What Younglife Means To Me

We've come to the end of our final semester leading Young Life in the town in which we started Young Life. In total, we've been volunteering with Young Life for 8 years. Eight of the most fantastic years! We've been down the biggest tubing hill I've ever seen in my life---AT NIGHT---attached by tube to atleast 30 other people! We have gone to so many high school basketball games, track meets, soccer games, football games, etc...more than you can imagine! We've had 100 people in our basement every Tuesday night and 25 more on Wednesdays over the years. We've had moments where I've been in fear for my life (YOU try sailing with one high school girl when NEITHER of you know how to sail!), moments where I've nearly laughed myself into a tizzy (watch an 80 pound freshman girl get launched into the sky on a water tube, or a girl unable to ride a BIKE until she realizes the handlebars are backwards!). I've even broken bones at Young Life camp. I've had moments where I've cried with "my girls," laughed with "our guys" and been um, "misunderstood" by people in general. Most of my "Top Ten Friends" are not even twenty yet, and I wouldn't have it any other way. ...and it's all coming to a close.

I've cried and cried and prayed and prayed about this. And, in talking with a lot of other people about stepping back from one ministry to step into another ministry, I've learned that grief is normal. I've talked with people who have very amazing youth ministry going on, and they are about to step into full-time missions in ETHIOPIA! They, too, are grieving "losing" their ministry and their community, their church, and to a certain extent, their family, all-the-while being very excited for what God WILL DO!

So, while we're sad to step back from Young Life leadership, we're excited because we now have the opportunity to prepare our family of five to become a family of SEVEN! And, we will remember how amazing it was to serve God through Younglife, and we will be excited to see what God WILL DO! And, of course, we are excited for "our Younglife kids" to join us in watching God expand our family through the miracle of adoption!

Watch the video our friends made us HERE.