73 Years of Younglife

Today is the 73rd birthday of the program that I hold near and dear to my heart. Ever since my friends convinced me to go to camp three years ago, I've watched Younglife change me, and my life, in ways unimaginable.

As a rising 8th grader, I was drowning trying to balance home life and school life. My parents got divorced and I had no idea where to turn or what to do. That's when I received a Facebook message from my Wyldlife leader Shelbi, someone I barely knew at the time, telling me that she understood what I was going through, that she cared about me, and that Jesus cared about me too. I was blown away (and still am) by her love and light and the way Jesus shone from her, and I wanted that. I wanted to radiate love for others to see, and I found out that Younglife could show me how.

My Younglife journey has taken me all over the country, form Southwind in Florida, to Sharptop in the Georgia mountains, and all the way to Crooked Creek in Colorado in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. I've asked my friends to tell me what their favorite Younglife memories are, and I hope to better show just how much this organization has impacted us.

Sarah:
     Sarah's favorite Younglife memory is from when we went to Sharptop freshman year. We were there in February so it was freezing cold, and we all ran back to our cabins after Club to talk about sin and forgiveness. Through our talk we got to the verse Isaiah 1:18, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." As our leader was reading the verse out loud, someone looked out of the window and saw that it had started to snow outside- right as we said that verse! Everyone ran outside and we played in the snow for the rest of the day, and we'll never forget the fun we had, and God's perfect timing when it came to that verse.



Emily:
     Emily's favorite Younglife memory is on June 2nd during Southwind 2012. That was the night she and Isabel fully accepted Christ into their hearts, and is definitely a cornerstone of their Younglife relationships. Going through that together has given them an unbreakable bond, and is something that I always think of when thinking about Southwind.





Redding:
     Redding's favorite Younglife memory is also from Southwind 2012. Hers is when we had game night in our pajamas. We ran all over camp doing team games until midnight and it was an absolute blast. I remember tons of laughing and smiles (and peace signs).







Isabel:
     Isabel's favorite Younglife memory is June 2nd, as well as making all of the friendships she has through Younglife programs and events. You can tell that camp is Isabel's (or should I say Peaches's) favorite place to be. You can see and feel her light up with an infectious excitement and enthusiasm that you didn't think was possible.










Rachel:

     Because of all the amazing times at Younglife I've had, it's hard to point out a specific moment that's my favorite. One of the most moving experiences I've had through Younglife though, was our hike up Sheep Mountain this summer at Crooked Creek in Colorado. To be honest, I'm lazy. And hiking up a 12,000 foot mountain is not exactly how I wished to spend one of my last days of camp. The hike was brutal, especially with a sprained ankle, and with the lesser oxygen in the mountains I struggled to get to the top. As I came over the last hill to the top of the mountain, I was met by  a 360 view of the amazingly beautiful Rocky Mountains. The sight was breathtaking and I absolutely will never forget it.


So here's to you Younglife! Thank you for giving us everything we could have asked for and more. You truly changed my life for the better and I can't wait to see where God leads us next on our journey together.

xoxo,
Rachel

Expect the Unexpected- Homecoming Week

Last week was our annual Homecoming week, which basically means that we're almost entirely off the academic hook for a whole school week. Hallways are decorated, everyone is dressed in costume, and teachers are encouraged to not give homework!

The week started off with Movie Star Monday and Too Tired Tuesday. On Around the World Wednesday, I kicked off my morning with middle school Wyldlife Donut Olympics! We ran around playing games (all involving donuts) and I even went up front and led one of them (snaps for Rachel).

Wednesday night I heard from my friend Bo who lives in Athens, informing me that his school was on a field trip to Columbus- and eating at one of my favorite restaurants! Expect the unexpected- right? I headed over there with one of my Link Crew peeps who also had some Athens friends and we had a great night catching up and goofing off!

Next was Throwback Thursday, so my friends and I decided to dress up as Biblical characters. Among us were David (me), Mary (with babydoll Jesus), grown-up Jesus, Noah, Moses, and Angels. At first we were worried that we would get in trouble for being offensive or sacrilegious, but quickly discovered that our teachers and admin found it hilarious! We even won the dress-up award for the day. Expect the unexpected! After eating with my Athens friends again, I headed over to school to play in our annual Powder Puff game. Our grade has never won a single game before, but we changed that on this beautiful Thursday night. We ended up in second place (Seniors in first), which was a huge step up from our 2-year last place losing streak. Expect the Unexpected!!!!

Friday was a blast. The school day was spent doing almost nothing. We had a pep rally in the morning, and after that I had a study hall in almost all of my classes. After school, my friends and I picked up our boxes of Happy Club t-shirts and they turned out wonderfully! The game was a lot of fun, but the end result was very disappointing with a Cougar loss. On the bright side, one of my good friends was voted as Homecoming Queen, and deserved it more than anyone else I've ever known! The Junior class won the competition in the Hallway category, and with fingers crossed we listened as the Juniors were announced to have won Homecoming Week overall!! The Seniors always win, so this was extremely unexpected. Big props to our SGA and everyone who volunteered to help with the hallway, video, and Powder-Puff!

Saturday was an awesome day, and the dance was so much fun! The band was amazing and I had a great time with all of my friends. This year's Homecoming was a huge success!!

I learned a lot from this week, the most important thing being that nothing is impossible. So go ahead- try out that new thing and don't be scared. Expect the most out of every single day because this life is beautiful and precious and amazingly unexpected. Make the most of it.

xoxo,
Rachel

"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' -- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." -James 4:13-14

"But life inevitably throws us curve balls, unexpected circumstances that remind us to expect the unexpected. I've come to understand these curve balls are are the beautiful unfolding of both karma and current." - Carre Otis