JOY

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Thank you Isaiah from Highland Park, TX for this blog!


For me YL Capernaum has always given me so much more than I could ever give to it. It has been a constant theme throughout my entire time being a part of this ministry. Every time I feel like I can pat myself on the back for doing something, God swoops in and blows me away with the way he works through these kids.

As followers of Christ we strive every day to be like him, to live the way he lives. We do that to be changed by Christ, to bear the fruits that he describes. We hope that through our ministry we can plant seeds in others; in hopes to one day see those seeds, through the work of the Lord, bear fruit in those individuals.

When I think of Capernaum I think of joy. The unconditional joy I see in our friends has always kept me coming back. No matter what my work schedule looked like I could never miss club, campaigners or any camp trip. The joy our friends display is infectious and I never wanted to miss a minute of it. When I think joy, my friend Aidan instantly jumps into my head. He is the happiest person I have been around, watching him react to seeing his friends or leaders arrive at club is amazing. I don’t care what you are going through, this kid’s smile is the cure all; the joy he puts on display for all our leaders and friends is unforgettable. I can vividly remember watching Aidan get unhooked after a trip down the zip line at Carolina Point. As soon as he touched the ground he took off and jumped into my arms smiling and laughing the whole time. It was all our group talked about for the next few days.

Aidan is one amazing kid but there are many other Capernaum kids I have met in my area, during regional events and at camp that show that same joy I get to see when I spend time with Aidan. Walking through camp properties and watching our friends and friends from other areas swim, zip line, play games, and spend time with their leaders, you get to see a joy that is hard to compare to anything else.

I feel like sometimes we get that “what’s next” mentality. We do something once and we want to move onto the next thing. We can miss the joy that comes from being in the moment. Enjoying the current time and place we are in is something our friends excel at! Whatever they do they do it to the fullest, and in that moment it’s the only thing they are concerned about. By doing that, I think our friends experience a joy we may miss.

What if we shared and heard the Gospel with the joy our friends show? What if we displayed the same joy our friends do when we come to work whether it’s Monday or Friday? What if we showed the same joy our friends show when they hear “Good Good Father” for the first time…and the hundredth time? What if, what if we showed the joy our friends show in every single thing we do? Let’s have the joy of the Lord fill us up like he fills up our friends.


The Lord has used being a part of this ministry to teach me so much. He has showed me so much through our friends. I did Capernaum with the idea that I was going to help kids, I never thought they were going to help me more than I could ever imagine.

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