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Show But His Future Looks Bright W. GIBSON Churcfi News Staff Writer By STEPHEN BALDWIN PARK, CALIF. Richard Castaneda steps forward to receive his college degree next year, many of his friends will think, What a promising young man is he. And he is a promising young man, but he hasnt always been. At age three he began being tossed from relative to relative. At age 10 he moved back with his mother when she relocated her family in an effort to change the pattern they were following. Out of his 17 brolhers and sisters, 13 have spent terms in prison. "Shortly after moving to Pomona I became involved in gang activities. I was searching for security, recognition and a sense of belonging usually found in a close-kni- t family. By 12 Richard had experimented with marijuana and other drugs. When I was 15 I was involved in a shooting and sent to juvenile hall in Los Angeles, Richard said. As . record His wasnt pretty. Rich-ar- d arrested for fight- stealing and had been ing, now Richard Castaneda returned missionary . . . a shooting. At 15 I had never known a God. We were strong Catholics and we worshipped images, Richard said. I hadnt received counsel from a loving father. I hadnt had a real family, I hadnt had home teachers to help me. Even with a past like this, Richard received help which resulted in a change for the better. My probation officer really wanted to help. He brought me three sheets of paper and a pencil into my cell and asked me to write down for him the three things I really wanted out of life. I had faith in this guy and decided I had nothing to lose. I had a desire to change and needed someone to lead me to a place where I could get help. Richard listed the three things he really wanted. First, I said I wanted a mother and father. Second, an education. Third, I said I just wanted to start my life again. I wanted to be bom again; to forget my past and start again. At the hearing I asked my probation officer to ask the judge to hear my case later in the day so my mother could be with me. But she never came. "I later learned that at the time of the hearing she had been arrested bringing a supply of heroin into the United States from Mexico. Richards probation officer convinced the judge that Richard was sincere in his desire to change and become a useful citizen. The probation officer contacted Neil Howard from the Ettie Lee Homes in Baldwin Park. He didnt tell Neil about my bad record only that I needed help. That needed help came as the philosophy of the Ettie Lee Homes was applied with Richard. Ettie Lee Homes, now numbering 20, were originally started by Miss Ettie Lee, a member of the Church and a school teacher in the Los Angeles area. Each home is run by a married couple who act as parents to 12 young men. Richards need for recognition was fulfilled when Neil Howard got him involved in sports at school and Boy Scouts. In a little over a year he had excelled in football, track and wrestling. As his personality began to blossom, he became popular among his classmates who later elected him student bcdy president His need for security and love came from the family-lik- e organization of the Ettie Lee Homes. Neil helped me with my studies. He talked to my teachers at school and helped them understand me. Neil and his wife were stern but always encouraging and understanding. I didnt change overnight though, Richard related with a smile that filled his whole face. I tried to show the boys at the home that I was boss rather than Nefl. 7 remember one of the first times I ever prayed. Neil was angry with me and shook me hard. Then he said he wanted us to pray together and asked me to pray. It was the little things we did as a the few minutes we took to pray family and be together that resulted in my change. Richard attended MIA and everyone seemed so eager and enthusiastic that he himself wanted to get involved. I attended sacrament meetings in Baldwin Park Ward with the rest of the 11 boys living in the home under the care of the Howards. Richard was baptized at 17. I was called on a mission to the Mexican Mission in 1964, Richard explained. He fulfilled a successful mission and baptized nearly 200 people. He kept his background to himself and served the Lord with gratitude and love. I often saw in the faces of those little boys, living in small towns near Mexico City, a reflection of myself. Richard is now 25 and an employe of Ettie Lee Homes while majoring in Spanish at college. He is busy helping apply some of the Ettie Lee philosophy to the young boys living in the homes. He hopes to hold a political office in the Los Angles area some day. I want to be in a position to help organizations which help boys in need like I was, Richard said. He also plans on having a life centered around the Church. Presently he is an assistant scoutmaster, and a teacher of boys in the guide patrol in the Baldwin Park Ward. Someday, after Im married, Id like to be a home parent to some young men, like Neil Howard was to me. Missionaries Find Kind Deeds Pay Off MINOT, N.D. "Cast thy bread upon the waters, the Preacher counseled in the book of Ecclesiastes, for thou shalt find it after many days. This has come to pass for the elders laboring in Minot, which was ravaged with runoff floods last spring. The combination of heavy winter snows and sudden warm temperatures sent waters from the rivers in Minot swirling high into the citys streets. Homes, businesses and other buildings were either inundated or heavily damaged from the flood which poured water and silt into the buildings. team, composed of missionand headed by the members aries, Church branch president, did yeoman work in cleaning basements, painting and even putting on new plaster board in the homes. A clean-u- p Missionaries from ether towns were sent into help in the cleanup work. Aid was given to member and nonmember alike and in all about 45 families were helped. Of the families helped at least 20 were nonmembers. They expressed their gratitude many times for the help the missionaries gave. As one elder put it, they know who we are now. When we started in to work, some nonmembers wondered who we were and why we would come in to help. After we started helping nonmembers, we noticed a very important change in peoples lives. Many of them were dissatisfied with their own ministers and churches. Some ministers came around for donations to help others but didnt offer to get in and dig out the muck and slime from the basements. As the question of why we were doing this was asked repeatedly, it wasnt uncommon to hear an elder say because we love and want to help the children of our Father in Heaven. "The many experiences we had cant really be given mainly because they were too numerous and it is sufficient to say that we did accomplish much good from the flood. The elder added that baptisms are being performed now on some of those helped and the feeling towards the missionaries is at a high level now. Swedish Student Lives As He Believes By ELDER DAVID R. ROWBERRY Mission Correspondent BORLANGE, SWEDEN Hakan Palm of Borlange in the beautiful heartland ol Sweden and the only Church member of Borlange Junior College was valedictorian of his graduating class. Hakan Palm, Swedish member addresses open-ai- r graduation rites. WEEK ENDING AUGUST 30, 1969 He represented about 500 students in the city of Borlange and addressed teachers, instructors, city authorities and all others graduation rites reattending the open-ai- r cently. He also has served on the Student Council for the past two years. Raised by parents converted to the Church in Sweden when he was a boy, he has served as a counselor in the Borlange Branch Sunday School and as a teacher in the MIA. An ardent student of the Gospel, his opinion is respected throughout Bor lange, and he is known at rchool as a young man who lives as he believes. This year, because of his scholastic achievements, he also was chosen as one of nine Swedish youth named every two years to begin special training in a Swedish Government Language and Interpreting School in Uppsala. During the time he has been in high school and college, he has worked part time for one of the local newspapers as a press photographer. This has enabled him to save sufficient money to support himself for two years on e a mission for the Church. His pictures of Church members in action are exhibited in the Swedish Mission display entitled, The Three Dimensions of Life. full-tim- |