SO CAL TRIFECTA!

This last Saturday may have been one of the most action packed days in the history of days... well maybe that's an exaggeration, but it was glorious!

Grant Waggoner had a dream, a dream of snowboarding, surfing, and skateboarding all in one day. Saturday, he along with 8 lucky kids from Ladera Ranch Middle School, 1 lucky sophomore from SJHHS, 2 lucky Young Life leaders, and an amazing dad, Mitch Needleman, made this dream a reality!

Watch the video for some highlights!

This is a big part of what Young Life and WyldLife is about! Making memories with kids! Taking them to do things they never thought possible, with leaders who are for them, encouraging them, and loving them because these leaders know and love Jesus.

So often this opens the door to deep conversations. On on of the lift rides, Grant was asking kid about his classes. This kid said that he has a hard time paying attention because they are so boring. Then Grant asked him how he felt during the part of WyldLife when we talk about Jesus... the kid's face lit up, and he said that he loves hearing about that because he wants to know more about Jesus! This kid does not come from a church background, and has heard most of what he has heard about Jesus through his experience in WyldLife!

I love getting to be a part of this mission! I love getting to be a part of God's love story for these kids... especially when it involves snowboarding, surfing and skating all in one day!

To learn more about Young Life South County, and Ladera Ranch WyldLife, please text or call Luke Bright: 949-293-6443, or Grant Waggoner: 702-533-8324. You can also email Luke here or Grant here.

Eat the Menu!

Matt and Charlie with each teams menu!

Fridays are for WyldLife in Ladera Ranch!

 

We had our first Friday night Club last night. The game we played was called Eat the Menu! It has become the annual kick-off event for Ladera Ranch WyldLife club.

 

Last night over 40 kids came to McDonalds ready eat some really delicious and healthy food (there may be a bit of sarcasm there)! We split up into three teams and ordered $250 worth of food. Each team had to race through the food and the team that finished first won.

 

While this event may seem crazy (it is) and it may be hard to understand the reasoning behind doing something like this, it goes a long way in helping us leaders earn the right to be heard. Having these events where kids are encouraged to do something way out of the norm, but still super fun, helps them to realize that we want them to have fun, be crazy kids, and be themselves. As they begin to see that we aren't trying to change them, and that we genuinely want to be their friends, they begin to trust us. As this happens we get to share Jesus' love with them... and they listen because they know we care about them, and we have earned the right.

 

The beauty of Young Life and WyldLife is relationship. Leaders build real friendships with kids and then enter into their lives in order to support, encourage, and love. When kids give us permission, we are quick to help direct kids towards better life decisions, build habits that will help them in the future, and introduce them to Jesus, helping them learn what it is like to have a real growing relationship with him.

 

So, while things like Eat the Menu may seem a bit strange... there are some deeper things happening amidst the chaos.

Team Turkey Sandwich getting crazy!

The desert queens doing work on the sweets!

Chomp chomp chomp...

When WyldLife takes over McDonalds!

The MVP of the night... you don't want to know how much her ate.

A Cool Story from Young Life in New York

On Feb. 15, Young Life student staff Wendell Wilson and volunteer Kristi Kephart surprised the Harlem Village Academy (HVA) varsity basketball team with a meet-and-greet with John Wall (above) of the Washington Wizards. The kids were ecstatic to leave with free sneakers and shirts — and John Wall's autograph. Next, they crossed the street to the Under Armour outlet store, and who should they run into but Steph Curry (Golden State). Curry approached the kids, indulged them with selfies and even let one kid call his brother to chat with Curry. If that were not enough, he then purchased UA Curry Ones for the whole team. The students left the store cheering, "MVP! MVP!" and some remarked that this was the BEST day of their entire lives. The generously kind way these superstars interacted with Harlem high-schoolers reminds us of how Christ lavished us with His own presence. On the way home, the leaders had the opportunity to talk about God's blessing and how He orchestrates impossibly good things for His people. — Esther Liu, area office administrator, New York City

A Letter From Young Lives

Young Lives is the branch of Young Life that reaches out to teenage moms and their children. There isn't much in Young Life that gets me more excited than Young Lives. They have the opportunity to impact several generations at the same time and bring the love and care of Jesus to a group of people that are often overlooked, or shunned: teenage moms.

Please read the following letter from the director of Young Lives about something that happened here in Orange County.

Dear Partners,
Sixteen and pregnant, Xochi came to YoungLives for the first time in May and decided to follow Jesus that very night. In YoungLives, she found herself surrounded by love, especially the summer night she delivered her son.


Xochi's mentor, Lisa, came to faith in Christ in Young Life 20 years ago and is now married to a pastor and has four children. When Xochi gave birth, Lisa dropped everything to be there, but she wasn’t the only one. A YoungLives mentor was on duty as a nurse that evening and stayed with Xochi through delivery. A photographer with Young Life connections cleared his schedule to volunteer to take pictures of this new family. Xochi’s boyfriend, a Marine who is very committed to his family, also felt fully embraced. Xochi summarized it beautifully in a text to her mentor: “We were overwhelmed with love.”


Three weeks after delivering her son, Xochi was back in school, taking all honors classes and inviting her friends to YoungLives. Lisa is teaching her about God, life and being a mom. They're also attending church together. Do not miss this: real generational change is happening. We're getting to see it before our eyes.


Here is where you may want to take a seat. This year 14,000 teen moms, just like Xochi, plus their children, were impacted by YoungLives. We’ve grown for nine consecutive years with 480% growth in the number of kids impacted. NOT double, or triple or quadruple growth, but we’ve nearly QUINTUPLED (yes, that's a word) our impact in less than a decade.


I thank YOU for believing and investing in this mission. Let’s celebrate, lock arms and keep going.


With sincere gratitude,
Lindsey Patchell
YoungLives Mission Director

We're There

The following is something written by Denny Rydberg, the President of Young Life.

By now, most of us are very aware of one of the latest shootings on a high school campus. This time it was a horrific situation at Marysville-Pilchuck High School not far from Seattle. It’s also not far from my hometown of Anacortes, Washington. In fact, Marysville High (the only high school at that time) was a rival of ours, and I played against the guys from Marysville on numerous occasions. Now some of the kids, grandkids and the community of these former players have been deeply affected by what transpired there a few days ago.

Young Life is involved with the kids at MPHS. Long-time regional director, Mason Rutledge, and his family, live not far from Marysville. And the Rutledges reside very close to the hospital where victims were transported. Mason and other staff and volunteers have ministered to the medical staff who have been battered by what they’ve seen, as well as to the kids, their parents and the community. Tyler Marcus is our volunteer team leader at the high school, and I’ve been in touch with him. In addition, a former staff member of ours is tied closely to the families who live there, and she has been very involved in reaching out to those who are hurting. Brent Schwartz is a Young Life staff member assigned to the navy base close-by in Everett. MPHS has military dependents who go to school there.

All those mentioned, and dozens more from Young Life and many, many caring adults from churches and other community groups are coming alongside kids and parents and comforting them. They are praying and helping kids see the love of Jesus in the midst of the tragedy.

The tragedy and our involvement at Marysville-Pilchuck High has impressed on me even more that whenever trouble of any kind breaks out, our Young Life staff and volunteers are nearby making a difference. The Ebola crisis in Africa has taken the lives of some of our leaders and kids, but regional director James Davis and his team have worked around the clock in Liberia and Sierra Leone to reach kids. Young Life donors have put together an emergency fund to help us keep going there. The war between Ukraine and Russia has made an impact on our outreach to kids in both countries, but we have two outstanding regional directors who live in the Ukraine — Sasha Utkin and Sergey Romanyuk — and we have continued to serve and love lost kids in that war-torn place.

Whether floods in the Philippines, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, storms crashing into the East, or horrible shootings on campuses, we are there. And, Lord willing, we will stay!

I am so sorry for the hurt in this world. I am so thankful that the Lord has put us there in the midst of the pain. I am praying with you that God will give our staff and leaders the courage, compassion and energy to continue to serve faithfully and well. May the peace, presence and power of the God of the Universe continue to break through the darkest nights!