YL Training in Latin America

The River    What does abundant life look like? Ezekiel 47:1-12 is a passage our church focused on recently and it’s a beautiful vision of a river flowing from God’s temple bringing LIFE . The river deepens, trees flourish and bear bountiful fruit, fish of all kinds begin to thrive, the desert is transformed and even the Dead Sea becomes fresh and alive. It’s a truly miraculous picture of abundant life occurring because of God’s ‘living water’ . When I think about why Jenn and I are passionate about Young Life in Latin America, this vision really helps explain it. It’s because YL helps bring this living water to teenagers who otherwise are stuck in pretty life-less terrain.  Dennis, Mabel, Chaleo, Pepe and Daniel John DeVries has a wonderful perspective on what this passage means for us. He believes it points out that we are created to be rivers, not lakes. He says, “Salvation is not a possession we can get; it is a condition in which we are transformed to give.” Abundant

Acts 8:30-31: “Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” Dear Friends,              As summer ends and fall begins, it’s a real time of transition as schools start, new activities begin and the weather shifts in many parts of the world. Young Life has some natural beginnings now too--clubs that meet at schools are kicking off all over the world at this time of year.  Camp in Mexico   But the reality is a lot of that isn’t transition or new—it’s continuation with teens who had a life changing experience this summer.   Here’s a couple examples of what this continuation looks like in Latin America after a summer camp.   Yeoffrey , a leader in the Dominican Republic   went to visit one of the kids who came to camp a few days after returning home. As he walked up to the teen's house, he saw one of the boy’s neighbors. Th

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

Dear Friends,     The picture you see here is of my friend Noyo in Haiti. A recent visitor to Haiti wrote a great blog entry about Noyo and his experiences as Young Life leader in Haiti that you’ll be blessed to read. Click on  Scars  that tell of the good life   to read an amazing story of faithfulness, grace and a God-centered mission.      I’d love for you to be praying for the Haitian YL team especially this month.   Soon I’ll be spending 5 days in Haiti with Noyo and our Haitian leadership team as we’ll celebrate what God is doing through them and then evaluate and plan and pray about training more Haitian YL leaders. Pray God would give a lot of wisdom and insight into how to best support these amazing leaders. Right after that I’ll be in the Dominican Republic to get some time with key staff and be with a work team from Brookside CRC’s youth group. It’ll be a full and exciting month, thanks for praying for these trips and for Jenn and our kids while I’m gone.       

Dear Friends,           What comes to mind when you think of ‘ overflowing ’ ?    Maybe you think of streams and rivers in spring, or maybe you think of a cup spilling out when you overpour, or maybe another image comes to mind. I’m asking because Jenn and I’s time in Nicaragua before Easter made me think of this word often.            The first part of overflowing was the sheer number of people at the Young Life camp in Nicaragua ( called La Finca—‘the farm’ ).   La Finca was definitely filled to overflowing—we had 287 leaders at the property for 5 days, and the camp is really built to sleep 200 !     Almost all of the 287 were level 1 and 2 leaders—young potential leaders, mostly 17-23 year olds, who are in training to become Young Life leaders in their communities.        It’s not exactly ideal to have 287 people at the camp—it creates shortages of mattresses, blankets, space to eat, etc. (and leads to another overflowing if we’re not careful—the septic system J . )

Dear Friends, Thanks for your continued prayers for Jenn and I and Young Life in Latin America. We’re really grateful we get to be part of Young Life and how God is using it to call teenagers to Him. To show you a little of what it looks like I wanted to share with you a short note I received from a YL missionary in Nicaragua in January.       “After the talk last night at club we had a time of 20 minutes of silence where we asked the kids to find a place alone to sit down outside and talk to God. It was an emotional time for many. We heard crying - there were a lot of kids in tears, allowing the love of God into their hearts and letting go of things that have hurt them in their past. It was a moment that I will remember.       I often wish my friends could be here at times like this. The power of the Holy Spirit and His forgiveness and love is evident in so many faces. There is just a joy that is hard to share in words. Last week, a young man was so eager to go home and reco

   Thanks for your prayers for Jenn and and for me during our time at Young Life’s Cross Cultural Orientation training and then for me in the DR in January. It really was great to be at both events. YL CCO 2014 CCO is always refreshing. We get to be with missionaries who are going to be sent all over the world to minister to teenagers. This year ranged from Mexico to Singapore to Armenia and beyond. The training we offer is meant in big part to prepare for the great challenge of ministering in and transitioning to new cultures and languages, but it’s also always a great reminder of how God calls and specially equips imperfect people like us to be part of His great plan.   We were able to look at 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 together and be reminded of how we’ve been picked, called, ‘surprised’, invigorated and enlivened by the Lord to do this work. What a privilege.       I was also able to spend a few days at our camp in the Dominican Republic for a training time with our staff a