person fundraiser, we have to be thankful for the GO FUND ME CHARITY platform which allows us to raise some funds. We so appreciate every single dollar.
- And like all communities, we held both a wedding and a funeral, with our Chaplain Matthew officiating both.
- Also we held our 10th Annual Angel Tree event, which is highlighted on this blog. Great event in Palmdale. Thanks to all that helped plus Victory Outreach Church Palmdale who allowed us to hold the event on their property.
- More thank you…. Grace Baptist Church and Pastor Jared for your continued support and guidance. Also thank you to our special friend Wes, who has done so much for us… and so many more. THANK YOU!
