YL.

The weekend before Christmas we had the pleasure of attending Polar Bear Weekend with our Young Life kids. Andy and I, along with my dear friend Melanie are the senior leaders at Berkner High School. It turned out to be an amazing weekend that transformed the hearts of many high school students. I'll be the first to admit I was not too wild about giving up my weekend, but just as I suspected the Lord blew me away from the second we arrived.

There's just something about spending a weekend together in a secluded camp that breaks down walls more than anything else. No Monday night club or talk at Starbucks could have gotten us to the place we ended up with our girls. We were in an environment that was safe. That lended itself to vulnerability. A place that for the first time we were able to hear our girls hearts and see the pain that overflowed from their tear filled eyes. There is a lot of hurt and sadness that they experience, and they were able to express it freely. Without holding back they shared their stories, frustrations, anxieties. Our prayer is that something that was said that weekend - whether from our mouths or someone elses - peirced their hearts to the point of desiring to know and walk daily with the Lord. They are a joy to be around and give a fresh perspective on life for sure. We were blessed to be able to talk and share meals together, go on the zip line, jump on the bouncy balloon, watch the crazy ones jump in the freezing lake, play silly games and stay up till all hours of the night acting like 17 year olds again!