Dear Friends and Family,

Hello! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Reyana Gonzales. I am an 18-year-old girl who has been recently struggling in life, and this is my story. All my life, I have struggled with my relationship with the Lord. When I was young, I was very involved in my church. I would go to youth group, and I even sang in my church. After our pastor left, we couldn't seem to get connected in the same way we had been. It was about when I was starting middle school that we stopped going to church. Throughout middle school, I didn't know the Lord at all. Then the worst happened, COVID. It was the end of my 8th-grade year when we all went into lockdown. I was by myself in the house for over a year and a half. This caused me to fall into a deep depression, and I developed many mental issues. At this time, I did not believe in the Lord. I even went as far as thinking I was atheist. This was one of the lowest points in my life. Since I experienced this, once I went back to school my sophomore year, the Lord didn't even cross my mind once. That was until the end of my senior year. I took it upon myself to get involved in a church and get a Bible. At the end of my senior year and the summer after, I started reconnecting with God. My life was starting to turn around from the life of sin and depression I lived before.

Then I moved away for college. My freshman year of college was an experience, to say the least. I was 8 hours away from home, I knew no one where I moved, and at the same time, my relationship with Christ was once again slipping away. Since I had moved away, it was hard to find a church that was the right fit for me, so after a while, I gave up and started going back to my old life. Except this time, it was worse. Since I was depressed again, I started turning to things that I had been against my whole life. I turned to alcohol and partying, and my grades had slipped to a point of no coming back. My life had taken a dramatic turn for the worse, and I made decisions that I will regret for the rest of my life.

Now that we are caught up, let's talk about this summer I just experienced. This past summer has been life-changing. For those who do not know, I had the opportunity to work up at Hume Lake Christian Camp all summer. I chose this path because I knew it was just what I needed to get my life back on track. I chose to be up at Hume because I knew if I came home for the summer, I would continue on the track of alcohol and other sins I was giving into, and I didn't want to continue like that. Being up at Hume this summer has changed my life for the better. I never knew what it was like to be surrounded by people who truly love God. This summer made me the happiest I have ever been in my life, and I know that was all thanks to God and the people He surrounded me with. Then God opened up a door for me. That door is Joshua.

Joshua is a 9-month-long discipleship program up at Hume Lake that is designed to eliminate distractions to get you closer to God. You give up all the things that this world prioritizes in order to grow in the Lord. Some things you have to give up are social media, pre-recorded music, pre-recorded movies and shows, relationships, and many other things.

Let's just say Joshua was not in my five-year plan. All my life, I have been told to pick one path and stay on it. But now that I've been an adult and have been out of the house for a while, I realize that life doesn't work that way. Your plan for your life is not gonna work out perfectly, and you're gonna come across paths that you may not want to take, but God has intended you to take. So this is where I am at a fork in the road. Continue on the path of sin or take a leap of faith and trust God and His path for me. I have decided to trust the Lord wholeheartedly and I know He will provide for me. I will be living in a beautiful place with 50 other students, taking Bible classes, learning from various speakers, going on different trips, participating in small groups and book studies, working in all of the different departments of camp, and more. In the program, I hope to learn more about God and more about my relationship with Him.

Throughout the program, we take 5 service and learning trips. In the United States, we participate in a formational camping trip at the beginning of the year, do work projects at Hume SoCal, and evangelize/serve other cultures and religious groups in Inner-City LA. Internationally, we work alongside missionaries to practically serve and share the gospel with communities in the Dominican Republic. This is done in partnership with Students International, a mission organization that I have served with many times over the last few years. We then finish the year with a two-week geography and study tour of Turkey. I am so excited to be able to go to the Holy Land and see our 9 months of learning come alive while on the trip. So I came here to ask you today to join me on my journey. There are a few ways that I would love to invite you to help send me as I follow the Lord in this way. First, I invite you to please pray for me. Please pray that I stay strong during this program and pray that I find stability after the program. Your prayers mean the world to me and I am so thankful for your partnership in this way. Second, I invite you to help send me financially. This incredible program costs about $22,000. I know this sounds like a lot of money but this all includes: all of my classes, room and board, travel, and trips. I am not the type who usually asks for help but at the end of the day I am only 18 years old who is trying to fund this whole program. By partnering with me financially, you are making an investment into the Kingdom of God and into the work He is doing. Your gifts help myself and other believers be able to go and spread the Good News. I am so thankful for your partnership and prayers, it really means a lot to me. Thank you for taking the time to read through what the Lord has been doing in my life. I look forward to sharing how God uses this program for His glory and my good!