Relationships Winter 2016

ONE MOM’S ACCOUNT OF HER YEAR WITH AN AMICUS STUDENT

Winter 2016 | Vol. 29 Issue 3

AN EXCERPT FROM THE

NEW YOUNG LIFE BOOK

“THE BEST WEEK OF YOUR LIFE”

IN PICTURES A TRACK CHAMPION AND HIS PASSION FOR KIDS

contents 5 7 9 11 19 13 1

WINTER 2016

CAN-DO CAMP

ABOUT THE COVER

When YoungLives camp is canceled, Anchorage leaders make “Faux Camp” happen.

There’s no disguising that we think kids are super, and we go to great lengths to let them know.

At Young Life camp, we offer them outrageous adventures, delicious meals, jaw-dropping surprises and the opportunity to hear about a Savior who loves them. We documented many of these experiences this summer at Castaway Club, our camp in Minnesota, where this moment was captured. To see more, turn to page 11.

NO HURDLES

Cam Viney has all the time in the world to reach kids for Christ.

OUR VERY LIVES AS WELL

One mom’s account of her year with a Young Life Amicus student.

Cover photo by Janaye Johnson

THE BEST WEEK OF YOUR LIFE A pictorial of kids at Castaway Club.

TRUSTEE TRANSITIONS

The latest news on the mission’s governing board.

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IN EVERY ISSUE

FROM THE PRESIDENT IN YOUR OWN WORDS YOUNG LIFE LITE FROM THE GRAPEVINE PASSAGES YOUNG LIFE SPOKEN HERE PARTING SHOTS

AN ABSOLUTE DREAM! An excerpt from the new book, Made for This: The Young Life Story.

fromthepresident DOES YOUNG LIFE WORK? For the past three years, as a prelude to our 75th anniversary, we have been investing time and energy in the creation of a history book that captures Young Life over eight decades. We began Year 75 on Oct. 16 and that day released Made for This: The Young Life Story. One overriding truth that struck me as I helped with the edit of the book and reflected on what I was reading was this: Young Life works.

At the heart of why Young Life works is that the Lord deserves all the credit.

He is the One who calls all people to Himself. He is the One who goes before us, behind us, around us, with us. He is the One who wins the battles; not us.

But, in His providence, He gave our founder an approach to kids that was revolutionary when we started in 1941. Going where kids are … winning the right to be heard … remembering “it is a sin to bore a kid with the Gospel” … walking in wisdom to them that are without (Colossians 4:5), encouraging healthy relationships with adults who care … using humor, music, adventure and hospitality … developing a world-class camping program … sticking with kids even when they don’t respond to the Gospel … these are just a few of the trademarks of our mission.

At the heart of why Young Life works is that the Lord deserves all the credit.”

— Denny Rydberg

I’ve concluded that Young Life works in many ways: Young Life works across time. The kids in our first club in Gainesville, Texas, were in the middle of World War II. Many of the seniors who graduated from Club 37 (that’s what Jim called the first club in Dallas, because “who would want to go to Club #1?”) went directly to war. The relationship they formed with Jesus Christ while in Young Life helped sustain them in that epic conflict. Young Life not only survived but thrived through the turbulent ’60s and after. And even though our country and culture has changed, we’re still seeing millions of kids reached today.

Young Life works with every kind of kid — with our middle school, high school and college-age friends. In urban settings, suburban places and rural areas. With kids in all kinds of situations. We have probably the largest outreach ministry to kids with special needs through our Capernaum ministry. We are on the brink of impacting 20,000 unmarried teen moms and their children through YoungLives.

We are ministering to and with kids who are Hispanic, African-American, Anglo, Pacific Islanders, Asian, Native American and indigenous Alaskans. Isn’t it amazing that a relational, incarnational outreach focused on Jesus can impact “every kid, everywhere, for eternity”?

Young Life works across cultures. We are now in over 95 countries. I’ve had the privilege of traveling throughout the world and meeting our staff, leaders and kids.

I’ve experienced firsthand camps, clubs and Campaigners across the world, and I’m amazed at how adolescents are so similar, with the same needs and desires.

Young Life works through local committees and boards. The ownership of adults, their support and love for our staff and volunteer leaders, and their commitment to keep Young Life in their community no matter what, is a game changer. Young Life, because it works, attracts people like you who are generous with their time and their money.

I will be forever grateful that I’ve been able to lead a mission so committed to Christ and to adolescents. A mission whose specific focus is introducing kids to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. A mission that works with two million kids each year and gives these young people the opportunity to say “Yes” to Jesus.

Denny Rydberg Young Life President

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inyourownwords OUR READERS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS

Greater Than Imagined Recently, my 28-year-old son Drew spent a month working at Carolina Point. That doesn’t sound like such a big deal. Lots of young adults do this every summer. What makes Drew’s month special is he was the only staff member with Down syndrome.

It’s natural for a mom to worry her child won’t be included or accepted by his peers, but the worry is so much greater when the child has special needs. Throughout Drew’s life, I’ve tried to get him involved with all kinds of different people, both with and without disabilities. He knows tons of people and everyone is kind to him, but he’s never really been included among non-disabled peers for any extended time. I can’t remember him ever being invited to a nondisabled person’s birthday party or being asked to stay overnight at someone’s house.

When Drew was asked to serve at camp, I thought it would be great for him but worried the others might lose patience with him after a week or two. I thought I was prepared for anything, but what happened was something so much greater than I could have ever imagined. Drew was with some of the kindest, most genuine, God-loving people I’ve ever been in contact with. They are one happy group!

These young people worked alongside Drew, encouraging him to do his best and keeping

younglife.org P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs, CO 80901

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is a publication of Young Life, a mission devoted to introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith.

Relationships magazine is published three times a year (spring, fall and winter) by Young Life.

If you’re receiving duplicate copies or would like to switch over to the electronic version, please contact the Young Life Mission Assistance team at (877) 438-9572. We can also help you with the change of address or giving information.

him from even thinking about being homesick.

He shared in their devotional time, underlining important passages even though he couldn’t read all of the words. He prayed, sang, cried and, most of all, laughed with them. He became their friend.

Drew has changed so much from the person he was before his monthlong time of service. I’m not sure who taught him how to take his plate to the kitchen and wash it, but thank you! He also volunteers to help with various jobs, is more respectful of others and more tolerant of his niece.

Drew’s new friends include him in their pictures posted on social media and they’ve allowed me to be part of their group texts so Drew can keep up with them. The group is also planning a reunion in early January, and Drew is on the list. Finally, he’s been asked to spend the night with his non-disabled friends!

Thank you, summer staff, work crew and Young Life staff, for letting Drew be part of your lives. You truly took to heart Young Life’s mission of modeling Christ’s unconditional love and acceptance. He is a more independent and patient young man and a person who knows he’s loved by Jesus and you!

— Pam Garrett, Tallahassee, Florida (This is excerpted from a post on her blog, Pass the Honey.)

Publisher/President Denny Rydberg

Copy Editor Jessica Williams

Executive Editor Terry Swenson

Lead Designer Rob Huff

Lead Editor Jeff Chesemore

Contributing Photographers Cesar Castillejos Janaye Johnson Craig Pressman

Coordinator Donna McKenzie

Young Life is a Charter Member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

younglifelite

BY STACY WINDAHL

JUST SAY THE WORD For Dinh, a high school sophomore, whose mode of transportation is a wheelchair, and whose method of communication is an electronic “boogie board,” the word was “club.” Every day after school — for weeks — Dinh approached the mother of Becca, a freshman friend who also uses a wheelchair to get around. He would write one word on his electronic message board and hold it for Katie Marlatt (Becca’s mom) to read.

The word was “club.”

Dinh persisted with his one-word invitation for Becca to attend Capernaum in Greenville, South Carolina.

His strength of will was almost too much for Becca’s mom, a retired Navy chief. “I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I sometimes tried to avoid him. Still, every single day, Dinh approached me about club.”

Eventually Dinh’s enthusiasm eroded Katie’s resolve, and she brought Becca to club. Becca arrived in her hot pink power chair, and Katie in “full mommy armor.” Katie had been involved in her own church, helping to create community for Becca with other kids and their families. So Katie arrived at her daughter’s first club experience admittedly closed-minded about this organization called Young Life. She’d planned to stay around to watch, looking for some flaws in the operation. But then something unexpected happened.

She hadn’t expected a leader named Tom to cross the floor, drop to a knee and look at Becca asking, “Who is this beautiful girl?”

And Katie certainly hadn’t expected her shy daughter, who often feared men, to pick up a conversation with Tom. Katie never thought her daughter would find a best friend in a girl named Katelyn, and that Katie would feel the call to become a Capernaum leader herself.

“I felt something strange that night,” Katie said. “I was surrounded by a bunch of teenagers being themselves and I needed to At Tom and Katie’s wedding, Becca, far left front, Dinh, center front, know what was going on there. I thought I and Katelyn, back row in blue, celebrate with their friends. might volunteer from an arm’s length, but the call was too great for that.”

Katie continued to attend club with Becca during that fall of 2013 and Becca’s friendship with Katelyn grew stronger. Katie was grateful for their friendship not only because Becca felt so loved, but because their relationship freed Katie to meet other Capernaum kids. Katie didn’t realize that her daughter’s best friend was related to another Capernaum leader. Tom, who had welcomed them to Becca’s first club, was Katelyn’s father.

Because his daughter loved Capernaum so much, Tom started dropping her off early and staying late. He’s been a leader for four years. Tom said, “Capernaum breathed life back into me. It brought Jesus back to me.”

Tom travels on business, so he wasn’t always at club, and somehow Tom and Katelyn’s father-daughter relationship had escaped Katie. She hadn’t expected that. And because Katie hadn’t expected Tom to ask her out (not without a little encouragement), when she mentioned they might not see each other over the holiday break, Tom asked her out. To the Young Life Christmas party — with him and Coop. Coop, a staffer with cerebral palsy, was the unsuspecting chaperone on the couple’s first date. Tom and Katie continued their courtship over the next year, often double or triple dating with Capernaum couples, piling into and out of vans to go to movies or for pizza.

Looking back, Katie recognizes that her first encounter with Young Life was, for her, a reluctant step of faith toward an unexpected, unimaginably rich future. Katie says she had no expectation of ever committing her heart to anyone else, but God (and possibly Dinh) had a greater vision. Dinh’s compelling one-word invitation — “club,” brought about a two-word pledge when, in May 2015, in front of 160 Capernaum friends and their parents, fellow leaders, family and friends, Katie and Tom and Katie on their wedding day.

Tom, said, “I do.”

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Can-Do

eled, Anchorage nc ca is p m ca s ive gL un Yo n he W

YoungLives coordinator Susanna Clawson received a phone call in the middle of a busy Wednesday afternoon last July that she thought was a prank.

Camp is canceled.

Those are the last words any trip leader wants to hear three days before leaving for Young Life camp, but it was no joke. Due to health concerns, Washington Family Ranch was closed. Hours of preparation, prayer, fundraising and high hopes were out the window, leaving a group of teen moms in a cloud of disappointment.

For Clawson, that meant only one thing: she had to find the silver lining.

This came in the form of what the YoungLives team in Anchorage, Alaska, affectionately called “Faux Camp” — a quickly planned retreat designed not to replace the best week of their lives, but, simply, to make space for Jesus.

WHAT CAN STILL BE DONE After Clawson hung up the phone, she realized she had one thing going for her: she’d never been to Young Life camp.

She didn’t know trying to recreate that week for her four YoungLives moms would be impossible. So she set out to do it.

“My mind started spinning with retreat ideas,” she recalled. “I knew we had to get our girls out of Anchorage.”

Clawson called an emergency planning meeting with her volunteer mentors, Caroline Smith and Rachel Rowlan.

“They were bummed because they’d been to Young Life camp before and knew how great it was. I finally said

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we just have to drop the expectations. We don’t need camp to talk about Jesus. We can’t focus on what’s missing but on what can still be done.”

Miraculously, by Thursday afternoon, Clawson confirmed the bulk of their camp expenses had been refunded or credited. Knowing funds were available, Clawson divided activity planning between the leaders, and they got to work.

By Friday the team had a rough schedule and deposits made on a rental van, adventures and housing. The money they’d raised for the girls’ camp store accounts went instead to a remembrance of the week: a Bible for each mom, engraved with her name.

“I think the week could have been a disaster without the Holy Spirit moving ahead of us to arrange all the logistics,” Rowlan said. “Nothing compares to Young Life camp as a way to share Jesus with kids. I was ready to chunk it all once I knew we weren’t going to camp. Thankfully, Susanna had a better mindset than my pout-fest.”

Clawson also wanted to be intentional about cabin time. She found a six-session study on hope that beautifully presented the Gospel.

“Our girls are curious about or actively pursuing Jesus, so it worked perfectly for our cabin time,” Clawson said. “When we’re disappointed, even with camp canceled, where is our hope? Who is our hope?”

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS On Sunday — the first day of “Faux Camp” — the leaders took the girls to the Anchorage mall for a photo scavenger hunt, complete with prizes from Bath and Body Works. And the fun was just beginning.

The next morning the group piled car seats, strollers and suitcases into a van and headed south to Moose Pass and their cabin in the woods. Maintaining the element of surprise kept things interesting.

“The girls were really excited when they saw we’d have a space of our own,” Clawson said. “This week was really about spending time with the girls and building relationships with them. And the girls were totally oblivious to what they were missing.”

The week was a mix of child-friendly and mom-only activities. They spent Monday at the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward, where moms and babies enjoyed the sea creatures and dinner in town. The cabin’s hot tub was the hang out spot after little ones were in bed.

For Tuesday, the team reserved a three-hour zip line tour in Seward that provided an afternoon of high adventure just for the moms.

The crew set out for Whittier on Wednesday to go shrimping in Prince William Sound. And on the way home Thursday, they stopped at an indoor waterpark where

Camp

BY LESLIE STRADER

en. leaders make “Faux Camp” happ everyone unwound from the week of adventure together.

“We weren’t trying to replace camp,” Clawson said.

“We were trying to create space for them to learn and grow.

We learned to take a situation none of us were happy about and watch God turn it into good.”

NOTHING WASTED Out-of-the-ordinary fun was had every day, but important conversations filled the time together as well.

“I had one mom tell me she didn’t really understand cabin time,” Rowlan said. “Kaylin was the one girl we took who has no relationship or background with God at all. I asked her questions that led to sharing the Gospel with her. Nothing in the world compares with having the opportunity to share one-on-one what Jesus has done for the lost soul. She has not yet made a decision to follow Jesus as far as we know, but she now knows how much He loves her.”

“I love the way Young Life does things,” Smith said, “and this week was just part of that — one small piece of being in the girls’ lives, getting to know them, earning the right to be heard and sharing Jesus. I don’t know why things happen the way they do, but you do what you can in the moment. And then wait to see what God is going to do in everybody’s hearts.”

Clawson said every girl can reapply for camp next year, and they also have a head start on campership funds. As a bonus, they have a successful retreat under their belts to use as a model for future events.

“Overall, we feel incredibly blessed, knowing God had all this in store for us from the beginning,” Clawson said.

“It wasn’t Young Life camp, but I think they still had the best week of their lives. And they’ll have another best week next year.”

The Best Three D ays of My Life

Anchorage, Alaska, YoungL ives was one of five groups to put on alternative camps as a res ult of the canceled week. Hu ndr eds of teen moms from Idaho, Monta na, Oregon and Washington rou nde d out the other camps. Three of these camps had as many as 200 people in attendance. Spurred on by their tremendous love for the moms and their babies, the YoungLives staff, leaders, volunteers and nannies rallied and created unique opportunities to point the girl s to Jesus. Here are just a few of the comme nts shared by teen moms in attendance: “I don’t think I’ve ever me t people this real!”

“Every girl here is a mom, like me!”

“You mean we can have as much food as we want?

That doesn’t happen at hom e.”

“Besides my baby girl bei ng born, this was the best three days of my life.”

To see some of the creativ ity in action, check out the video of Western Washington YoungLives kid s enjoying their time at the Seabrook Resort: http://missionaryfi lms.org/camp-seabrook-sto ry

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NO HURDLES Cam Viney has all the time in the world to reach kids for Christ.

BY JEFF CHESEMORE There are many responsibilities crying out for Cam Viney’s attention.

The University of Illinois senior is a Big 10 track champion who, at last May’s B1G Outdoor Track Championships, took first place in the 400-meter hurdles, and was part of the first place 4x400 relay team. Viney was named First Team Big 10, and helped Illinois win the title.

When not competing, he’s in training, usually six to seven hours every day.

When not training, Viney is deep in his studies in political science and international relations. Last year he served as an intern in the United States Senate. He may do so again after graduation, or he may work for a nonprofit agency for a year.

Either way, he believes his future will include attending law school, where he’ll train to become an international lawyer for human rights.

When not studying, there is yet another part of Viney’s life which he’s passionate about — his rich involvement serving with Young Life.

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HOOKED Growing up in Elkins, West Virginia, Viney gave his life to Christ at the age of 10. He faithfully attended church with his family and one Sunday the high school junior’s path would change significantly. That morning the pastor introduced Heath Sizick, the Young Life area director in Elkins, who shared

his dream of reaching kids at Elkins High School (EHS).

Viney and his friends were intrigued and immediately came to Campaigners, Sizick said. “Cam was already a strong Christian and track star in high school. I cast the vision about Young Life and the impact they could have on their school and community. At the last Campaigners before we had our firstever club in Elkins, Cam pulled me aside, away from his peers, and said, ‘It better be good because I am bringing a ton of people.’ My response (with a smile) was, ‘It will be!’ Cam won a $25 gas card for bringing the most freshmen.”

Viney was hooked. “The coolest thing about Young Life was you could go and have fun and there was a no-judgment zone. I’d tell friends, ‘Just come and check this out one time. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to come back, but don’t say no until you try it.’”

Young Life wasn’t just for his friends, though. Viney himself was drawn in by his friendship with Sizick. “No matter what was going on in my life, Heath was there. It was awesome having my Young Life leader help me through it all.

It’s kind of indescribable to talk about how huge an influence he was.”

For his part, Sizick quickly recognized his friend’s influence among his peers and designated him a junior leader his last two years at EHS. “Cam left an eternal impact at EHS, as many kids I know still talk about Cam as the person who first introduced them to Young Life.”

ALL IN! In 2012 Viney arrived at the University of Illinois, where he jumped into Young Life’s freshman leadership, but found it difficult to navigate leading with studies and track.

A breakthrough came the following summer. “I worked on summer staff at Rockbridge which was awesome and eyeopening,” Viney said. “When I returned I sat down with Abby Hobbs [then area director in Champaign] and said, ‘I’m all in! I know I was a little off course last semester, but this fall it’s all hands on deck!’”

Sizick remembered, “After Cam got home he told me, ‘I learned more about myself in a month on summer staff than I have my entire life.’”

Rejuvenated for the fall, Viney continued leading at Champaign Central High School. The following summer he took kids to Young Life’s Crooked Creek Ranch in Colorado, for what would be a momentous trip for both the kids and Viney.

“That week,” Viney said, “I had the privilege to listen to kids’ stories, which is what I love. Kids want someone to hear their stories. This was one of the most incredible weeks of my life, where God allowed me to play a part in seven guys giving their lives to Christ.”

This influence is what makes the new area director for Champaign, Ben Battaglia, one of Viney’s biggest fans. “Cam is a fantastic leader of kids,” Battaglia said. “You’d think, ‘Oh, Big 10 athlete, they’re not going to have the time to be a good leader,’ but he chooses to make it work.

“It would be easy for Cam to think he’s a big deal, but he’s never above doing what it takes to introduce kids to Jesus.

He’s always willing to wake up early to meet with Campaigners

kids or to pass out doughnuts at the school. He sat with me at lunch the other day and said, ‘I think we get caught up in the program of Young Life, but the heart of Young Life is being with kids.’

“Cam has a magnetic personality. One of the many things I love about Cam is he still sees the kid with no friends, or the kid nobody’s talking to in club, and approaches them. Cam’s heart for kids has inspired me as an area director.”

One such kid is Cody. Viney took him to Lake Champion this past summer and both left camp changed. “Cody impacted my life so much,” Viney said. “He saw Jesus that week and gave his life to Christ during our one-on-one time. I saw him go from death to life and be truly transformed. And that week God taught me I didn’t have to be perfect, just available for Him to work through me.”

ON POINT What is Viney looking forward to in his last year in school?

Naturally, he wants to give his best on the track. But of course, there’s more.

“I can’t wait to start Young Life at Cody’s school, Mahomet-Seymour High School, and see how God will use that. Contact work will have to be ‘on point’ this year!”

Not at all surprising when you consider Viney’s razorsharp focus: “My identity is not found in how many medals or trophies or championships or other things I win. My identity is found in Christ. Young Life has helped me to keep a steady focus.

There’s nothing I want more than to see someone feel loved.”

How does your crew

RAISE SUPPORT?

REACH HIGHER The Young Life Grants and Foundations office will get you there.

(719) 381-1907

Writing. Reports. Proposals. Storytelling. Research. Letters. Strategy.

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Our Very Lives as Well One mom’s account of her year with a Young Life Amicus student.

BY AMANDA KOLMAN

We didn’t arrive at the airport with colorful signs welcoming Ania to America. I was nervous and had forgotten to make the signs. Instead, we stood near baggage claim looking for a girl who resembled the one in the pictures that had drawn us to her, and one who might look a little bit lost. We knew it had been a long day for her. She had missed a connecting flight, was having to communicate entirely in English for the very first time and completely alone. When

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she finally came around the corner, exhausted, nervous and relieved to have finally made it, she saw us and began to cry.

And I immediately became her “mother,” rushing to her side, hugging her tight and telling her it would be OK. It wasn’t exactly how I imagined greeting my new Polish “daughter,” but God

connected our hearts in that moment and I knew it was exactly what we both needed.

From left, Amanda and Ania; Loren, Hope, Ania, Ava, Amanda and Bella; Loren and Amanda celebrate with Ania upon her high school graduation.

Our journey to welcoming Ania had been in the works for months as we filled out paperwork, met with an Amicus representative, and looked through profiles of students who desired to come to America for a year. But, more accurately, our journey had begun years before, when my husband, Loren, first joined Young Life staff, both of us falling in love with the mission to reach every kid with the Gospel.* We had begun to think about what it meant for our family, including our three little girls, to give up our lives for the sake of Christ. First Thessalonians 2:8 says, “Because we loved you, we were ready to share, not only the gospel of Christ, but our very lives as well.” For quite some time, the Lord had been moving us toward sharing more and more of our lives, especially with students. This verse began to come alive in our hearts and in our home as we had students over constantly, sharing meals, Scripture and life. The idea of having a student live in our home for 10 months felt like a natural part of that process.

Questions and Answers

At the same time, I had questions about hosting a foreign exchange student. How do you welcome a stranger into your home for a year without feeling like you have a perpetual guest, a situation that could be exhausting to both a host family and a student? How do you care for a student as if they were your own child and set parental boundaries when they clearly have parents on the other side of the world? How do you afford adding a teenager to your household? What if they don’t get along with your kids? Loren and I had all of those questions. Truthfully, I had more than he did. He is more adventurous than I am and so his questions basically consisted of different versions of, “How do we sign up?” I knew it might be a stretch, but in the end, hosting an Amicus student seemed like an extension of what we felt called to do, a way to love one student really well by sharing our lives and the love of Christ with her.

So, last August, we brought Ania home and quickly settled in as a family of six. Our girls fell in love with her and the feeling was mutual. And it didn’t take long before she felt like a daughter to Loren and me. We were on the sidelines at cross-country meets and tennis matches, in the audience at band concerts, taking pictures before prom, and cheering for her at graduation. We also set curfews, treated illnesses, handed out chores and said “no” when we needed to. We tried to make the most of our year together, visiting family in different parts of the country, and traveling to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and the Pacific Ocean. But even

more significantly, we shared important conversations about faith, friendship, dating and the future. We talked about what it means to live as those redeemed and loved by God, as messengers of His Gospel, wherever He has placed us.

And then, in a blink, it was June, and time for Ania to go home. I sat on the end of her bed one night and cried. I could hardly believe this young lady, who had been a stranger from Poland, had become my daughter, and now it was time for her to leave. Now I had different questions. How had I learned to love Ania so completely in such a short time? And how would I let her go?

The answers came quickly. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Christ in us and our understanding of His love creates a deep reservoir of love from which to draw.

Galatians 5:22 says, “The fruit of His Spirit is love ...” And secondly, how does any parent let go of their child? They just do. And, they never really do.

The Best Kind of Stretch

Ania boarded a plane in July to head back to Poland and my family was heartbroken, knowing we would miss her deeply.

But we also knew now we had family on the other side of the world, and we would always be connected. We were surprised when we arrived home to find gifts and a letter in her room that made us cry all over again. In it she wrote, “During this year, you taught me how to put God’s love in my life.” I was immediately reminded of why we had started this journey in the first place and so grateful for God’s guidance every step of the way.

When I talk to people about what it is like to host a foreign exchange student, I can sense that, for most, it feels like a stretch. I won’t deny that it is. But, it is the best kind of stretch that opens us up to more. We understand more about God’s love for the whole world. We sense more of His leading to be messengers of the Gospel. And we understand more about what it means to love someone so much that we would share our very lives with them, just like Jesus did for us.

We see more of Christ. So, when people ask if we will host an Amicus student again, we say “yes” without hesitation. After all, what more could we want, except more of Christ?

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).

To find out more about Amicus and how to host a student this coming year, go to GoWithAmicus.org.

*Loren serves as the Young Life area director in Cañon City, Colorado.

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#BEST WEEK

OF YOUR

LIFE at Castaway Club!

BY MEAGHAN O’CONNOR

From the moment kids step off the bus at Young Life camp, they’re treated like royalty. The Capernaum leaders from Minneapolis were a clear example all week long of the way Jesus cares for us, unconditionally.

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We spent an entire week at camp this summer, and documented it on social media! From the moment that kids got off the bus, to crazy games during club and all the way to emotional goodbyes, we were there to capture it all, in real time.

Check out some of our favorite stories and highlights and read about how the Lord was working in and through it all.

For just a small taste of what goes on at Young Life camp across the world, check out the hashtag #bestweekofyourlife on Instagram and Twitter.

One of the things kids end up remembering most about camp is having the chance to get messy during fun field games with their Young Life leaders (who oblige with a smile on their face!). This group of girls from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, had a ton of fun smearing their leader with shaving cream.

Right after these kids from Pine Ridge, an Indian Reservation in South Dakota, boarded the bus to return home, they looked out their windows and saw their work crew server. Seconds later, they all ran off the bus to give him one last hug goodbye. It was such a testament to the value of serving and how it can change a kid’s entire perspective.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA ALL YEAR LONG!

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Made for This: The Young Life Story It’s been nearly 40 years since Young Life published a book chronicling its history. In celebration of our 75th birthday on Oct. 16, 2016, we have released a 220-page coffee table book titled Made for This: The Young Life Story.

Each chapter tells the story of a decade, from the 1940s through today. The following is a four-page excerpt from the mission’s second decade …

the

1950s An Absolute Dream

W

hen thoughts drift to the 1950s, wholesome images of America often come to mind. Children of this era might remember playing with hula hoops, Silly Putty, or Mr. Potato Head while watching The Lone Ranger, The Howdy Doody Show, and The Mickey Mouse Club on the family’s first television set. At night, their parents enjoyed such fare as I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, and Gunsmoke.

For the 1950s teenager, the latter half of the decade must have seemed a dream.

The youth subculture was now a permanent fixture, and their fashions, slang, and entertainment created a brand-new consumer market. By the middle of the decade, a new style of music had emerged, and it was coined “rock ’n’ roll.” Deemed by many parents as dangerous, the jumpy sounds of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard could be heard blaring out of car radios and on the new national TV show, American Bandstand. Cruising in cars to the local hamburger joint or school sock hop became all the rage.

That doesn’t mean, of course, everything was fine. In between the history-defining Second World War of the 1940s and the cultural overhaul of the 1960s sat the decade where tensions seemed to bubble just below the surface. War, both hot and cold, still permeated the world, as did the painful presence of racism.

Young Life, meanwhile, continued to faithfully meet and walk alongside kids in the midst of a culture that blended innocence and danger. If the forties were marked by a pioneering spirit, then the fifties would be remembered as a time of expansion. The mission grew up alongside the teenagers of the 1950s, and as Young Life reached its own “teenage years,” it truly hit its stride.

“For a Young Life staff person, the 1950s were an absolute dream,” said Bill Starr.

“There was such a response; the middle class was becoming prominent and we moved with it.”

In 1958, Tom Raley, who oversaw the work in Seattle, Washington, came up with a plan to double the city’s already impressive number of ten Young Life clubs. “We named the plan ‘Operation Flex,’ ” Raley said. “We selected ten schools where Young Life had never been. We encouraged everyone to begin to pray for those ten schools. We put ten leadership teams together, and they began to get to know some kids from those schools. They also tried to meet some adults in those communities.”

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In late March, Raley and the leaders hosted a banquet for the new kids at the

Because clubs had outgrown homes, staff had to become creative in finding new locations, like this one—the Swan Funeral Home. Pictured here is Jim Rayburn (top left) with 467 kids at the Colorado Springs club (obviously not everyone fit into the picture!).

Olympic Hotel in downtown Seattle. “We invited ten kids from each of the new schools and ten kids from the existing Young Life clubs plus the leadership from all twenty clubs.” The banquet itself was a success, but there was still more to be revealed.

The leaders asked the crowd of two hundred kids and leaders to move to the main ballroom, where they were surprised by more than one thousand kids from the existing clubs waiting for them. “The new kids loved it and saw that Young Life was something a lot of kids were into,” Raley remembered. “It was a great evening all the way around. Leaders and committee people were excited.” Just two weeks later, on April 4, 1958, ten brand-new clubs formed in Seattle.

“We had huge clubs in the fifties,” Raley said. “The largest Young Life club in the country, at one point, was in Salem, Oregon.” That club, led by Doug Coe, witnessed more than four hundred kids coming out every week. It was evident that throughout the country, the Lord was opening doors and drawing kids to Himself.

“A MIRACLE BEYOND BELIEF”

In 1950, while serving on work crew at Silver Cliff, Cy Burress and Jerry Kirk would often hike up the mountain behind camp to read the Bible and pray. On one such trip they saw another camp directly above them, the Round-Up Lodge for Boys.

“They actually prayed Young Life would someday have

that camp,” explained Bob Mitchell, who was their work crew boss that summer. “When we heard what those kids were doing, we counseled them to pray more appropriately and not ask God for stupid things like that—especially right after He’d given us Silver Cliff. It’s a wonder we didn’t ruin their prayer life.

Instead they strengthened ours.”

Undeterred, Cy and Jerry continued to pray. Meanwhile, Rayburn was also aware of the ranch, and carried a passion for it that matched the boys’ prayers. At the end of the summer, Rayburn served as guest speaker at Round-Up Lodge’s banquet. Driving out of the camp that night, he confided to Maxine, “Max, these folks don’t know it yet, but this place doesn’t belong to them anymore. I asked our Father for it this evening.”

In October, Ted Benson came across an ad in the back of The New Yorker magazine, which touted a half-million-dollar boys’ camp for sale “in the high Continental Divide country of Colorado.” Benson gave the ad to Rayburn as a joke, suggesting the two go in 50-50 on the price.

To Rayburn, however, it was no joke; it was, in fact, a confirmation from the Lord. While the ad never mentioned the camp’s name, Rayburn knew this had to be Round-Up Lodge. After some investigation, it was indeed confirmed to be the camp just up the mountain from Silver Cliff, now listed at an asking price of $350,000. Rayburn approached the board in January about the unbelievable opportunity that lay before

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them. They approved the purchase, as long as Rayburn could raise the money from foundations and donors (preferably new ones). Rayburn’s first meeting was with the owner of Round-Up Lodge, Dr. E. Alfred Marquard. As a result of their meeting, Marquard dropped the asking price down to $250,000.

Rayburn crisscrossed the country via train to find the funds, and “two months and many miracles later,” he raised the entire amount from nine donors. Later, Rayburn took staff up to the newly named Frontier Ranch, where they dedicated it to the Lord. “We prayed in every building in that place,” said Roy Riviere. “We were overwhelmed with what God had given us!”

Frontier Ranch hosted its first campers a mere six months later, in July 1951. As Emile Cailliet wrote in his book, Young Life, “From beginning to end it was all ‘a miracle beyond belief.’ ”

“THE GREATEST KIDS’ CHEF IN THE WORLD”

While speaking on a Young Life weekend in Harvey Cedars, New Jersey, in May 1951, Rayburn met Andy “Goldbrick” Delaney and his wife, Jerry, who worked for a Philadelphia catering company. “Next thing you know,” Jerry said, “he’s asking us if we’d come work for him at a big kids’ camp out in Colorado. We said ‘no,’ so he said he was going to put us on his prayer list. Andy and I looked at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking. ‘This guy is crazy. Put us on a prayer list?’ ” “Well, we didn’t know what it was like to be in Jim’s prayers!” Within a month the Delaneys were working at Frontier Ranch.

Frog Sullivan remembered an early conversation between Rayburn and his new cook. “Jim, Goldbrick, and I had a meeting one day up in Frontier’s dining room. Jim said, ‘Camp travels on The entrance to Frontier Ranch.

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its stomach. You can have the best program in the world, but if you don’t have good food, the program isn’t going to be any good.’ Goldbrick looked at him and said, ‘Boss, it’ll be good.’ And it was.”

The couple brought far more than good cooking to Frontier. As the first black Young Life staff, their commitment to excellence, love for people, and humble service helped usher in a new era in the mission.

“Goldbrick and Jerry had a profound influence on my life concerning racial issues,” Mal McSwain, longtime staff member, said. “Their attitude and love changed an awful lot of impressions ingrained in so many kids who came out to Frontier from the South in the fifties. It was a powerful thing to see young men and women from these southern states actually fall in love with Goldbrick and Jerry and realize these people not only loved them, but were committed to being their friends for the rest of their lives.”

“Oh, I loved Goldbrick to death,” Frog Sullivan said. “He knew I was a southern white kid and I’m sure he knew the feelings I had, just from growing up in Memphis, but the first time I met him, he said, ‘I know you and I love you,’ and he hugged me.”

“CAMP TRAVELS ON ITS STOMACH. YOU CAN HAVE THE BEST PROGRAM IN THE WORLD, BUT IF YOU DON’T HAVE GOOD FOOD, THE PROGRAM ISN’T GOING TO BE ANY GOOD.

It became tradition on the first night of camp for Rayburn to introduce a packed dining hall to “the greatest kids’ chef in the world.” Cheers of “Hurrah for Goldbrick” rang out when the conquering hero entered, replete in tall white chef ’s hat and coat.

—Jim Rayburn

“There will never be another Goldbrick,” Roy Riviere proclaimed. “With a perfectly straight face, he told me once, ‘Roy, don’t ever trust a skinny cook.’ And he lived up to that!”

For more than a quarter of a century, Goldbrick and Jerry joyfully served thousands of campers, as they served their Lord­—whom they both met as a result of their early days in Young Life.

Goldbrick greets the campers.

From Made for This: The Young Life Story, by Jeff Chesemore, copyright 2015.

All rights reserved. For more information on purchasing the book, please see the ad on the back page of the magazine.

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WHEN ONE BECOMES 36

BY NED ERICKSON

How two Nairobi leaders secured dozens of scholarships for neighborhood kids.

On the northeast side of Nairobi lies Kahawa West, a ramshackle community of cement block buildings with rusty corrugated metal roofs. Bringing transformation to a place like this would require nothing short of optimism, daring and pluck. Fortunately, Young Life leaders Kevin Mutitu and David Otieno, who spend countless hours working with the kids there, have these qualities in spades.

This wasn’t always the case.

Martin Wamalwa, Young Life’s regional director for Western Kenya, met these two young men five years ago, when they were still in high school and living in a Nairobi squatters slum called Soweto: “They were two young, naughty, rude, don’t-care guys, but I journeyed with them in contact work and took them to camp where they gave their lives to Jesus.”

Kevin and David returned from camp changed — not only growing in their newfound faith but also devoting themselves to their high school studies. Both passed the qualification exam to go to college. Unfortunately, Kevin and David were faced with the ever-present dilemma faced by those living in developing-world poverty: They couldn’t afford to go.

Thus began the idea that would grow into Young Life’s Developing Global Leaders (DGL) program. DGL provides young men and women with college scholarships to a local university and keeps these exceptional leaders involved in local Young Life areas. The students are also matched with a mentor, participate in leadership and lifeskills training, and recruit additional volunteer leaders.

Given the low cost of tuition in the developing world, it would be an incredible bang for the buck.

In Nairobi, Kevin and David applied to DGL, were accepted and awarded scholarships — Kevin, to study business at the University of Nairobi; and David, to attend the tourism management program at Kenyatta University.

Kevin and David.

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Kenyan Developing Global Leaders students in Nairobi.

But Wamalwa dreamed of more. “In Kenya, we emphasize on our DGL students to be transformational leaders in Young Life but also to create tangible, practical change to the community they come from.” Wamalwa invented a leadership project which required Kenyan DGL students to each design an initiative for their community’s development. The only two requirements were: 1) the project needs to leave a lasting transformation on the community, and 2) project costs, if any, need to come from outside Young Life.

When Kevin and David pitched the idea of hosting an event entitled “Mr. and Miss Kahawa West” to Wamalwa, he was skeptical. “I told them, ‘Young Life doesn’t do beauty pageants and popularity contests.’”

“Trust us,” they said. Wamalwa acquiesced.

As part of their plan, Kevin and David invited the director of a local college to be a guest judge. By all accounts the event was a success. Amazed by what these young men were doing for their community, the director asked David what she could do to help. “Scholarships,” he answered without hesitation. She told him to come to her office the next day. David went and left her office with 18!

Shortly thereafter, Ryan Mohling, the director of DGL, was visiting Kenya. The students asked him to join them in prayer because, while generous, 18 scholarships wasn’t enough; that day David was going back for more.

He got double.

So from this one DGL scholarship entrusted to David, 35 more kids will now be attending college in Nairobi.

“Four years ago, neither of these guys would have been able to look you in the eye; because growing up in that slum, all they’ve heard was that they’d never amount to anything,” said Wamalwa. “What these men did … not even a political leader could have secured these scholarships.”

That’s DGL — student by student, raising up transformational leaders throughout the developing world.

To sponsor a DGL student like David and Kevin please visit www.YLGlobalLeaders.org

JESUS LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD BY MEAGHAN O’CONNOR How Young Life’s Student Leadership Project changed Mark Gomez’s worldview.

Mark Gomez, a 2015 SLP participant.

Mark Gomez, an 18-year-old from La Grange, Illinois, and a college freshman at Indiana University, has a pretty extensive Young Life “résumé.” In high school, Mark went to Young Life camp at Beyond Malibu and served on work crew at Michindoh. He was a regular club attender who eventually became a student leader and an active volunteer in his local area. When you meet Mark, you can’t help but think of the potential he has for leadership and discipleship in his community. That’s where Young Life’s Student Leadership Project (SLP) comes in.

Every summer, 50 committed Christian high school students from all over the world gather for 10 days to engage in programs and activities that help prepare them for ministry in a multicultural world. Each student admitted to the program has demonstrated leadership and discipleship traits in Young Life activities, church, school and community.

This past year, SLP hosted two sessions of students — the first at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and North Park University in Chicago, Illinois, and the second at Eastern University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A main focus of the program, begun in 2002, is ensuring diversity in the make-up of the group — race, ethnicity, socioeconomic, geography and church backgrounds.

Mark was a great candidate for the SLP, even though he came into the program with some doubts.

“SLP seemed like the perfect next step to develop my faith and leadership potential. But going in, I was nervous because it didn’t seem like I was as spiritually advanced as some of the other kids going.

Through SLP, however, Mark soon realized how long he’d had a relationship with Jesus didn’t really matter.

“Coming out of SLP, I learned that even though we think we’re all on different levels spirituality-wise, Jesus levels the playing field. No matter how much of the Bible

we know or how often we do devotionals, we’re meant to learn and grow as Christians, together.”

The learning is not just reserved for the classroom.

This summer, Mark’s group went to downtown Chicago, where they received an intimidating and humbling task.

“We all got boxed lunches and were told to go out on the streets with our prayer groups to sit with homeless people. My group sat with one guy for an hour and a half, just listening to his story. Even after everything this guy had gone through, he still believed in Jesus Christ. In fact, a lot of the stuff he told us about was making him draw closer to Jesus, too. I remembered sitting in class a few days earlier, when we talked about how you can’t fully serve someone you think less of, because regardless of who we are or where we come from, we are all sons and daughters of the King. Listening to this guy’s story really helped me believe that to be true and changed the way I view other people entirely. It’s probably the moment from the program I’ll remember the most.”

SLP focuses on five pillars of growth — Cultural Awareness, Servant Leadership, Service Learning, Spiritual Practices and Calling. Mark identified “Calling” as a huge area of personal growth.

SLPers relax at camp the final days of the experience as they reflect on God’s call in their life.

“During SLP, I think I was able to see more clearly what the Lord is doing and is calling me to right now. I’m excited to minister to the kids on my college campus who believe they can find life and fulfillment in the party scene here. I’m just really excited to show them what Jesus can offer instead.”

For more information about next year’s SLP, please visit: www.younglife.org/slp. Apply now — selection begins Jan. 1 and spots go fast!

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Trustee Transitions Susan Hutchison Involved with Young Life since high school (though she never got to go to camp), Susan Hutchison is a former television news anchor in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Seattle, Washington. She currently serves as chair of the Washington State Republican party and is also an adjunct professor in Seattle Pacific University’s MBA program.

John Brandon Briefly introduced to Young Life in high school, Brandon, along with his wife, Nancy, became deeply involved when their children started attending club. He has spent his entire professional career in the tech industry, most recently serving as Vice President of International for Apple.

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BY TERRY SWENSON

When outgoing chair of the Young Life Board of Trustees Susan Hutchison reflects on her experience in this vital role, she is struck by the vitality of the ministry, the commitment of those who serve and support our programs, and the quality and wisdom of the mission’s governing board. On the Young Life board since 2008 and chair since September 2013, Hutchison has seen the mission respond faithfully and fruitfully through challenging times.

“The recession hit just as we launched our Reaching a World of Kids initiative to double our global impact,” said Hutchison, “and instead of cutting back, we grew. Our supporters helped us move forward because we had an audacious vision for kids — people are not afraid when they see a big vision.”

Hutchison also points to the stability and strength of Young Life staff as an important reason for the mission’s sustained growth.

Because the Young Life board is responsible for looking out ahead to ensure the longterm sustainability of the mission, Hutchison places a great deal of importance on long-term staff. “Through their experience, wisdom and commitment,” she said, “these people keep the mission strong and healthy.”

Hutchison also appreciates the wisdom and commitment of her fellow board members, especially when faced with tough decisions.

These are accomplished, capable people who roll up their sleeves and work together to reach consensus and find solutions. Hutchison attributes the board’s great chemistry and effectiveness to an openness to the Holy Spirit’s leading.

John Brandon, Hutchison’s successor as board chair, has seen the same quality since joining the board in 2010. “There’s a desire to really bathe things in prayer,” said Brandon, “to listen to the Lord’s voice and to quickly follow His lead.”

Brandon also appreciates something else about his fellow board members: a common desire to see kids meet Christ and deep

personal involvement with Young Life. “When you spend time with these folks, you see their genuine love for kids and staff and our work around the world,” said Brandon. “They’re busy hosting adult guests at camp or filling buses with kids … it’s amazing.” Many board members support Young Life not only in their home communities, but well beyond. Brandon has served on the committee for Young Life in the Former Soviet Union since 2001.

Looking forward to serving as board chair, Brandon says he starts with “humility and dependence on the Lord, who has been very gracious to this mission.” Brandon believes it is important that Young Life is faithful to its original consistent mission and focus. “I love that we are fundamentally the same mission that got started 75 years ago in Texas. We’re still meeting kids in their world, earning the right to be heard, doing great camping and discipleship. That was the call in the ’40s and it’s still the call.”

Joining Brandon, Hutchison and the rest of the Young Life board are two new members, Jody Dreyer and Clyde Lear.

Jody Dreyer A club kid in Columbus, Ohio, and a student leader during her college years at the University of Kentucky, Dreyer is a longtime fan and supporter of the mission. For the last five years, Dreyer has helped create and participates in a marketing advisory group that serves as a “think tank” for Young Life’s Communications and Marketing team.

She also serves on the planning team for the 2016 Young Life Celebration.

Dreyer worked at the Walt Disney Company for 30 years where she served as senior vice president of Marketing and senior vice president of Worldwide Outreach, among other roles. She and her husband, John, live in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Clyde Lear Deeply involved with the mission in Missouri since the mid-1990s, Lear and his wife, Sue, helped start Young Life in Jefferson City where they live. The Lears also played a crucial role in the development of Young Life’s Clearwater Cove, serving as co-chairs of the Executive Campaign Committee.

Lear co-founded Learfield Communications, a sports broadcasting network, and served as president and CEO, then chairman of the board until the sale of the company in 2011. The Lears have three adult children, Matt, Sarah and Andrew.

passages ROOSEVELT “RUDY” HOWARD APRIL 9, 1948 - JULY 14, 2015

BY JEFF CHESEMORE Longtime staff member Rudy Howard, 65, went home to be with Jesus on July 14, 2015. Howard was part of George and Martie Sheffer’s Young Life club at Marshall High School, on the west side of Chicago. He met Christ in 1963 at Frontier Ranch during the “20 minutes of silence” (a time for campers to consider what the message about the cross means to them). In a 1999 interview, Howard recalled that life-changing moment.

“That particular summer Mitch [Bob Mitchell] was speaking in the Kachina and said, ‘If you were the only person on earth, Jesus Christ would have still died for you.’ Even though I had been in church and everything, I’d never heard it like that. I went out back, looked up at all the stars and quietly asked Christ into my life.”

Howard graduated from Hope College, then Western Michigan University with a degree in social work. He came on full-time Young Life staff in 1972 in Houston, Texas, where he helped pioneer the urban work and served as an area director for 13 years. He also served as the co-chair of the Urban Primus Council, and in 1986 moved to Denver to join the National Urban Office as the associate Urban director. After his time on staff, Howard served in other pastoral capacities, most recently as the director of Luke 4:18 ministries in Memphis, Tennessee.

He continued to volunteer with Young Life at Central High School until the time of his passing. Howard is survived by his wife, Kathy, and his son, Christian. A joyful, caring man who generously shared his gifts of speaking, music and humor with this mission and so many others, Rudy Howard will be greatly missed.

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younglifespokenhere YOUNG LIFE’S MISSION IN

THE CZECH REPUBLIC In 1993 the people of Czechoslovakia decided to peacefully divide into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Today there are over 10 million people living in the Czech Republic, one of the most non-religious countries in the world and the most atheistic in Europe.

Kids in the Czech Republic are the first full generation born after the fall of communism.

They have more opportunities, more material wealth and an ease of travel their parents never knew at their age. However, they still reap the effects of over 40 years of communism and the atheistic worldview that it helped create in the Czech Republic. They are searching for love, hope and deeper meaning, as well as opportunities to serve and make a difference in the world.

Young Life has been meeting young Czechs where they are in the cities of Prague and Ostrava for over 10 years. In 2014 Young Life started in the secondlargest city, Brno, and this year marks the beginning of Young Life University (college) in Ostrava. Most leaders are former “club kids” now making a difference in kids’ lives in their local communities.

Number of National Staff

Volunteer Leaders

25

Kids who attended camps this year

21

350

5

Developing Global Leaders

3

partingshots The first camper to set foot on our newest camp, Cairn Brae at Loch Monzievaird! Located in Crieff, Scotland, the camp sits at the entrance to the beautiful Scottish Highlands. The camp opened in July and a team of staff and summer staff representing eight nations served the kids, as they heard and responded to the greatest love story ever told.

Don’t Wait ’til it’s too late!

It’s not too early to be thinking about your family vacation next summer.

Especially when Trail West’s Family Camp was 100% booked last summer!

Get your registration and deposit in ASAP to ensure the best week of your lives!

For more information, call us at (719) 395-2477. Or, check out our web site at trailwest. younglife.org.

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October 16, 2016, will mark our ...

75 BIRTHDAY! th

In recognition of this milestone, Young Life has released a 220-page coffee table book celebrating the mission titled, Made for This: The Young Life Story.

Features include: • The story of the mission from the very beginning.

• Great photography from the last seven decades.

• Young Life personalities, camps, artifacts, a fold-out timeline and so much more!

The first book covering the mission’s history in nearly 40 years, Made for This: The Young Life Story is a great gift for Young Life staff, volunteers, committee, alumni and friends!

The book can be purchased through The Young Life Store (www.younglifestore.com) and on the Young Life website (www.younglife.org).