BROTHER LUCKY GOES TO SACRAMENTO
Senator Roy Ashburn - {Center}
Bro. Lucky and Mr. Kelly West
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† 08-21-07 : Tuesday - On this day Brother Lucky traveled with Porterville's immediate past Mayor - Mr. Kelly West - to Sacramento to meet with our Representative at the Capitol,
Senator Roy Ashburn.
The last time we had a chance to speak with the Senator, it was at the Mayors Prayer Breakfast. Before he spoke to the crowd we met with him in the auditorium and shared with him about Gang Watchers Mission and our drafted legislative proposal that Senator Chuck Poochigian submitted to the subcommittee.
Prior to meet with the Senator in his office, we had breakfast across the street and discussed - in general - what Gang Watchers had been doing this last year and what progress we had made. We brought the good Senator up-to-speed with regard to our past missions and our current mission called ... OPERATION : PEACETOWN and many of the Churches who were involved.
Once we crossed over to the Capitol and sat a while with Senator Ashburn in his office, he quickly understood the importance of our organization and wanted to make sure that the Governor's newly appointed Gang Czar be in touch with our organization. We agreed that meeting the new Gang Czar, at this point in our mission, is vital to the every non-profit and faith-based organization or church's missions and goals in the state of California.
Gang Watchers then presented the Senator with a second letter, encouraging him to discuss our goals and mission "again" with the Governer. After he read the letter Senator Ashburn then had us speak with his senior consultant, Mr. Bailey, who then got on the Capitols' computer system and did a little in-house research for us. Once he collected the needed information regarding the Governor's Gang Czar, Mr. Bailey got on the phone and placed a few important calls to the Governor's folks who did know what the next steps would be for Gang Watchers.
At the end of that morning Gang Watchers was assured by Senator Ashburn's office - as soon as the new Gang Czar is appointed and establish's his or her office, we were to contact Mr. Bailey at the Senator's office and see if he could get Gang Watchers a chance to speak with the new Gang Czar or better yet ... display our INTERVENTION program, and pray that he or she would consider what Gang Watchers has accomplished as a INTERVENTION MODEL - that the Governer needs and could employ.
Knowing that "Faith-Based" organizations - who have years and years of experience working with the inner-city youth and with parents - the idea of putting together another secular govenmental nightmare is not the solution. Most of these government departments just collect data ... and very few souls. If you want to change the direction of a persons heart, you must go the the creator of that heart - GOD ... not government !
Walking out of the Senator's office that morning, I felt that GOD once again opened a huge door for Gang Watchers to go through. We can only believe that GOD wants the best for everyone involved.
As always, we want to thank our Senator for the opportunity to meet with him and how quickly he responded. And we want to thanks all those OPERATION : PEACETOWN Christians who are still praying for the Peace of Porterville.
Brother LUCKY …
See you in the streets
