Week 2 - Malibu 2014

Max, a student from Bothell, shared with Jeff that he had been praying for a clear sign or some kind personal touch in his life from God so that he can know God is with him.  That is a tricky thing to ask for, it is not promised by God nor is it the primary way He tends to reveal himself.  Yet, on day 3, he sat alone and opened the Bible up to a random page (he hardly reads the Bible) and it was John 5 about the man laying beside the pool, hoping to find wholeness. Jesus asked him ‘do you want to be well?’  He felt like the words were just for him as he was struggling through some difficult emotions this month.  Then, wouldn’t you know it, I spoke that night on, yep, John 5.  He couldn’t believe it.  God made himself undeniably clear to Max that He is not only there, but that he knows him and invites him to wholeness.

The former president of Young Life, Doug Burleigh was a guest this week at Malibu.  Sounds delightful, but it was more nerve wracking for Jeff to have him in the back of the room listening with critical eyes and ears.  Malibu already has such a stigma of excellence, but having Doug there added a layer of intensity within Jeff’s head.  He was  here this week with a group of other guests  who had incredible history here.  One woman was on the very first work crew back in the 50’s.  Jeff was encouraged as Doug pulled him aside a few times to encourage him on what a great job he was doing.  He said Jeff was ‘clear, passionate, personal, authentic and involved Janna into the messages so well.’  Phew!

Many great stories this week... Tanya shared her story on the real life panel.  Many girls with absent or uninterested fathers found her during camp and wanted to talk about Dads… including them in your life, giving them second chances, and forgiveness.  Doing this has really caused Jeff and I (Tanya) to count our blessings and survey and give God glory for what he has brought us through.  

Our family…has been a fabulous ministry tool. Janna is on stage helping Jeff with his talks by being a physical model of what the father-child relationship should look like. It is melting the hearts of campers, leaders and adult guests to see her look up at her Dad with perfect trust and love and to hear what fathers hope for their children.  Around camp we engage with many campers who tell Janna that they love seeing her up on stage.  One camper said that her highlight was seeing Janna and Jeff on stage together when campers were sharing highlights from the week.  It is a powerful and rare image in the lives of our teens.   

We’ve found many kids and leaders that you’ve all been telling us to look for—2 Joeys from Lake Stevens, Jake Douglas, Cada from Lake Stevens, our wonderful Wenatchee friends… AND amazing leaders…Carrie and Tyson Horner from Monroe, Angela A., Kyle Hoglund--- WONDERFUL, sweet time with these friends.

Janna has been cleaning the lodge and Dietrich and I are helping to bus tables in the dining hall.  It’s a fun thing we are doing together! Kids are having a wonderful time. Pray that they see themselves as part of the process of bringing teenagers to know him.  

Keep praying.  Jeff is really striving to be obedient to what God puts on his heart to change and speak.  Tanya is up for another week on the panel. Pray that God would use her story to help bring more teens to fullness in Christ. 

Tanya and campers from Lake Stevens

Pool Olympics - Sink the Speaker Event

Tanya and the kids preparing to ride the new Malibu Swing!

Week 1 Malibu 2014

This week we had campers and leaders from Portland, Spokane, Skagit Valley and Hong Kong!

It was quite a mixed group.  The weather was great. It rained for a day or 2, but has been beautiful otherwise.

Some favorite highlights:

Watching kids from Hong Kong learn to let loose and have a fun time and be silly.  With their guarded culture, it was really a leap for them, but they jumped in!  I think they were really surprised to hear Jeff’s stories during club about embarrassing moments or failures as they usually don’t talk about that kind of thing. Usually, they save face. It helped them to be more real with each other about their faith and struggles, which helped them make major leaps in their depth of faith.

One kid, Darrien, came to Jeff on night 2 after hearing that God created him and thinks he is ‘very good’, and explained that his parents made him one night at a party. That was the only time they were together. They weren’t even friends. His whole life he has felt like a mistake. But for the first time ever, he feels like he wasn’t a mistake to God!  Wow.

Dietrich did the ropes course. He was the youngest kid to do it.  He was nervous and a little scared, but did it anyway!  We are very proud of our brave little man.

The kids play a lot.  I’m trying to find jobs around camp for them to help where they will really be helpful and not create more work for the work crew.  Janna has been cleaning the lodge playroom and kitchen.  Deek will help set the dining hall this week!  Pray they find joy in serving others.

No injuries.  Dietrich did fall out of his bed in his sleep onto the hardwood floor, landing on his face. He has a small black eye.  Other than that, we are wonderful.

Our Real Life Panel did a fabulous job.  They shared their stories with campers and the campers were very responsive to the presentation.  We may trade out some of the panelists to give them rest.  I may step in as a panelist for 1 week. Pray about this.

The last night at camp, most of the kids at camp stood up at ‘say so’ indicating that they had made significant progress towards God.  For about 20 of them it was the first time ever, for 100+ others it was a re-commitment or big steps towards starting their faith.  Jeff aimed to honor where every kid was at.

At midnight, Jeff stopped by the cabin Darrien was in to pray with them.  Actually to pray a ‘blessing’ over a few of the guys he talked with this week.  One of the guys opened up earlier in the day that he was really beaten down as a kid by his family and had dark thoughts creep in his mind often about himself.  Jeff led them into a prayer time for him, inviting them all to say a word or phrase about him of what they sense God thinks of him and his identity.  It was powerful.  Then every other kid wanted to be prayed for too.  Darrien seemed like he was ‘made’ to speak truth from God.  He had something specific and personal for every single kid in the cabin during prayer.  I was no accident that Darrien was made by God to be one who speaks truth, hears from God and is a powerful encourager.  So cool to see how God’s plans for people can come out so quickly after they begin to live for Him. 

Jeff is doing a great job being 100% himself, 100% about God and 100% clear.  That’s about 300%!  He is doing a great job.  His talks are well connected with wonderful and vivid illustrations.  Kids love listening to him.  He has been overwhelmed with encouragements and leaders and campers pulling him aside to share how God has spoken so specifically and powerfully through him.  Keep praying!  This week is Wenatchee, Chelan, Minnesota and New Jersey kids, Monroe/Duvall, Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Glacier Peak, Northshore, North Whatcom County, and others.

Jeff Speaking in Big Squawka

Beautiful evening on the Inner Dock

It SNOWS every week at Malibu

Dietrich rocks the Ropes Course

Ropes Course Rockstars

Malibu 2014-- Ready to dive in

Here we are!  Ready to dive into our Malibu assignment.   Jeff, the kids, 2 glowing computer screens in a handicapped accessible hotel room in Bellingham...we'll stumble around at 4:30 AM to meet up with our group and travel across the boarder into Canada for a mid-morning arrival at Malibu!
Our minivan is weighed down with 5 bins, 5 suitcases, 4 backpacks, 1 cooler, a robot dog in a carrier, one duffel bag stuffed with shoes and 3 Stand up paddle boards strapped to the top!
We are READY to go!
Jeff in excited to speak to 300+ campers each week. He is tireless at tinkering with his talks.  He has done this 4 times now, the last time was 5 years ago at Malibu again.  Back then we felt we were far too young to be given such a big responsibility.  But, God showed up and worked.
Now that we are ....gasp.... almost 40, we feel like we are far too young to be given such a big responsibility.  But let's be honest, we are some of the elders in the mission of Young Life now!  Age offers a sense of humility and tenderness that are necessary to boldly make known the mysteries of the gospel to kids who haven't heard or who have heard, but haven't quite caught on!
My (Tanya's) responsibilities include directing a team of 4 adults for a 'Real Life' panel where they share their stories in 3 different episodes through out the week.  I have shared my story in this way, but have never directed this powerful and moving activity!
We are hopeful, cautious, prayerful, humble, happy, and tired.
This year leaving home was a little more difficult than in years past.  For Janna, it's the Chickens--2 chicks, 3 hens who are dependable layers and one who works only part time--apparently. For Deek, it's his beloved canine "Aunt" Bella (Jeff's Mom and Dave's new service dog).  For Jeff and me (Tanya) it's leaving our "small group" friends!  We love all of  these families dearly!  But change is  'acomin' for our wonderful huddle.  One family, the Ingrams, will depart for Malawi Aug 1st!    When we know that when we arrive back home, our beloved friends will be on the other side of the world, (Find a globe, Malawi is an the OPPOSITE SIDE of the EARTH!) it makes it hard to to say goodbye that final time!
 We LOVE Ryan and Kelli's obedience to what God has called them to.   We LOVE that all of us are better human beings and followers of Christ because of their existence.  We will miss their encouraging text messages, frequent 'check ins' and unconditional friendship.  We love how God will use their beautiful family and their teaching gifts to BETTER the people of Malawi-- forever.  These people are game changers! We can't hog them to ourselves here. Ouch.  Love hurts.

This is our 'small group'  on 7/20.  
We laugh, we cry, we pray and we talk a lot about God.  We've been together about 10 years. (Heins, Hubers, Merrifields, Schwenkes, Ingrams)  

Prayer Requests:  Janna would like to have other kids to play with at camp who are her age.  Deek would like prayer for a friend who has legos to play with at camp.  Tanya would like prayer for directing the real life panel  and for the internet to work so that she can complete her summer school teaching duties stress free.  Jeff needs confidence in the power of God to work through his words and his resurrection talk.
Thanks for your partnership in this!  We can't do it without our support from home!

Week 2 (Part B)

Week 2 ended well.  My favorite story from week 2 was about an ambiguously looking girl.
She looked like a boy, but was a girl.  She was quiet at the beginning of the week, standing outside most social groups.  Stuck with the safety of her cabin.  The first day, I believe someone mistook her for a male camper when reminding the campers who was along on the girl's deck.  Right away I'd spot her in a crowd and watch out for her... knowing that God has her best interests in mind, I wanted to extend her the same care and love that He would.

The night of the 'dance', when we line the girls up and the boys up and pair them off to square dance, I was in constant prayer... for many things but one of the main subjects was this particular camper.  I prayed that she would get paired up with the perfect male camper.  As the girls lined up and waited, I patted her on the shoulder.  I said, 'This is going to be great!  It's going to work out!'  She looked me straight in the eyes...(something I think she learned to do this week) and doubted, "really?"  "YES"  I pounded back.  "You are going to like this very much!  You will think this is fun!" I had peace.  With a little encouragement, to stay in the line, she re-positioned herself several times and settled on a spot near the back.  She was paired with a ruggedly handsome male leader who truly made her feel like a valued princess.  She laughed and smiled through the square dance and then at the dance through the ages, her square dance partner stayed near by.  The summer staff actually stood on the outside of the dance mob, on her other side.  Everywhere she turned, she was having fun with people who cared about her.  She was fully participating in the dance--singing, grooving and of course she ended up in the pool.

At the 'Say So' at the end of the week, she stood and said, "Hi, My name is Z*** and before this camp I was an atheist, but this week, I started a relationship with Jesus!"
Glory to God!  The way we treat people is so very important.  I know it wasn't just night 4 that made her feel like she belonged.  I am extremely thankful for her leaders, cabin mates, other leaders, summer staff and work crew who made her feel accepted.  The love of Christ flowing through all of these people became real to her.  What better way to show God's love than to include them as to say, "God loves you and accepts you better and more unconditionally than I ever could.  But I'm going to give it my very best shot!"  Makes me think about this... who can we show Christ's acceptance to?

Week 2

Week 2 is almost over.  We are on day 6 of our 7 day camp today.

Jeff and I went kayaking on a special date to Helena Falls while Lori and Mark kept an eye on our kids.  When we returned, we took a trip to the pool with our kids. This was the perfect day capped off with a delicious outdoor dinner of steak and salmon with 380 of our closest friends! 

Tomorrow the largest camp in Malibu history will come in on boats. We can’t fit everyone on the Malibu Princess, so we are boating the over flow campers and leaders in on water taxis.  We will begin this process at 11:30AM!  429 campers and leaders will literally bust the seams of Malibu!  Our property staff have literally counted mattresses, sheets, plates and forks to make sure we can hold and serve everyone.  Bleachers are being built for the deck of our club room so that campers can fill the usual adult guest corner.  Ride schedules have been adjusted.  Fridge space has been made to store the additional food.  No bed will be empty at Malibu this week. Every kid who wanted to come to camp will come this week. They will not be leaving any kid at home.

We are also preparing for the Head Leader spouses to help out with Head Leader tasks of supporting leaders, getting campers to events and our favorite—'purple patrol'.  It’s fun for Jeff and I to work on the same team, and I know Lori and Mark enjoy it too.  We have a ‘Manny’ coming to help take care of the kids.   Can’t wait to share how this works out.

The kids are getting along great and all of the families at Malibu are fantastic.  I have had many conversations with staff wives from Wyoming and Arizona.. swapping stories and sharing ideas. 

Jeff has been blessed to spend time with some of the gems of Young Life.  Ash, Mike Ashburn, has been on staff for 36 years!  The Rhodes and Griffins have been on staff for 20+ years also. They have been so encouraging to Jeff and me this month. I have been writing some of the ideas, encouragements and stories they have shared in my journal!  But really, I love the unexpected bonus of being REALLY encouraged about the work we do back home while we are here.  I expected that we would serve others and NOT be blessed.  I like the way it's working out better than my original plan.  Isn't that typical?  God is exceeding our expectations once again!

Week 1 In Review

Week 1 at Malibu!
I loved having our area here.   About 120+ students and leaders from Everett, Mill Creek, and Mukilteo joined us at Malibu for our week 1.  We LOVED watching our 'heros', as they came off the boat with their high school friends that they worked tirelessly to get them here. Leaders from these areas meet with kids one on one to ask them how they are doing, and to go deeper into their lives.  As Jeff and I would walk around camp and see these conversations taking place, it made this whole adventure worth while.

Another highlight was having Elizabeth here to watch our kids.  Janna and Deek love her.  She does so well with them. The entire camp loved her warm personality and servant's attitude too, and the camp director asked her to come on week 3 to watch our kids so that I and Mark Hein could help with Head leader stuff.

Biggest frustration of the week:  not having enough internet access to work in online classes in my room!

Deek's Arm:  On Friday, Dietrich fell while playing on the monkey bars. Jeff suspected that he had a fracture.  Without an x-ray machine at Malibu, we couldn't be sure.   We saw the doctor and decided to wait and see.  On Sunday, they sent us out on a water taxi to get x-rays. I (Tanya) took Deek and Janna stayed at camp with Jeff and Elizabeth!  Boy, the Canadian hospital was interesting.  They x-ray was read and the emergency room doctor (no walk-in) said there was nothing on it.  Later that day, the emergency room doctors called and said that there was a small fracture.  (Deek said he saw it in the x-ray!)  But, that it was just a hairline fracture and it doesn't need to be splinted or in a cast.  We do have him in a make shift sling so that he doesn't use it or brace himself with it.  Yesterday, Deek didn't take any pain pills and today he is using his hand for things!!
He should be on the road to recovery. Thanks for the prayers.

Lori Hein is here now, taking on the head leader responsibility.  It is a fun time hanging out with her and her husband, Mark.  Of course, our kids are having a wonderful time with their old friends.

More later.  Thanks for your prayers!

Malibu 2013

We are at Malibu!  We left Everett behind, projects around the house undone, floors needed to be swept, laundry in baskets, garbage to be emptied, a bag of baby carrots in the bottom of our fridge.  It was a little rough getting out of the house this time.  I didn’t want to leave those things, but I chose what was better. 

Sometimes you just have to get up and go.  Tasks are undone, but our family is in a great place.  I didn’t become the frantic “Momster”  this year ordering my minions around as I Swiffer the kitchen floor and scrub the shower stalls.  Just the opposite, actually.  We have spent some great time together paddle boarding, eating meals and just playing around.  I

We are excited, hopeful, a little disoriented but ready to get this show on the road.

We have been preparing our hearts and heads to do this for months!  But there have been a few changes with the staffing as a result of someone on the team needing to stay home and get surgery.  Some jobs were shifted, people added and adjustments made.  We feel like we are coming into an “A Team” scenario.  It’s just not the “A-Team” we thought we were having when we first planned.

One of the most exciting parts of this—and there are many—is that I (Tanya) get to serve as a head leader in Lori Hein’s absence along side Jeff.  This is a familiar role.  I’ve served as a head leader at Malibu several times before, but never WITH Jeff on my team.  Elizabeth Aagard, one of my favorite YL students of all time, is coming to watch Janna and Dietrich while I serve!  What a treat for Janna and Dietrich.  Please pray for all of us!

 First boat comes in today! 

 Please join us in prayer for this adventure.