I will never forget the day we met Vinny. We had actually been doing life with his brother for about three years and we didn’t even know about him. He was 21 years old at the time and not very social, choosing to stay in his home most of the time. He was so private in fact that even though we had been inside his home with his brother
dozens of times we had never met him or even heard of him. Imagine our surprise then, when one day his cousin said Vinny had interest in joining our World Changers
Young Men’s program.
I have to admit, I had my doubts from the start. He was 21 and not actively working. He hadn’t graduated high school, was still living at home, not active in the community, and he didn’t have his driver’s license. At that point he had a lot stacked against him.
We have worked with other young men with the similar challenges and by the time they get to their 20’s in this condition, they can often be stubborn and refuse to take the ownership needed to change.
So, we challenged him. We told him you can’t join this program or men’s community without proving your commitment and working hard. We gave him our expectations and told him it was up to him to rise to that level. He took up the challenge before and joined our program. Within a couple of months, he was showing a willingness to do what we asked and was earning respect, and we kept moving forward in the relationship.
Now, I have to be honest, while he started out strong, as time progressed there were other moments that seemed like a slow cool down. We were concerned a couple of
times he was going to give up, but we continued pushing him to reach goals like getting a job, getting his driver’s license, and getting his diploma or GED.
It was not easy, yet, we all had a deep love for him and we were rooting for him. Just when it seemed like he was hitting a major wall and there was a stop in his progress, he pressed in and worked hard with his mentor Shane Wierenga, and earned his drivers license! We were so proud of him! Afterwards though, movement slowed and we didn’t know if he would choose to progress again.
And then Vinny surprised us! He made a big decision to join a program with our ministry partner, called “Youth Build.” This is a very challenging program designed to help students finish their diploma or GED, along with getting certification in construction. In order to complete it all, the attendance standards are extremely high. I couldn’t believe Vinny committed, and I was a little concerned he wasn’t ready. Yet he just kept digging in and
didn’t quit. At one point he even had a road bump where his missed attendance almost exceeded the limit, but he buckled down and didn’t miss another day. Every week, his mentor kept walking alongside of him encouraging and supporting him, and Vinny also stayed faithful week after week in our World Changers program, doing personal study of the Bible, physical exercise, and accountability in our men’s community.
I AM HAPPY TO REPORT TO YOU THAT VINNY SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE
YOUTH BUILD PROGRAM WITH HIS GED AND CONSTRUCTION CERTIFICATION THIS
SPRING! HE WILL NOW BE HIM PLACED INTO WORK ALIGNING WITH HIS TRAINING. WE WANT TO CELEBRATE WHAT A MAJOR VICTORY THIS IS FOR HIM AND WE ARE
SO EXCITED FOR THE FUTURE IN FRONT OF HIM!
