This is Stephanie Martinez.  She is now 14 years old.  Two years ago, she was a happy, healthy, and active young lady.  She hit her head and fell into a coma.  Tests show that she may be abel to see and hear, but she cannot communicate in any way.  Stephanie is on continuous life-support and is fed through a tube.  She needs 24 hour nursing and custodial care.  Because Stephanie has no voluntary control of her movements, she cannot change positions to get warmer or cooler and her environment needs to be controlled.  Her world is essentially a 9×12 room that is far too small for her unique needs and is difficult to cool in the Sacramento summers.  Her many weekly appointments require that she be moved from bed to wheelchair, which can be a major project in itself, never mind trying to move her to the bathroom.  Stephanie and her family are on a very long hard road to recovery and they need your help.

If you have any residential building, plumbing, or electrical experience and are willing to donate your time or building materials to help her family build a special needs room and bathroom, please call:

Cell phone: (916) 826-1959
Donations can be sent to:
3609 Mission Ave., Suite J
Carmichael, CA 95608

First of all, our praise and thanks goes to Jesus. Without Him at our side and leading the way, I’m sure by now the doors through which we walk through daily would have been closed. I know this last year has been very rough on many who have lost their jobs, and the many who have lost their homes. First and foremost, we at Awakening In Him Ministry want you to know that we are praying for you. We are asking and believing that Jesus will step in and heal our land. The Bible says in Chronicles 7:14, “…if my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land”. My friends, we need to pray, pray, pray, and seek after Jesus. We need Him desperately to change not only the course of our country, but the direction of the world. I firmly believe that change starts in our homes, as well as in our communities.

When asked, “which is the greatest commandment in the law?”, Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Friends, start the day asking Jesus to humble us and heal our land. Worship Him and give Him thanks, even in hard times. Then go and help your neighbor. Find someone who needs the love of Jesus and tell them what He has done in your life, and then give to those who need help. I want to thank Jesus for keeping this ministry moving, and also thank all of our monthly supporters as well as our corporate sponsors for continuing to support families in need. God Bless you all!

OUTREACH-
Our outreach to the motorcycle runs have been limited this year. We are focusing on the funds that have already been raised by putting them to use in helping families. The cost of the booths at some of the runs are just too much at this time, and we feel that the money would be better spent in fixing the homes of families who need the hand of Jesus. The Unleashed motorcycle raffle has raised close to $50,000, and 100% of the money has gone to helping families. The exception was the $160.00 that we returned to the two brothers in Laughlin that insisted we were liars, frauds and cheats, because they had purchased tickets last year and the bike was not yet given away. We sincerely apologize to them for our reaction to their accusations. We know we didn’t handle the situation out of love. We became very angry, tempers flared, and the police were called. We once again find ourselves asking Christ to forgive us, as well as asking the brothers to forgive our un-Christlike actions, and that Jesus can somehow use this incident to make us better men. Sometimes it’s very hard not to be like the old me.
The bike drawing is going to be done July 26th at Festival of Life Church in Newcastle, from about 11 am to 5 pm. All are welcome. We will contact the new owner and make arrangements for the bike delivery, and post it on our website.

Here are some of the progress reports from the home repair outreach ministries.
1. Oakridge Elementary (complete)
2. Quintars (99% complete)
3. Linda Thurmans (complete)
4. Chaplain Doug’s (complete)
5. Penny Gregory’s (fencing in progress)
6. Tony and Sue Harold (still needing prayer for Tony’s cancer battle)
7. Joyce Faul (complete)
8. Chapel of Hope (poured 87 yards concrete foundation, starting floor system 6/16/08, prayers needed for funds and weather)
9. Ron and Beverly McKean (complete)
10. Stephanie Martinez (plans & truss calcs complete, plans going to county for approval, approximate start date 6/25/08)

NEW OUTREACH-
1.Cornerstone Community Church–need of renovation
2. Church for United Ministry–Colony of The Hawks, Tiajuana Mexico
3.Pastor Jason–new roof and remodel of existing roof
4.Naomi’s House (women’s shelter)–front porch repair

Thank you again for your continued support, and thank you for being a blessing to others.
God Bless you all.
Proverbs 31:9-
In Him-
Richard and all at A.I.H.M.

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5 Different Motorcycle Ministries were represented at the Seal America Communion service held at the state Capitol on May 24th 2008. We were represented by the Black Sheep (Harley Davidsons for Christ) M/M, The Way Riderz M/M, The Lords Gym M/M, The CMA, and The Fellowship riders. Although it was raining in the morning we all seemed to make it down there by bike or car. 5 Riders, and 7 cage’s. It really didn’t matter how we got down there, what mattered is that we got down there.

Showing and participating in unity is the key. Everything we do,lets do it in love and show the world that we are United in Christ. They will know we are his disciples by the love we show each other. You can follow Seal America by going to www.sealamerica.org. They will visit every capitol in the country every week for 51 weeks, and will have a big rally at the end of December in Washington DC.

Enjoy the pictures and we look forward to seeing you all out on the road somewhere being BOLD for Jesus!

Johnny Lujan

Greetings to all our brothers and sisters in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. What an honor it is to serve our brothers and sisters in need. Just when we think there will be a break in the completion of one project, another arises with greater priority and level of need. Let me bring everyone up to date on what has been going on with Awakening In Him Ministry. I know there have been a lot of questions concerning projects that were on the way, the raffle motorcycle, motorcycle ministry, commitment levels, partnership and of course the web site. I will try and touch on all of those subjects.

First let us talk about the raffle bike and what is going on with that. The date has been set for July 26th to pull the winning ticket. I know it has been quiet awhile that some of you have purchased a ticket to win this beautiful motorcycle. You can be rest assured that every dollar that was donated for a ticket to win went to provide shelter and care for numerous people in our surrounding communities. As you will see in the rest of this letter, people are living safer and healthier because of your donations. The drawing will take place on Saturday July 26th in Newcastle California at Festival of Life church. The time is still being set, but we plan on having a BBQ, Music, Testimonies, and of course some great fellowship with anyone who can attend. Put that date in your calendar and make sure you attend. There is still time to purchase another ticket for the bike. We are pleading with everyone to purchase one more ticket as a donation to the ministry. You can go on line and do it or send us a check to the office. The needs are great and we have many projects that are in need of completion.

We have been to many shows and motorcycle outreach events already this year. We were at the Easy riders show in Sacramento, Autorama in L.A, and in Fresno. We did an outreach at Logan park apartments with Chaplin Doug in Carmichael. Many Motorcycle ministries attend. The Black Sheep m/m, the way Riderz m/m, and Fellowship Riders all showed their support and attended the outreach project. Music by Michara was a blessing to all, and every child got to take a picture on the bike of his or her choice. (Once we got the parents off.) We went to the NOR-CAL swap meet and got to share with many of the vendors and shoppers. We took the bikes to a couple of Men’s breakfast meeting at Capitol Christian, and at Bayside of Lincoln to bring awareness to the ministry and gain further support.

The new web site is just about up and running. We would like to send a special thanks to Brook Drumm at Vault Multimedia for setting up and taking care of our web site. He does a tremendous job and is a key partner with Awakening In Him, and donates quiet a bit of time to help the ministry. Our new web site will be more interactive, that you will be able to see jobs as they are in progress and after completion. There will be a donation page where you can make monthly donations to help support the projects that are underway. There will also be a new page that will list all our partners that are supporting this ministry in many different ways. This will be an ongoing list and links to also help our partners grow. If you know of a business that would like to help us, you can send them to the site and they can see all the different companies that are in support of reaching out to their local communities.

John Lujan joined the team in January. His background in sales, marketing and people skills brings an asset to the ministry that is much needed. After being with the team for a couple of months, John new that this just wasn’t another outreach ministry. This was a hands on team building partnership where many hands are needed. He soon realized why 100% of every dollar coming into this ministry needs to be going out to the needs of the people. Although he works a full time job, 100% of his time to this ministry is free. John helps the ministry with project up dates, bringing awareness through public meetings, speeches, and networking. He brings awareness in the business community and partners with other non-profits for mutual outreach programs. He brings comfort to the people we are helping and is able to offer hope and prayer.

Here is a list of some of the projects that are completed, mid stream, new, and ones that have recently been submitted.

1. Completed in February was the complete renovation of the teachers lounge at Oak view Elementary School in South Sacramento. With the help of Capitol Christian Center we were able to bring smiles to many teachers reaching out to the children there. The room they used before the transformation was old and worn down. Old printers, no computers, dark curtains, and beat up carpet. It took many people to make this project happen and we are grateful to everyone who supported the project. They now have a room they can go to focus and rejuvenate themselves so they will better prepare themselves to handle to needs of the children.
2. The project at Quinter’s house is 99% complete. The renovation of two complete bathrooms to make it accessible for Quinter and his special needs is a huge benefit for that family. The roof on the house and the carport was installed by Abba Roofing and was professionally done and looks great. One bathroom was taken down all the way to the sub floor and rebuilt from scratch. There were new toilets, sinks, mirrors, and lights installed. There had to be new windows put in to code, and we had to make the shower wheel chair accessible. New tile and paint made it look brand new and modern. There were new wheel chair ramps put in the front and back of the house, and a ramp from Quinter’s living room directly to the back door with easy access to outside. New Linoleum and carpet in the house make everything look outstanding.
3. Linda Turman’s house was in need of some special hands on time due to the storm that hit in January. A tree fell and ripped out the electrical wiring from her house. It was rough time for everyone with fences down and roofs flying off. That project was done quickly and efficiently. Linda gives back to the ministry with her time and willingness to serve with us.
4. Chaplin Doug also was hit by the storm and was loosing his roof and house started to leak. After assessing the roof and other need of the family, it was required that a new roof be installed. Richard and Matt went to work on the roof and completed it in a couple of days. There were to new sky lights also installed to bring in more light for the home. Chaplin Doug gives of his time to many outreach events in the local Sacramento area and is always helping the children and people in need at some local apartments in the area.
5. Penny Gregory’s situation was devastating and sad. She was a labor of love for her 90 yr old mother, while attending to the needs of her own physical needs of battling cancer and a daughter that had some special needs of her own. We were able to go out and install a new dishwasher, and garbage disposal, 2 new toilets, and repair her washing machine. We had some folks go out and do a couple of dup runs to remove trash from her property. She still has many needs and we are addressing those now. She is lonely and far away from town, we are looking for people to go out and visit with her and pray with her. We will be installing a new fence soon and are looking for volunteers for that also.
6. We went and did a huge work project for Roseville community church. We gathered many people from 6 different churches and motorcycle ministries and spent the day cleaning and doing general maintenance. We were painting hall ways, installing lights, pressure washing cement and walk ways and picking up a ton of leaves and trash from the property. We also help install two news doors on their storage shed, and Abba Roofing repaired the roof. They cooked us breakfast and the whole project lasted about 8 hours.
7. Tony and Sue in Harold, CA were in desperate need of a new roof. Due to health issues there was now way for Tony to get up there and repairs. Instead of just repairing we found a new roof was needed and the job was completed in April. It turned out unbelievable and we were able to bless another family for Jesus. Tony is still dealing with health issues and continued prayers are needed for the family
8. Richard and Joyce Faut in Carmichael, CA were also in desperate need of a roof. The roof has been leaking for about 3 years and making more damage to the surrounding walls. We got there and were overwhelmed with the Love they shared. They lived in the house since 1957 and were married 61 years. Joyce was a little taken back when we arrived and told her how we wanted to help. She thought there was a catch or a motive. We told her the only motive we have is that Jesus loves her and we are his messengers of hope. We finally convinced her of letting us help her and we completed the installation of the new roof in April. It is better than the original thanks to the help of Abba Roofing. In the process of the installation her Husband Richard passed away ands we were able to sit with her and pray her. She knows her husband is with the Lord and she finds comfort in that. She knows she is not alone and that Awakening In Him Ministry will always be there to help her and provide comfort for her. Please pray for her…
9. Richard and some volunteers have left for a two week trip to Montana to start the foundation process for the new “Chapel of Hope” project. The trip there held many challenges. Snow storms, and white out conditions made almost impossible to see. It took a little longer to get there, but they pressed on arrived in one piece. This is huge undertaking and we are asking for everyone to take part in helping. The financial needs are big and the prayer needs are even bigger. There will be many more opportunities to serve on this project. If it is in your heart to go and serve we will put you on a list and when we plan the next trip up there you may want to go. The next trip will be in a couple of months when the actual construction of the building will take place. If you thought about giving to the ministry but have been putting it off, now would be a good time to make the commitment to help. This will be a long project and done in increments of service. You can go to the web site and see pictures of the project getting started.
10. Ron and Beverly McKean were in need of a new wheel chair. It was donated by another non-profit that is helping with medical supplies. We were able to deliver that in April and made her life much easier.
11. Stephanie Martinez is a little girl who has been in a coma for 4 years. Both Mom and Dad had to quiet their jobs to provide care for their only daughter. They wouldn’t qualify for life saving equipment to keep their daughter alive while they were working. Currently there are know windows in her room and all the life support equipment is stuffed in a little 9×12 room. This is one of our highest priority projects this year. We are knocking out the walls of her room and we are going to build her a beautiful room with windows and plenty of room for her parents to care for her. Please start praying right now that the Lord will lay a burden on your hearts like it has done ours to help this family and provide the funds it is going to take to put the addition on their house. We have already had commitments by Livingston Cement, Bonney Plumbing, Kingdom Heat and Air, Abba Roofing, and JBS Enterprise to help with this project donating material and abor. Many more have stepped up to offer help. The burden we have on our hearts is to bring light into Stephanie’s life and that the Lord will comfort this family in need. The project is just about to get started and we need your financial help. Please help us help Stephanie.

As you can see the needs are plenty. I have received three calls just this past week for projects for people who are in desperate need and living in unsatisfactory conditions. The elderly are lonely and scared, widows are loosing hope and children are living in fear. We are begging everyone who receives this newsletter to pass it on to everyone they know. Networking is a big key to getting projects done. There are many people who want to help, but just don’t know where or how to help. At the ministry there is always a need for people who want to serve, be it through labor work, the trades, prayer support, financial support, printing help, and video support. The different gifts of many divers’ people are what make a ministry work.

We are begging and pleading for your financial support of this ministry. One of our individual goals is to have 1000 brothers and sisters across this beautiful country donate $20.00 a month to help support this ministry and the work it is doing for the kingdom. Our cooperate goal is to have companies support us financially and with material to get projects started and completed and to use Awakening In Him Ministry as their Philanthropy outreach goals for their fiscal giving. Our Church mission goal is that churches see us as “Their community Outreach Partner”. We would like to connect with many churches and unite with them in our community projects. We have already done one such project and know that the Lord Smiles every time we unite in Love and reach others for Jesus.

Won’t you join us now and become a regular donating partner with us? Every donation is Tax deductible (ID# 29-1925826) and you can be assured that 100% of every dollar is used on a ministry project to help our communities and our people, live better lives. We are bringing hope and light to a dark world. Become a light with us and see how far a little can go when we do it together.

We appreciate all our partners and givers that have so generously given to help the poor and needy in the past years. God Bless to everyone in ministry and who is reaching out to those who cannot help themselves.

Psalm 31:9

In Him

The Awakening In Him Team
3609 Mission Ave #J
Carmichael, CA 95608
916-483-6989 / 916-483-6984 (f)
Johnny@awakeninginhimministry.com

www.awakeninginhimministry.com

(Tax ID # 29-1925826)

Also, we thank those who have purchased a ticket for the Unleashed motorcycle. To date the raffle has raised over $26,000. At Awakening In Him Ministry we have put back 100% of that money in to home repair. We have sold approximately 1300 tickets so far. Our original goal was to sell 10,000 so that we could raise $200,000 to put back into the community. The cost to build and license the motorcycle was $55,000 which was donated to the ministry. In order to cover the cost of the build, a minimum of about 3000 tickets would need to be sold. We are not half way there yet.

I have often doubted the intentions of this endeavor and wondered why after so many shows and bike events that we were not able to sell more tickets. I sometimes think we would have been better off keeping the money in the ministry and spending it directly on home repair but then we would not have been able to be with Joe Sanchez as he gave his life to Christ on January 28, 2006 at the Arlen Ness show. Or with Debbie Kufner when seeing and hearing about Awakening In Him Ministry, through our visit to Promise Keepers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, came to California with us and The Way Ministry and returned home to start Naomi’s House, a safe haven for single mothers who have no where else to go. Or Ron, who while we were back in Omaha, Nebraska doing an outreach at Glad Tidings Church with Pastor Dobie Wiesel, gave his life to Christ.

With the money raised thus far we have been able to help many people. A family in Elk Grove has received a new heating and air conditioning unit. A woman in South Sacramento received a new roof and some home maintenance. The Sacramento Children’s Crisis Nursery received a new room addition for their much needed parent/child training center.

The needs are great and far exceed the money we have in our ministry. We know we will be able to accomplish many things though because Jesus is bigger than any bank account there is. His love, grace and mercy will continue to provide.

At this point in time construction in California has almost stopped. In the past our two major contributors to the ministry were our two construction companies. We have gone from 160 employees to two. But my family and ministry partners the Brouhards, Hawleys, Stillings, Holly and Shearers, Capital Christian Center and so many more who each month give us support to go out and help those in need. We will not stop giving of our time and finances, but we need your help. The Bible says in Proverb 31:9 to plead the cause of the needy and poor. So I am pleading. Please, if you have already purchased a ticket, won’t you consider donating for the cause by getting one more. You can go online or contact us and we will make sure another ticket stub will be placed in the Unleashed raffle.

We are trying to build a network of monthly partners. We would like to obtain 1000 partners who could donate $20 per month which would move us toward completing the tasks that are now before us including:

Chapel of Hope Ministry - new building to replace the one burned down by arson -$150,000

Quintar - Remodel home to ADA standards after an uninsured, unregistered, unlicensed, motorist hit him on his motorcycle. He was left wheelchair bound and without his right leg - $40,000.

Church of God in Christ - Stockton, California - an old church with a fresh new pastor who needs help in a renovation process - $50,000

Peggy - siding repairs - $12,000

Sherda - wheelchair -$2,000

Tammy - new roof - $4500

Tim - new roof - $800

Leana - interior home repairs - $5000

The list continues to grow, as we along with your help, go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus. God Bless all of you and your families for your support and love. Our hope and faith is in Christ Jesus in who I put my trust.

In Him,
Richard