Ajax youths (from left) Erik Fountas, Sule Prince, Gil Mira and A.J. Bennet, have organized a Christian Youth Crusade Aug. 11-13 at Rotary Park to help spread their message to youths involved in crime and violence. |
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Punks to Preachers
THE NEWS ADVERTISER, WED. AUGUST 3, 1994.
AJAX - Getting into trouble with the law was once a way of life for Gil Mira and Sule Prince. Now, the two Ajax youth, along with friends Erik Fountas and A.J. Bennet, are organizing a Christian Youth Crusade to help other young people caught up in the cycle of crime and violence who want to clean up their act.
"We're telling youths (involved in crime) that there's a better way out there." says Mr. Mira, 21.
"The crusade is about youth speaking to youth because when adults speak to youth they feel they're being talked down to." he adds.
"We are trying to show youth drugs and violence is not the way to go." Says Mr. Prince, 17.
Mr. Prince and Mr. Mira should know. The two were once involved in a life of crime which involved violence, theft, drinking and drugs.
"I had trouble with my parents and got kicked out when I was 15." recalls Mr. Prince. "I was into violence and fighting and I was planning to do drugs. I wanted to be a rapper and I lived the lifestyle. I was very depressed. I was on welfare and I had just enough money to pay my bills."
Mr. Mira confides, "I was dealing and smoking crack when I was 15. At 16 I did what I wanted to do and was making hundreds of dollars a day. My 16 year old friend got stabbed in broad daylight. My friends used to carry guns. When I was 17 I was thrown in jail for assault and my dad, who I hadn't seen in three years, had to bail me out."
Although the lifestyle they led provided them with the respect among their peers, neither of them were happy. That's when the two began searching for a way out of this cycle of crime and violence. The way out happened to be Christianity.
"I wasn't Sule the fighter anymore. I was Sule the quiet, humble student. My teachers were amazed." Mr. Prince says.
"I can look at people who are tough on the outside now and I know they are hurting on the inside." Mr. Mira says.
The two now have their lives back on track. Mr. Mira graduated from Ajax High School last year and has been accepted by a Peterborough bible college to begin studies there in September. He hopes to become a pastor and open a group home for wayward youth. Mr. Prince will attend Grade 12 at Pickering High School in the fall. He also wants to become a pastor.
Meanwhile, the two youth have helped organize a Youth Crusade which will take place Aug. 11-13 starting at 6:30pm at Rotary Park in Ajax.
The festival will feature drama, music and personal testimonies from youth who are living changed lives. They hope to attract between 1,000 and 3,000 youth to the crusade. Admission is free.
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