Relationships Spring 2010

Relationships SPRING 2010

Young Life Haiti helps those in heartbreak. pg. 5 Age is no barrier for a leader reaching out to kids. pg. 9 A Capernaum kid in Peru learns his true worth. pg. 17

CONTENTS NOU KAPAB! (“WITH GOD WE CAN”)

5

How Young Life in Haiti continues its thriving outreach of hope in the midst of tragedy.

SPRING 2010

FEATURE

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A TRAGEDY’S MIRACLE A leader’s patient commitment brings healing to a high school friend.

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AM I WORTH IT? A young man learns his worth in God’s eyes.

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MY INSPIRATIONAL HERO One eighth-grader’s class assignment praising her teacher/ WyldLife leader.

EVERY ISSUE

2 From the President 3 In Your Own Words 4 Young Life Lite 8 Young Life Online 13 From the Grapevine 20 Passages 22 Parting Shots

SPRING 2010 / 1

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A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS Will you still need me, will you still lead me, when you’re 64?

ABOUT THE COVER Friendship and adventure. These are two of the most important ingredients in the Young Life “recipe.” From sending each other off the Blob into the lake to enduring the “Screamer” swing (like this one at Young Life’s Washington Family Ranch in Antelope, Ore.), kids experience fantastic thrills together. And while they grow in their knowledge of both themselves and their friends, they also grow in their knowledge of the God who has created everything (even friendship and adventure!).

Photo by Kathi Inglesby Photo by Brian Orlovich

FROM THE PRESIDENT A FRUITFUL ANALOGY

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n the houses I’ve lived in over the years, I’ve been blessed “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved to have or live near apple, cherry, apricot, orange and you” (15:12). Consistently loving others is as tough as being lemon trees. During that time, I’ve never seen a branch obedient. Again, it’s a Holy Spirit thing. Only the Spirit that bore fruit while lying on the ground, disconnected from can enable us to love others as we should. To understand the trunk. It just didn’t happen. And when a branch had how better to love, we must study Jesus. He was the true fallen, you simply picked it up and threw it out. Its fruitexpression of grace and truth. His love was not sweet bearing days were over. and syrupy. He extended grace but was also honest and

Jesus was the master of the word picture. He talked confrontational. In situation after situation, He put others about fruitfulness with His disciples and used the analogy first. We are called to do the same. of the vine and the There are two other ways branches. In John 15:8, He to remain. said, “This is to my Father’s Don’t begrudge the glory, that you bear much pruning process in our fruit, showing yourselves lives. Jesus explains that to be my disciples.” In that “every branch that does chapter, He told us — His bear fruit He prunes.” disciples — how we could Pruning is different than be the fruitful people He being cut off. Pruning leads wanted us to be. The key to greater fruitfulness. verse: “Remain in me, as So when we get clipped, I also remain in you. No let’s submit to the pruning branch can bear fruit by instead of fighting back. itself; it must remain in the Spend time with Jesus. vine” (15:4).

As long as I’ve followed

As believers, we desire Christ, I can’t get away to please our Lord. We from the fact that a regular want to be obedient to what daily time with Him is so He says. Consequently, we important. Whether you want our lives to bear fruit. call it a quiet time, daily devotions, etc., it’s simply But how do we “remain”? time alone with Him. Public Jesus kindly gives us some direction: The fruit we produce will be different worship is also an important

“If you keep my of the remaining from the fruit of others. Regardless, the part process. “And let us consider commands, you will process is the same. Remain in Him! how we may spur one remain in my love, just as another on toward love and I have kept my Father’s good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in commands and remain in his love” (15:10). Obedience is the habit of doing, but encouraging one another — and all the not easy. We’re all wayward. But we’ve been given the Holy more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Spirit to enable us to do what we cannot do on our own.

Obedience fits into that category. To me obedience requires Jesus calls all of us to a life of fruitfulness. The fruit we produce will be different from the fruit of others. a very proactive stance. It’s getting up in the morning and confessing to the Lord that we want to be obedient to Him Regardless, the process is the same. Remain in Him! and serve Him. We ask Him to help us be aware of what He wants us to do and to give us the power to do what He says. We’re aware of our actions throughout the day, and when we fail we immediately confess that failure to Jesus Denny Rydberg and move on. Bill Bright, who founded Campus Crusade Young Life President for Christ, called it “spiritual breathing.” We exhale our confession; we inhale God’s forgiveness.

2 / SPRING 2010

IN YOUR OWN WORDS Our readers share their thoughts

Faith That Conquers Fear

The Ultimate Friend

Young Life was the best witness to God’s love and acceptance I’ve ever seen.

Friends of mine who wouldn’t be caught dead inside the walls of a church were accepted by all in the Young Life program I attended. It was fun and it was challenging and the moments I spent at Windy Gap and SharpTop Cove were some of the most peaceful of my life. I’m currently in Iraq on my third tour as an Infantry officer, and have used the faith I cultivated in Young Life to conquer the fear always residing here.

God IS love, and there’s no better testimony than when His followers reach out and show it, with no agenda other than pleasing Him. I’m thankful for all I learned in Young Life, and for how God continues to use it today with the next generation.

— James Corbin Baghdad, Iraq

No Worries!

My daughter and her friends joined Young Life a few months ago. Every time they go to a meeting the excitement that they project when they come out is awesome. Not only are they building a relationship with each other, they are learning to have a relationship with Jesus. They recently went to camp in Rockbridge, Va., and could not stop talking about how wonderful it was. Speaking with parents of the girls, they also stated it was the first time their children went away and they had no worries about what they were doing. I am so excited about what Young Life is providing for my daughter in building a relationship with Jesus and other teens. Young Life is awesome!

— Debbie Shaw, Roanoke, Va.

I moved to my town in August of 2008 and, being a 15-year-old girl, it was so hard to fit in and make friends at my strange, new school.

I struggled with every kind of relationship I ever tried to begin, whether it be with Christ or a girl sitting next to me in history. I became depressed and lonely. I have never felt so alone in my entire life. I sat by myself at lunch, in the front of every class, I spoke almost never and I cried myself to sleep every single night for that entire year. I had this strange void inside of me, a hole in my heart that nothing could fill. I searched everywhere and I couldn’t find anything that could fill me up inside. Then I made a bet with one of my friends, and if I lost I had to go to Young Life with him. I lost, and I went, willingly, of course. I loved it! I had so much fun and I fit in so well! It wasn’t on that first Monday night of Young Life (actually, I don’t even know when it was), but Christ walked into my life and took my hand and He’s leading my life now.

On Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009, at Polar Bear Weekend at Sky Ranch in Texas God spoke to me for the first time, and I began my actual walk with Christ. I have Young Life and my friend, Lee, to thank for these wonderful changes in my life.

Because of Young Life, the mere mention of Jesus’ name can bring me to my knees, or even to tears. Young Life has changed my life, and someday I hope to be able to change others’ lives like mine has been.

— Caroline Moon Richardson, Texas Correction: The article “Sharing a Vision of Hope” (Fall 2009 Relationships), overstates the unemployment rate and the incidence of teen suicide in the Vale of Clwyd. Young Life cares about being good citizens in every community where we have a presence and we apologize for this misrepresentation of the community of Ruthin.

is a publication of Young Life, a mission devoted to introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. younglife.org P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs, CO 80901

SPRING 2010 / 3

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Senior Designer/ Illustrator Luke Flowers Contributing Photographers Erin Acat Dave Cannon Kathi Inglesby Marisa Stock

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YOUNG LIFE LITE

By Stacy Windahl

Sharing the love of Christ through laughter

M

ike Williams Jr., like many guys his age, runs with him how Mike was working out the salvation that Jesus had a pack of friends. He spends hours every day with worked within.

Williams shared that even though he knew the truth, “his them, building relationships based on trust and heart was in the wrong place.” He recommitted his life to Christ teamwork, and calling them by names like Flash, Medicine and told Pavish that he could feel a weight and darkness lift.

Man, Rogue, Emo, Hope and Oreo.

But unlike other guys, Williams’ pack of 40 friends is of Williams wrote: “I remember talking to you in Galena, about the four-footed, Alaskan husky variety, and Williams is a Yupik how the trials in life will be tough … but the Lord is good and Eskimo and rookie musher in the 2010 Iditarod. The Iditarod, powerful beyond measure … Still, storms are to come, and so called the “Last Great Race will troubled times, but God’s on Earth,” is a 1,110-mile dog power is awesome to the sled race between Anchorage spirit. Thanks, Dave — God and Nome, Alaska, with 24 works through you probably checkpoints in between, more than you think.”

Williams has hours to along the historic Iditarod consider God’s power and Trail. This year, 71 mushers leading every day. The trails with as many as 1,136 dogs he and his dogs run are will start the race, running reminders of God’s presence, and resting teams of up not only at life’s checkpoints, to 16 dogs over a period but every mile along the way. of nine to 19 days in subStill, Williams zero temperatures acknowledges his using memory, responsibility to listen for markers and the God’s voice as he goes, just extraordinary as his dogs, and his team directional sense leaders in particular, listen of their teams to to him. Williams explained, navigate the trail.

For Williams, “I must trust my God as Mike Williams Jr. running dogs is a my lead dogs should trust way of life. His dad, me. I trust that they will Mike Williams Sr., has obey me, make good The trails he and his dogs run are reminders mushed all his life decisions and stay and this year Mike of God’s presence, not only at life’s checkpoints, on course when I call a command.” That’s Jr. will run for team but every mile along the way. vitally important Williams in Mike Sr.’s because dog teams are not forced into obedience. Although place. Raised in the remote village of Akiak, Mike met Young they are linked by a gangline to pull the sled over the course, Life leader, Dave Pavish, nine years ago at a boarding school the musher uses no reins to control them. What keeps them in Galena where Pavish was a resident advisor. running a good race is their response in trust and love to the

“I had so much fun in Young Life. Dave and the leaders, familiar voice of their master. they’re awesome. I remember them dearly. I’ll never forget them. And Dave is still a good friend,” recalled Williams.

Pavish considers Williams, his friendship and faith, a Editor’s note: On March 17, 2010, Mike Williams finished great encouragement. “For a lot of different reasons, in our his first Iditarod in 26th place out of a field of 71. He was ministry, it’s hard to track the number of kids who come to the second rookie finisher and he completed the race with Christ. And Mike is evidence to me that we can plant seeds a time of 10 days, six hours, 44 minutes and 36 seconds. trusting God with the outcome.”

Congratulations, Mike!

Pavish continued his friendship with Williams after they parted in 2003. In 2008 Pavish received an e-mail that told 4/ SPRING 2010

The Good Shepherd School (where Chedrick is the headmaster) after the earthquake.

Below: Young Life Haiti staff and leaders in front of Chedrick’s house in Delmas.

How Young Life in Haiti continues its thriving outreach of hope in the midst of tragedy.

By Joe Walters, vice president of Young Life Latin America

SPRING 2010 / 5

A

fter the catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit on Jan. 12, 2010, the first thing Chedrick Caneus, national director of Young Life Haiti (called “Jenn Vi” in Haitian Creole), did was confirm the safety of the Young Life team. After informing us that “all our leaders are alive, thanks to God,” Chedrick, along with his family and these leaders, started responding to the many needs flooding in around them.

The reputation of Young Life in Haiti is such that, immediately following the earthquake, many made their way to Chedrick’s home, which also serves as the main office for Young Life. The house is located in Delmas, one of the main areas of significant damage. Chedrick is not only the Young Life national director, but also the headmaster for a school of 1,600 students. The Good Shepherd school A Young Lifemost leader and its church were destroyed, as were of the leaders’ homes. gets creative as he

For several weeks after the quake, many of the staff, reaches to lived kidsin tents volunteers, Young Life kids and theirout families pitched in front of Chedrick’s house, and used as a home in the midst ofthis their base for ministering to those who needed help. At that time demanding schedules.

Chedrick said, “We live outside of our house under a burning sun during the day and an atrocious cold at night. We [have to] to sleep on sheets on the ground.” During those early weeks, Chedrick gave food and water to about 100 people every day.

The people came to the house because there’s an established trust with Chedrick and the Young Life team.

“Despite all the difficulties we try to keep our smiles,” Chedrick said. “Every day we receive the visits of leaders and young people who expect with hope [that we can help them]. Their faces explain very clearly they’re already suffering from hunger and thirst and they’re waiting for the help of heaven, like God’s people who were in the desert.”

With this help, there is hope. There’s a slogan the Haitian staff adopted this past year, “Nou Kapab” which means “With God WE CAN!” They are living out this truth hour by hour, day by day. The team continues to bring hope and healing to a hurting country, just as they did before the quake.

For the long term

Young Life has had a presence in the lives of Haitian kids since 1982, when Charlie Scott, longtime Young Life staff, started the school in Pele. Seventeen years later in October of 1999, Chedrick officially began our ministry to kids living in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It’s not an overstatement to say the work has exploded ever since.

Today we have seven full-time staff, 30 student staff and about 100 volunteer leaders, all Haitian. Here’s a snapshot of our work in Haiti: we’re in seven cities, and we have 16 clubs with about 1,000 kids attending each week. This is a world-class team doing a phenomenal job of reaching lost teenagers with the Good News about Jesus.

“[Haitian kids] need people to come and help them know they’re not alone — that God is always with them,” Chedrick said. “We represent God in the world. For me, I represent God in Haiti; I am the eyes of God in Haiti, I am the hands of God in Haiti.”

Young Life Haiti National Director Chedrick Caneus and his wife, Lisberthe.

Every day we receive visits of leaders and young people who expect with hope [that we can help them]. Their faces explain very clearly they’re already suffering from hunger and thirst and they’re waiting for the help of heaven, like God’s people who were in the desert.”

— Chedrick Caneus

The last 11 years have been amazingly fruitful ones in Haiti, where hundreds of kids have come to know the Savior’s love. While obviously tragic in its devastation, the earthquake will not dampen our spirits, nor our call to the kids of this country. Young Life is committed to being here for the long term — in the rebuilding of homes and buildings, but even more importantly, in the rebuilding of lives.

Overcoming

Hardship, of course, is not isolated to Young Life Haiti.

Throughout the mission’s history, Young Life leaders have experienced devastation, unrest and turmoil around the world — and helped kids and adults overcome these tragedies.

We’ve seen the social and political upheaval in Africa.

We’ve endured natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

And we’ve witnessed the persecution of believers in certain Asian countries. Throughout all these, the mission has been committed to the long-term care of the spiritual and physical needs of people in these communities, and we will continue to do the same with the dear people of Haiti.

(Continued on pg. 7) 6 / SPRING 2010

(Continued from pg. 6)

The family responds

Over the past few months, we have wept with joy and with sadness over what Chedrick has shared. The Young Life family around the world is standing with him and the Haitian team during these very difficult days. We continue to collect donations to help them with any immediate physical needs.

We’re also committed to helping rebuild their homes, their church, their school and their meeting places. This second part will take time, but it will happen.

The Young Life website has created a Haiti Update Page* for the latest updates, and a recovery fund has also been established if you’re in a place to help financially.

These funds will: • Help our team in Haiti with immediate needs of food,

water, medicine, temporary shelter, etc.

• Help with the reconstruction of homes, Young Life

offices and club rooms.

• Support the Young Life ministry in Haiti. Financial

support will help ensure uninterrupted funding of

our staff and leaders there.

I’m very proud of Chedrick and the staff and volunteers in Haiti and I ask you to continue praying for their safety and health and for the future recovery from this devastating earthquake.

Through it all, Chedrick’s faith remains buoyant. “I thank you very much for everything,” he said. “I want to [assure] all of you that we are more than ever decided to continue to work for God in Haiti in reaching the kids for Him. If we are still alive after the quake, it is the fruit of a miracle and we have a debt to God (to work for Him). We were made for this … and with God we can!”

Children being fed at the Good Shepherd School.

*For more updates on Haiti and to give to the Haiti recovery fund, go to younglife.org and click on the Young Life Haiti Update link in the Quick Links box.

Below: The remains of the Good Shepherd Church.

Above: Young Life staff meeting to pray right after the quake.

SPRING 2010 / 7

YOUNG LIFE ONLINE Connect with the mission @ younglife.org A Million Stories and Counting 2009 was the year we broke through the million-kid ceiling … and dreamt of doubling that number with our Reaching a World of Kids initiative. You can read some of these kids’ stories and learn more about where we’re headed in our 2009 Annual Report. To view the full document, go to younglife.org and click on the “2009 Annual Report” link in the Quick Links box.

Alumni and Friends Website Young Life’s Office of Alumni and Friends has rolled out a brand new database and website. To go to the website, join, update your information and reconnect with your Young Life friends, visit the Alumni and Friends section from the younglife.org home page.

Introducing the Developing Global Leaders Program Developing Global Leaders is a college scholarship and leadership development program for students involved with Young Life in developing countries around the globe. The website is a major component where individuals or groups can sponsor, or partially sponsor, one or more students. Here you can also read the stories of 100 DGL students from around the world. Learn more at ylgloballeaders.org.

Online Giving A revamped Online Giving site that provides donors a more user-friendly online giving experience is now here. New features will enable online givers to: easily change existing gifts online, view their complete giving history, print receipts and select account preferences. View the revamped site at giving.younglife.org.

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8 / SPRING 2010

A MAN FOR

ALL SEASONS

SPRING 2010 / 9

Will you still need me, will you still lead me when you’re 64?

By Donna Hatasaki

S

ixty-four years old. Thirty feet in the air. Ten toes touching a thin ledge, and a dozen teenage boys chanting his name from the ground below. It all added up to one death-defying moment for Myron Salisian. So, like a good attorney, he began to cross-examine the person on the stand.

What were you thinking, Myron? How did you end up on this platform in the trees? Wasn’t it enough that you came to camp with kids? Did you really have to do the ropes course too? Shouldn’t someone who has practiced law for almost 40 years obey the law of gravity and respectfully climb down?

Ultimately, Salisian’s objections were overruled by the common law of Young Life. As he leapt into thin air, leaders across the ages could hear his silent scream, “I’m winning the right to be heard!”

“I can’t remember another moment that intense,” Salisian said moments later, feet planted firmly on the ground. “It was a risk. But high school ministry is a risk.” Apparently, this wasn’t Salisian’s first death-defying act in Young Life.

In fact, two years earlier, Salisian was meeting with his local area director to encourage him in his work when Salisian found himself teetering toward another flying leap of faith. As Dave Avramovich talked persuasively about taking kids to camp, Salisian talked privately to Jesus.

“Lord, don’t let Dave ask me to go to camp,” he pleaded. “I’m just too old.”

Losing to Jesus … again

Salisian is an excellent estate-planning attorney, but he rarely wins an argument with Jesus when he insists on protecting his own assets because of his age. The case with Avramovich was no different. Two years, two camp trips and countless hours on campus later, Salisian is still enjoying his free fall into Pasadena High.

“I’ve discovered, surprisingly, that I feel more at ease in my 60s with teenagers than when I was in my 20s,” said the man who first led Young Life in 1971 at San Marino High School in Southern California. “I’m not worried about trying to be cool or impress anybody. I’m a father. I’ve raised two children. I feel comfortable around these kids and they sense that.”

Salisian feels comfortable around kids like feet feel comfortable in wellworn shoes. It’s the kind of comfort that’s pressed into a piece of leather after years of bending and flexing with the limits of life and the sculpting forces of nature. Salisian has been shaped by the changing seasons of service across the past four decades.

“I’m not worried about trying to be cool or impress anybody. I’m a father. I’ve raised two children. I feel comfortable around these kids and they sense that.”

— Myron Salisian In the early ’70s, he led club with the freedom of a single man in his 20s.

In 1977, however, Salisian stepped aside to focus on his new ministry: his marriage. In 1990, Salisian’s own kids began to hit middle school and it was time to re-engage. He started a Baseball Card Club at Huntington Middle School and began to meet kids. Soon, the Monday lunch club morphed into a Friday afternoon WyldLife club where Salisian led for five years. Then, from 1996 through 1999, Salisian met every Saturday morning for Bible study with a young man who had met Christ through WyldLife. The two became lifelong friends.

For the next few years, Salisian made it his practice to meet with Young Life staff in the local area simply to encourage them and to listen — which eventually landed him on the ledge with Avramovich and launched him into a new season of leadership in Young Life.

(Continued on pg. 11) 10 / SPRING 2010

SCENES FROM THE SEASONS OF LIFE

(Continued from pg. 10)

You’re kidding … right?

It’s hard to label the current season of Salisian’s ministry.

Chronologically you might call it autumn, but it looks a little bit like spring. Life is always breaking out around Salisian — life and a lot of laughter.

“I show up at the school and something special happens,” Salisian said. “I have so many people praying for Pasadena High School, it’s like the Holy Spirit has preceded me when I arrive.” The man has stories. And more than some of Salisian’s stories sound like the set-up for a joke.

For instance, did you hear the one about the 64-yearold lawyer who took three high school football players to the local drive-thru for some burgers after school?

Unbeknownst to the boys, this particular fast-food chain was owned by believers who had tucked a nifty Bible verse beneath the bottom of the paper cups. Myron asked the boys to look at the bottom of the cups and tell him what they saw.

“John 3:16,” one answered.

“Do you know what that verse says?” Salisian asked.

“Yeah,” said one of the boys. “I think it says, ‘Thou shalt not something.’”

The hilarious punchline is that the 64-year-old lawyer got to share the Gospel with the three football players in the fast-food drive-thru using a paper cup. That’s almost as funny as the one where the lawyer and the championship basketball coach screamed like little girls on the double swing at camp. But to laugh at that one, you’d have to know Tim Tucker.

Hail to the chief

“Knowing Tim is like knowing the president of the United States,” Salisian said. Tucker has such a long history of success coaching boys’ basketball at Pasadena High School, you can read about him on Wikipedia as a name that

“My suprise as a senior citizen Armenian has been that race and age are not barriers when it comes to building friendships with kids. Kids just want to be connected with adults who care.”

— Salisian defines the school. But what you won’t find on Wikipedia is the name that defines Coach Tucker.

“Tim has a tremendous desire for kids to meet the Lord,” Salisian explained. Tucker met Christ through Young Life in high school, and has teamed up with Salisian to reach kids at PHS.

Pasadena High School is 50 percent Latino/Hispanic, 23 percent African-American and 21 percent Caucasian.

More than two-thirds of the students come from lower socioeconomic levels, and 10 percent of those are living in foster care or group homes. Still, life is looking up for many students at PHS. Every Thursday at lunch, Salisian SPRING 2010 / 11

Clockwise from top left: Salisian at club, 1973; Salisian and Coach Tucker at Woodleaf in 2008; Salisian and his future son-in-law, Alejandro, at ’80s night at Woodleaf in 2009; Salisian with wife, Gale, his “greatest encourager.”

Below: Salisian connecting with kids during contact work at Pasadena High School.

and Coach Tucker meet with kids and other caring adults for a mentoring group called “Bulldogs on the Rise.”

“It’s not a Young Life club, but our hope is to develop relationships with kids,” Salisian explained. Many of those kids have come with Salisian and Tucker to camp, and most of them look distinctly different from Salisian.

“My surprise as a senior citizen Armenian has been that race and age are not barriers when it comes to building friendships with kids,” Salisian said. “Kids just want to be connected with adults who care.”

Salisian is an excellent estate-planning attorney, but he keeps losing cases when it comes to protecting his own assets. He keeps risking everything he has so kids can know Jesus Christ. Still, he enjoys some rich rewards.

“I was sitting at a basketball game last winter, calling out the names of players and words of encouragement, when a parent asked me if I had a son on the team,” Salisian recalled. “I said ‘no,’ and explained that I had taken some of those kids to Young Life camp. The parent looked at me and said, ‘That’s my son. That week changed his life.’”

Did you hear the one about the 70-year-old retired attorney who won the Blob competition with kids at camp? Stick around for six more years, and you just might.

Editor’s note: This spring, club resumed at Pasadena High School for the first time in more than two decades. Salisian reported that the first club was packed with kids who heard him speak on “the verse on the bottom of the paper cup” (John 3:16). Salisian said he was so choked up afterward, he could hardly speak, seeing what God is doing at Pasadena High School.

Walking with Well-Worn Shoes Myron Salisian has pounded the pavement for nearly 40 years, looking for lost kids, walking beside new believers, and standing behind local staff and leaders with a listening ear and God’s love. He’s a seasoned leader who walks among kids today with the comfort of well-worn shoes. Following are a few principles that have helped Salisian walk so well for so long.

Never walk alone. In the early years, Salisian met regularly with a mentor who encouraged him and listened without focusing on his performance as a leader. Today, Salisian has recruited his church to adopt the high school where he works. In addition, Salisian’s Young Life leader from 48 years ago still walks with him from across the country. “Monty Burnham prays for my ministry at PHS today.”

Keep your feet on campus. A lot has changed since Salisian first started leading Young Life in 1971, but winning the right to be heard through contact work? “You can’t beat that,” said Salisian. Salisian shows up at the high school at least twice each week.

Step through every open door. Coach Tim Tucker was an open door for Salisian at Pasadena High.

Coach Tucker met Christ at Young Life camp as a kid.

Salisian started helping the boys’ basketball coach lead a mentoring group at lunch. Together the two men have taken kids to camp for two years running.

Change your pace as needed. “At camp I take a nap every afternoon,” Salisian said. “I want to make it through the week!” Salisian changed his pace across the years as well, taking breaks as needed and adjusting the shape of his leadership for the changing seasons of his life.

Resist the urge to run away. “Kids today are dealing with such traumatic, complicated issues,” Salisian said. “I know I can’t fix anything. My hope is to help them build a relationship with the One who can help them — Jesus.”

Just keep walking. “I hope other adults my age will consider becoming leaders,” Salisian said.

“Kids need the kind of stability in their lives that older adults can offer.”

Do a little dance. “Leading is such a privilege,” Salisian said. “I would have never predicted I’d be doing this at my age. I totally love it.” (Totally? Is this man really in his 60s?) When you’ve led Young Life across a few decades, don’t be surprised if you find yourself dancing in your well-worn shoes.

12 / SPRING 2010

FROM THE GRAPEVINE A fruitful selection of stories from the field

Deep and Wide

By Cory Bordonaro

Anderson is a multi-threat, demonstrating

When Jordan Anderson enrolled at Alabama’s Auburn the academic, extracurricular, relational University in the fall of 2006, he dove in head first to three and leadership skills that made him substantial time commitments. Without sacrificing the a strong candidate for the Rhodes integrity of his studies in biomedical science, he also jumped into a full schedule of swim team practices and meets Scholarship this year. along with Auburn Young Life’s Quest leadership training.

Learning how to balance his time and energy, Heeding his own advice, under the guidance of one Anderson began to see how his interests were of his academic advisors, Anderson applied for — and are — braided together. “Swimming a prestigious national scholarship before is this bigger picture of things that I’m the fall of his final year at Auburn and learning. It’s a journey,” he said. “In was elected as one of just 32 National ministry, it’s kind of the same. You Rhodes Scholars. meet all these neat kids. Sometimes In September 2010, he will leave it’s kind of grueling, because the United States for the first time, you don’t know what to say, you to pursue a master’s degree in don’t know how to deal with their Health Science at the University of problems, you don’t think you’re cut Oxford in England. He hopes to equip out for it. But then you realize that himself with an education that will Jordan Anderson you’re learning through it, through all the allow him to provide medical aid to people (back row, second relationships that you make.” in developing nations. from left) and friends.

So, as a Young Life leader he poured

Anderson is a multi-threat, demonstrating into kids during his sophomore and junior years, the academic, extracurricular, relational and fostering friendships that he still maintains. “The leadership skills that made him a strong candidate mark of someone who wants to grow, mature and be their for the Rhodes Scholarship this year. His commitment to own person,” he said, “is someone who takes information his studies and sports only complement his commitment to from people who are more mature, more experienced and Young Life — to knowing and loving kids, sharing with them older than they are.” the deep and wide love of Christ.

True Athlete

By Ned Erickson

Most 18-year-olds have not experienced 35,000 fans cheering for them. Most have not finished a marathon. But Shane Lauer is not like most 18-year-olds.

Shane has Duchenne Muscular Distrophy (DMD), a degenerative disease that affects the muscles. “It’s terminal,” said Ben Mortenson, area director for Young Life Capernaum in Baltimore, Md. He and his wife, Carissa, are also Shane’s legal guardians. “Every muscle slowly deteriorates … Life expectancy is to the mid-20s.”

But the Mortensons believe that every kid should be given the chance to live life to the full. A few years ago they found a kindred heart in David Slomkowski.

He is the founder and director of Athletes Serving Athletes (ASA), an organization that provides racing opportunities for competitive people with disabilities.

“Shane is a really competitive kid,” said Mortenson. Earlier that summer, he and Shane competed in a four-mile race. “With two miles to go, Shane kept saying ‘Ben, you need to pick up the speed and pass these people ... I can’t move my body, Slomkowski but I can move my mouth!’” racing with Shane

Slomkowski, however, is a much faster runner than Mortenson. Slomkowski and in the 2009 Baltimore Shane finished the 2009 Baltimore Marathon in 3 hours 47 minutes. “I get teary thinking Marathon.

SPRING 2010 / 13

about that day,” said Slomkowski. “Shane was so competitive … he’s losing control of his hands, but somehow he holds these straps for two hours so I won’t have to stop.” Mortenson recalled that Shane wore the finishers’ medal every day for a month.

Slomkowski insists that it is Shane who is the athlete: “Shane has the will of a warrior ... I’m just a piece of equipment. My identity is irrelevant.”

“It’s important to trust those who want to help you,” said Shane. “Despite my disability, God has given me the ability to race and be competitive.”

For his 18th birthday, the Mortensons bought Shane a racing jogger — one he’ll need for a sprint triathlon this spring.

Culinary Dreams

Shane and Slomkowski surrounded by the Mortensons and friends.

By Travis Johnson

“I love my job. I think Young Life’s tagline, ‘You were made for this,’ fits me like a glove.”

When Vince Gordon started Young Life in Taneisha and Jackson, Miss., he Gordon in front of the restaurant had come full circle. where she He and his wife, Leila, works. had purchased a home right across the street from Gordon’s old high school, smack in the middle of one of the most violent cities in the United States.

“When we moved into that neighborhood,” Gordon said, “everyone wanted to know ‘who is that guy?’” They remodeled the old home — an expansive unit in disrepair, nestled in a community most people were trying to leave.

Gordon started holding club in the home, and soon, he had kids coming over every day. Now, Gordon said, “everybody knows that’s Mr. Gordon’s neighborhood.”

One of the first kids to get acquainted with the remodeled house was Taneisha Williams, a teen mom, and a sophomore attending Lanier High School right across the road. Upon entering the Gordons’ home for the first time, her eyes lit up at the sight of his renovated kitchen.

“I always liked to be in the kitchen,” Taneisha recalled.

Raised by her grandmother, Taneisha had learned to cook by the time she was 10. She had spent hours in her grandmother’s kitchen watching and learning. Dreams of becoming a professional cook had formed by the time she entered high school. Standing in Gordon’s new cookhouse, she was awestruck. “It was a big, nice, pretty kitchen,” she recalled. She promptly told Gordon she could really cook something up in a place like this.

Gordon wasn’t so sure. He had served as a cook in the Navy, and he knew his way around the galley. Taneisha, called “Cookie” by her friends, persisted. “Mr. Gordon, I can cook for real,” she said. “You can ask anybody!”

Thanksgiving was right around the corner. “I put the challenge to her,” Gordon said. He told her he would

purchase every ingredient she needed if she wanted to cook the holiday dinner in his kitchen.

Taneisha accepted. She worked into the night Thanksgiving eve, outrunning the sunrise and outlasting the volunteer leaders who had stayed to help. By morning, she had created a full meal, including cakes and pies, all made from scratch.

“It was perfect,” Gordon boasted. “This was a young girl who was passionate about cooking.”

He helped to nurse her culinary aspirations throughout her time in high school. “He encouraged me,” Taneisha said, “giving me ideas, boosting me on.” The teen mom who used to walk the school hallways with her head down learned to stand tall. “In Young Life, they teach you that no matter what people say about you, God loves you,” she said.

“I like to be a ‘real model,’” Gordon said. “A ‘real model’ is somebody whom a teenager can spend time with. They need to see how we handle problems, how we handle situations.”

Today, Taneisha works at a downtown restaurant in Jackson, where she produces every item on the dessert board. Gordon reconnected with her when he stopped in for a meal last November. “She’s one of their top cooks,” he said.

“Young Life,” Taneisha said, “changed my life.”

In a city rife with violence and poverty, she is quick to acknowledge the watchful protection of her heavenly Father. “He let me see 26, and there’s some people who came from school with me who didn’t make it to 26.”

Gordon often recalls the decision to move to the inner city. “I love my job,” he said. “I think Young Life’s tagline, ‘You were made for this,’ fits me like a glove.”

14 /SPRING 2010

T

he first time Allison McKinney heard of 15-year-old Sally Lewis, she saw her name scrawled in loopy teenage writing in a prayer journal passed around during a dinner McKinney was hosting for freshman girls: “Please pray for Sally,” a friend wrote. “Her sister died and she is having a hard time.”

McKinney was a brand-new volunteer leader with Young Life in Tyler, Texas, and the dinner was her introduction to her new Campaigner girls. Less than a month earlier, the 30-year-old wife, mother and business owner had attended her first Young Life club.

She’d never heard of Sally Lewis, who was a friend of the girls in her Campaigner group, but their simple request taught McKinney a powerful lesson: Be careful when you pray with your high school friends, because it might end up changing your life.

“Sally and I met the next week at club,” McKinney recalled.

“We instantly bonded. We like a lot of the same things; we feed off each other well. We just got closer and closer.”

Sally’s parents, Michael and Robin Lewis, were praying, too.

Just six months earlier, on March 3, 2008, the Lewis’ 20-year-old daughter, Lauren, died tragically in an automobile accident while driving back to college at Texas A&M. Sally’s heart had hardened toward God, and they worried they were losing her too.

“It’s a scary thing at 15, when life is confusing enough as it is, to have your world shattered to the core,” Michael Lewis said.

“Sally was angry at God; she wondered if there even was a God. As a parent, you know this can go one way or the other.”

The story of life lost, a life saved and prayers answered.

By Leslie Strader

Wrestling with grief

After connecting with McKinney, Sally started coming to Campaigners every week. As she started to feel more comfortable, her grief poured out: how Lauren was just five days from her 21st birthday when she died; that she’d died the day after Sally turned 15 and had made her a green birthday cake while she was home. That she was always smiling, loved life and loved God; that she went to church and was passionate about serving others.

“I was extremely angry,” Sally said. “My family and I never expected this to happen to Lauren. All I could think of was, ‘God, why did you do this?’”

One night as the girls gathered for Bible study, McKinney shared the story of her stepfather dying when she was in high school. She told them she’d questioned God, that she’d been angry at Him and even hated Him.

“Then I told them that someone had said to me that He could handle that, that it was OK to be angry,” McKinney said.

“That’s when Sally looked at me and said, ‘When do you stop hating God?’ And that became just kind of an open question. I think that was a turning point.”

Garrick Bailey, area director of Young Life Tyler, said McKinney’s acceptance and consistent love made the difference for Sally.

“I believe God heard the Lewises’ prayers and hand-picked

Allison,” Bailey said. “Sally expressed disappointment and anger with God, and Allison didn’t try to fix that. She listened; she was a shoulder to cry on, and told her over and over, ‘It’s OK. It’s OK with me, and it’s certainly OK with God. So go ahead and shake your fist, but know I love you and God loves you infinitely more.’ Allison said it and, more importantly, she reinforced it with her life.”

SPRING 2010 / 15

“It’s about standing in the gap for her and doing all we can to build the bridges between kids and Christ. It’s a great picture of Young Life at its best.”

— Garrick Bailey

Moving from darkness to light

In the summer of 2009, Tyler Young Life went to Frontier Ranch and McKinney took her freshman girls. For Sally, the experience was healing.

“Young Life camp was when I realized I shouldn’t be angry,” Sally said. “It was an eye opener. God works in mysterious ways, and I saw that I need God to get me through the journey instead of doing it on my own.”

Since camp, Bailey has watched McKinney and Sally’s relationship deepen to one of accountability and discipleship.

“Sally came away from Frontier with a desire for her life to look different,” Bailey said, “A lot of kids say they want their life to look different and six months later, they are back to the same old thing. That’s not been the case with Sally.

She made a commitment, and she has held steady.”

Sally’s father calls McKinney an “angel” who helped move Sally from darkness to light.

“This person, this angel, came into Sally’s life at a time Sally needed someone who could understand and accept her anger and fear of who God is and what He’s up to,” Michael Lewis said. “I’m so grateful Sally confides in her. What they talk about, I don’t know. What I do know is Sally’s life is turning a corner. She has her personality back, she has her hope back, she has her faith back. God used Allison as a catalyst to bring her through.

“Our prayer for Sally was that she would find a group of people to provide spiritual direction for her, and Young Life is the community that helped her find her way. As a parent, how can you not be grateful for that?”

Hearts healed, lives changed

Clockwise from top left: Sally (left) and Allison at Frontier Ranch in 2009; Sally and Allison visiting Lauren’s Tree at The Children’s Park in Tyler. (The plaque reads: LAUREN’S TREE/In loving memory of Lauren Elizabeth Lewis/The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Psalm 138:8); Sally (back row), Allison (blue shirt) and other Young Life friends prepare to clean cabins for Royal Family Kids Camp in Texas.

For McKinney, the ministry of Young Life brought her full circle in her own loss. She sees the redemption of her sorrow and has been blessed in ways she never imagined.

“I didn’t know why God put me through [the loss of my stepdad]. Everyone said it will make sense in time, which really made me mad,” she said. “But now I know it was so I can be here for Sally and other people who have gone through a great loss.

“It’s amazing how God puts people in your life to help you even when you think it’s just you helping them. I’ve gotten more out of Young Life as a leader than I ever expected to. These girls give me encouragement, faith, hope, joy. They trust me and that’s a great feeling.”

McKinney and Sally’s relationship is an example of the heart of Young Life, Bailey said.

“This story exemplifies what Young Life is and what every staff person and volunteer leader wants to be about,” he said. “This relationship isn’t about trying to get Sally to be a better person. It’s about standing in the gap for her and doing all we can to build bridges between kids and Christ. It’s a great picture of Young Life at its best.”

And for the Lewis family, Young Life is a reclamation — for life lost, a life saved and prayers answered.

“Young Life is more than one trip a year to the mountains,” Michael Lewis said. “It’s changing people’s lives day by day. It’s been our miracle in the midst of our tragedy.”

16 /SPRING 2010

A young man learns his worth in God’s eyes.

By Erika Jay

I

t was the first night of camp in Peru. Club had just ended and it was cabin time. The question, “What’s your image of God?” hung in the air. While other kids spoke of seeing God as a father or friend, Lucho, a young man living with the effects of cerebral palsy, went for the jugular. He turned and looked at Edson, a leader who has used crutches his whole life after contracting polio as an infant, and asked, “Have you ever wondered why God let this happen to us, why He made us this way? Have you ever been angry or hated yourself, or wanted to die because of your disability?”

Lucho’s question was heavy and real. He shared about his years of pain and anguish wondering why he has cerebral palsy. Carlos Rojas, Lucho’s friend and Young Life leader, sat close, showing his support as Lucho poured out his heart.

First impressions

Christen Morrow, Young Life Latin America Capernaum coordinator, recalled seeing Lucho earlier that day. “I met Lucho the day camp began. Right away I was amazed.”

Morrow was certain that with each step Lucho would fall face first on the ground. His steps are unsure and his arms are contracted upward so he looks as if he’s always bracing himself for a fall. “I learned that because Lucho didn’t have a wheelchair to get around as a kid, he taught himself to use a bicycle with training wheels.” She went on, “I watched SPRING 2010 / 17

him play soccer … and really play as he dribbled the ball and maneuvered it back and forth between his unsteady feet. I watched him ride his bike, climb a mountain, and share a deep connection with his leader and friend, Carlos.”

Morrow was impressed, but not as impressed as when she began to talk with Lucho. It was clear that, though his speech was labored and his cerebral palsy certainly affected it, he was an intelligent and thoughtful young man.

“Have you ever wondered why God let this happen to us, why He made us this way? Have you ever been angry or hated yourself, or wanted to die because of your disability?”

— Lucho Anticipation

It was also clear that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary week for Lucho. His thoughtfulness and ability to look into the deep things of his heart opened the door for an amazing week. He listened closely to the club talks and was full of questions as he processed all he was hearing.

Lucho’s leader, Rojas, was excited to see what God had in store for his dear friend. He had met Lucho while visiting his school in Lima, Peru. He connected with Lucho immediately and spent time talking with and getting to know him. The two built a strong foundation of friendship and trust.

Rojas could hardly wait to see how the week would unfold and hoped Lucho would come to understand God’s unconditional love for him.

Hopes realized

Mid-week, Rojas’ dreams became reality. On the third day of camp, after several club talks and many conversations, Lucho approached his friends excitedly. “I just surrendered to Jesus,” he exclaimed. To another friend he said, “I accepted Jesus in my heart.” And to another, “I became a Christian and Jesus is my Savior.”

Rojas and Morrow were amazed, not only that it happened, but more so that Lucho’s understanding was profound enough to use three different phrases to describe what had taken place in his heart. God had truly revealed Himself to Lucho.

the peace I can find in the middle of troubles and that there is always a solution in Jesus. He has been so kind. He has offered me His trust and friendship. It’s real friendship. I thank God for Him.”

Walking with Lucho and seeing him grow has also affected Rojas’ own walk with the Lord. “Seeing how Lucho has learned to depend on God and live each day stretches me. To see what Jesus is able to do in and through his life is amazing and impressive. I have grown in my faith seeing Lucho’s life transformed. More than a friend, he is my brother who encourages me every time I see him,” Rojas shared. He has seen this young man transform from a lonely, depressed, disappointed kid who felt worthless in his society, to someone who doesn’t give up. Someone who sees his life beyond his disabilities, and looks for ways to encourage others.

Opposite page: Lucho stands outside his home in Lima, Peru.

Below: Lucho riding his bike with his leader, Carlos Rojas, by his side.

New life — new perspective

Lucho beautifully articulated his experience at camp and how his life has changed because of Jesus. “I received Jesus in my heart because I felt the necessity of Him in my life.

My life was empty and in disorder.

I used to think God was a distant being. Now I see Him close to me.

Now He is in my heart, in my life.

Everything has changed. I thought I was not important to anyone.

I was depressed, dirty, unkempt and socially awkward. Now I know that I am so important, important enough for Jesus to die for. I feel like a real person. I feel so happy and joyful.”

Lucho went on to explain how God views him. “He sees that I am His son, He loves the way I am. I am important to Him and I am valiant.

He loves me with my strengths and weaknesses and that makes me happy and complete.”

Walking together

Since camp, Rojas has continued to walk with Lucho, helping him grow in his relationship with the Lord and continuing to deepen their friendship. “He encourages me and helps me,” Lucho said. “He teaches me through his life. He has taught me through the Bible — through Jesus’ life and about the true love that is in Him; about

Passion for the future

Rojas, Lucho and Morrow share the dream of seeing Young Life Capernaum in Peru (and throughout Latin America) reach every kid with a disability. To give every young person like Lucho the opportunity to hear about Jesus’ love and ask their tough questions. In a culture that sometimes shuns those who are disabled, leaving many to a life of poverty and loneliness, Capernaum offers love, truth and hope for the future. To learn more about Young Life Capernaum in the United States or abroad, visit younglife.org.

18 / SPRING 2010

MY INSPIRATIONAL HERO A student shares how her teacher’s life lessons go beyond the classroom.

By Mariah Dunniway, eighth-grade student at Brimfield Junior High School in Brimfield, Ill. Editor’s Note: The following comes from an assignment given to Mariah in which she was asked to write about the greatest inspirational leader in her life. Mariah chose Julie Conn, her teacher and WyldLife leader.

E

than I can imagine. She taught me never to give up on people no matter how many times they mess up or let you down.

When I walked away, I felt like I wanted to go out and change right then — like I wanted to get down on my knees and thank God for giving us such an amazing person in our lives. Through the rest of camp it was easier to pay attention to the Bible studies, let go of everything and sing at the top of my lungs. I could finally be myself. I came home from camp with an open mind and a clean heart.

veryone likes to have someone they can tell anything to and know they won’t tell a soul. Someone who listens and understands. They don’t judge you, put you down or tell you they don’t care. For me, that is and will always be my junior high English teacher, Mrs. Conn.

I met Mrs. Conn my seventh-grade year. I was nervous, but she greeted us all and made us feel comfortable in her classroom. I remember sitting there with my friends, Abby, Kerrigan and Margaret, knowing that Mrs. Conn would be one of our favorite teachers, but I never knew that she would end up being so much more to us.

Before I knew it, Abby, Emma, Margaret and I were eating lunch in her room. She would help us understand things more clearly and answer any questions we had truthfully.

We all soon developed a strong relationship with Mrs. Conn. We looked up to her and trusted her. The most important thing Mrs. Conn She’s not only my English teacher but my did personally for me was inspiration, role model, friend and guide. strengthen my relationship with God. I was growing away from God and found myself mad at Him. I began not to believe and I So you see? She’s not only my English teacher but my never thought (my faith) would be strong again until I got the inspiration, role model, friend and guide. She believed in wonderful opportunity to go to WyldLife camp (Young Life’s me when I thought I couldn’t do something. She helped me Timber Wolf Lake in Michigan) with an amazing leader and my accomplish my biggest fear of heights and even though I closest friends. hated every minute of it, I’ve got to thank her because now

I had never shown anyone before what a wreck I was I know I can accomplish anything with God. No matter how on the inside, but I was comfortable around Mrs. Conn and many years pass or where I end up, I know I will never forget instantly knew she cared. She taught me that sometimes I my kickin’ butt English teacher. Thank you, Mrs. Conn. just need to let go and be a kid and ask God to help me. She taught me I can always rely on God and that He loves me more SPRING 2010 / 19

PASSAGES Honoring those who have served the mission

Margie Atkinson

Ray Saunders Feb. 24, 1945 – Dec. 20, 2009

Jan. 26, 1943 – Dec. 27, 2009

By Jeff Chesemore

By Jeff Chesemore with Donna Hatasaki For more than 40 years, Margie Atkinson impacted countless lives through her leadership, personal touch and professionalism. With her husband, Neil, Atkinson’s early years on staff were spent in the field developing Young Life in Naperville, Ill., and Grand Rapids, Mich., and directing the Mid-America Region.

Denny Rydberg, president of Young Life, met Atkinson when he was a freshman and she was a junior at Seattle Pacific University. Years later, when he became president in 1993, he recruited her to serve as the director (and eventual vice president) of Human Resources — a role many Young Life staff consider synonymous with her name.

“She was loyal, faithful and filled with integrity. Tender but tough. Sweet but strong. Full of grace and truth.”

— Denny Rydberg

Atkinson thrived in her new position, where she was recognized as a master of conflict resolution and a pioneer in developing the Women’s Leadership Council. A consummate professional in her job, she always operated with class, humor and warmth.

“She was loyal, faithful and filled with integrity,” Rydberg said. “Tender but tough. Sweet but strong. Full of grace and truth. The mission was in much better shape than it would have been had Margie Atkinson not been at the HR helm.”

Cliff Anderson, special training projects coordinator for the mission, knew Atkinson throughout her four decades on staff.

“From hanging out with wild kids who could care less about God to knowing everyone at the Service Center and most of the field staff by name, Margie was the touch of Jesus to so many,” Anderson said. “She was a pied piper who embodied the principle of enfleshing the Gospel better than anyone I knew.”

Her zest for life was no secret, either. From her love for hot fudge sundaes to playing the piano for a Young Life “opera” on a moment’s notice, Atkinson radiated cheerfulness and love.

“She was an amazing person,” Rydberg said. “A tower of strength in a very small body, who loved her Lord, her family, her friends and her work.”

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” — St. Francis of Assisi

“That quote epitomized Ray Saunders,” said Barb Mima, area director in Twin Rivers, Pa., and longtime friend and coworker of Saunders, who quietly served the mission for more than 40 years.

Saunders joined Pittsburgh’s Young Life staff in 1967.

Drafted into the Army a year later, Saunders served as a chaplain in Vietnam, where he led Young Life clubs in hospital wards full of wounded soldiers. There he met his wife, Tosh, who was serving as a nurse. After his release from the Army in 1970, the newlyweds came back to begin urban ministry at what eventually became Steel Valley High School, and served there until his death.

“When I think of a servant leader, the first face that comes to my mind is Ray Saunders.”

— Bo Nixon

Saunders’ legacy extended far beyond Steel Valley, however. Mima said, “Parents in other school districts told me, ‘He even left an impact on my kid and he never set foot in this school district.’”

Bo Nixon, regional director in New York City, was friends with Saunders for 43 years. “When I think of a servant leader,” Nixon said, “the first face that comes to my mind is Ray Saunders. Ray did not clamor to be the person up front, but he was very comfortable doing the mundane jobs that were so necessary for ministry to happen.”

“Ray didn’t believe in key kids, he believed all kids were key. I never observed Ray going after the big athlete although he was, in his own right, a big-time basketball player at Penn State. He chose to go after the kids many of us would have second thoughts about.”

“Ray had a quiet obedience in the same direction,” Mima said. “His legacy was as a father to the fatherless and hope to the hopeless. Ray persisted in loving people who may never return that love.”

When asked about his time with Young Life, Saunders once replied, “Bill Starr, former president of Young Life, would say that we in Young Life ‘exist to give ourselves away.’” Ray Saunders did just that.

20 / SPRING 2010

40

Saranac turns ...

COME CELEBRATE WITH US! Remember watching entertainment night in The Whale, seeing Who’s on First performed by your leaders or listening to the camp speaker talk about Jesus in the Village Inn? Come back and experience these things again! The buildings might be different, but the message proclaimed by the speakers and program team is still the same. JOIN US AUG. 27 - 30, 2010, as we celebrate the work that God has done at Saranac over the decades.

Enjoy an all-star team of camp speakers and program from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s specifically recruited for this weekend event. The event is open to anyone, including families!

To find out more and to register, go to saranaclegacy.com and click on the “Saranac 40th” tab or call us at (518) 891-3010.

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE

10 NEW Young Life Tonite tees!

Several

NEW Young Life

blankets!

More than 50 items with the option to choose your Young Life logo, ministry name or camp name.

GRAB GREAT GRAD GIFTS!

FOR MORE INFORMATION, AND TO SIGN UP, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL YOUNG LIFE STAFF PERSON.

SPRING 2010 / 21

PARTING SHOTS A collection of photos from the field 1. A Charleston, W. Va., camper “hands it” to Young Life after a big all-camp mud battle.

2. Pueblo, Colo., campers enjoying a winter weekend at Young Life’s Frontier Ranch.

3. Smiles abound from Young Life Ethiopia volunteer leaders.

4. Campers at a Young Life Military-Club Beyond camp in Europe.

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2

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FEATURE PHOTO

Kids just can’t contain themselves when they experience Young Life camp. Look no further than this happy cabin full of Lakewood, Texas, WyldLife kids enjoying their camp trip.

22 / SPRING 2010

The revamped Online Giving site has new features that you have been asking for, including the ability to ...

• Easily change your existing gifts online • View your complete giving history • View and print your gift receipts • Select account preferences such as: opting to receive receipts via e-mail or opting out of receiving receipts altogether

Go to giving.younglife.org today!

TRAIL WEST FAMILY CAMP Drawing Families Closer.

Closer Together, Closer to God.

A vacation experience that brings your family closer together, closer to God and provides lasting memories you’ll reminisce about for years to come.

Call us at (719) 395-2477

to make your reservations. Or, for more information, check us out at trailwest.younglife.org.

Ask about our discount weeks.

But, act quickly. They’re going fast!