October in Young Life South County!

South County rolling hard at the all Orange County YL skate night!

October was a great month for South County Young Life!

We started with an all Orange County Skate Party, and ended with an epic Halloween club. 

Pie in the face trivia: USA vs Canada

We started having "normal" clubs this month and saw the group grow in size every week in October. We had 14 kids at our first club of the month, and had 25 at Halloween club. We have seen more kids from both Ladera Ranch, and San Juan come out, and we have kids from SJHHS, Tesoro, Dana Hills, SM, and J Serra coming on a regular basis.

Juan with a HUGE smile!

Clubs have been super fun. We typically have three games, a raffle, and a talk about Jesus.

It has been incredible to watch kids let go and have a blast doing everything from trying to smash balloons tied to their feet, to racing to see who can unravel two rolls of TP the fastest.

While these games get crazy, and it may seem chaotic, they have a purpose. Games show kids that we want them to have fun. They show kids that we care about them by showing we spent time trying to plan something they would enjoy. The crazier the game, often times, the more accepted kids feel, and the more they are ready to trust us.

Club can get a bit crazy at times!

Club is also a time to just be with our high school friends. We do a lot of hanging out in Young Life because we believe that one of the greatest gifts we have to give our young friends is our time. We come to club early and leave late, often giving kids rides home, or meeting with them after. When leaders spend time with kids, they let them know they are valuable. We let them know that we think they matter, and that we think they are worth spending time with.

Mummy wars at the Halloween Club.

The last thing we do at club is the talk. We have the opportunity to share about Jesus. This is, without a doubt, my favorite part of club.

This month I have gotten the privilege of giving the talks. I believe, with all my being, that Jesus loves every single kid that comes to Young Life. I believe he loves each of them, the way they are right now. I love getting to share with them stories from the Bible where Jesus loved people, and made things new, better, and more full.

Jesus brings life wherever he goes. Whatever he touches is made better, from turning water into wine, to making a crazy person sane, Jesus makes things better. He has the unique ability to fully restore anything to the way it was created to be. He does this with us as well. Jesus doesn't wait for us to clean ourselves up, or get our act together, or do something good before he loves us. Jesus loves us the way we are. He loves the people others don't love, and he loves the people others have forgotten. This is incredibly life giving to our high school friends. To know that God loves them regardless of the way they act, or how they feel about him. Realizing this brings freedom, the freedom to love, and the freedom from shame.

Luke sharing the Good News of Jesus' love.

Young Life is about helping kids meet Jesus and then growing their relationship with him... but first we just seek to show kids we care about them, and then, because Jesus did this for us, we love them no matter what.

Halloween Club was a blast.

First Young Life club of the year!

Getting ready for the first club of the year!

Last night was the first high school Young Life club of the year! We had around 40 kids from 4 different high schools come out ready to have a great time. While the leaders and I were excited, we had no idea of how many kids to expect. I was hoping for enough to make things exciting, but did not expect anything like what we had!

Shaving cream baseball... it might have gotten a little messy.

The night started with everyone hanging out around the fire as kids showed up. One of the highlights for me was watching the returning kids from last year come. They were so excited to see Josh and Micah. It was evident how deeply Josh and Micah cared for these kids last year. I pray that as we move into this year, and possibly some growth in numbers, the relational aspect continues in this same way. The foundation that Josh and Micah laid last year is great!

 

MVP pitcher, Jack Benjamin, and Sam... like I said, it got messy!

Once everyone seemed to have arrived, we played a game. Shaving cream baseball. Its basically a game of whiffle ball, but the ball is filled with shaving cream. It was awesome watching the ball explode every time it was hit, and Jack Benjamin was hilarious to watch as a pitcher. As the game came to a close we switched the ball out for water balloons filled with shaving cream and let kids take turns hitting them with the bats... and then it just turned into a bit of a shaving cream war... nothing says Young Life like people getting covered in shaving cream!

Now that's a fire!

Once the mayhem died down we had s'mores and hung out around the fire. We have a few new leaders, and then a couple leaders, myself included, who came up from WyldLife this year. It was great getting to see leaders and kids begin new relationships, and watching the new leaders jump right in with kids.

Some of the freshman kids looked a bit in shock. I don't know if they knew what they were getting into, but as they were leaving they said they couldn't wait for next week, and were excited to bring more of their friends.

Like we always say, Young Life is about relationships. It starts with leaders building relationships with kids, and then those leaders hopefully get to help kids begin and build their relationship with Jesus. Nights like these are all about making opportunities for leaders and kids to get to know each other. A relationship with my Young Life leader forever changed my life, and I pray that some of the relationships started last night will change some of the kids lives in a similar way!

At the end of the night I introduced all the leaders to the kids, and let them know what to expect for the rest of the year. We will be having club every Friday night. All the leaders shared how they are involved with Young Life because they want kids to see that Jesus loves them just the way they are. I got to share how we do this because we believe, with all our hearts, that Jesus came to give us life to the full. I also told them that we want them to come and feel like they belong even if they don't agree with us about Jesus. Young Life is for every kid, everywhere, for eternity. We will always seek to be a part of these kids' lives, even if they never want anything to do with Jesus.

Next week is the all Orange County Young Life roller skating party! Its going to be a great time for sure!

So much fun! Can't wait for the rest of the year!

Best Laid Plans

Plans often fall apart at the last minute.  In fact, most of my life has consisted of well laid strategies that survive only until the first hurdle, where they all go to pieces.  Working with high school students is a similar process of continuous ideas turned into programs which have to be adjusted constantly for the simple reality that teenagers are never consistent.  Small games get thrown out when twenty extra kids show up.  Large games are downsized when a single dramatic event at school causes everyone to stay home ‘sick’.  

On club night, we had well planned games, a meticulous order of events, and a prepared 10 minute talk on Jesus.  And yet, when the start time came and went, we had only a handful of students to show for it.  We tried to come up with an eleventh hour plan and came away with only one thought...we were all truly craving some slurpees.  So, without much thought, we announced that we would be going to get some delicious icy treats.  Almost on queue, car after car of students arrived  - twenty minutes late, of course.  Yet, everyone was so excited about slurpees that we had no choice but to push forward with our new adventure.  

Unfortunately, our first gas station choice had a machine that was out of commission, so it was with mere minutes left of club that we swung by 7-11, grabbed our delicious reward, and snapped a picture.  After that, it was over.  All of our planning had turned into a hide-and-seek game for a simple cup of flavoured ice.  And yet, the students had fun, we got to still talk about life in our car rides, and everyone had a great time.  After all, isn’t this what friends are for?  Spending time together and letting them know that we don’t just like them, but we love them.  

Orange County Dodgeball Tournament 2015

Throughout each semester, we have a number of events that add some adventure into our group.  Last year, the annual OC Dodgeball Tournament was a fantastic night of games, team building, and winning (of course).

This year, we were able to take a group of 15 students and 5 leaders to represent South County.  The guys dressed to kill, the girls dressed for style.  We arrived early and began sizing up some of the other teams: San Clemente, Irvine, Tustin, and so on.  After some verbose trash talking, we began the fun of throwing rubber balls at one another as hard as we could.

In the end, we didn't win any championships, but we did all win free ice cream!  It was an evening to remember, and a great night to be in YoungLife.

Friendship Lived Out

I know a high school student named David*.  David is a good student, a decent athlete, and a fun guy to be around.  Most of his teachers don’t know his name, but he has a group of guys that he hangs out with during lunch.  By all appearances, David leads a normal life for a teenager filled with academics, sports, and social gatherings.  However, David doesn’t have many people in his life that he feels close to.  In fact, there are only a handful of people on the entire planet that David trusts enough to talk about his feelings, his doubts, and his painful times.

David lives in my neighborhood and we hang out multiple times per week.  He comes to YoungLife events, we go to the movies with other guys, he visits my house for dinner.  One afternoon, David told me that he had something important that he wanted to talk about.  He came to the door, looking nervous.  We sat at my dining table and I asked him, “What’s up?”  David went on to tell me that he had met a youth pastor who had invited him to their youth group meeting.  David wanted to go, but was scared that if he went he would no longer be welcome at YoungLife.  I chuckled a bit and explained to him that we are here for him, and that I would gladly drive him to that youth group, which happened to be led by a friend of mine at a local church.  We went on to talk about faith, life, and what it means to love yourself as Jesus loves you.

As David headed for the door to leave, he turned around with another nervous look on his face.  “Josh?  What are we?  Like, what is this that we’re doing?”  I laughed a little more and told him simply, “This is called being friends.  I learn from you, and you learn from me.”  He liked that.  David told me that he doesn’t have many friends that act like this.  “Well,” I said, “we’ll just have to find you more friends.”  As David left my house, I realized that this act of understanding and caring for my friends is what ministry is.  This is what YoungLife is.  This is what love is.

*Name changed to protect identity.

-Josh

Pizza Olympics and Young Life

High school is such an interesting stage of life.  More responsibilities are given to each student, but they are still told that they are not adults.  They want to grow up, stay young, and define themselves as individuals all at once.  They want the most out of life, but they also want to feel needed and safe. These students are told that they are no longer children, but they still want to have fun.

It is into this space that we bring YoungLife.  We want to give these teenagers a fun place where they can express their desires, be cared for by adults, and where they can simply belong.  We build all of this in order to show each student the love of Jesus.  Sometimes it looks a little wacky, like having a race between three different pizza delivery guys, but everything we do is in order to build a place for high schoolers to feel welcome, know that they are loved, and hear about the life that Jesus Christ is offering them.  

In our Pizza Olympics club, we had 29 high school students, games including human musical chairs, a Pizza Delivery Champion named German, the biggest ice cream sundae you've ever seen, and a talk about who Jesus introduced himself as.  All of these pieces seem separate, even disconnected, but each leader and I plan these events around the simple fact that we are building a time and place where teenagers will have the best time of their week.  It's about caring for them, and introducing each and every high schooler to Jesus himself.

Winding Up- Young Life Club

Winding Up

The first day of school is a pretty big deal.  Classes begin, athletes train, friendships rekindle.  The school campus comes back to life and bells start ringing.  I’ve been preparing and praying over the San Juan Hills campus for months now, recruiting leaders and calling kids.  It’s all leading up to the start of Club, the start of fun, games, friendships, and sharing the Gospel. 

We’re starting with a pool party tomorrow night, September 30^th.  The goal of the night is to get as many high schoolers as possible in one place, to have a great time, and to gain momentum for the year as we host more events and clubs.  I’m excited to start this process of winding up to new beginnings, a new school year, and a new YoungLife club!

-Josh G

A New Start

My dad was a coach for over 40 years.  He was always good at teaching a sport and growing kids into skilled athletes.  However, I was never that great at sports.  I lacked the “killer instinct” that so many of the best athletes seem to have.  I grew to be tolerant of sports because I like being around people.  By the time I graduated from high school, I had pretty much sworn off of competitive sports in any official capacity, and I figured that was the end of it.

Flash forward a few years and I find myself looking for ways to get on the San Juan Hills High School campus and meet the students there.  I kept hearing that one great way to start relationships on campus was through sports, and so I asked to become a volunteer for the track and field team.  On my first day, I was introduced to the team as Coach G., the new coach.  I stumbled my way through drills and techniques that practice, but somehow, I gained the respect of the kids.  

On our first home meet, I was assigned to help out with the starter and the timers, running around whenever something needed doing.  I was there at the beginning of each and every race, checking the lanes, encouraging the runners, and covering my ears as the gun went off.  I was able to cheer on my runners, and congratulate them as they finished.  I was proud of them, and they would each say “thanks Coach G.” as they passed by.  At the end of the night, our team had won and our kids were happily exhausted.  I told them goodbye before driving home with that word echoing in my head, “Coach...coach...coach.”  

I had never imagined that I would be a coach, much less for such a great team.  But here I am; encouraging, cheering, screaming, giving advice.  Some of these kids are my friends, some of them live in my neighborhood.  Some of them have even started to talk to me about their lives, their families, their thoughts on God.  Every day I get to be with them is a blessing, even if it is as a coach.

-Josh

Cosmic Bowling- San Juan Hills Young Life

Games can be competitive or even aggressive.  Sometimes though, it’s important to simply have fun.  We invited a couple dozen high schoolers to join us for a night of cosmic bowling at Saddleback Lanes where music and lights come together to make a simple bowling lane become a party room.  

We had kids meet us early and stay late.  On a Friday night, twenty-five students chose to spend their time hanging out with a couple of their adult friends having a great time at a bowling alley.  There were laughs, conversations, strikes and gutterballs.  It was never about the game, it was always about having a fun night with our friends and showing them that we can have a good time together.  I enjoyed watching these kids just be themselves and see that they don’t have to go too far to find fun on a Friday night.

-Josh

San Juan Hills- The Spot

Every Tuesday morning, I wake up before sunrise.  Now, I’ve never been a morning person, and I probably never will be.  I’m still more likely to be falling asleep at sunrise than waking up.  Once per week, that all changes.

On Tuesdays, I skip the normal routine and take a drive to a small breakfast place across the train tracks.  There are usually a few patrons drinking some coffee in the back corner and a pair of cops sits in the only booth eating their choice of breakfast.  I sit down and watch the sunrise through the window over a cup of tea.  

At around 6:30 am,  few high school boys make their way through the doors one at a time.  High fives are exchanged, stories are shared, bagels are devoured.  I catch up with these friends of mine and talk to them about life.  Sometimes I share from the Bible, sometimes we open with prayer.  No matter what, we always share time together.  I drive one or two kids to school, and then I go home and take a nap - it’s tradition.

The Bagel Shack is just a spot where I meet a bunch of boys once a week, but it’s our spot, and we’ll keep waking up early to keep it that way.

-Josh

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

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