YL Capernaum Everywhere

A guest post from Pam Harmon.... Sometimes when we see YL Capernaum volunteer leaders hanging around with teenagers, maybe at a school function, a birthday party, or at a Special Olympics event, a parent will ask me, “But what does a Young Life leader actually do?” In the past week I had two unique experiences that reminded me of the amazing privilege it is to serve as a Young Life leader - one experience happened at camp and one at home. First at camp:   As I walked closer to the dining hall at Lost Canyon I could see that leaders were funneling their campers away from one of the entrances, and that’s where the noise was coming from. I heard him before I saw him. I walked toward that doorway wondering what I would find there.                 Our 6 foot, 180 lb. friend, Max, was spread out on the ground yelling and crying and flinging his arms. He had had enough! He was tired and hungry and overstimulated and DONE! I gra...

As your club season begins, our prayer and hope for you as that you would dig into scripture with your friends, that they, like Caroline, would be forever changed by.  Be encouraged by the great update below from Brittany Mazuchowski.... A couple of weeks ago, I was enjoying a delicious camp lunch with my Capernaum friends at Carolina Point. We had an incredible week there. We had dance parties, pool parties, trips to the snack bar, and a Young Life Club each day. At club, we heard from our friend and camp speaker, Suzanne. Each day she told us the story of the Prodigal Son, and how it teaches us about God and about ourselves. We learned that in the same way the father welcomes home his lost son, God extends an invitation to us to be at home with Him!  On the last day, before we ate lunch and loaded the bus headed back to Williamson County, our friends sat in a circle and shared their favorite parts of the week, as well as what they had learned from Suzanne abou...

A guest post by Jeff McNair... About 10 years ago, I wrote on my weblog about social support. I quoted Cobb (1976) who said that “Social Support is information leading someone to believe He/she is cared for He/she is loved He/she is valued He/she is esteemed He/she belongs to a network of communication and mutual obligation.” I liked that then and I still do. Social support implies evidence. “These are the specific ways that I know that I am being supported by the people around me” followed by a list. For too many people with disabilities, the evidence that I am receiving some form of social support is that I look at Fred, the guy sitting next to me, and recognize that he is being paid to be with me. How do I know I am supported? Fred is here to provide social support to me by the agency who pays him. His salary is evidence of my social support. Sure, we need people who provide various forms of paid support. We in particular need medical, educational or rehabilitation professionals...

Our fourth post in the series on how our friends in Capernaum are serving within the mission! Maggie’s testimony I was born in Thailand; I lived in an orphanage for 4 years. In Thailand their religion is Buddhism and I didn’t hear about Jesus. I moved to America and started to go to church. I loved going to church and praising God. One day I was sitting in VBS, and the pastor said, “If you want Jesus in your life come to the front”. I got baptized June 20, 2003 when I was 8 years old. It’s an amazing thing; every day I grow in the Lord Jesus Christ. At Windy Gap, in 2013 I rededicated my life to Him and I want Him more than anything else. What’s different since you’ve been home from camp? I did not open my Bible often before camp. Since camp I have opened my Bible daily. Every night I read a few verses and the blue book devotion because that helps me get through my day. Every morning at camp, I would ask God to make my day go smoothly, and my devotional helped me get pumped up and ...

As we continue to share about the ways that our friends are serving in the mission, we wanted to be sure that you had the chance to read about our friend Drew and his time serving on Summer Staff at Carolina Point. His mom posted this on her blog after Drew returned home from his month. Recently, my 28-year-old son Drew spent a month working alongside 30 other young adults at a Christian camp in Brevard, NC, called Carolina Point. That doesn’t sound like such a big deal. Lots of young adults do this every summer. What makes Drew’s month special is that he was the only staff member with Down syndrome.   When a child is born, it's natural for his mom to worry that her child won’t be included or accepted by his peers, but the worry is so much greater when the child has disabilities. Throughout Drew’s life, I have tried to get him involved with all different kinds of people, both with and without disabilities. He knows tons of people and everyone is kind to him, but he re...

Our next in the great updates from our friends serving in the mission.  Meet our dear friends Nick and Ben.   Last summer, when we were serving at Carolina Point, we met a dynamic young man named Nick. Nick had been in a horrible car accident earlier that year, losing his leg and having a series of other injuries.  We had great conversations throughout the week and he had already been helping some in his Capernaum club back home.  We started the conversation then about him serving as a coach this summer for a Capernaum friend.   After months of preparation, Nick (from Florida) and Ben (from Tennessee) were paired together to serve at Carolina Point for a month in ropes.  They were responsible to get campers, over the course of the week, up to the top of the Canopy Course (multiple zip lines) while also making sure they had all of their needed gear.  Nick drove the truck and Ben ensured that everyone was set up.  This meant that the two of...

Alex and Solveig! Our friends in Capernaum are serving within the mission of Young Life.  Each time we hear the stories about the beauty, richness and joy involved, we jump for joy!  We can't wait for you to see this video of our friends, Solveig and Alex, who just finished serving on Work Crew at Carolina Point! Enjoy! Alex and Solveig from Carolina Point on Vimeo .

A guest post by Molade Olubowale, originally posted on She Who ...  So let me start off by saying that when I say this week was the best week of my life, it is NOT an exaggeration. Sometimes you feel like you get glimpses and brushes with God but this week for me and God was FULL on.  I was reminded this week by my leaders that we are all Jesus with skin on, not in the sense that we are called to be heroes but in that we are called to be a light. These kids showed me what it meant to be Jesus with skin on, they showed me genuine love, they showed pure joy, and an unexplainable excitement for life that honestly a teenager like me does not have all time. When I say this week has changed me, do not get confused and think I mean that I saw these kids and their disabilities and realized how blessed I am and I was humbled. It is the COMPLETE opposite. This week I saw MY shortcomings, compared to these amazing kids. I saw my lack of life, I saw these kids wake up every morn...