A Wyldlife Leader's Story

     Where do I even begin? I guess I could start with the fact that I grew up in a warm, loving Christian home, but the truth is that I did not know Jesus personally until very recently. I lived life with Jesus in the back seat, only going to him when I needed him. I knew there was something missing in my heart. Throughout high school I tried filling that hole I felt with popularity, good grades, material possessions… But I never felt whole. No matter what I did, I always felt worthless. The comfort and self-worth I got from my successes never lasted more than a few weeks. All along I knew exactly what I needed, but it wasn’t until my life completely flipped upside down that I truly met Jesus. 

     Toward the end of my freshman year of college at Texas Christian University, I found out that due to finances and the increase in tuition, I could no longer afford to stay. During this time my dad lost his job, my mom was diagnosed with diabetes, and I was about to leave the country for 2 months on my own. I got on a plane to Costa Rica, so overwhelmed and stressed and clueless of what I was going to do with my life the following year. To make matters worse, I landed and met my mama tica (Costa Rican mom I lived with) and she didn’t speak a word of English. While in the mountains of Costa Rica I remember coming to terms with what had previously happened back in the States. I knew change was needed, and so I asked Jesus to come into my heart and transform me. From then on, God has been in the driver’s seat and my life is changed forever. I no longer feel the weight of it all on my shoulders and I feet a part of something greater than this world.

     God was with me when I decided to attend the University of Arkansas and He was with me all the way through that transition. I had been involved with Young Life back in junior high and high school and absolutely loved it. When I came to Arkansas, I immediately started leader training and was placed on the Wyldlife team this past semester. I am so pumped to start next semester sharing God’s love with junior high kids; a love and a presence that is so persistent and perfect. It’s no surprise that I have been the happiest I’ve ever been since meeting Jesus. He is always good.  He is always kind, forgiving, mighty, wise, compassionate, understanding, merciful, sovereign - you name it. My God is everything. And I’m so excited about what He has invited me to be a part of here at Arkansas!

Logan Marx,

Wyldlife

 

A YLC Leader's Story

     This semester we’ve had a series of blog posts highlighting each ministry. As the semester wraps up and we enter Winter Break, we want to switch gears and tell individual’s stories, of both leaders and kids, of how Young Life has changed their lives.

     My mom went on Young Life staff when I was 5^th grade. My dad became a pastor when I was in 9^th grade. Needless to say I grew up in a Christian home, going to church, going to Young Life. I went to camp every single summer, as a staff kid on my mom’s assignments and as a camper with our area. I also worked at a camp for a month my sophomore year of high school. I always heard amazing stories of God transforming lives at camp. And I was jealous that that wasn’t me. I wanted to want it, and when I didn’t get it, I grew resentful and angry. My freshman year of college I went through training to be a Young Life leader and was placed on the Young Life College team at the end of that spring semester. I was completely absorbed in the Christian culture, but it didn’t mean anything to me.  I had my “other life,” making more than my fair share of mistakes.  It wasn’t until my sophomore year of college that I genuinely started walking with Christ.

     Summer after my freshman year, I begrudgingly spent ten weeks at Discipleship Focus in Branson, MO. Growing up in a Christian home, I expected a lot of the material to be familiar to me. And a lot of it was. But the more I spent time in the program, the more God whispered secrets into my ears; secrets that every Christian should know. But few do.

     At the end of the summer, I moved back to Fayetteville to begin my sophomore year at UA. I stepped into my new leadership role with confidence and excitement. It didn’t take long before the life I had previously known started creeping back in. I got frustrated at how easy it was for my fleshly, worldly desires to take control again. It was the perfect opportunity to take what I had learned that summer and put it into practice. But it was hard. I failed over and over again, but God was always faithful to remind me of who I am and bring me back to Him.  

     I also grew frustrated with my leadership abilities. How was I supposed to lead a group of girls when I was either being a hypocrite or simply had no answers, no idea what to do? I felt incredibly inadequate and unqualified, and often that translated into passivity and failure.

     There was no defining moment or event where things turned around. But somewhere along the way, over the last year and half of being a Young Life leader, God has confirmed that, no, I’m not qualified for this. But that’s when His glory is revealed. When I am having to depend on Him through my weaknesses, He is able to show His strength. It’s still a process. But as I make myself available for Him to use me in His ministry, I am continually blessed with a transformed heart. I couldn’t tell you when it happened, but I am not who I was a year and half ago. I’m not who I was six months ago. God has used Young Life, specifically Young Life leadership, to transform me more to the likeness of Christ. He took something I was bitter and resentful of… and made it beautiful.

Amy Stutts

Area Admin, Young Life College Leader

Polar Bear Weekend!!!

     Last weekend I drove to Baum Stadium parking lot to find dozens of kids and leaders dancing around cars as they waited, giddy to head to Castle Bluff for a retreat called Polar Bear Weekend.  For two days each Fall, leaders all over Arkansas get to spend intentional time with the kids we’ve been chasing after all semester.  I was especially excited on Friday when I saw that two high school girls I’ve been meeting with had sleeping bags in hand and playlists ready for the drive.  

     Over the next two days we sang (yelled, really) at club together, shared dry shampoo (showering is overrated), took a ton of selfies (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=selfie), all mainly while talking in accents.  I love how fun Young Life is, but I also love the fact that you get so “real” with people.  Sometimes I think the kids teach me more as a leader than I teach them.

     One of Jesus’s most challenging commandments is to love others.  It sounds so simple, and I would say most Young Life leaders genuinely want to love people (or else they wouldn’t do all that they do).  However, this becomes really difficult when the theory of loving people is actually a reality, especially if those people are different than you.  I am always very humbled when I realize I will say I want to love the poor, but when the poor aren’t victims in a far-away place but are people who are around me so much, who test my boundaries, who annoy me, or seem to poke right at my insecurities, I quickly realize I have a very big need for the Lord.  

     So, this weekend there was one of those moments.  A very precious high schooler from another area started gravitating toward our kids.  Angel* was an outcast among her peers as she did not have the social etiquette that some are taught at home.  She was sweet and excitable and absolutely genuine.  All Saturday afternoon we had free-time at camp, so our kids wanted to do outdoorsy things, but Angel really wanted to play a game.  As she thoroughly explained the rules, hoping peers would want to play, and as she sang Disney songs all afternoon, you could see high schoolers make snide remarks and want personal space.  But then that moment happened.  As others were backing away and finding other things to do, Alex invited Angel to do the ropes course with her.  Angel was scared to do it, but Alex patiently listened to her talk about games and sing songs, and then helped her overcome her fear afterward.  Alex genuinely met Angel where she was.  Alex got it. Alex was not only a believer in Christ, but a follower.  Alex loved the poor in spirit, and she was an incredible example to her peers.

     Moments like that are the reasons why I will go through a hundred moments of sacrifice for a kid.  Jesus changes people, and I believe it. He loves people for who they are, but He also knows the people they were meant to develop into. It is a joy to be a part of that—to see a kid changed by the Gospel; to be a new creation.  Alex is just one of a ton of kids in Fayetteville who are EXPERIENCING Jesus.  Praise the Lord.

*All names are substituted to protect kids.

Katherine Haworth, Fayetteville High School Leader

Fayetteville High School

     God has moved in incredible ways this year in Fayetteville High School.  From leaders to kids, God has blessed this team and is continuing to do so as we ask Him to lead us in His ministry. As one of the leaders, I think I can speak for all of us and say I have been continually blessed with meeting as a team and getting to come together on a weekly basis. This week we potlucked at one of the leader’s house and we laughed and ate and planned club for the following week. It’s amazing to be a part of that kind of community. After all the festivities, we got down to business and prayed for the next week and for kids we have been pursuing.

     Our team has an interesting dynamic with more than half of the leaders out of college and working full-time.  This is making our team go through some growing pains and getting to see what works and what doesn’t. God has been blessing us with opportunities to hang out with high schoolers if we only ask Him for them. This year has been different in many ways, but seeing club grow and the provision of a club room, we know God is leading this and that if we keep praying, showing up and doing our part, God will impact these kids more than we ever could.

     The last few clubs have been amazing!  Ranging anywhere between 60-80 high schoolers a week, we have had banana club, Hunger Games club, Halloween Extravaganza, and this week we will be rolling out the sticky grey tape we all love for our 1^st Duct Tape club! We’ve been progressing through the gospel and this past week one of our leaders, Zack, gave the sin talk. He wiped mud all over his shirt to symbolize the sin that everyone is born with and that no matter what we do, we are helpless and haters of God with this condition called sin. It was a very powerful illustration. But it doesn’t stop there, Carlyle has some good news for us this week!

Marshall Moore, Fayetteville High School Leader

Har-Ber High School

     Har-Ber High School, in Fayetteville’s neighboring town of Springdale, is the newest avenue of ministry in Northwest Arkansas Young Life.

Last January marked my first semester as a Har-Ber High School leader. Our team went into the new year with high hopes and much excitement for what the Lord had planned for high school students in Springdale. However, we faced unanticipated challenge after challenge. It seemed as if all doors into the school were being closed, literally and metaphorically.

     I can’t begin to explain how frustrating this seemed at the time. But frustration was always transformed into humility. We were continually reminded who’s ministry this really is: God’s. We were called to be obedient to HIS plan, and trust in HIS timing, our own agenda completely set aside.

     And how sweet it is to learn to wait upon the Lord! All of our desperate prayers, and every appearance we made at the school last semester were far from worthless. Seeds were planted, blessed by the Lord, and have finally taken root at Har-Ber. This semester has been a season of excitement. While we have not begun club yet, we have all experienced so much joy in contact work and we are currently focusing on bringing kids to Polar Bear Weekend.

     As ministry at Har-Ber High School has constantly led us to be spontaneous and flexible, the Lord has called us to be creative in how to meet kids. This has been such an adventure and has been particularly sweet because it has really led us to rally together as a team. All of our unique insight and personalities are being poured into one common goal: loving kids.

     Nellie and I have started campaigners on Tuesday afternoons, which has been so special. Last night, we had a few girls over at our house dressed up in silly Halloween attire to eat cupcakes. Among the laughter, I couldn’t help feeling awed: this was such a milestone for us! We had young life girls in our living room, EXCITED to be our friends. We feel so blessed to be apart of their lives.

     We are still learning how to trust in the Lord, every step of the way. This ministry never fails to teach me what it looks like to do life with Jesus- entirely dependent on His guidance in every move we make.

Lauren Bevan, Har-Ber Leader

 

College Weekend

Young Life College has really fallen into a great rhythm this semester! From themed parties and weekly Late Nites to tailgating on game days, Young Life College has quickly become a place of fellowship and community.

A couple weeks ago we wrapped up a series that had been focusing on a love that is never stationary. A love that is in constant motion. It’s a love that does. We based this series on the book Love Does by Bob Goff. Each week, we talked about God’s never ending love for us and what that love looks like in our everyday lives.

We’ve also talked about how vast and giant God is. He is not only the creator of the world, but He is the ruler over everything He has made. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. (Psalm 147) But even in His sovereignty, He still wants to serve us, the created. He wants to meet our needs and love us right where we are.

We got to experience this kind of love this past weekend. We took a group of students to College Weekend at Clearwater Cove in Lampe, MO. We got to get away for a night and have fun with our friends. We danced and sang and laughed. We made smores around a bonfire and we cliff jumped. We watched a meteor shower. We looked up at a clear, black sky that was covered in millions of stars, each given a name by God. We listened to talks about how loving our God is, that in His great power and sovereignty and love, He became what He is not so that we could become what we are not, holy and righteous. He is a love that does.  

--Lauren Johnston, YL College Team Leader

Wyldlife

     Wyldlife is our ministry for kids in junior high, and it’s an absolutely incredible ministry in Northwest Arkansas. As a Wyldlife leader, I get the privilege of reaching out to junior high kids and showing them how fun and beautiful life can be in community.

     We want to enter into our junior high friends’ world, so we spend a lot of our time with them at their lunches at school. There’s several tables of kids we talk to regularly and have started hanging out with outside of school. A few of us took advantage of the fall weather and hit up the pumpkin patch recently! It’s been so fun to have these new friends become a part of my life.

     Last Friday, we had our first club of the semester! It was America themed. Red, white, and blue were the colors of choice, and there was lots of America trivia! Did you know that the number one choking substance of Americans is toothpicks? Yeah, me neither. And did you know that America has never lost a war when donkeys were used? Me neither. Oh, by the way, did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell? It cracks me up! We had such a great time joking around and hanging out with these kids. We finger jousted, pied people in the face, and danced and sang to Taylor Swift. Christine, one of leaders, spoke and gave the kids a glimpse of what Wyldlife is. She shared an adventure from her own life, and then shared the story of Jesus calling his disciples to adventure. Jesus isn’t a fun-sucking man who wants to steal our fun. He wants us to experience life as He designed it to be: adventurous, loving, exciting, joyful, filled with laughter... It’s what Jesus is talking about in John 10:10. It's life to the full. And that’s what Wyldlife is all about.

     Personally for me this semester, Wyldlife has been an incredibly challenging and beautiful experience. It’s really intimidating to walk into a cafeteria full of junior high kids, go up to a table, and introduce myself. But God is always faithful. He is teaching me to rely not on my own strength, but to be in deeper relationship with Him so that He can love them through me. I am learning to trust His perfect plan for each of the kids I meet, and I am so thankful that I get to be a part of their lives.

Rachel Evans

Wyldlife Leader

Banquet

     Tuesday night we hosted our annual banquet. The banquet is our biggest fundraising event of the year and it plays a large part in keeping Young Life in Northwest Arkansas.

     Many people don’t really understand Young Life until they’ve seen camp. The uncontrollable laughter and joy of watching program; the adventure and adrenaline rushes of overcoming fears; the surprises; the delicious food; the speaker revealing Truth and leaders unconditionally loving and pursuing kids are what make Young Life camp the “best week of your life.” Our desire for the banquet was to give our guests just an idea, a small experience, of this. We had about 80 incredible high school and college volunteers to make this possible.

     One element of Young Life camp that we implemented into the banquet was tableau. Tableau is a collection of old-timey, western scenes: a wedding, a fight, children playing tag, axing a log, cooking around a fire… When a gunshot sounds, everyone comes to life, acts out their scene, and at the sound of another gunshot, everyone freezes. We put on our own tableau and program then invited everyone inside Pratt Place Inn and Barn where we spent the rest of our evening. We had a hard-working team of volunteers serve our guests Penguin Ed’s Barbeque dinner.

     From there, we introduced our speaker, Bob Goff, author of Love Does. We were so excited to have him come and share some of his story with us. His message was consistent with Young Life’s. Love does. It is never stationary. Our desire is to meet kids right where they are. We want to enter into their world and live life with them; to show the love of Christ to adolescents ages 12-22 in Northwest Arkansas.

     Despite all obstacles we ran into while planning this banquet, God provided, and we raised more money than we ever have in the past. We’d like to thank all of our sponsors, donors, table hosts, and volunteers for making all of this possible!

Amy Stutts
Area Admin

Capernaum Disney Club!

     God has moved in incredible ways the last few years, one of which is through Young Life Capernaum. Young Life Capernaum is ministry for those with disabilities. This is only its second year here in Northwest Arkansas, and I have truly had the honor to be a part of it. Last week we had the privilege of kicking off the semester with our first Disney-themed club!

     It was so much fun to dress up as our favorite Disney character (I was Tinkerbell) and sing, dance, laugh, and enjoy life with our Capernaum friends! We had eleven Capernaum kids and six buddies. Buddies are “typical” kids that come and help make club super fun for our friends with disabilities.

     We started club with Jonathan, another Capernaum leader, giving a short talk on Mark 2. Jesus heals a paralyzed man whose friends go through great efforts to get him to the feet of Jesus. Jonathan then spoke about how we, as Young Life Leaders, are here to help bring our Capernaum friends to the feet of Jesus and how Jesus is capable of healing not only our outward disabilities, but also the disability we each have inside of us, Sin.

     From there, we sang a few Disney songs and then went outside to play one of Capernaum’s favorite games: Freeze Dance!  It brought such joy to my heart to dance and laugh with our Capernaum friends and to see the joy on their faces.
     
     Every time I get to hang out with my Capernaum friends, God blesses me even more than I could ever hope to bless them. Whether it’s through their giving, loving spirits or their hilarious innocence, they truly bring to life Psalm 139, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” These students were not a mistake. They were made just right. And as Capernaum leaders our desire is to speak that truth to our friends; the truth that Jesus loves them just as they are. And so do we. 

     Young Life Capernaum is such a beautiful picture of God’s unconditional love, and it proves that we can approach the throne of God just as we are. We don’t need special gifts or abilities. We don’t have to look, talk, or even walk a certain way. We only need to accept the love the God freely gives us. I have never been more certain of how big God’s love for us is than when I am hanging out with my Capernaum friends. 

     We are so blessed that God allows us to be a part of what He is doing for students with disabilities in Northwest Arkansas!

Kaitlyn Cross

Young Life Capernaum Team Leader

YoungLives Kicks Off the Semester!

      YoungLives is such an incredible ministry. It is the perfect example of God’s sovereignty and His perfect planning. There are not many circumstances in which you would find a college student, a teen mom, a baby, and an adult all hanging out and genuinely enjoying their time together. God created this atmosphere that we would otherwise see as impossible and uncomfortable. But that’s what He does, isn’t it? He does the impossible and calls us to the uncomfortable places. Jump into the awkward, right? We have the opportunity to do just that at every club.

         Last week we had our first club of the semester. To emphasize more unity in the Young Life community as a whole, we decided to sync our club themes with Fayetteville High School. So we dressed up in our 80’s workout attire and there were tights and leg warmers galore. We were all pumped up for club and, of course, had our 80’s playlist going full blast, a little Journey and Bruce Springsteen to start us off on the right note. We started off with a get-to-know you game so that the girls and mentor moms could learn something interesting about each of us three leaders. The girls had to guess ridiculous things about us like who was once an assistant DJ, who wants a pet elephant, and which one had Olympic aspirations. They had a good time laughing at us, but then we turned the tables.

Christina and Rachel, two of our leaders, got up and performed a hilarious skit introducing our next game. The girls laughed, then were brought up front for a food eating contest. However, this wasn’t just any food contest… This is Young Life after all! We planned a spin-off of the sixty-second saltine cracker challenge. We tweaked it by making the girls step up and down on an exercise stool while eating the crackers. We even had one of our mentor moms compete with the girls. The winner was whoever could eat the most saltines in sixty seconds. It was a lot of fun to watch and cheer them on to the tune of “The Eye of the Tiger.” After a few announcements about what’s to come this semester, we dived down into our club talk over Mark 1:1-20.

We talked about the ways in which the Lord prepares us to actively live in His will. We then further discussed in small groups what that looked like for John the Baptist, the disciples, and us personally.

The Lord has made such an amazing way for us and we are so excited to see what He does this year. I could not imagine serving anywhere else and am so grateful He allows me to be a part of it.

Jessica Thornton

YoungLives college leader

We're back!

I'm not even sure how to give you an account of all the activity of God we see around us. I'm humbled, and so thankful, to be part of seeing God move in what I like to call "The Generation"--this current generation aged 12-22. In all 6 of our ministries, God is on the move in practical ways, in mysterious ways, in wonder-working ways.

A few snippets:

*We found out 2 days before our second FHS club that we lost our club room for the year. We rallied up some people to pray--that day we had donated space in a local shopping center, roomier than the space we had before!

*After a year of trying to connect with kids with special needs at FHS, our Capernaum team is now able to help out in the self-contained special education room and love on the most marginalized kids in the high school--all needing to know how much Jesus loves them.

*Our YL College club has had its strongest year yet! More students in club, more students in New Leader training than ever before!

 *Not only are we seeing God widen our harvest field, we are seeing depth. Our campaigners groups (small groups) for YL College have kicked off and students are already committed and going deep. I have a girls small group that meets at 6:30 AM on Thursday mornings--12 college girls arriving at Rick's Bakery before 6:30 so we can start on time! How many college girls do that? Carlyle, student staff and leader extraordinaire, started a group with freshmen guys--many of whom were kids he knew at FHS and now at U of A. Their first meeting began at 8:00 PM last Monday and ended at 11:00 PM, 3 hours later.  How many college guys open up and share their stuff at a first meeting?!

*We are experiencing an increasing movement of prayer among our leaders! Not only is the staff increasing our time in prayer, but each team is praying more intentionally every week and before each club. As we prepared for the year, leaders set aside HOURS at the beginning of the semester specifically for prayer--seeking God's favor and HIS desires for what He wants to do through Young Life.

Please be in prayer for our annual Fall Fundraising Banquet October 2! This is our main fundraising event. Pray that a generosity of spirit prevails among our guests and that God moves to resource us financially for the year!

It's been an amazing start to this school year, and we're only a month in. We're so excited to see what God will do the rest of the year!

Robyn Stutts
Area Director
 

Young Lives Camp!

Pure Joy

Joy: a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.

Do you consider ‘pure joy’ as you look in the face of 15-year-old pregnant teen or mother?  Let’s be honest, joy is not the first thing we think about in these situations, but it is what God instructs us to do.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds…  James 1:2

We were all witnesses to pure joy at Young Lives camp this year and continue to be amazed by God’s workmanship as he brought together an unexpected group of people to live, play, eat, fellowship and worship together in His name.

The people (servants all, doing God’s work)

Staffers - who make it happen, work tirelessly to raise money, organize, prepare teachings, skits, games & plan for months before we all show up for 3 days of camp

Work crew - appropriately named.  Teen workers, cooks and childcare workers that serve God by serving us.  They work hard behind the scenes day and night to make it all look easy & fun.

Camp Doctor & Nurse – professionals who volunteer their time & make it possible for us to have campers on the property & are prepared for any emergency situation.

Mentor Moms & college YL leaders - who have the privilege of spending time with the teen moms & babies, attending club, having lunch & doing life through out the year

Campers - teen moms or soon to be moms and their babies/toddlers

Why take time in this blog to explain ‘the people’?  Because ‘the people’ is an important strength of this Young Lives ministry. It’s easy to get groups of people together that share a season of life, common work or social group, but the real miracle happens when you mix it up and let God’s work begin.  For a time it’s awkward, uncomfortable & takes a real effort when God calls his people to ‘do life’ together out of our comfort zone.

This is the Joy that happens:

·      Leaders that plan & pull off a ‘spa time’ for the girls - an hour & a half of pure pampering, candlelight, face masks, washing of hands & feet, nails done & silent prayers offered up to the Lord for these young lives and the young lives they are holding close.

·      Teenage boys carrying babies in their playpens at 10pm - oooing & ahhhing at those cute babies as they try to keep them asleep.

·      Leaders making fools of themselves - funny hair & costumes just for our entertainment, to make us laugh together & share the gospel through humor.

·      Moms, campers & leaders getting wet, messy – everyone doing silly things all in the name of a game and not even caring how they look or who’s looking.

·      Teen moms pulling together - borrowing clothes & dressing each other for a special dinner.

·      Cooks doing what they do – making amazing meals, baking cookies late at night, after a long day of meal preparation to share with us before bed.

·      Teens caring for other teens babies – allowing the mothers to have a little fun camp time without their kids, maybe they have even been in class together at school or passed each other in the hall (don’t tell me that doesn’t change someone’s opinion or response to the other).

·      Campers being overwhelmed by love – seeing and responding to the love & care that is being showered on them

·       Holding a baby you don’t know – just so mom can take a shower and clean up.  You receiving the real blessing.

·      Seeing a 17 year old soothe a baby in the middle of the night - gently cooing and rocking an upset baby with love & gentleness that only comes with the strength of Jesus dwelling in them.

·      Mentor moms pouring themselves into young moms - just as had been done to them from their mentor through the Young Lives program only a few years earlier.

·      Napping with a sleeping toddler in your arms - in the midst of a chaotic, busy room of girls and babies.

·      A baby’s first shower.

·      Moms exchanging stories – funny stories about kids & sharing child rearing advice.

·      Girls sharing their struggles - losing friends during their pregnancies, defensive walls falling as they share their trials and we share our own trails with them.

·      Mentor Moms being role models – caring for their own babies while at camp and making sacrifices to leave their family for a few days as they serve the Lord and love on others.

·      Prayers, prayers, prayers - offered up for years, months, and days. Offered up during cabin time on our behalf from the hearts and minds and spirits of young servants.

·      A mentor mom (me) being overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness - watching my own kids serve on the work crew and love on others.

·      Changed lives - mine included

Join us as we ‘consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds, because we know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.’

James 1: 2-4

Kelly Foster, Mentor Mom

July, 2012

Windy Gap Trip Is Back!

Hey, everyone, it's Lauren Southard, a Young Life leader at Fayetteville High School! When I was asked to write the blog post about the high school team’s trip to Windy Gap,  I suddenly felt at a loss for words. How was I going to be able to fully paint the picture of our beautiful, spirit-filled week? Pardon me, while I type into words an indescribable week into a butchered description of, “The best week of your life!”

First off, I’ve been a camper. I’ve done work week, work crew, summer staff, and polar bear weekend. I had done everything except lead a group of girls at camp. I would be lying if I said it was easy. And to be honest, I found myself saying that phrase a lot while at camp. It’s not easy.

The cabin of girls I got to love were mostly underclassmen, ranging from 14-16 year old teenage girls. Many of them said they believed in Christ and I immediately thought, “This shouldn’t be too hard.” The Lord gracefully slapped me in the face Tuesday, not even 3 days in. We, as a cabin, got to explore our darkest corners. Our deepest hurts and secrets were revealed. I remember specifically sitting there with two girls buried in my shoulders sobbing, while I quietly asked the Lord, “Why?” Why is this world so harsh? Why is life so hard? Why do these precious girls have to endure this pain?

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angry. I was really angry. I sat in a room with 11 other girls who all had to suffer issues way above their age level. It seemed so unfair. As I sat there thinking about how furious I was,  I could also feel a peace come over me. The Lord is the only one who could be behind that. It was like he was whispering, “I know.” He knows the hurt. He knows the pain. He feels it too. It’s an easy concept to understand, but when you’re blinded by anger and tears, it’s hard to grasp. It was as if He was in the room with us, crying and holding us close.

It took me a few days to realize the intimacy of that cabin time. The trust that was developed was incredible. We knew each other’s darkest secrets, but we still loved each other. What a beautiful display of Christ’s love! Looking back, I’m sure we were all unaware of the bond developing. But I can’t thank the Lord enough for it.

A passage another leader and I resonated on during camp was Isaiah 61:1-3:

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 
to proclaim freedom for the captives 
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.

 Camp is all about binding up the broken hearted. We, as leaders, are sent to proclaim the good news to these high schoolers. That’s the easy part; visiting ‘dark corners’ is the hard part. We do not forget the part where we are called to “bind up the brokenhearted.” That’s not to say we’re saviors, because we aren’t. But we do know the Savior. And we want nothing more than for our high school friends to find freedom from those ‘dark corners.’

I can’t even count the number of times I found myself saying, “It’s not easy” to one of my high school friends. Life is hard. Following Christ is hard sometimes. Faith is hard. But the joy the Lord gives to us is unexplainable. Windy Gap put that joy on display. Sure, we have dark corners, but how hard would those dark corners be if we didn’t have each other to cry on? I found myself thanking the Lord for those ‘dark corners’ by the end of the week. Thanking him that we had an excuse to NEED him, and WANT him. Without my dark corners, I probably wouldn’t have been in that room. I wouldn’t have been a shoulder to cry on for my sweet high school friends.

My first time leading experience wasn’t easy. But it was SO worth it.

Windy Gap

Today is Day 4 at Windy Gap! Our campers and leaders are having a blast! Please continue to keep them, along with the work crew, summer staff, and assign team in your prayers. Pray for transformed hearts and lives. To read more about camp and the work God is doing so far, go to Gregg Stutts' blog, I Believe God. He is an adult guest at Windy Gap this week.

Spiritual Warfare

Hey, guys, it's Amy again!

I have two brothers-in-law, one, a sergeant in the Marine Corps, is currently in Afghanistan, and the other, an Army Ranger, will deploy shortly. I won't even try to paint a picture of the things they see or hear or feel because I would not be able to do it justice. For them, there is no mistaking that they wake up every morning in the middle of a war. Most of us will never experience that. I have the utmost respect for my brothers and other men and women serving our country. But there's another war, one that we are all a part of.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against... the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

You have an enemy who hates you. Very much. And he has a goal for your life. He wants to steal from you, kill you, and destroy you. (John 10:10)

When we think of Satan, we think of a little evil red devil with horns and a pitch fork. But he used to be absolutely beautiful. He was a beautiful angel who grew prideful and rebelled against God. God then cast him out of Heaven and condemned him. Satan is angry with God. He hates God.

And he hates you. He hates you. And he wants to destroy you.

He lies to you. He accuses you. He deceives you, tempts you, and schemes against you. He tells you you'll never be good enough; that you're just a disappointment; that no could ever love you or forgive you or want you, not after what you've done. Or he tells you that if you just had that one thing or that one person then you would be happy.

You may be asking, "Why? What have I done to him to make him hate me so much?" The answer is quite simple, really. He hates you because he hates God. And God loves you. He wants to get back at God by hurting the ones He loves.

I said earlier that we were all in a war. But instead of a physical one like my brothers experience, this one is in your mind. And it's for your heart. If God created you to live in friendship with Him, then that is what Satan wants to thwart. He wants to prevent you from experiencing all that God has to share with you. He will do whatever it takes to keep you from pursuing a relationship with Christ. He will make the pleasures of this broken world seem like the point of life. Satan isn't stupid. He's been around for years and he has studied the human race. You're really not so different from someone else. He's seen your weaknesses before and he knows exactly where to target you where it will hurt the most. He knows where to attack so that it will be the most effective in keeping you wrapped up in anything and everything but God. It could come in the form of money or fame or another person. He can attack in anyway because he controls this world system. Things like the media or education or government are under his influence and he'll use them to manipulate you. I'm not saying everything or everyone in media, education, or government is bad. But Satan does have influence there.

God is sovereign and ultimately in control. Other creations in this world, like mountains or sunsets or stars, shout who He is. He is good. He loves you. He wants to spend time with you. He wants to be friends with you. One day, God will restore things to his original design (Genesis 1-2, Revelation 21-22). But we don't live there yet.

Both God and Satan are pursuing you. But it is your decision. If our identity is in Christ, then we know to "set our minds on things above" (Colossians 3:1-4). We can recognize a lie for what it is, take it captive, and focus on Truth instead (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

"Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:1-2

We're in the middle of a war literally between good and evil. And you're the prize.

Dylan's Story

We'd love to share with you all one of our high school friend's story! Our Wyldlife and Young Life leaders have walked with Dylan over the last four years, and we are excited to continue walking with Dylan through Young Life College. Here is part of his testimony:

Young Life has been an amazing part of my life. I come from your typical broken kind of home, I grew up never knowing my dad, my mom was a bit of an alcoholic, and I didn't see my family a lot either. So when I first became a part of Young Life it was kind of more of a haven at first. But through the leaders and friends that I made I came to know God.

And with that it gave me the confidence to fix a lot of the problems I couldn't before. So, I can now gladly say that my mom's been sober for almost two years, and although at times it's still a bit of a challenge, our relationship has improved by leaps and bounds. And now I've been visiting my grandparents basically every other weekend. And I can't say enough about the friends I've made, both because of God and Young Life.

Dylan's story points us all to truth--to the One who wants "to give us the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). 

We are so thankful God allows us to be a part of Dylan and so many others' stories in Fayetteville and Springdale! 

The Holy Spirit

Last week at Taco Tuesday, we talked about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, one part of the Holy Trinity, is just as much God as the Father and the Son are. Ephesians 4:30 says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." He is a person. He has a will and He has emotions.

Ever since I was little, my dad has hammered into my head to make logical decisions, not emotional ones. Now... Any one of my friends will tell you that I'm pretty rash. I'm not a planner and I don't really care about details. I tend to do things on a whim and I just wing it. Needless to say, I'm not the most logical person in the world. In my head, I think those logical rules don't, or shouldn't, apply to me and I'm going to be fine ignoring them. Obviously, I'm wrong every time, but, thankfully, I have the God of the universe living inside me to, if I let Him, guide my steps. He is loving and He is joyful. He is peaceful, patient, kind, and good. He is faithful and gentle and self-controlled. On my own, I am not capable of producing those character traits. On my own, I am irrational and illogical. I'm impatient and bitter. But when I am abiding and presenting myself to Him, I am saying, "Holy Spirit, share yourself with me." And He does.

I've grown up in the church and I've grown up as a Young Life kid and, really, not until last summer when I went through a discipleship program in Branson, MO, did I begin to understand the Holy Spirit and His role in my life. He is the Spirit of Truth. He is my Counselor. And He "dwells in me richly." (Colossians 3:16)

After Jesus died and was resurrected, and before he ascended back into Heaven, He said that it was for our benefit that He go away and the Holy Spirit come. Why? Because the life God calls us to is a life of faith. It's not always comfortable or easy or secure. In fact, He promises it's going to be hard. But He doesn't ask us to do it alone. He gives us the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide, counsel, teach, remind, and reveal to us Truth (John 14:15-31). The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus (John 15:26-27).  He convicts us (John 16:5-11). He helps us in our weakness and prays for us (Romans 8:26-27). He pours out God's love in us (Romans 5:1-5). He gives us power to serve (Acts 1:1-8). He manifests gifts in us (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). He produces His character in us (Galatians 5:22-25).

I'm only 19 years old and I know that God has barely scratched the surface in revealing Himself to me. The Holy Spirit seems like a pretty neat guy and I'm excited to see what adventures He has for me.

Amy

Wilderness Crew Back in Town!

Saturday night, we ("we" meaning two leaders including myself and 4 high school students from Northwest Arkansas) pulled back in to Fayetteville after a week-long backpacking excursion through the Rocky Mountains. The trip, known as "Wilderness," is a branch of Young Life camping that takes groups of students, along with trained wilderness guides, backpacking throughout the San Juan mountains in the Rio Grande National Park just outside of Creede, Colorado.

Although I had heard from a handful of friends who had done the trip before how wonderful the experience is, I was still uncertain on what to expect, how to adequately prepare myself and the other, etc. After an over-night van ride and a few hours of being lost on back roads, we pulled into Wilderness Ranch (Young Life property where the backpacking trips leave from), greeted by the ecstatic Summer Staff and team of guides that were to take us out on our excursion.

After learning how to pack a 50 lb. pack to live out of for a week, we had a country-style lunch and a standard Young Life Club with the other five groups, like us, anxiously awaiting their departure.

Then we loaded up a van that took us to the trail head and hit the trail. The trip consisted of 4 full days and 2 half days out on the trail led by our wonderfully energetic guides, Tony and Travis.

The days that followed were some of the toughest I'd ever faced. Not only had the other guys and me never done any type of backpacking to this extent, but the altitude in Colorado is, to say the least, slightly higher than in Fayetteville, Arkanasas.

We learned how to set up and take down a communty-style camp site. Every meal was shared as we sat in a circle in our Crazy Creek Chairs (Crazy Creek Inc. is not an official sponsor of this blog post). We hiked, hiked, hiked, and hiked until our glutes and quads would shake, and then we'd hike some more. And amidst all of the fatigue, we were all able to share of life stories. Everyone was able to share the nitty-gritty of their own lives, and thus, experience the transforming and unconditional power of the Lord in a new way. We were able to have our own alone time with God every day, and were able to share what God had shown us when we met as a group.

Besides boring you with moment-by-moment details of every day, it would be a sure failure if I were to try to explain a Wilderness trip's impact on a life. The combination of exhaustion, community, absence of anything gadgety or electrical, feeling small as the dangerous wonder of the Rocky Mountains engulfs you, and having time alone to be vulnerable with God is an experience that can only be fully understood in those that have actually experienced it. On a trip like this, one has time to come face to face with struggles and insecurities while being with God, away from all of the other things in life that beg and scream for our attention, and learn how the God who is bigger than the mountains that surround us wants to relate intimately with us. It's a unique experience. On the last night, most of us slept outside of our tent under the blanket of stars that filled the Colorado sky. Once again, feeling small, yet more significant and loved than every star in the universe.

After 6 days on the trail, we met our pick-up van that took us back to the ranch. We talked about what we took from our experience and what we are leaving behind.

We all experienced God in a new way.

We then showered for the first time in a week, and ended the week with a hot meal a Young Life Club, and ice cold IBC root beers.

Last Saturday night, we pulled back into Fayetteville exhausted, yet transformed, with a few more chest hairs to prove it.

Signing off with love,

Carlyle Aguren

Apologetics

Hey guys! This is Amy, a Young Life College leader at the University of Arkansas. Last week at Taco Tuesday, Gregg (Check out his personal blog: I Believe God) walked us through understanding our SHAPE. We looked at spiritual gifts and the heart or passions that God has given us. We looked at our abilities, things we enjoy doing and do well. We also took a personality test and looked back on our experiences. All of these things define how God has uniquely wired each of us.

This week, we covered basic apologetics. Our intent in looking at this material was not to gain all of the answers in order to win someone over in an argument. Rather, we studied this for ourselves, so that we may be confident in what we believe and why we believe it. God does not ask us to blindly step out in faith. We have been provided with overwhelming evidence of the truth.

A mother's son is missing. A scream pierces the air. A woman collapses, her starving bones unable to support the bloody skin clinging to it; she prays for death. Disease consumes its victims. A gun fires. A child cries. A man is tricked into willingly walking into a gas chamber. Fear destroys each and every soul. The year is 1942 and Adolf Hitler is in control of Nazi Germany. Eleven million dead. Breaks your heart, doesn't it? Something in you stirs when you picture the scenes. Something in you gets angry and sad that someone could be that cruel. And enjoy it. Something in you says that that is wrong.

Our generation is growing up in a Postmodern world. Postmodernism is the belief that there is no absolute truth, that truth is made rather than found. Just because something is right for you does not mean that it is right for me. You don't judge me and I won't judge you. This is the way many of us think and live. Our society values open-mindedness and tolerance for one another which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if Postmodernism is what we really believe, then we have no right to judge Hitler for the Holocaust. After all, he was only doing what was right for him.

But let's get a little more personal. The girlfriend who cheated on you. The alcoholic father who abandoned you. The friend who never showed up. They were only believing in their own truth.

Postmodernism crumbles under its own principles. To say there is no absolute truth... is an absolute truth. To say, "It is true that nothing is true" is meaningless.

Nothing produced everything. Chaos produced order and information. Randomness produced complexity. Non-living chemicals self-assembled into living cells. Non-life produced life. To believe in Darwinism, this is what one has to believe.

And then there is the case for creation, an Intelligent Designer. When we look at how complex our world is, "the impression of design is overwhelming." There are six feet of DNA coiled inside every one of our body's one hundred trillion cells. The earth is positioned a perfect distance from the sun so that we neither burn nor freeze. Robin Collins, PhD, earning degrees in physics, mathematics, and philosophy, stated, "The fine-tuning [of the universe] has conservatively been estimated to be at least one part in a hundred million, billion, billion, billion, billion, billion. That would be a ten followed by 153 zeroes. That's inconceivably precise." Stephanie Meyer of Cambridge University said, "... purely from the evidence of genetics and biology, we can infer the existence of a mind that's far greater than our own--a conscious, purposeful, rational, intelligent designer who's amazingly creative."

Picture the most beautiful sunset or the majesty of the Rocky Mountains. Imagine the most powerful thunderstorm. Listen to the wind. Think of how detailed a single blade of grass is. Or of every function your body performs simultaneously without you even thinking about it: breathing, pumping blood; chemicals and receptors reporting to the brain. The purpose of something as simple as eyelashes, not only keeping dirt out of your eye, but adding to your beauty. So simple. And it has purpose. How can the world be an accident, if there is purpose? How can the world be an accident... if our hearts yearn for something more, for purpose.

It is logical that something is either true. Or it is false.

Jesus said, " I AM the way, the truth, and the life."

What if it's true?