What YL Leaders Do

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 grabbed another staff member to begin to pray for peace and comfort for Max and for wisdom and patience for his leaders. As the next few minutes unfolded I was grateful once again to serve a creative and compassionate God through a caring organization like Young Life.    

Max’s leaders stayed near, but not too close, speaking encouraging words and letting him know that everything was going to be okay. They reminded him of what could happen next - they could eat lunch, he could watch his video on his iPad, he could have some time to rest. They assured him that he was going to be able to calm down and that he was going to feel better. The Guest Services camp staff person asked Max what he would like for lunch - “GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH!”, Max yelled.  The kitchen staff immediately started the process of bringing grilled cheese sandwiches for Max to a quieter room, away from the crowded dining hall, where Max could eat and watch his video and regroup. 

            

Once Max had had some quiet time, a plan was put in place for Max to be able to enter the dining room a few minutes early, before the rush and noise of meal times, so that Max would be able to eat the rest of the meals at camp together with his friends.                

What does a Young Life leader actually do? 

Often we have the opportunity to provide caring, creative ways to grow and to experience our loving God together.  

           

            

And at home: I have had the privilege of serving on a committee at our church that is working with Vanderbilt University’s Putting Faith to Work project. We have been meeting for over a year with several adults with disabilities who are connected to our church in order to help them find meaningful employment. The young man we are currently working with just completed high school and was an active participant in YL Capernaum throughout his high school years.

At our meeting with George and his parents began, George looked down at the table and continuously rubbed his hand through his hair. His words were mumbled and he had put down his basketball when he sat down to talk with us. His dad told us that several of George’s friends were working at the grocery store retrieving and stacking grocery carts and that he thought that George could probably do that for a job.

Half of us at the meeting knew George through Capernaum and we began taking the conversation in a different direction. We asked George about basketball and his favorite sports. We asked him what would be his favorite job and what he loves to do. George told us about playing basketball and about his love for animals in general and horses in particular. He perked up, looked at us, and spoke loudly and clearly. Gone was the head/hair rubbing and mumbling. He told us that his favorite, dream job would be to work on a farm. He has had some experience working with animals at a pet shop and one of his daily chores at home is to take his dogs on their walks twice a day by himself.

The amazing next step: One our church members has several contacts with people who own farms right outside of Nashville. He is setting up visits and interviews with his friends to talk about what it might look like for George to work half days at a farm.

During that meeting with George and his parents, we were also able to tell them about the Sunday School class for young adults that two of our Capernaum leaders are starting this fall at our church. We are hoping that George will join us there!

So, what does a Young Life 

leader do? 

Often we have the opportunity to provide caring, creative ways to grow and to experience our loving God together. And for that we are so grateful.