save- jason poutawa
26th October 2009 by Julia Hosking
Hi, my name is Jason - I am now almost 20 years old and this is my story.
While I was lucky to have a roof over my head growing up, life was hard. My brother and I were brought up by my mum living in a NSW housing estate. The young people who lived in the area were troubled by drugs and alcohol, theft, violence and vandalism.
In response to this, The Salvation Army established a Community House in the area. My world began to change when I got involved in loads of activities with them and I loved it! I went to study shed, basketball in the street, touch footy and cricket! I was 13 when I started going to Ryde Salvos, where I genuinely felt that people cared for me! I felt welcomed, valued and made some fantastic friends who are my brothers!
I went to Hillsong Conference 2003 with one of the brothers from church and we went to Jam United. It was awesome! On the Wednesday night of the week conference, was my first REAL encounter with God! At that time I was bullied at school, had nearly no friends, and God came and met me right where I was. I heard him say that he loves me and will shape me the way he planned to if I let him. I decided to follow whatever God had for me that night, and God has fuelled my fire since then, which has not burned out!
God is my rock, where I can find refuge and rest. I became passionately involved with sharing my story in sport mission opportunities and leading sport in holiday kids clubs in my community. I know this experience marked the beginning of my radical journey for change in my life! I have people closer to me to learn from and be mentored by than I ever thought could be possible. These are my heroes that have had an amazing influence on my life! For every good thing that is in my life, I have God to thank!
save. grow. serve.
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Comments
awesome story JP, its encouraging to see your passion for God and your heart for the lost, i pray that you will continue to step into what Gods calling you 2 do! keeping being who ya are! casue your gonna make a mad difference in the world!
Hey Jase, how awesome to hear your story! I know I've been around you for a while & have seen lots of this stuff in person, but it's always significant to publicly declare God's goodness & provision. You & your story are what the Salvos are all about: Taking Jesus into the places where He isn't, seeing lives transformed, then 'BEING' the person to take Jesus into more places He isn't. And I see you doing that with His grace & His power. The Salvos would take more ground for the Kingdom if there were more guys like you on the front line!
Well mate what can I say except this .... what's his name .... JASON POUTAWA .... what's his game ... SHAKIN NATIONS!
Hahaha loving the journey mate and the man you are/becoming, so proud of you brother, how blessed am I to do life with such high calibre brothers, love it and thank God for it !!