Yesterday was a "Prototype Day" for YWAP and The Bread of Life Center of Hope. 
     When a group of folks hungry for God's best plan come together, the Holy Spirit directs the program.
     A lot of folks signed up for the Mentor Force Certification Program.  
     Program Requirements include the Orientation, 75% participation as a Relationship Volunteer, reading the weekly Bible Booklet Study and the book "Mentorology," and completing the quizzes for each. 
     The 13 week YWAP League of Leaders at The Bread will end with an Awards Banquet on Week 13. Mentor Force members are asked to attend a Program Evaluation on January 10, 2019.
What is this League of Leaders?
     Every Thursday night from 6-8 PM, In two hours, 12-18 yr. old youngsters will engage in physical fitness, social/emotional learning, character education, Biblical Leadership and eat some good food. Each week we will hear from a Nine Minute Guest Speaker. Week One will feature World Karate Champion Marty Cacavas.
     If you're interested in achieving your Mentor Force Certification or you know a youngster who is looking for something cool to do, leave a message or call us. 716-830-8240. ​

 

You will find here our notes from a Sunday (9-16-18) Sermon at The Bread of Life Center of Hope.
We also included a link to the Church's website if you'd like to listen to the audio recording.
A quick look around the landscape of our city provides a glimpse of the destructive forces pursuing our children.
Please consider joining us for our Mentor Force Certification Event (links to Event Page) on Thursday 9-20-18.
​You can listen to our Battle Plan For Youth at: "A War Cry For The Next Generation."

The next picture contains an outline of our notes that was used as an insert in the Church Bulletin. Please leave any comments or questions here or send them to ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com.

     Young people in college have a lot on their minds. At Buffalo State College, they serve a lot with their hands too!
     When they arrived with their smiles in the Fruit Belt, the neighborhood brightened immediately.
     A lot of senior citizens have trouble with small tasks, these students made a big impact in a short time.
    Plenty of students were busy on this beautiful Saturday morning. We're grateful in the Fruit Belt that these neighborly minded young people came to help senior citizens and beautify our neighborhood. Thank you Buffalo State College for your smiling hearts and helping hands!
     YWAP is grateful to Mrs. Triggs from None Like You Community Outreach for organizing this Student Volunteer Service event in four locations around Buffalo.

     Young people and old-heads enjoyed a boat ride on Lake Erie with the good folks from Excalibur.
     What we have in Excalibur is a model for the rest of the nation's human Service Agencies.
     A great deal of work remains to be done in serving a greatly underserved population.
​     Please visit their website to see how you can be a part of https://excaliburls.com/
     The YWAP Family and the None Like You Community Outreach Team were honored to sail into the sunset with the Excalibur Crew. Thank you for providing some calm waters to soothe our souls. Jesus loves you and so do we.

     You are invited to 1st Saturday Live on October 6, 2018 at The Bread of Life Center of Hope.
     We invite folks to sing, dance, give a testimony, read a story, display Holy Spirit inspired art and more.
     An evening like no other, it's kind of like a karaoke/worship/praise/prayer/Word night of building relationships.
     Please call ahead if you'd like us to reserve a spot for you to use the gifts God gave you. Young Hee 716-570-1175 or Pastor Bob Kuebler 716-830-8240. 
     The picture above is from our September 1st Saturday Live Picnic at Young's house. Every year she graciously and generously opens her house for a gathering of old and new friends. Thanks Young for your heart and hands that show Jesus in your actions.
     The picture below is a testimony of how God brings people together. It's a meeting tale of a Bob and a Robert. Robert and I first met when he was taking an exercise break from his job in the Fruit Belt. I invited him to First Saturday Live with our band Alpha & Omega International. He came and sang some beautiful songs about God in English and his native Indian language. Today he stopped by YWAP Headquarters to say hello. We exchanged smiles, Bible stories & prayer requests. He left with a handful of Jesus Wristbands. It was a beautiful day in the YWAP neighborhood. Robert is looking forward to October 6. Together with his wife, they have over 250 songs on YouTube. You can find them at: Robert Vethanayagam. 

    Young and old folks gathered in the Bread of Life parking lot for the return of 5th Fridays.
     When folks put God on the street through their actions, neighbors begin to see Love in action.
     A lot of people came together to put music, prayer, a movie and popcorn into good works and lots of smiles.
     Prayer - lot's of it. The picture above is two young men putting God first before they took center stage - to put God center stage and perform some hip-hop and rap songs. Even the old-heads in the crowd enjoyed themselves.
          After the music, the movie "God's Not Dead" lit up the big screen in the Bread of Life parking lot. Some folks were so moved, they began to understand who Christ was and why He died on the cross. They decided to make a life change and ask Jesus to help them with the process. There weren't any shootings, drugs or arguments, just music, a movie and smiling folks in a parking lot.
          There's a lot going on at The Bread these days. On Sept 16 at 10 AM, the Sunday message will be about "The Battle Plan" for our youth. Young people are facing more dangers than ever before. Addiction, abuse, incarceration, racism, violence and poverty are weapons being used against our families. It's time to formulate a Battle Plan and go to war in God's Army. Sept 20 at 6 PM, there will be a Mentor Training open to adults and youth taking part in Teen Action Nights that start Sept 27. Please sign up early so we can make sure we have enough comfy seats set up!
          Thanks for your time. Please enjoy the picture gallery below from the Return of 5th Fridays At The Bread.  ​

     YWAP was on the move at Niagara Falls High School Summer School.
     Walking through struggles with eyes fixed on the hope beyond the struggle was the subject matter.
     Able bodied young people often succumb to emotional struggles and at-risk behaviors.
    Planning to embrace struggle is a way to grow through hard times producing perseverance and strong character. Our class session was developed around true stories of folks who've gone beyond adversity and become world class leaders,
     Students were given a copy of a prisoner drawn sketch of a solitary confinement cell and a copy of the YWAP Life Ticket. We've posted copies of those YWAP Tools for Teaching with the pictures and we'd be happy to hear your comments.

Here are some final thoughts to think about today.
WHY? Because ~
You never know what day ,
Will be your last day, 
When you will have your own final thoughts.
If you were to find yourself laid out in a coffin today, what would they say about you?
Today I’m going to speak some things into your life that will cause a death to some of your ways of thinking. If you will open your mind to the possibility that you have a purpose for your life, today you will have heart nuggets of truth dropped into your soul. It’s up to you.
I’m going to throw sand in your eye and get you irritated.
I’m going to put some pressure on you that might harden your heart.
I’m going to cause you to struggle to face something you don’t want to face.

If Today Was Your Death Day
If today was your Death Day, what would folks say?
Would they cry and go boo-hoo, as they fondly remembered you?
Would they smile and cheer, The day they longed for was finally here?
Looking back on your life, Would they speak a final good word?
Was your life a bad story, That folks wished they’d never heard?
If your life got a do-over, Would you be the same again?
Your life is a letter; The way you treat others becomes your pen.
Words said about you, speak of the goods and bads in your heart.
Will you be remembered, As one who helped other folks make a fresh start?
Life is short; You never know which breath is the last one you’ll take.
Thinking about you, Will they say you were real or just another fake?
When times got tough, Will you be remembered as someone who was strong?
Or maybe they knew; Depending on you was like leaning on smoke from a bong.
Poor homie dead and gone, Never again will he see a new day dawn.
Left us here to write a life-song, Nah, the way he lived just makes me yawn.
When you speak a word, do folks know it will be done?
Will they say this dude’s like a new day, Yeah – a real risin’ son!
Throw this lady some sand, And she just makes a pearl,
Always forgiving – she’s a jewel; A highly valued and precious girl!
His life has been tough, But he keeps on climbin’.
Out of all his hard times, The dude makes diamonds.
When she feels closed in, surrounded by a cocoon of trouble,
She never gives up, she perseveres, Now she’s free like a butterfly after a struggle.
Life is sure to throw you dirt, You’re just a seed underground,
A little rain will fall, As your heart makes a new growing sound.
When folks are lost, In sad-life ocean and seas of no-meaning,
Over the storms of many waters, You’re going to be a lighthouse beaming.
Give rise to your dreams, Step up and run strong.
Be strong in the truth, Yeah, step up and run strong.
With all your mind, Renew truth and run strong.
With all your soul, Always hope and run strong.
With all your strength, Forgive and run strong.
With all your heart, Step up and love strong.
​Be strong.

     Young people in Buffalo can learn a lot from a City full of good neighbors.
     When a new school year starts, the needs to be prepared are many.
     A large group organizations, volunteers, politicians and pastors came with arms full of school supplies.
     Prepared students do better with academic challenges. This was a great head start!
Thank you to everyone who pitched in and lent a compassionate hand.​

    Yielding to the Truth of the Bible can sometimes be hard.
     What do you make of a story that literally destroys common sense?
     Accepting God's Word as infallible can be perplexing.
     Pathways to understanding the Bible are like switchbacks on a mountain trail. As soon as you think you've got God figured out, the trail switches in a new direction.
          On Sunday morning 8/26/18, 10:30 AM at Last Days Fellowship, the YWAP Director examines one of the most troubling passages in the Bible. In Genesis 22:1-19 we read a shocking story about an elderly father named Abraham who believes God told him to kill his only beloved son. It sounds crazy, God is against killing, it says so in His Ten Commandments, would God go against His own Law?
          The story is called The Binding of Isaac or The Akedah in Hebrew and Jewish tradition. The story is so important that it is read during Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish New Year. Most folks think the story is about the testing of Abraham, but that's only a small part of the story. 
          Maybe the real test is for you and me to look a little deeper into what we think the Bible means. The Truth is: the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, unmistakable Word of God. That does not mean we follow it blindly without discerning what it means to us as we follow God's will for our lives. I call it "Truth-Truth." There are deeper meanings that must be sought to be found. Are you willing to be a seeker of the heights of God on the switchbacks of His mountains? 
          Come visit Last Days Fellowship on Southside Parkway in Buffalo, NY near Abbott and across from the OTB. Stay tuned for more. We'll share with you what we've found as we unpack the story of Father Abraham  and the binding of his only beloved son Isaac.

     Young people are headed back to school soon.
     Walking into school prepared is a great way to start a new year.
     Abundant compassion aptly describes the organizations helping with school supplies.
     People in Buffalo are rising up for a new generation of students and that impacts future generations.
               Mrs. Triggs from None Like You / We Care is once again spearheading the efforts to make sure kids have the tools needed to start the next round of their educational careers in readiness. Students who are prepared to meet academic challenges are more likely to overcome the rigors of high standards and reach beyond expectations. Thank you everyone who supports our efforts. 
8/26/18, 2-4 PM, 224 Hudson St. Buffalo, NY