Dear Friend of AMG,

If you are anything like me, we watch the local news just about every evening. The litany of murders, assaults, home invasions, domestic violence, theft and scandal irritates me, but at a distance. The news of violence overseas is not too different. It?s hard to get too worked up; it seems always to happen in some other, far-away neighborhood.

Then it hits closer to home.

As I write this letter, we have just received news that the brother of an AMG staff person in Guatemala took three bullets in the back from a gang assault. The attack occurred within yards of an AMG childcare center.

Nidia is the young lady whose brother was attacked. We featured her testimony in the August 2008 AMG News. She is serving God at AMG?s office. We were delighted that she had been cared for at an AMG childcare center from an early age. My sense of the danger she faced daily was dulled by the seeming ?predictability? of it all.

We?ve now been reminded that for Nidia ? and for hundreds of young people just like her ? it?s an uphill battle, every day!

?  To get to the childcare center they must navigate streets ruled by gangs.

?  To participate in AMG camping and youth activities they must resist the lure of bright guns and quick money.

?  To walk away from the dangerous freedom of street life and in to a structured, career training center requires all the resolve a young person can muster.

Why do they do it?

With their vocational training they can make really good money doing productive work. They are finally able to make good on their hope and promise to support their families.

The influence of godly instructors and camp staff has helped them see life as service to God and others, rather than survival and a few goodies.

The fervent prayers and faithful support of God?s people have made these safe places possible. Without them the streets are the only option.

This month I?m asking you to prayerfully consider a generous gift to help underwrite AMG camping and youth ministries.

If you are blessed to live in a relatively safe place, your gift this month can be an offering of thanks to God for that blessing.

If you live in a place that often feels unsafe to you, your gift can offer encouragement and comfort to others whose concerns you share.

If the Lord lays a particular country or program on your heart, please let us know.

?  AMG has vocational training programs in Philippines, Thailand and Guatemala.

?  AMG operates or sponsors seasonal and year-round Bible camps in Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

?  AMG VBS programs will serve younger children and teens this summer in Ghana, Uganda and Guatemala.

?  AMG also sponsors youth ministry in Mexico, Argentina, Greece, Italy and Peru.

?  In addition, a generous donor is seeking to undergird an effective but financially struggling year-round program at Camp Joy in Thailand. New gifts designated for Camp Joy will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $15,000 to meet this need.

Your gift this month for any of these programs can be ?a breath of fresh air.?

?  Literally, the ?breath of fresh air? is a glimpse of God?s great outdoors in stark contrast to the mean streets they often must call ?home.?

?  Spiritually, your gift today will help breathe new life into a life being shaped for responsible adulthood and effective future ministry.

Thank you for investing in the lives of children and youth with your special gift for AMG this month.

May God bless you as we serve the young people He loves so dearly through prayer and giving.

Yours for His Glory,

Paul E. Jenks, President