Summer 2014 newsletter
Dear Friends,
The growth of Young Life Internationally
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.
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.
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!
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 |
 |
| 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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