Summer 2014 newsletter

Dear Friends,
 
Thanks for all your help for us in Young Life Latin America. It’s been exciting to see YL ministry growing with teens in Latin America the last number of years and also around the world. Below you can see some of the huge growth that’s been occurring as YL has responded to the need for teens around the world to hear the gospel. That calling has resulted in ministry in over 90 countries today and more and more teens learning about Jesus from leaders who love them. I’ve been involved with YL internationally (as a volunteer and staff member) since 1996 and it’s a real joy to see how God has used this ministry to impact more and more teens. Thanks for your key role in helping this happen!


The growth of Young Life Internationally




 
 
 

A transformed life
   In 2008 Brookside CRC’s youth group visited the Dominican Republic for the first time. They worked hard to prepare Pico Escondido, the Young Life camp in the DR, and before leaving prayed for deep impact on the teens who would be coming later that summer to hear the gospel. Walkys was one of those teens. Walkys
Walkys with Kara
grew up with some knowledge of God but she never really understood  who Jesus was until that summer. It was at YL camp that she realized Jesus loved her in a way no one else ever had and that He wanted a relationship with her! She woke up to a love she knew she needed and committed her life to Christ that summer. Walkys returned to her family and her barrio changed- she was faithful in Bible study with her YL leader and quickly realized that many of her friends really needed to hear this same message. Walkys didn’t really want to be a leader; she was afraid of the responsibility and felt unworthy. But as she continued to grow in the Lord she felt more and more called to help others and God continued to open doors for her to lead. So, despite her fears, by the next summer Walkys was leading a cabin of girls at camp and helping them come to know Jesus as she had. 
BYG 2014 team
    Today, Walkys is part of Young Life’s Developing Global Leaders program, which helps her attend college and study psychology while serving as a club director for Vida Joven. She’s discipled and mentored a number of teens who’ve grown to be part of her leadership team and they want to bring 31 more kids to camp this summer. Walkys is a great example of the impact of a transformed life and this summer she helped host the 3rd team from Brookside to visit the DR. The first group that went didn’t know Walkys and didn’t know what happened in her life that summer, but we thank God for the way he uses camp and loving leaders to transform lives and the long lasting impact that has, and how we are blessed to see that happen.
 

PANAMA   
How would you feel about a weekend with 25 people in a three bedroom house?
What if it was really hot and humid? And what if the water went out and you had to fill buckets to clean dishes, shower and flush toilets? If you were with us for our training camp in Panama you would have experienced all those things—and I think you still would have enjoyed it. It was the first training camp we’ve done with young leaders in Panama and they all handled the tough conditions extremely well. Our ministry in Panama started about 4 years ago and has quickly grown from one club to three reaching out to teens in some very difficult neighborhoods around Panama City. The young leaders spent a lot of time learning more about their walk with the Lord and how to grow into leaders, the more experienced leaders spent some strategic time discussing the strengths and weaknesses so far of YL in Panama and how to continue to grow in a healthy way. Pilar Soto from Costa Rica is helping me more and more with
 training in Central America and we did this camp together as she grows into her role. In June she ran a similar camp in El Salvador and did a wonderful job without me there. It’s great to see more leaders being equipped for ministry and Pilar thriving in this role.


Coming up for us:
      I just returned from a 10 day trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic and won’t be traveling again until the fall while we wait for our baby to be born! (late July or early August is likely—keep watching for news on Facebook!)  Pray with us that all would go well with the birth and that we’ll all handle the shift to a bigger family well.

     While home I’ll be working on some new training curriculum for the region and a better training plan especially for our leaders in Haiti, in addition to continuing to coach a number of leaders around the region.

     Jenn continues in her role as a mentor and coach for the YL missionaries in Latin America.  She’ll be leading a retreat for them in October.

   
 

 
 
 





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