Saturday’s youth night at the Harvest Crusade brought out thousands of teenagers and young adults from all over Southern California, including Fabi Oregon (16), Roxanna Peralta (17), Brittany Castillas (17) and Menette Marquez (19), all of San Bernardino.
This was Fabi and Roxanna’s first Harvest Crusade, and they joined Brittany and Menette down on the field to rededicate their lives to Christ.
Tragic and difficult family situations brought all four girls to the crusade tonight. Menette first attended a crusade last year, when she came with her father. Since then, her father left their family and Menette has found herself questioning God and His purpose in this.
“I used to sing in worship at church and I got to a point where I couldn’t anymore,” she said through tears. “People will always let you down, even the one person you think never will, but Christ will never ever leave us. I know God has so much more for me and tonight was a reminder to keep following Him, even if things don’t make sense.”
Roxanna has a similar story, as her stepfather who raised her since the age of two just left the family as well. “I don’t understand it, but I know I’m not alone with Christ,” she said. “I don’t want to make excuses anymore for not going to church.”
Fabi and Brittany’s family situations have been weighing heavy on their minds as well, but the girls felt like God was speaking to them in a personal way tonight. “The music, the message, everything tonight was exactly what I needed to hear,” said Brittany.
“I like that Pastor Greg speaks to us in modern language that we can understand,” said Fabi. “He doesn’t just keep us awake and listening, but he helps us know what the Bible says about things, like purity and not falling away when things get hard.”
