WyldLife

Meet Terah! Terah is a WyldLife leader in Holland, MI. Enjoy her story!

Two years ago I was asked to come along with a group of WyldLife middle schoolers and leaders to Timber Wolf Lake for summer camp. Though previously a camper, it was the first experience I had as a leader with WyldLife. On ropes course ride day, I vividly remember one camper (who was a 6th grader at the time) being terrified to take a leap of faith and get off the final platform. After all of our other campers and leaders had gotten down and 20+ minutes had passed, she finally did it! That moment she had reached the ground safely, eyes full of tears (mine included) is the moment when I fell in love with WyldLife!

I’ve since had the privilege of watching many other WyldLife and Young Life campers take that same leap of faith. But the icing on the cake of this story comes from what happened this summer back at Timber Wolf Lake. On ropes day, my same middle school friend (now an 8th grader) expressed some nerves about getting back on the course.

The two of us took a few minutes aside and talked about what it would mean for her to get back on the course, what the risk would mean for her. She reflected on how scared she was previously, but also how, two years back, it had ended up being the highlight of her week. I let her know, too, that it was the camp moment that I remember the most. With that, she strapped into her harness and jumped in line to be one of the first campers clipped into the course.

No joke, she nearly ran through it. As one of the first of our cabin to finish, she reached the ground safely and immediately came running towards where I was still on the course and with the biggest ear-to-ear smile I’ve seen shining on her face. She yelled from 40 feet below, “Terah, I did it!!” This time around it was only my eyes full of tears.

The Lord moves in risk, meets us in fear, and joins us in joy. I thank my king for providing me with a clear picture of this presence in my middle school friend and her journey through many high (literally) and mighty obstacles. I can only pray that these experiences are ones she will reflect on as a time of trial with triumph– accomplishment in risk, as will be a walk with Christ.

Needless to say– I am still in love with the way the ropes course brings campers and leaders together… and WyldLife as a whole.

As WyldLife leaders, our hope and dreams are for kids to experience the love of Christ through our relationships. At times, our middle school friends flip the script and teach us a little more about life with the Lord. Here’s a story from Katie who is a Church Partner at First Presbyterian Church of Harbor Springs. Enjoy!

My middle schoolers and I meet at the local donut shop every week. We grab some donuts, head down to the beach, and talk about Jesus. We were talking last week, and I asked the girls a question to which one of them responded, “Jesus loves all of you, even your zits.” At the time we laughed at this comment, but as I thought about it more, I realized that there was a lot of wisdom here.

Jesus loves us despite the state of our lives. He loves us despite our sin. He loves us in the midst of our sin. He steps into our sinful moments with us, and leads us out. He sees us for who we really are, all messiness included, and chooses to love us anyways. We are deeply loved by the God of the universe.

I really don’t give my middle schoolers enough credit. I convince myself that I am the one helping them be changed, but with moments like this, I remember that God is the one doing the changing. He is molding their hearts, and he’s molding mine as well. My relationship with my WyldLifers is changing me just as much as it is changing them. And for that, I am thankful.

Welcome to the Western Great Lakes Region blog specifically here to serve as a resource for WyldLife in our region! This blog will contain various stories from leaders and staff about the tremendous work the Lord is doing in the lives of our middle school friends. We will also be sharing best practices that you can pass along to leadership teams so that we can best serve everyone involved with WyldLife; staff, leaders, parents, and kids!