This has been an amazing summer for the Lord— and I do continue to wonder why I am so blessed to be a part of it. If this summer has made my heart sing, I can only imagine how God views it.
This summer we, naturally, had some fun together—but we also have had opportunities to grow our faith—from summer camp to baptisms to CIY to assisting at a trio of our Pizza Lunch Partners’ VBS to planning for the fall new ways to help teens develop their faith.
Sadly, we are losing a lot of our core student leaders to college but am excited as this new leadership team continues to develop. However, I have no doubt that these students have the ability to be a force for the Kingdom of God.
These students are much like our Olympic Team, best summed up by Eric Samuel Timm (his art hangs at YFC):
"17 year old get the gold… 14 year old gets the gold.... 16 year old gets the gold… don't tell me students can't change the world."
We have been able to bless a number of students as a direct result of the VIBE grant. Eight students benefitted via camp or CIY scholarships.
The sweetest story came as I was having a lunch appointment with a student. He was telling me that due to circumstances beyond his control, he could not get his desperately needed replacement eye glasses. He needed $150 to buy them. I told him that VIBE has gifted us with the ability to buy them for him and would get them that day. He was so excited this teenage boy couldn’t eat his lunch.
This child was giddy. He had been so limited by his inability to see that his joy was abundantly obvious. As we finished our time together, I received a text saying they charged too much money; go back and switch checks for that $150.
In that one appointment, this teenage boy saw that people who love him will come through for him.
In this one appointment, I saw how God really does provide for our needs and that we cannot let the change in dollar amounts change our intent to minister
