Eat the Menu- San Juan Hills Young Life

In each of us there is a desire to break limitations, to accomplish something never done before.  We try to climb the mountain, paint the masterpiece, cook Thanksgiving dinner - a chance to do the impossible.  

I challenged 25 high school students to do something amazing, difficult, and ridiculous.  We went to Taco Bell, divided the kids into teams, and promised them that we would be making stories happen.  We ordered heaps of tacos, enchiladas, burritos, empanadas, chalupas, quesadillas, churros, nachos, and every other type of Mexican fast food known to man.  After we gave an equal amount of the feast to each of our three teams, and let them know that only one team would be crowned as winners.  Then, we begun.

Kids devoured mounds of cheese, meat and sour cream.  The tables were piled high with wrappers and used napkins.  At first they ate with incredible speed and excitement.  Within a few minutes, however, they settled in for the long, slow haul to the finish line.  Some students followed the strategy of the tortoise, others went the route of the hare.  Either way, we all filled our bodies with more calories than should be legally acceptable.  

In the end, one team won, the restaurant made some money, and all of our our stomachs lost.  The kids all had a wonderful time breaking basic bodily limits, had fun with new friends, and were exposed to YoungLife for the first time.  We were able to build relationships with these students, show them a good time, and briefly tell them that we love Jesus and would enjoy hanging out with them more.  It was a crazy night, and it was the start of something awesome.

Victory is soooooo SWEET!!!

-Josh

Wyldlife Thanksgiving

Hello all I hope you're thanksgiving was a good one! Just wanted to give you a little update before we head into the Christmas break! We just had our last club this last Tuesday until after the break. So excited to see what god is doing in our kids lives and The families that are involved in and around wyldlife. This last club we talked about what it means to trust in Jesus. Although a lot of these jr. High students are still wrestling with their beliefs on so many levels I was excited to teach them that no matter what!!!! Trust that Jesus is always there with open arms and a warm heart. Oh and of course we played lots of fun games and had a blast. Hope you're Christmas season is a blessed one!

-Dmar

Dana Hills- Big Air

I've been going to the campus for a lunch time club at school. One Monday before our event I came & brought root beer floats. A lot of kids wanted to come to big air. the kids from our club were sharing what a huge impact young life has made in their lives. It was incredible to hear our club kids reach out to others.

Our kids always look forward to the trips to big air. When we went this time we had a lot of new faces.  It was an opportunity for is to make connection to the newer kids. Things as silly as jousting could be the beginning of a new relationship with a leader that could end up showing them Jesus. It was a great night and all the kids had huge smiles on there faces.

-Megan

Lessons From Friends

It has been a good start to winter. 

I have been meeting new kids at San Juan Hills High School, gathering for breakfast and Bible study each week with a core group of boys, and we had our first big event, Eat the Menu at Taco Bell.  Overall, my leaders and I have been able to meet and interact with over 30 kids and we hope to turn that into a weekly practice with Club launching in the Spring of 2014.  This last weekend, I attended my first YoungLife Camp at Oakbridge.  None of my high schoolers were able to make it, so I subbed in as a counselor for the High Rollers Capernaum students, our students with special needs.

At camp, I learned many things about how YoungLife shares the Gospel with young people who may have heard the stories, but don’t know about the life being offered to them by Jesus.  I saw kids laughing, dancing, playing, and meeting God in worship all in one weekend.  More than these things, I was able to encounter the amazing faith and dependence on God that these High Rollers have.  They know that Jesus is close to them, they hear his voice.  There is no division between “life with God” and “normal life” for these students.  They see God’s provision in their lives every day. 

My buddy for the weekend was Joey, and he shows amazing faith in everything he does.  He worships as if no one is watching except his heavenly Father.  When the Gospel is preached, he responds with tears at the beauty of God’s love.  When hearing of Christ on the cross for the thousandth time, he responds with true sorrow; when hearing the news that Jesus is alive, he rejoices as if he has seen God face to face.

I’ve been told that the heart of YoungLife is encapsulated in camp.  This past weekend, I was able to hear and see and experience that core of this ministry.  Beyond that, God showed me His heart through the love and faith of these Capernaum students.  I am so excited to continue to contribute to YoungLife’s ministry here in San Juan Capistrano, but this weekend God reminded me that His ministry is to simply love each person that we come across, like Joey does, like Jesus does.

-Josh