HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
PEOPLE I LOVE WEEK
I love my YL Kids
Many moons ago, way back in school year of 1999-2000, I was involved with Young Life in Asheville. Since that time, I had been longing to be a Young Life leader again. When I moved to Texas, I got very involved with serving with my peer group at church, and I never found a way to connect with Young Life.
A year or so ago, I went to the Luis Palau festival in Houston, and went to a Young Life booth. I noticed a pretty unusual looking guy that was handing out Young Life plastic cups and dum-dums. Then, I noticed that smiling beside that guy was my friend from OEC camp days, Kelli! I hadn’t seen her in a few years. We instantly exchanged numbers, and after my duties at church subsided, I started volunteering with Young Life.
My experience with H-town Young Life has been slightly different than my days in NC. In NC, we met in parents’ plush homes that had beautiful views of the mountains. We sang lots of pop and folk songs and played games that usually involved food in a disgusting way.
In H-town, I’m a part of Urban YL. We originally met in a community center in the 4th Ward, and are now meeting in space donated by a church. The kids hate playing games in which they get dirty. We play as many clean versions of hip-hop that we can find and play it loud. So some aspects of the YL experience are different, but teens are teens. They all have struggles with relationships, school, and making decisions about life. And they all need Jesus, just like me.
This year, it’s been really great because we have more adult leaders: Edwin, Brad (the unusually looking guy that became Kelli’s husband), Kelli, Josh, Eric, and me. And I’m finally getting to know the kids. A big phrase is Young Life is “earning the right to be heard.” In other words, a kid isn’t going to listen to you if he/she knows you don’t care about connecting with him/her. They can spot a fake a million miles away.
The kids make me realize how uncool I am, but in a good way, because they point me to coolness. I’m learning new dances, new words, new brands of clothing, and the most fun thing is new ways the kids make me laugh.
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