A Rider's California Dream Came True

JSAW was able to bring six riders on a 5 day getaway skateboard dream trip to LA. During this trip, we did everything from surfing in Oceanside with FCA, to doing a service project at a sober facility called Rising Tide Ranch, to sight seeing in Hollywood, to visiting iconic spots like the Encinitas City Hall sign, to getting to attend church with pro skater and industry legend Jamie Thomas. This was a trip these riders will never forget!

Venture Church with Jamie Thomas

Each of these riders have shown persistence in their desire to grow in their faith, and this trip was no exception. We spent time with one another working through a 5 day study on prayer. We covered topics like, "Prayer increases our dependence on God", "Prayer changes what we desire", "Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him" and others. As we dove into this study, I challenged our crew to look for opportunities to pray all throughout the week. They not only took this challenge on, but went above and beyond. As we would travel, there would be instances like, wrecks on the side of the highway, or see someone get hurt at the skatepark, or rough disagreements with each other in the car. The response to these was always the same, "Let's pray about that." Each of the riders got multiple chances to pray and I got to watch them grow in their pursuit of Jesus in their day to day lives. This also spawned conversations with them and others at local parks, handing out money to homeless people, encouraging and building up other riders and so much more.

Group Photo at the spot where Ryan Sheckler did a Taildrop Kickflip

During one of our Bible studies, one of the riders who went on this trip opened up about how his walk with Christ is going. He shared that he often feels alone and worthless coming from a broken home. His past has consisted of everything from mental abuse to physical and verbal abuse. As he shared this with us, he also told us that this is why prayer is so important to him. He was excited to study prayer and learn more about how to talk to God. What makes this even more impactful was that his family didn't have the financial resources to cover the cost of the trip even though he really wanted to go. Thankfully JSAW's donors provided part of the funding for him through the JSAW Scholarship Fund. He told us over and over again how thankful he was for the opportunity to come on such a trip as this.

None of this would be possible without JSAW's wonderful donors. It is you guys who make dreams like this come true. And I just want to say thank you! There are many opportunities to give towards the Skate Program. Everything from sponsoring an individual rider, to sponsoring an event, to sponsoring the whole program itself. I would as you to consider giving to make amazing experiences like this happen. If you're interested in how you can support this amazing program, just click the button bellow to find out how you can get involved. Check out our dream trip video here! https://youtu.be/BjqcMvKUwJQ

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