YL Training in Latin America

Dear Friends, I want to share with you a couple experiences I’ve had lately that impacted me. They’ve helped remind me that the ministry we do with leaders and teens in Young Life is really a long term investment, not always one where the results are immediately seen. I heard from two former club kids the past couple weeks who were part of our ministry in the DR years ago. At the time, I would have said we spent time and shared the gospel with them, but saw little fruit from that investment. I wouldn’t have called it wasted time exactly, but I also wouldn’t have seen it as a real success-- so what I heard from them was somewhat of a surprise. With the first I got an e-mail from her letting me know she is now a YL leader in the US, investing back in teens the way she saw people do with her in the DR! Her line to me was: "It's crazy how your dedication to YL ministry would leave a lasting impact on my life.” Yep, I’d agree…hoped and prayed for, yet unexpected an...

Dear Friends, As I mentioned in my quick e-mail earlier this week, our training camp in Nicaragua went incredibly well. Over the course of two 4-day camps we had almost 200 leaders and leaders-in-training from Nicaragua there, plus another 25+ leaders who came to be trained from Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico. When we asked for feedback on what they had learned, the response was incredible. Many leaders talked about how the camp had refreshed them, renewed their faith, clarified their call, and better prepared them to work with teens in their neighborhoods. In short, it was a great place to see how God is working in the lives of teens and leaders throughout Central America. One of our visitors was Josue Ortiz who I met last month in Monclova, Mexico and who is hoping to start Young Life ministry there soon. I asked him what he had thought of the training and he said one of his biggest problems was that he had brought along a Mexican Sombrero ...

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. John 1:14 in the Message What a great verse, especially this time of year—the almighty, eternal God shows up in the barrio-- and nothing is ever the same. It helps me remember what’s at the heart of this season. It’s also really been the theme of my last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago in Panama we met for strategic planning for our region, and also to meet with a small team of leaders who and interested adults who are starting Young Life ministry there. They have a neighborhood chosen, they’re starting to move into the world of teens in that neighborhood—and we’re excited that kids there will not only hear about Jesus’ love but see it in action through their lives. This past week in Mexico was a great reminder of how powerful that vision can be. We had a meeting Monday night in Monclova with people with a group of Christian businessmen and church leaders who desire to see more done to reach ou...

Dear Friends, For a little over a year now I’ve worked in my new role with Young Life as Training Coordinator for Latin America, so the coming end of 2009 provides a great time to look back and reflect. In so many ways it’s been a very good year and I’ve enjoyed this new position immensely as I’ve worked with leaders from 15 different countries in Latin America. Frederick Buechner once said Jesus “never approached from on high, but always in the midst, in the midst of people, in the midst of real life and the questions real life asks. ” I’m continually amazed and blessed by the leaders I work with in Latin America and how they are able to enter with Jesus “in the midst” of the world of teens. A friend who met these leaders at one of our training events put it best when he said: “(they are) the leaders of leaders reaching out to the young people in countries all over Central and South America. They reach all levels of society. They reach into the poorest of the poor who live in ...

Dear Friends, Every once in a while God gives small reminders that what we’re doing here has eternal significance. I love those reminders. Sometimes it’s a note from an adult who used to be involved in club, sometimes it’s a current student talking about their life, and this week for me it was a note from a leader who was at our AD school in August. Flavio is part of Alvo de Mocidade (Target the Youth) which Young Life started in Brazil in 1963. The ministry in Brazil has grown greatly, is fully funded from within Brazil, and for quite a few years has operated very separately from Young Life in the US, but the last couple years we’ve started to work together more closely again. Flavio and two other Brazilian leaders came to Area Director School and it was their first interaction with leaders from our other Latin American countries. Flavio didn’t really want to go—his wife is pregnant and he didn’t want to leave her, he was worried about interacting with leaders who speak Spanish when h...