Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1512449
The Art of Mentorship Age Sandoval, San Diego BSHDFC President After going through some challenges in San Diego, we once again approached a prospective mentee to go through the program. With life and heart changes happening, we lost a total of eight patched members within a year. They all had different reasons, but we really lost a good guy (our VP) to the Death Valley chapter. I was hesitant to even think about mentoring another person after what we had been through. Might I add, this was during covid and that was just a weird year to say the least! At the end of 2021, I cast vision on the San Diego crew of four. With only officers left I said, "This year, we are going to pray! We're going to pray for God to bring us the right people for this chapter." It was hard to trust that God would come through for us. I kept on saying to my chapter for a year, "the pot is boiling guys, don't lose faith, don't give up. God's got this!" As time went by and 2023 was approaching, I shared a new vision! It was something I had shared on Facebook Live: "Heart, Head, Hands and Heart." I also shared that the goal this year would be to see three to five new mentees who would stand up and say they want to become missionaries. The first quarter started slow, but then on April 15th I received a message from a young man named Ruben Cruz. I had asked him on February 27, 2022, to begin to pray about God's calling in his life to join Black Sheep as a missionary. This was after his first purchase of a Harley-Davison. We had blessed his metric bike in 2016 and the only thing holding him back now from mentoring with us was owning an American V-twin. So, for one year, Ruben was praying! In April of 2023, he was ready for the mentoring process. I was super excited to see God bringing a mentee that we had been earnestly seeking and praying for! Not long after the conversation with Ruben, I received an email. It was on April 30, 2023, and it said, "I'd like to get some information on how to join the SDBS ministry." Joel Woodson shared his phone number and what type of motorcycle he rode and what church he belonged to. I responded and the next step was to meet for coffee and visit. Ruben was locked in after our first meeting! Both of these men were compelled to learn more about a call to Black Sheep and they were eager for their first mentoring lesson. As we all got to know each other, Joel told me he couldn't sleep because of his compulsion to become a Black Sheep! Ruben was also excited to have a creative way to share his faith with other motorcycle riders! He had always dreamed about being in a motorcycle ministry! This was the beginning of Ruben and Joel's journey to becoming Black Sheep! After several long mentoring sessions (2-3 hours each), bike blessings, and numerous obstacles, Joel and Ruben were well on their way to becoming members. At each mentorship session I would ask them, "Are you still feeling compelled and called to this ministry?" They probably got tired of hearing me ask that question, but it wasn't until we were halfway through the sessions that it really started to hit home for them. As lesson ten drew closer, we knew it was time to get ready for the big day. With the last lesson completed, it was now time for some planning. We needed to give the national office a 30-day notice because Ruben Cruz wanted a patch in Spanish. (His eyes lit up the first time he saw our patch in Spanish!). We settled on a location, date and time for the patching. It was going to be at a local biker stop: STP Bar & Grill in beautiful San Diego, CA. Many motorcycle enthusiasts frequent the place and we thought this would be a great background for the ceremony. We met with the owner and at no extra charge she brought on extra help and allowed us to reserve the patio area. We thought that only thirty or so folks would show up, but we had invited all of the chapters from Ventura, Temecula, Orange County, South Bay and even Yuma, Arizona. We had no idea what kind of response we would get, but on October 28th we watched as bikes started to roll in from all of the SoCal region and Arizona! There were sixty or more people in attendance! I spoke with Laz, and he said, "I have seen God working all over the country in our ministry, but I have never in my life witnessed so much support for one chapter! God is doing something new." We have one more mentee in the pipeline and I believe, he too will soon become a San Diego Black Sheep! If you're not yet seeing the numbers you need for your chapter, hang in there! Keep praying and asking God to bring the right missionaries you need.! He will do it! He will see you through! A