Relationships Winter 2018

Capernaum Camp at Carolina Point » 5

Walking alongside NFL players and high school students » 9

Extraordinary man.

Extraordinary life » 13

Winter 2019 | Vol. 32 Issue 3

CHECK IT OUT!

Lowered hoops and

RAISED HOPES in North Carolina

19

Relationships

on your MOBILE DEVICE

CONTENTS | WINTER 2019

11 BEST WEEK OF YOUR LIFE 5 TAKING THE PLUNGE 9 TWO WORLDS OF THE 13 PART GRAND DESIGN 16 HER CUP OVERFLOWS 17 ABOVE AND BEYOND 19 SLAM DUNK

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 2 3 7 21 22

Young Life Lite From the President In It With Kids Passages Young Life Spoken Here

ABOUT THE COVER Smiles abound at Young Life throughout the school year! Fall weekends, ski trips, spring break service opportunities and many other activities play a part in kids tasting the good life God graciously offers to all.

Cover photo by Troy Earnest

Publisher/President Newt Crenshaw 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.

1

Executive Editor Terry Swenson

Designers Liz Knepper Autumn Komzik Diné Wiedey

Coordinator Donna McKenzie

Contributing Photographers Jodi Chesemore Lara Gale Josh Scott

Copy Editor Jessica Williams

App Developer Joann Oh

Senior Editor Jeff Chesemore

Art Director Isaac Watkins

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

younglife.org P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs CO 80901 Support Young Life at giving.younglife.org/kids

YOUNG LIFE LITE

So do no t fea am with y ou; r,, fo r I dismayed, fo r do no t be I will str ength I am your God. en you; I will uph you and help ol my righteous d you with righ — Isaiah 41:10, t hand.

N Iv Singersongwriters, Annie Lawrence and Ellie Holcomb, united in words of truth, reunite at Frontier Ranch.

By Stacy Windahl

Ellie and Annie circa June 2008.

Present-day Ellie and Annie.

This past summer, when Annie Lawrence took the stage in the club room at Frontier Ranch she was living the dream seeded in her heart in June 2008. Then, as a newly minted high school graduate, Lawrence sat in a crowded club room, night after night, watching and listening to husband and wife singer-songwriters Drew and Ellie Holcomb. The Holcombs were serving as camp musicians, their second summer playing music at a Young Life camp. During that week, Ellie participated in “Real Life,” a time when a few of the assigned team members share more of their story, providing the “who and the why” behind their roles at camp.

After hearing Holcomb’s story, Lawrence determined “she wanted to do the same thing one day,” and she asked Holcomb if they could get together and talk. Holcomb agreed. More than that, she spent free time with Lawrence throughout the week, loving her, as Lawrence says, “in a Jesus way.” Before the week ended, Holcomb gave Lawrence a journal inscribed with some of her favorite Bible verses.

The next summer, Lawrence served at Windy Gap as a lifeguard and the Holcombs were also there. It was during this time that Lawrence showed Holcomb the notebook she’d received the year before. Added to the verses Holcomb had inscribed were pages and pages of Scripture in Lawrence’s handwriting. That month, the two sat down and made a list of Scripture references. Holcomb encouraged the in-working of Scripture to defeat internalized lies with the truth of God. These truths were the singers’ “fighting words,” which they put at the top of the page. As their friendship deepened over the next decade, they memorized dozens of Bible passages, some taking weeks to master. Others taking months.

Turns out, Lawrence would need those fighting words more than ever just a few years later when she was diagnosed with cancer.

Unbeknownst to her, and highly unusual for a woman in her 20s, Lawrence had an ovarian tumor that had grown to the size of a 32-week fetus. The surgeon had believed the tumor would be benign (with less than a one percent chance

of being malignant), but surgery revealed otherwise. Once excised, the surgeon took 19 biopsies of Lawrence’s abdominal region to determine if the cancer had spread. One week later, they knew it had not. Lawrence was cancer-free.

Lawrence likens her experience to our sin condition. She says she had “symptoms of an illness, but no idea I had something growing inside that was killing me.

Something I had no power on my own to cure. The doctor did something in my life that I couldn’t do for myself.”

When Lawrence shares this story of her healing and the healing power of Jesus over sin, it’s often from a stage at a Young Life camp.

This summer she served at Frontier Ranch, exactly 10 years after meeting Holcomb, who’s now both a mentor and dear friend. Holcomb has said of their friendship, “It’s such a joy to see God grow up good things in the life of a younger person you love. It goes a step further when you get to see the person you've been walking with begin to tell her own stories of God's faithfulness and step into the role she once saw you in, to share the good news of who Jesus has been for her personally.”

This camp assignment was particularly sweet for Lawrence because she was up front singing for the girls from Nashville whom she’d walked alongside for two years. And sweeter still, when her month-long session was up, she handed the mic to her friend and inspiration, Holcomb, who would be the camp musician for the next month! A full circle moment with the one who gave her the fighting words leading Lawrence to her dream — and onto the stage at Frontier Ranch.

Listen to Annie and Ellie at AnnieLawrenceMusic.com and EllieHolcomb.com.

2

FROM THE PRESIDENT

e r ' u o Y d! invite

METHOD #5

Inviting kids to personally respond to the good news and walking in friendship with them regardless of their response.

3

With great joy and intentionality, I have been writing about Young Life’s historic values and core methods over the past several months. I would like to focus on our fifth core method: “Inviting kids to personally respond to the good news and walking in friendship with them regardless of their response.”

Let’s unpack this beautiful method which, in many ways, defines who we are at the very center of our core.

Inviting: In Young Life, we are not demanding, coercing, compelling, guilttripping, strong-arming or otherwise pushing kids to do anything! We are simply and consistently showing up in their lives and inviting them to join us. Everybody loves to be invited somewhere with someone.

Underneath this approach is the affirming message to young people: “You matter; you are somebody; we want to be with you.”

Personally respond to the good news: John 3:16 clearly lays out the good news we proclaim: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” The good news about God’s love is made tangible in His Son’s sacrifice for us. Many young people, just as clearly as adults, see the brokenness in this world. They see it in society, in their schools, in their friendships and even in their families. They see it in their own souls.

They know deep down they need a Savior.

We invite them to personally respond to this truth about God’s love, Jesus’ sacrifice and their need. It’s not complex, but it is profound. And, it changes everything when

Jesus enters a young person’s life by the power of the Holy Spirit, and then begins to transform them from the inside out.

Kids meeting Jesus gets Young Life staffers, volunteers, committee members and donors out of bed every morning to do their very best and to give all they have.

Walking in friendship: I recently read a book suggesting God does have a speed — three miles per hour! That’s how fast Jesus walked when He was on earth. The God of the universe, incarnate in His Son, walked around and made friends with all kinds of people. He was never in a hurry, and had time for those in need. We want to be like Jesus. Walking with our young friends, not being in a hurry, relating to them in real ways, bearing their burdens, listening to their fears, laughing with them, crying with them, knowing them and letting them know us.

Jesus said in John 15:13 (NIV): “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” Walking in friendship with young people often means laying down our lives in big ways and in small ways, day in and day out.

Regardless of their response: All of our inviting, sharing the good news and walking in friendship is done unconditionally. We endeavor to love the young people God brings into our lives with the same unconditional love He shows to us. God’s love for His children is not based on their response.

Thankfully! None of us respond with perfect faith and obedience to His offering of extravagant grace.

Subbing in with other assigned team members as pits crew (dishwashers)!

As Susan and I had the privilege of serving as head leaders this summer at Woodleaf Towne, our Young Life camp in Northern California, we witnessed this method being lived out — every week, even every day, yes, every hour — during our assignment. Leaders inviting kids to camp; leaders engaging kids in cabin time; leaders walking side by side with kids; leaders bearing kids’ burdens as they share their struggles; leaders praying with kids to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord; leaders going home with kids to walk with them in friendship regardless of their response.

What a highlight for us to be witnesses of God’s transforming love in kids’ lives. What an honor to serve alongside our brave and passionate leaders through whom God does His transforming work!

We want to thank and celebrate each of you for responding to the invitation to serve our Lord Jesus through Young Life in your community and around the world!

Newt and Susan Crenshaw Young Life President

p leans u Newt c

real go

od!

Newt and

Susan w assignme ith the July nt team.

4

E H T G IN

E G N U L

K A T

P

A closer look at Capernaum Camp at Carolina Point.

By S. Michal Bennett Young Life has been actively welcoming people with disabilities at club, Campaigners and camp since 1986. A Young Life leader in California, Nick Palermo, had a vision to create a place where teenagers with disabilities could expand their boundaries, enlarge their lives and experience the love of Jesus. This was Young Life Capernaum.

Most of the time, Capernaum looks like having unscheduled friendship around the gospel.

“It’s hanging out with my really good friends and talking about stuff that matters,” said Candace Conglose, full-time Capernaum staff associate in Memphis. “It’s just doing life together, from the really exciting stuff to the everyday and hard stuff.” But, sometimes, it looks like a week away from home where anything seems possible.

“Kids with disabilities have been going to Young Life camp for a lot of years,” said Pam Harmon, vice president of Capernaum. “But Nick had this idea — wouldn’t it be great if we brought 100 kids with disabilities, 100 able-bodied teenagers, and 100 leaders to a camp where we thought through the schedule and the message, and created a camp that was on-purpose for our Capernaum friends?” The first Capernaum Camp materialized at Crooked Creek in 2006, and kids with disabilities all over the country have been experiencing their own best week, personalized for them, ever since.

Adaptability Julia and Candace.

5

For traditional kids, camp is an awesome experience that takes them out of their routine and into a week of crazy activities and a distilled gospel encounter. Most of our friends with disabilities have never been away from home, even for a night, unless they’ve been with family. In fact, the prospect is often scary for both parents and kids. At Capernaum Camp, we take our friends out of their everyday and bring them to a place where they can trust they’ll be loved, cared for and heard. Then we give them an adventure like they’ve never dreamed.

“We take the Young Life camp schedule,” said Harmon, “and we adapt it for what works best for our friends with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” Club happens in the morning, when everyone is fresh and awake. Campers head to cabin time right after club so they can process the verbal proclamation of the gospel in small groups, with their leaders utilizing hands-on activities crafted to employ all their senses.

Mealtimes are longer. “The leader is often feeding many of their friends,” explained Harmon, “and we don’t want them to feel rushed.”

Going to someone’s house for dinner or out to a restaurant with friends isn’t a common occurrence in our friends’ lives. “We make mealtime at camp extra long because teens with disabilities aren’t often invited to a meal around a table with other teenagers and adults who are their friends; not paid professionals, not their therapist, not their mom or brother. We’re friends.”

Then there’s the adventure. Whether it’s the ropes course, climbing wall, giant swing, waterslide, mountain climbing, horseback riding or swimming, to name a few, every Young Life camp has found a way to make unscheduled fun happen for every kid of every ability. “If our friends want to do it, we figure out a way,” said Harmon. And in a safe, creative, thoughtful way. At Carolina Point, one of the most popular activities involves driving. At home, driving is usually not an option, but at a few of our camps, kids with disabilities can get behind the wheel of a go-kart for a thrilling taste of what most of us take for granted every day.

At camp, our friends are accompanied by their leaders and able-bodied teenagers, or “buddies.” Buddies are usually part of Capernaum club back at home; these are kids who have chosen to be a part of Capernaum for a variety of reasons. “Some just choose Young Life Capernaum as their expression of Young Life,” said Harmon. “When an able-bodied high school kid comes to Capernaum club, they get to be the hero, have responsibility, and be loved and accepted for who they are.

There aren’t a lot of places one can have the gift of that experience.” These high schoolers spend time at camp alongside our friends with disabilities and, as a result, learn more about Jesus through their friends. After their friends go to bed around 9 p.m., camp has worship time, a message based on processing their day and some fun activities for buddies, in order to care for the kids who have been helping to care for Capernaum campers all day.

It Just Clicked Candace Conglose has been hanging out with her friends for about three years, and according to her, Capernaum Camp is the best! “We do life together for a week straight. My favorite thing is the shared experience. I learned the most about my friends at camp, and they probably learned the most about me too.”

Enjoying the ropes course; celebrating the Red, White and Blue!

These high schoolers spend time at camp alongside our friends with disabilities and, as a result, learn more about Jesus through their friends."

One of Conglose's friends, Julia, almost didn’t go to camp. With a myriad of intense dietary needs, compounded by gall bladder surgery, she and her parents were extremely hesitant to send her to Carolina Point in North Carolina. Conglose connected them with the camp kitchen, who put together a menu, sent the menu to Julia’s parents beforehand and worked with them to bring Julia the best week possible, for her.

After arriving at camp, Julia was determined to jump off the diving board at the pool. Since she was using crutches most of the time to get around, this was huge for her. “I’ve jumped off the diving board a thousand times,” said Conglose, “but her legs work differently than mine. To see her jump off of something into water without fear and experience what every other kid gets to do was really cool.”

But the coolest thing about Julia’s week at Carolina Point was when she told Conglose the gospel “just clicked” for her. “It was really sweet,” said Conglose. “We don’t always get to hear that in Capernaum. Some of our friends don’t use words to express anything, so we have to trust that the Holy Spirit is doing the work. Camp was a game changer for her.” On the way home on the bus, Conglose glanced back and Julia was 120 pages deep into the new Bible every friend received at camp. When they got back, she told all her friends who couldn’t go about her time at camp and read that same Bible to her friends in Campaigners.

“I feel really grateful to be a little part of Julia’s story in meeting Jesus,” said Conglose.

“It’s really sweet to look back on all the people who came alongside me and did whatever possible to get me to the feet of Jesus, and then to do that for someone else. It’s been such an honor that her parents would trust me, that they see something different in Young Life Capernaum and trust us enough to take their ‘heart’ away to camp for a week.”

6

IN IT WITH KIDS! My leader listened to me. She asked me follow-up questions, but didn’t just give me the answers. In the end, this relationship with God was my own discovery with the help of my leader.

I started to notice a change. A change in my values and my friendships. It is still a work in process but I just know something is working inside me.

I'm thinking it's Jesus.

— Dana, Traverse City, Michigan Dana and her leader, Cristy Lindstrom.

What this organization has done for me is insane. I recently went to Crooked Creek and it changed my life. Before attending Crooked Creek I had only been to two clubs. I was not a very religious person going into camp at all. I had been hurt by the church and grew up thinking God hated me and I would never be enough for Him or the people who follow Him. On the first night of camp I was so overwhelmed with love and acceptance. After club that night I asked my Young Life leader if she would help me accept God into my life.

In a few short minutes I was ugly crying and asking the Lord to enter back into my life and show me the world in His light. I was never more sure of anything in my life. I looked around camp that day and saw how great life can be when following the Lord. I wanted to experience that so I accepted the Lord into my life for good.

For the rest of the week I was shown sign after sign that God was with me. Leaving camp was very hard as I knew I wouldn't be able to return again as a camper, but I left with the most precious gift I've ever gotten, the Lord’s love. Every day since I got home I've been spending time with the Lord getting to know Him and what He has in store for me. As I returned back to normal life I was quickly overwhelmed with the stress of work and the worry of leaving for college soon, but sure

7

enough I just opened up my Bible and let the Lord tell me how to handle it. I have never felt such ease so quick. I give Young Life the credit for changing my life and showing me that no matter where I have been in my life, God was always waiting for me and He has and will always have endless love for me. I wanted to thank y'all for having an organization that can give that to kids, and show kids the love of the Lord. Thank you!

— Allison, Round Rock, Texas

Allison with her leader, McKenzie Jones, at Crooked Creek.

I want to tell you my story of how I came to Young Life club and God. I have an older brother, Bogdan. He was visiting club for a long time. I was always interested where he went.

But my parents didn't allow me to go to club.

One time Young Life did a club for parents. I came with my mother. I was amazed, I liked it.

In summer I came to WyldLife camp with my leader, Yana.

I was thinking about Jesus, but I did not choose to live with Him. I did choose this at winter camp. After camp I started to help on the WyldLife team. My life had changed. I have close friends who support me. I think about important things. I got rid of bad habits.

I overcame fear — public speaking. I have a sense of the real life — to serve God. Most of all I am happy that God is in my life. He loves me and forgives me.

— Alona, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine

Alona and her mom.

Jose grew up in Arraijan, near one of the newest Young Life clubs in Panama. He was known in the neighborhood for being serious, quiet and harboring a hatred for his abusive late father.

While on the soccer field, Jose used to observe from afar the craziness of Young Life club, thinking his friends were acting silly.

When it came time for camp, since all of his friends were going, he decided to go as well; at least he would get to play soccer, he thought.

During camp he slowly opened up and shared the pain he was holding inside toward his late father. Jose surrendered his life to the Lord there. Jose came back from camp and joined a Bible study with his leader, Ever. As Jose has grown in a relationship with Jesus, he has found forgiveness and extended forgiveness to his father as well. He also has changed from the serious, quiet one to one full of joy and encouraging others at Young Life. He gained a lot more from camp than a weekend playing soccer. He gained a new life with Jesus.

Jose is pictured with his leader, Ever, and friend, Deilyn, who also went to camp and is growing in her faith.

Jose is pictured with his leader, Ever, and friend, Deilyn, who also went to camp and is growing in her faith.

— Aldo J. Felix, Panama

8

One leader's unique role walking alongside NFL players and high school students.

By Jeff Chesemore Fair warning: don’t be surprised if one day you find yourself sitting in a movie theater watching The Ben Malcolmson Story. Seemingly made for Hollywood, this 33-year-old’s journey is an underdog tale with plot twists galore. The subtitle to his best-selling book, Walk On, says it all: From Pee Wee Dropout to the NFL Sidelines – My Unlikely Story of Football, Purpose, and Following an Amazing God. In a matter of only a few years, Malcolmson went from college sports reporter to University of Southern California football walk-on to the personal assistant to Pete Carroll, head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

Without giving away any spoilers, one of the book’s biggest surprises actually happens at Malcolmson’s first encounter with Young Life — an informational meeting for potential volunteers — when he was 25 and new to the Seattle area. This is where the book concludes and where we begin.

What were your initial impressions of Young Life?

Young Life people are a unique breed. (Laughs) They’re so full of joy and energy; they’re magnetic. And when I walked in, never having experienced Young Life before, I was instantly

9

drawn to it. I wanted to jump in because of the people who were there. It takes a special person to be a leader, and there were definitely unique personalities there! With such a warm, inviting atmosphere, it’s no wonder kids gravitate toward it.

Describe your Mercer Island Young Life team.

Our team is youthful and vibrant. Being involved for eight years now, we’re starting to have some of our early Young Life kids become volunteer leaders.

For eight years I lived with a bunch of guy leaders in a house on Mercer Island. It’s amazing to have the community with those guys, but also see it overflow into the lives of students. Every day there’s something at the house: Bible studies, meals, club, Campaigners.

That house blesses so many people.

What have you learned from your fellow leaders?

Stop striving so much and live out of the love of God. That doesn’t mean you sit on the couch.

You still go out there and let His light shine, but it’s not coming out of this place of desperation and trying to fill these holes in your life. It’s

coming out of a place of overflow; God is at work and we’re not going to force His hand.

That’s been a constant journey for me and I still have a long way to go, but it’s been really cool.

How does your work with the Seahawks inform your work with Young Life and vice versa?

Great question! The Seahawks job is an instant connection with people. I don’t talk about it outside work, but when Young Life kids introduce me to their friends, that becomes an instant bridge. I bring the Young Life kids into my world when I can, showing them “behind the curtain.” I like bringing them into places they wouldn’t be able to go to otherwise.

On the flip side, being a Young Life leader has had a huge impact on my work. It’s kept me youthful and in tune with what younger people are into, because a lot of our players are only a few years older than our Young Life kids. So the things Coach Carroll and I do, it’s so vital that we’re in tune with what’s relevant in the world, especially in the world of young people.

How are you able to navigate your full-time job with the demands of volunteering?

For me it’s not even a burden. That’s when you know God’s hand is on it. He’s called me to this place and I don’t stress out about how much time in the day there is to do it. God opens up doors and as the saying goes, “You make time for what’s important.”

For example, I could be on the road for a game, but I can connect many times throughout the day with Young Life guys because they’re on their phones all the time. Whether that’s texting, Instagram or Snapchat, when used correctly, these are incredible ministry tools for connection and relationship that older generations — mine included — shrug off.

What does a “typical” workday look like for you?

I get to work between six and seven, so it’s easy to get a full day in before Young Life club starts.

It’s hard, though, when we have a weekend road trip and we’ll get back at 2 a.m. on Monday, then you turn around and have a full workday and head out that night to club. There’s some days where I’m definitely dragging to club, but those kids put a fire into you and the energy of club wakes you up!

I’ve made a conscious effort to have boundaries, rest more and leave earlier in the day. That’s opened up more opportunities and allowed me to be more present at Young Life events.

So we should “pray against” Monday Night games?

(Laughs) Not only Monday night games, but Monday night road games! When we have those we don’t get home until 3 a.m. and it’s brutal.

But fewer Monday night games would be great so I can be at club more!

Are you able to get away and take kids to Malibu or the other camps?

Yes, I’ve been fortunate to do that, and it’s the biggest treat. We say it’s the best week of your life and it is. As campers or leaders — it creates bonds you’ll have the rest of your life. Our Campaigners group from five years ago just got together and as we were sitting there talking about Malibu, we could remember all the little moments so vividly.

Those connections we still share are so real because of camp, and those kids’ lives will never be the same.

So you got married this summer?

Ben with Pete Carroll.

Yes, and in some ways Young Life is responsible for me meeting my wife, Brittney. She was a leader in Edmonds, Washington, and another volunteer leader set us up on a blind date about a year ago. And, well, when you know, you know!

How long do you see yourself being a part of Young Life?

I hope to be involved in some form or fashion for the rest of my life. It’s developed me and my character and my relationship with God. It’s opened my eyes to His faithfulness. Young Life has given infinitely more to me than I’ve ever given to Young Life. It’s a unique ministry with such an incredible impact on people — kids, leaders, staff, families and the ripple effects from there.

Ben Malcolmson is one of thousands of alumni intimately involved with Young Life.

To visit the Alumni and Friends website, join, update your information and reconnect with your Young Life friends, go to alum.yl.org. His book, Walk On, is available at Amazon and other online retailers.

10

Best Week of Your Life at

LAKE CHAMPION! This summer, we invited you into the magic, beauty and freedom that is Young Life camp during our Best Week of Your Life campaign on Young Life’s social media channels!

Eight months prior to this summer’s campaign, we asked Young Life’s social media followers what Young Life meant to them in one word. The overwhelming response was, “Home” — a place that felt welcoming, inviting and authentic.

As a result, with Lake Champion (our camp in Glen Spey, New York) as the backdrop for this summer’s campaign, we set out to discover what makes Young Life camp feel like home.

Within a few seconds of being at camp, it’s not hard to see the great symphony of instruments at play in giving young people a sense of belonging.

Lake Champion’s property staff works

FOLLOW US

11

By Alex Lewis

@younglife @younglife

throughout the year to make camp look and feel as welcoming as possible.

Work crew and summer staff volunteers create an environment where young people can leave their baggage at the door and step into a camp experience that’s safe, fun and worthwhile.

The program team holds space for kids to play and laugh, destroying walls that once stood strong — all giving campers permission to open their ears and hear from the camp speaker about a God who loves them and wants to be friends with them.

And, ultimately, it’s all setting Young Life leaders up to ensure that what happens at camp doesn’t stay there. They return home with kids and walk alongside them just as they did before.

For a more in-depth look at what makes Young Life camp feel like home, check out our video blogs from the week on Young Life’s Facebook, YouTube and IGTV channels!

@younglife

Young Life

younglife

Clockwise from top left: Arriving at camp; one incredible team; enjoying the view from his teammate's shoulders; preparing for the zipline; hilarity during pyramid building.

12

PART O F

THE

N G I S E D D N GRA Meet George Mastny. Extraordinary man, extraordinary life.

By Jeff Chesemore If you’ve ever stepped foot on a Young Life camp, odds are you’ve enjoyed some time in one of George Mastny’s creations. From club rooms to dining halls to dorms, he’s quietly helped design some of Young Life’s most iconic buildings. He accomplished some of this during his 35-year career as an architect, but the majority came in retirement. From his late 60s to early 80s, Mastny volunteered his extraordinary design talents to Young Life; overall he worked on 42 structures and saved the mission hundreds of thousands in design costs.

Mastny’s selfless service to Young Life is reason enough to celebrate the man. However, spend a few minutes in the 97-year-old’s company, and you’ll discover this is but the tip of the iceberg in a remarkable life.

Servant A cold northern Minnesota morning, February 24, 1921, marked the birth of George Mastny. It was a different kind of harshness, though, that followed him for the next 18 years.

“Our family broke up when I was four years old,” Mastny said. “Six of the seven kids went to an orphanage in Minnesota. In those days they sent kids out as indentured servants, and you were expected to earn your keep. I grew up working on a farm until I was 18.”

Upon his emancipation, Mastny left and spent a year with the Civil Conservation corps, where he helped build 100-foot lookout towers, made maps of lakes and studied soils.

In 1940, he enrolled in the Army Air Force. Given the option of leaving for Hawaii or the Philippines, Mastny chose Hawaii. Next stop: Pearl Harbor.

13

Soldier On the morning of December 7, 1941, Mastny and his fellow mechanics were on guard duty in a tent city on Hickam Field. The men heard loud blasts in the distance and assumed nearby Navy pilots were in training exercises — that is until they saw dive bombers “with the red balls painted on their wings.”

“It happened so quickly, you didn’t have time to think about what you were feeling,” Mastny recalled. “Our instincts were to just grab our Springfield (single shot!) rifles. The dive bombers came in pretty close, so we hid behind our tents and tried to hit them at the end of their dive. I don’t know if we hit ’em or not. I suspect not.”

The morning attack claimed the lives of 189 men at Hickam. All day the soldiers waited for an invasion they were sure was coming; when that didn’t happen, they prepared themselves for action. “I came back to the United States where after training, I qualified to be a flight engineer on a B-29.”

Mastny stayed in the Army until war’s end, and upon reflection considers himself fortunate to have been at Pearl Harbor. “I’m lucky I didn’t go to the Philippines back in 1940; I’d have been in the Bataan Death March.”

Scholar In 1945, with the war behind him, Mastny joined the millions enrolling in college through the GI Bill.

“I was going to study aeronautical engineering, but there were so many going into that field I thought I better find something else.

I was strong in math and art, so I decided to become an architect. I didn’t even know what an architect was!"

Mastny attended the University of Minnesota, where he met the love of his life, Pat. A former Navy nurse, she was pursuing her own degree in nursing and teaching. They married in August 1948 and graduated two years later.

Mastny credits Pat with introducing him to the Lord. “Where I grew up, nobody went to church or prayed or anything. She took me to church and got me on track!”

The college graduate embarked upon his career in architecture and his talent did not go unnoticed. Along with buildings, shopping malls and other structures, he can even count designing a house for famed Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz among his many accomplishments.

In the late ’60s when the four Mastny kids encountered Young Life, so did George and Pat. Echoing the statement of countless adults in the mission’s 77-year history, Mastny said, “We didn’t know what Young Life was but our

George in 1944 when he served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. children got involved and so did we.”

George and Pat began by volunteering on the local committee in Minnetonka, Minnesota; when their two daughters, Kathy and Kristin, served on work crew at Castaway Club, the Mastnys became even more deeply involved with the mission. In the early ’70s, Mastny met Dave Carlson, the camp manager who would eventually become Young Life’s vice president of Camping.

The two shared a mutual love for Christ, kids and construction; soon Mastny’s architectural firm was working on Castaway’s dining hall, dorms and other structures.

“The relationship grew into a real friendship, one I deeply appreciate to this day,” said Carlson. “George is an excellent listener, which helped him clarify needs the Young Life camps had; he knew the quality we were striving for, the limited financial capacities and the stewardship we want to extend to our donors. As a donor and committee member, he had such respect for the donor and their dollar, so his designs always had a quality look but without an extravagant cost. George set the Camping department on a great course and he’s why our camps are where they are today in terms of quality.”

Steward Mastny retired in 1987 after nearly four decades of architecture, but the Master Architect still had some designs for Mastny and Young Life.

“When I retired I thought I’d help out a little bit, and then quite a number of camps called me!” laughed Mastny. “But I loved it. Those 14 years were the best years of our lives because of the people in Young Life. We enjoyed becoming friends with camp managers and staff. Pat was a people person; she related to the staff and spent a lot of time with them. She was also a nurse, so if they didn’t have a doctor during the Continued on page 15.

“

I know we are saved by faith and not by works.

The work I do is in response for all He has done for me in my life. Looking back, I can see He was ever-present and keeping me alive and out of trouble."

14

Continued from page 14. time we were at camp, she became the camp nurse.”

The couple traveled from camp to camp, pulling up in their fifth wheel and setting up shop. “I had a drawing table inside and we’d just camp there and do the work.”

In all, Mastny worked on 14 camps: Castaway Club, Crooked Creek Ranch, Frontier Ranch, Lake Champion, Lost Canyon, Oakbridge, Rockbridge Alum Springs, Saranac Village, Southwind, Trail West Lodge, Timber Wolf Lake, Windy Gap, Wilderness Ranch and Woodleaf!

Every project was a challenge, said Mastny.

“But the most interesting and complicated designs involved two buildings at Frontier — the dining room and the club room. We needed to double the size of the buildings, but still keep them under operation while they were built. For the dining hall, working mostly during winter months, we cut a hole in the roof for the new columns and set them down through the hole!

That was a fun project.”

In 2002, Pat was diagnosed with bone cancer. “With her illness, I couldn’t be away, so that’s when I stopped working for Young Life.”

Mastny cared for Pat at home, where she died nine years later. “It was a privilege to be able to take care of her to the end.”

Dave Carlson remains effusive in his praise for Mastny. “The biggest gift was watching how he and Pat gave of themselves and never expected a favor in return; just give, give, give.

As wonderful, encouraging, older mentors for Mary and me, they were real people who walked through life holding hands with Christ.

George is a guy you can only love!”

When it’s suggested that thousands of kids have probably given their lives to Jesus sitting on a porch or in a club room he designed, Mastny simply smiles and responds with typical

15

humility. “I was blessed. The best years of my life were when I was working for Young Life.

We grew through Young Life!”

Student

George, today, in front of some of his paintings.

Today Mastny continues to “do Young Life” through building relationships in his own quiet way. He shares his love for art by teaching a watercolor class for his fellow residents in his Littleton, Colorado, apartment complex.

“I have eight students in my class and we had over 100 pieces of work in the winter show.”

When not teaching painting, Mastny has another way of connecting with his neighbors — he makes a mean cheesecake! “Often, I have three different people over, and we talk over cheesecake! I have about eight different recipes.

Last week was cherry chocolate!”

This love for people springs out of a teachable spirit. “I have a quick verse program on my computer with over 100 books. Every day I use seven books: three on devotions, two Bibles and two commentaries. To get this done before Pat woke up I started getting up at four in the morning. I developed this as a habit. I still get up at four and spend an hour and a half to two hours in prayer and study every morning before breakfast.

“I know we are saved by faith and not by works. The work I do is in response for all He has done for me in my life. Looking back, I can see He was ever-present and keeping me alive and out of trouble. I made plans for my life. He has made changes I was so disappointed with at the time, but at this point I can see how much better they were than what I had planned. May any work I’ve done be all to His Glory.”

Mantee dining hall at Frontier Ranch.

A leader pours into the life of her friend.

By Leslie Strader

Mari and Meg, wearing a scarf shirt Mari made to sell to help raise money for camp; Mari drinking coffee at Meg's house Coffee and Costa Rica are like sunshine and Florida — you can’t think of one without the other. And so it goes with Mari Jimenez and Young Life. Ever since she met University of Costa Rica (UCR) staff leader Meg Huffman, Mari and the ministry have been inseparable.

Casa Café and Beyond

“

I realized that day she actually cared about my life, and she really wanted to hear what I had to say. She was showing me God's love without saying it.”

As a freshman at UCR in October of 2016, Mari was on the wrong path. She was a believer, but family circumstances and poor choices pulled her away from her spiritual roots. Then one afternoon, her phone rang.

“I was at the bus stop going home, and my friend called and said she had just met Meg and they were drinking coffee together,” Mari said.

“She asked if I wanted to join them. Since I love making new friends and I love coffee, I decided to go.”

Young Life University hadn’t officially launched at UCR, but since they live right across the street from the university, Meg and her husband, Jon, who is also on staff, started opening their home every Wednesday afternoon for “Casa Café” — a time to drink coffee, study, play games or just hang out.

“They didn’t really mention Young Life specifically,” Mari recalled. “I kept going because they were very kind and wanted to hear about me. In some way, I felt special to them.”

Case Café eventually wound down for the semester, but Meg continued to pursue Mari.

She asked if she’d like to keep meeting.

“I didn’t know why she would want to spend time with me, but I agreed,” Mari said. “I realized that day she actually cared about my life, and she really wanted to hear what I had to say. She was showing me God’s love without saying it.”

“I knew she had faith, but needed time to grow,” Meg said. “We’d meet, study the Bible and

pray. I saw her as a potential leader, but also a friend. I saw her grow in her faith, and it was profound growth in a short period of time.”

Loving Like Jesus Mari attended her first official Young Life event in February 2017 — a National Mega club with 600 kids — a month before the launch of the first Costa Rica Young Life University club.

“I enjoyed every second of it,” she said. “They called me up to the front and I had to dance in front of everyone, but I felt it was the place where I belonged. After that, Meg asked if I wanted to begin Young Life leader training.”

Since then, Mari’s love for Jesus, her Young Life girls and the ministry has grown by leaps and bounds. She’s attended two leader camps and served at five high school camps as a leader, photographer and musician.

A full-time student who commutes three hours to and from school each day, Mari sews and makes jewelry for camp scholarship money.

“She has a love for those girls. She invests in them in a way that models how Jesus invested in His disciples. She wants to walk alongside them in everything they do,” Meg said. “She knows how her relationship with Jesus has impacted her life, and she wants the same for her friends.”

“I never truly experienced Jesus’ love until people in Young Life started loving me in an unconditional way,” Mari said. “As a leader, I am amazed how God loves others through me. I have many ways to love and much love to give because I had more than a year of being loved by Meg and other Young Life leaders.

“After I met Meg, I started serving and loving God in so many ways, not only in Young Life, but in my own life. Meg saw more than I could see.”

16

&

Above

BEY ND

Barbara and Jim Beré.

Jack Fortin had invited Jim Beré to Castaway to get his financial support for a pair of hot tubs. The camp had seen remarkable growth in recent years, and with more kids on property, the infrastructure needed to grow, particularly around the pool. Beré, however, wanted to talk about a fence.

“What in the world does he want to talk about the fence for?” Fortin thought. The fence, Fortin explained, was reinforced with specialized, weatherproofed railroad ties planted six feet into the ground. “I wanted a fence strong enough that if a car went around that curve it wouldn’t kill a kid while he was playing soccer,” Fortin told Beré.

Beré nodded, and quickly turned their talk back to the hot tubs. “Jack,” Beré said, “if you build lives as strong as that fence, it’s worth it to me to give you the money.”

This small snapshot captures only a portion of the legacy Jim and Barbara Beré built within Young Life for more than 40 years. Jim died in 1992, and with Barb’s passing this past April, their light of faith and generosity continues in the lives of their five children and 16 grandchildren.

Leading by Example Jim Beré Jr., their oldest child, remembers how much the practice of faith played a role as they grew up in Hinsdale, Illinois. “If there was anything that looked like a Christian organization, smelled like a Christian organization, we were going to be involved,” he said. “Mom would be the one to make sure we

17

One family’s legacy of faith and generosity.

By Travis Johnson

all went. We all loved doing it.”

The Berés soon began holding club at their house. “Seeing the impact Young Life can have on others added to their spiritual lives,” recalled Jim Jr.’s brother, David. “They were [already] very committed to the faith, but Young Life brought it more to the heart.”

Sue Beré, who married Jim Jr. in 1976, remembers Barb’s care in particular when she attended club at the Beré home as a young woman herself. “Barb was so cheerful and gracious and loving,” said Sue. “I would go into the kitchen and sit on the stool and just talk to her.”

Watching the mission play such a powerful role in their children’s lives inspired Jim and Barb to take a more active role.

“Chicago has benefited extremely from their leadership and involvement both in the city and suburbs,” said Brett Hersma, senior vice president of the Midwestern Division. “They have been extreme advocates for work in the city, and kids in multiethnic communities.”

Jim Beré built his professional career as a strong leader in many businesses, most notably as president and CEO of BorgWarner. Exposure to Chicago’s needs and resources required to keep ministry alive in urban centers inspired the Berés in 1982 to create a fund that could help sustain multiethnic programs. Since 1982, the Beré Fund has given out more than $2 million to multiethnic areas in need.

Jim’s service eventually led him to serve on the Young Life Board of Trustees from 1971 to 1990. “We just watched them give themselves as a family so completely to the mission,” said Fortin, who served as vice president of the Midwestern Division during much of that time.

“It was Jim who said, ‘If you would help my kids understand their role philanthropically and just being young people ... whatever you could do to support them, I in turn will give you my number to my desk at BorgWarner, and I will teach you everything I know about leadership.’”

Carrying Onward In 1992, Jim Beré died of a sudden heart attack.

While the loss shook the entire family, Barb took great care to ensure the work he began would continue.

“Barb and Jim operated very much as a couple,” Sue said, “but it became her story too.”

“His death was a tough transition,” David remembered. “But boy, [Mom] really came into her own after Dad died. She continued the attitude of giving. She talked about it a lot not only to us, but also her grandkids. She loved to see how the ministries were doing, and she loved to give.”

As the years progressed, Barb’s involvement with Young Life continued in a variety of supportive roles, inspiring two generations in the meantime. “Several of their kids have served locally on the committee,” said Hersma. “Many of their grandkids were involved in Young Life in Chicago and Wisconsin.”

Sue, who today serves on the Young Life Board of Trustees, considers Barb a primary influence. “One of the biggest privileges of my life is to be on the board and see the global vision of Young Life, and I am grateful to her and the Lord for that privilege,” said Sue. “When I became regional director in Chicago in 2003, she was one of the people I got to know and developed a great friendship with her,” said Hersma.

“The theme of our conversations were always related to how she could help Young Life in the city. She was always asking about our staff — are they being taken care of, how’s ministry happening there? As she got older, she trusted me to care for them well and was always happy to support.”

“Giving was very important to Mom and Dad, and Mom continued it up to literally a few hours before her death,” David remembered. “About five or six hours before she died, she pulled me aside and said, ‘I want to make sure all the giving we’ve planned happens. I want you to make sure it happens.’

So her dying words were that she would fulfill her commitments.”

“They have had a multi-generational presence of ministry in Hinsdale,” Hersma said. “[Jim and Barb] were proud of the Beré Fund. She was happy it was designed to be a gift that kept on giving.”

Barbara Beré died April 24, 2018. The torch she and Jim carried together keeps cherished memories warm with affection. “You always knew you were loved,” Jim Jr. said. “You always knew what you wanted to pursue or do, they would support. And in the context of family, everybody was successful.

They loved everybody, and they loved the paths we chose. That gift is pretty neat.”

ary

ilit M e f i L g Youn

d

Hero Fun

While John is serving overseas, his teenagers navigate the challenges of fear for their dad, making new friends and figuring out who they are in their ever-changing world.

Knowing caring adults invest in his kids while he is away, John gives sacrificially to Club Beyond.

Now you can double John's gift by investing in the Hero Fund. The Hero Fund will match every dollar an active duty service member contributes to Club Beyond.

TO DOUBLE YOUR GIFT, GO TO ...

https://giving.younglife.org/herofund

For more information, email info@military.younglife.org

18

Lowering hoops and raising hopes.

By Bethany Bradsher

“

Last summer I realized how much God loves me. This summer at Young Life camp I realized how much I should love God because of what He did for me.”

— WillB

19

Many fans might consider June the slowest month on the sports calendar, especially in a hoops-centric state like North Carolina. But one volunteer Young Life leader and a handful of high school boys in Winston-Salem created their own high-stakes sports league, an idea that went from a casual conversation to a 12-team competitive schedule in just a few weeks.

For Colson Streitmatter and three dozen players primarily from R. J. Reynolds High School, this summer was transformed by the North Carolina Low Hoops Basketball Association (NCLHBA), an organized endeavor that fed their love of low hoops basketball and allowed Streitmatter the opportunity to be part of something memorable in the lives of his high school friends.

It started at the typical post-club hangout spot for Reynolds Young Life — Chick-fil-A. Streitmatter sat with a group of guys that included Jack Peatross and Fred Bland, and they were talking about summer plans. Streitmatter, a junior at Wake Forest University who is from Palm Harbor, Florida, told the guys he was looking forward to staying in Winston-Salem through the summer and having plenty of opportunities to play pick-up basketball.

“Basketball has always been a very central element of my life,” he said. “My first word was ‘hoop,’ my second word was ‘ball,’ and then I said, ‘Mom.’ I said I was excited to play pick-up again, but what if we made it organized, with an actual league and teams? I thought it would be really cool to see kids actually be kids and not feel any pressure to be cool or anything.”

Tip Off Streitmatter started the ball rolling, and almost immediately the Reynolds students picked it up and started dreaming about what the NCLHBA, so named because they would compete only on eight-and-a-half-foot goals, could be. They’d have a draft, and an organized schedule, complete with an All-Star Weekend and playoffs. They’d give end-of-season awards including a Young Life camp scholarship. And they would get the whole thing going in less than a month.

Word spread, and soon they had enough interest to form 12 teams of three players each, with the vast majority coming from Reynolds High School. The teams would be divided into the Chris Paul Conference and the Tim Duncan Conference

to honor the two most acclaimed players ever to come out of Wake Forest, which in addition to being Streitmatter’s university was the place where the NCLHBA would play most of its games. On May 6 the captains gathered at Buffalo Wild Wings to draft their three-man rosters.

Throughout the six-week season, the NCLHBA leaders maintained an active social media presence, especially on Twitter. Players unable to make it to the draft were treated to a real-time thread of each draft pick. The immediacy of social media was a key tool in creating and sustaining “the league.” As the season progressed, the players, their friends and family members knew where to go for scores, stats, highlight videos, polls, predictions and even pre-game interviews. The Twitter account went a long way to raise the league’s profile, said Peatross, who along with Streitmatter handled most of the posting.

“It was really cool because we were tweeting stuff out at first and we figured it would just be our friends, and then we started tweeting a bunch, and a bunch of our friends’ moms started following us, and then a bunch of random people,” said Peatross.

The NCLHBA Twitter feed comprises a comprehensive scrapbook of the league’s inaugural season. Special events included a dunk contest and three-point contest organized as part of the league’s All-Star Break, a weekly captains’ vote for the Player of the Week, and a “trade day” two weeks into the season. From late May to early July, the teams battled each other, and in the championship game Wheaties defeated Team Serenity 89-81 to capture the inaugural NCLHBA title.

Pivot The players voted for a slate of postseason awards, but the one with the most potential for long-term eternal consequence was the Andrew Larsen Man of the Year Award, named after a former Reynolds Young Life leader and given for exceptional character and sportsmanship.

The winner of that distinction, "WillB," received a free trip to Carolina Point, with the bus departing less than a week after the NCLHBA season ended.

WillB had gone to SharpTop Cove in 2017, but during his second camp trip, underwritten by the NCLHBA, God’s love broke through in a significant way. Streitmatter was a leader in his cabin, and he was able to see WillB begin a relationship with Christ. “One of the things he said to me really painted a picture of what the Young Life experience is: ‘Last summer I realized how much God loves me. This summer at Young Life camp I realized how much I should love God because of what He did

for me.’”

That vivid God-sighting, along with the scores of new connections Streitmatter developed through the NCLHBA, speak the loudest about the league’s extraordinary potential for a basketball-crazy Young Life leader and his guys who love nothing more than a steady dose of friendly competition. The founders of the league have already scheduled a fall tournament in November, because nobody wants to wait until next summer to take the court again.

Hang Time Streitmatter, who also got to compete in the league, knows he could go to the high school parking lot for years and still not forge the quality and number of friendships he made during that short basketball season.

“Frankly, it was really fun for me,” he said.

“There was a whole lot of contact work done.”

And the high school guys who helped coordinate the NCLHBA know the connections formed between their Young Life leader and their friends will have Kingdom effects that outlast the memories of intense low-ball competition in the heat of a North Carolina summer.

“We weren’t really having club during the season, but in my opinion more people will start coming to club who were in the league,” said Bland, one of the NCLHBA founders. “Some people didn’t really know Colson at all, and others had just heard of him. And I feel like some of the people who came into the league really bonded with him, and bonded with him pretty well.”

Colson, left, in the top picture with just a few of the great friends he’s made in their low hoops league.

20

PASSAGES

Billy Branch

By Jeff Chesemore

February 3, 1928 – September 16, 2018 On September 16, Billy Branch entered into the presence of his Lord and Savior. Branch was a faithful member of the board for 14 years (1990-2004) and elected Trustee Emeritus in 2004.

That alone is enough to honor this faithful man, but there is so much more.

In the early ’90s, due to the increasing growth in field ministry and the overcapacity in Young Life camps, there was a great need to find another camp on the East Coast. In a 2004 Relationships article, Branch said, “We knew we would have to have additional camp beds to keep growth going.”

Dave Carlson, former vice president of camping recalled the years of searching for the next camp. “Billy, Lee Corder and I started looking around Virginia for another camp to try to have an equal distribution of camps down the eastern seaboard.”

Upon their discovery of Rockbridge Alum Springs, an historic 273-acre property with aging structures and overgrown brush and foliage, Branch demonstrated great vision and enthusiasm. “I thought, ‘This works. This could be a great camp.’”

He was a driving force behind the mission’s acquisition of Rockbridge in 1992, Corder said. “If it was not for the Lord using Billy Branch, we may never have built Rockbridge. He drove that vision from the very beginning and was there continually to make sure it unfolded with both quality and fiscal discipline. I believe that over a quarter million young people, who never met him, share an unspoken gratitude for what he helped create at that beautiful place.”

Branch was faithful on the local level, too. Besides his generosity as a donor, he hosted the Roanoke, Virginia, Young Life office in his building for many years, and generously shared his wisdom with young staff and volunteers throughout the years.

Our prayers are with Branch’s wife of 66 years, Betty; his eight children; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A miss Join usion trip like n in cari at cam ng forone other. p for t c een m hildren oms.

goyounglives.younglife.org IMPACTING TEEN MOMS. SHAPING GENERATIONS.

21

YOUNG LIFE SPOKEN HERE

YOUNG LIFE’S MISSION IN

RUSSIA

EST. 1989

The work began in 1989, with the first student exchange between the United States and Russia. A 15-year-old high school student from St. Petersburg, Zhenya Pustoshkina, heard the gospel for the first time; in college, she helped launch the first clubs in St. Petersburg and Moscow. After graduating from law school in the mid-’90s, she became the first regional director of Russia. Under her leadership, ministry has grown from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. What began in the great cities of St. Petersburg, Moscow and Krasnodar, has expanded into 60 clubs in 17 cities.

The most recent growth explosion is in Siberia. God worked miraculously in the life of Sukhrab, bringing him out of a long battle with drug addiction. An incredible leader, he’s now started Young Life in the most remote part of eastern Russia. In only four years he’s expanded the ministry from a single club in Novokuznetsk to 11 clubs in four cities. There are eight time zones across Siberia and Sukhrab is determined to take Young Life to every one of them!

Moscow

Please pray for this amazing country and the work God’s doing here.

BY THE NUMBERS

604 Volunteers

Zhenya Pustoshkina

3,140

Kids at club each week across Russia

16,454

Kids reached in Russia this past year

22

NONPROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE

PAID Young Life

P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs, CO 80901 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

PLAY

1. We select students from developing countries with leadership potential.

2. You sponsor their college education and Christian leadership training.

3. They change their culture for Christ and "Thanks to the DGL program and Young Life, I can be a friend to these orphans, these teens."

— Alyssa, Ukraine DGL Student

code to Scan the QR 's story. hear Alyssa

start a Young Life club.

$3,300/year ($275/mo) for four years provides a university degree, a part-time job and breaks the cycle of poverty in their lives.

To sponsor a student today:

dgl.younglife.org 1-833-835-8572

info@ylgloballeaders.org