Monday, August 27, 2018

Becoming a (YL) great grandfather!

I just met one of my great grandchildren. Who would have thought? I’m 29 years old in my faith (42 total years old)...yet I’m a great grandfather at '29?'

A little history. Back in 2002 I became a YL leader for Marysville-Pilchuck HS ‘life of the party,’ Tyler Olen Marcus. Years later he became a YL leader and met and discipled a kid named Taylor Bream.

Fast forward to Creekside last week,
Taylor was here as a leader with Shoreline. He approached me and commented that I was his ‘spiritual grandfather.’ I was confused at first. I wondered if a DNA test was necessary to determine my genetic lineage with him, and if I owed him any past YL child support checks.  We got a good laugh together. 

The next day, one of the guys he led, Keegan, asked if he could meet his great grandpa...me!  So we posed for this picture by the pool.  Keegan, Taylor Bream, Tyler Marcus, me.  Four generations!  I wished my Young Life leader could have been there. And like a good great-grandfather I hope Keegan pops out a disciple in the next few years to add to this discipleship tree.

2Tim2:2 "the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."



Friday, August 24, 2018

The Old is GONE. The New HAS COME!

Wow!  What a week at Camp! 

God delivered more than I expected.  I received more grace, more love, more connection to him, more support and saw more girls laughing, more girls leaning in, more girls feeling accepted and more spirit working to renew the lives of teen moms at camp this week!

What the Hell?
One girl was didn't know she was coming to 'A Jesus Camp'. She had never heard the good news of Jesus before.  During the Resurrection Talk, really didn't know that Jesus would rise again.  When I said the grave was EMPTY because Jesus was alive, she looked up at her mentor and said, "What the hell?"  She had never known that died and rose again. Jesus is alive! How astonishing! And the living God began to work in her heart. For the quiet time, we gave the girls 'family rings' at the beginning of the 15 minute all camp quiet-- like the prodigal son received when he returned home.  She took the ring, and asked her leader about it again to make sure she understood and put it on.  At one point she LOST the ring.  Her whole cabin spent a section of time looking for her ring because it troubled her so much that she lost it.  The last morning, she attended the New Believers Walk where she received her first Bible and put her 'tile' in the Sluice box as an ebenezer! She stood up at 'say so' and said  "this week, I came home to God!".
Another girl almost didn't make it to camp, because she was plagued with anxiety. Her mentor had to release it and give it to God.  But the power of God is greater than her anxiety and she got on that bus.  At camp, she was miraculously brave and vulnerable.  She asked to see a bible, so her mentor gave her a bible. She was intrigued at how the pages were so thin, as she laid eyes on God's word for the first time.  After lights out she had her flashlight on looking through the Bible-- hungry for more.  She also started a new life with Jesus!  On the last day of camp, she even said, "this week made me realize I don't need drugs and alcohol to have fun."  What changes in store for this young woman!

As part of my talks, I consistently told them that they are God's beloved daughters.  Feelings of rejection run deep in this group of young ladies because they are often disowned or ignored by many.  I had some 'Beloved' decals made for the teens as a gift and I delivered them to the cabins.  All of the young ladies were thankful for such a simple and meaningful gift reminding them of their value to our Heavenly Father.  One girl burst into tears and said, "This camp is REALLY MESSING with me".  I hugged her as she whispered a "thank you" between sobs.  Sitting in the front row at the 'say so' service on the last day of camp was this sweet girl-- declaring her new connection with God. 

Young Life Dictionary:

All Camp Quiet= The holiest of times at camp.  Campers are released to go and sit and be perfectly still. Some pray for the very first time, some think, some begin a life with Jesus.

Mentor= Young Life leader for YoungLives are called mentors.

New Believer's Walk= On the last morning of camp, campers who begin a relationship with God, will get up early and attend this event with their leaders/mentors.  They receive a bible.
New Believer's Walk
The experience includes learning about some of the spiritual disciplines of how to keep growing and ends with putting a tile in the sluice box-- as a permanent monument of their decision to walk with Christ. 

Say So= A special service at a Young Life Camp, where campers who begin a relationship with God can declare it.  At YoungLives camp, girls attend this service with their child(ren).

Tiles in Sluice Box: Mom & Baby!



Sluice Box

Sluice Box= a miner's box for filtering gold.  At Creekside, the theme is a Miner Theme, and the campers write their names on a piece of 'tile' on the last day of camp during the New Believer's Walk, and set it in the sluice box, as an ebenezer, or monument to mark the day of their new life with Jesus.
*a special sluice box was made for YoungLives camp at this property because teen moms can't take their strollers and babies up to the main sluice box because it is difficult to get to up a hill.

Thank you for all your prayers. Thank you for those who help send kids to camp, support Young Life staff like me, for those who encourage and cheer and pray. Keep praying for these girls as they go home to a world that did not change like they did.  Pray for strength, hope, and connection with God. 

2Corinthians 5:17 "If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new has come!"    
                                                         -Tanya Rodriquez-Huber-

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Faithful-full

Speaking to kids at camp with over 350-450 people, after all the efforts to get kids there, carries a high level of pressure and expectation to give the clearest, shortest, most captivating message possible. After each message, Tanya and I reflected, asking ourselves first, ‘was I faithful?’ Since ultimately sharing the good news of Jesus is HIS deal, coupled with the fact that YL camp is a ‘leader centered’ model where the speaker is there to serve them walking with THEIR KIDS, being faithful is the best question to ask.

After Tanya gave message #1, #2 and #3...each went WAY better than she expected. Lots of prayer, faithful preparation and practice went into each message, but who would know if it would connect at ALL with the teen moms? 

Watching Tanya share was like watching a 5 star chef ‘throw somethin’ together for breakfast.’  Her humor, ability to connect, passion as she brought the gospel accounts of Jesus alive was so fun. After each talk, mentors and girls hugged her saying ‘thank you! Can I hug you?’  

One teen mom was overheard at the pay phone with her boyfriend saying: ‘yeah, there’s this comedian chick who speaks to us, she’s like really funny and talks about God, which I don’t usually believe or listen to that stuff but i actually am really interested this time. I Wish you could hear her too.’  Nice! 

Friends Lori Hein and Heather H, Kelli I and Spokane friend/YLVS leader Melissa Morasch all were delighted seeing her in sweet spot, communicating the good news to theses highly receptive girls. 
     (Caption: Tanya reading Luke 15, using the storybook Bible of the Father running to the lost son)

Let’s pray for these girls, their mentors, and the child care workers who faithfully hold, love, pray over, and play with the babies during club, cabin times & events.



Monday, August 20, 2018

Passing the BaTanya

My (Jeff's) 3 weeks of speaking are concluded and now the baton is passed on to Tanya as camp speaker.  I love how seriously she prepares. Yet we both know it's all God's deal, we participate, and He does the real work.  Such a joy to see these teen moms arrive. Check out the scene of what it looked like when the girls arrived! https://youtu.be/Zczxc0quQ8s

Reflecting on last week, I had a message come in from my Young Life leader when I was in HS, who is still a friend, Joel Price.  His cousin's daughter came home from Creekside raving about the camp speaker who gave great talks and told amazing stories. One of the stories she told was the set up for the 'cross talk' where 'the speaker' did a super creative prom invite, complete with Hershey Kisses and notes. And how his YL leader taught him to ask in a way that shows you mean business.  Well, as Joel heard this story, he stunned 'Olivia' by saying 'I was Jeff's Young Life leader who helped him come up with that prom invite plan!'  Classic moment!

Tanya gave her first talk last night to the room full of teen moms with YoungLives.  So much prayer has covered this week.  So much celebration and joy has surrounded these girls coming to have the best week of their lives.  After copious amounts of preparation, Tanya Rodriquez-Huber gave the first club talk and felt the miraculous hand and favor of the Lord guiding her and giving his peace throughout the whole room.  Check it out! 
https://youtu.be/lkkDdSvK4nY

Dietrich has been great this whole time and yesterday came to the end of his limits.  He felt  depression beginning to cloud over him, leaking him of the joy he has had here.  When we were preparing to come, he asked if there was any way to NOT come, he was afraid he would feel this way.  At day 18 away from home, he broke down. I will likely take him home Tuesday and return to pick up the fam Thursday. Seems petty to not be able to make it two more days, but its a significant time for us to show him how committed we are to him, and a preventative way to steer as far from the depression that looms as we can.  When it comes to coming back to the depression clouds he faced for a year and a half, I find myself yelling, like on Monte Python movie: "Run away!  Run Away!  Pray for us in this.  For Tanya to have support for the last 2 days, and for Dietrich's looming depression to be curtailed.  He perked up know that we were even considering taking him "home" to Spokane. Which is comedic in its own way, since the depression first hit by making Spokane 'home.'  We as a family couldn't help to laugh amidst the tears last night.

Thank you!

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Lightning and THUNDERstruck!

If God give you a wish list where you could customize the ULTIMATE 15 minute quiet time for middle school kids, what would you order? I would request lightning and thunder.  Perhaps a rainbow for added emphasis of God's presence.  Check it OUT in Slo-MO!! https://youtu.be/QEhXRRutVv8

During this week's 300+ campers' 15 minute quiet time, God spared no expense and brought a rainless thunder and lightning storm as kids sat and considered starting a relationship with Him.
Of the 300 kids and leaders, Walla Walla was a joy, as were Waterville & Leavenworth, the area's first time at a Wyldlife camp.

None grabbed our hearts like the Yakima Valley kids from White Swan, native kids who live in the Yakama Nation (pictured right.)  It was a treasure to see each of these kids have the best week of their lives, be loved by leaders and be introduced to the person and love of God.

 One girl entered into this week sharing that she has 3 fears: darkness, lightning and being in front of a crowd of people.  On day 3, w

hen I welcomed kids to dinner, to a song our sound guy, David Bond selected, called 'Feel the Thunder' I enthusiastically shouted 'do you guys feel the thunder tonight?' Just then, lightning struck and all the lights went out, the dining hall when completely dark..followed by crackling thunder.  Kids thought it was choreographed. Nope!  Then, she went to club and was called up to participate in game in front of 300+ campers.  Then, during the 15 quiet time after club, about 12 mins into it, the most massive lightning bolt we'd ever seen struck, followed by 2 more, one that started a fire on the hill.  Well...in cabin time, she realized as clearly as anything she'd experienced, that God was calling her out of her fears and comfort, into a powerful life with God.

Another girl asked her leader if she can do a one-on-one time. As a new leader, she was nervous of leading the conversation. When meeting up, out of the gates, the girl shared 'I come from a family that doesn't believe in God, but I believe in Him now, and I want to start a relationship with Him. Can you help me to start it?'  Wow, sure God teed her up for a first one-on-one! 

Another girl at camp had the opposite feeling towards talking about God. She expressed during a one-on-one time that she did NOT want to have any conversations this week about herself or about God, and 10 minutes into the time together, she asked 'could we just be done now, please? I hate this!' The leader respectfully agreed and felt awkward and bummed the rest of the day. The next day, after club, cabin time and 15 minutes of time alone, the girl had a total change of heart. After lunch she apologized and insisted that she changed her mind and wants to talk now. They found some comfy rocking chairs and the girl insisted on sharing her complete life story, and how she was skeptical of knowing God, and how she now wants to begin praying and believing and trusting him. The leader was....well...thunderstruck by the way God opened this seemingly closed and locked door!

On a personal note, a few joys during this time I got to be camp speaker.  Being with former YL leaders and kids. it has been a joy being with two of my former "FAT Fellas." (FAT=Faithful, Available, Teachable) I invested in and gave my very best training and life-on-life practices to 12 underclassmen my last year in Everett before moving to Spokane to be regional director. Two of them are Byron Lewellen and David Bond, who are both here on summer staff & absolutely ROCKING it. Allen Turner, a former Cascade HS 'kid' was here as a leader and trip coordinator with NE Seattle.  He was one of my "3" when he was in HS and after wandering from God years ago, returned to God with 'full send.'  It's been a joy to be a monthly financial supporter of his YL part time 'student staff' position, and to see him blossom as a man of God and leader. And, Ernie Merino, a former 'YL kid' of mine my FIRST year leading YL, 20 years ago, is our camp director...which is my 'boss' here.  Such a joy to see him leading our whole camp with great precision, and giving my daily feedback on my role of speaking more and more clearly.   Gosh, and Brittany Francke, who Tanya and I invested in as a YL kid, a college aged leader, student staff and eventually she was on full time staff with me before ultimately taking over as area director after I moved. She serves as lead program director here and its pure joy to serve alongside of her.

Lastly, on a personal note, to be here with my kids and Tanya has been a delight.  We were nervous when Dietrich expressed NOT wanting to be here, yet he has stepped in to serve, be a part of camp, star in the final scene of the opera doing 'Fortnite' dance moves, and being relationally connected.

Janna has been on stage with me for 3 club talks each week.  She and I illustrate what our 'Face to Face*' relationship is designed to be like with God.  Yet, she turns her back on me, and walks away through the door, slamming it, showing what we do to God when we push or leave him out of our life.  Then morning 4, she comes back in, and I welcome her back, and resume the 'life to the full' I had always intended.  This week in particular, a few campers came up to Janna and I, some from Waterville/Orondo, Eugene and Tacoma, sharing how much that visual meant to them.  Kids shared that they figured that God was just as uninterested and disengaged as their own dads were, and that what she expressed gave them a wake up that their heavenly father felt completely different towards them.  Such a sweet delight for us to help clarify God's love and posture towards us, even when we choose to go our own way and stray from him.

This morning, over 100 kids came to the new believers walk to commemorate starting their new relationship with God by writing their name and the date on a 'tile' to put in the sluice box. One kid, a Yakama tribe boy from White Swan, captured my heart. See him on the furthest left, as he puts his tile in. God gives hope to every one of us. He leaves the 99 to go after the '1, ' I think he's the ONE!

Thank you for praying.  Stories are still yet untold, and are unfolding.  More to come.  As for now, let's join to pray for TANYA and she is making final preparations over the next 24 hours before 200ish teen moms, 200-ish mentors and an army of nannies and teammates arrive here for the YoungLives week.  Miracles are ready to rumble like thunder!  Let's pray!

He's a Good Good Father!
Jeff and Tanya Huber

Thursday, August 16, 2018

God's dream come true

Here's a fun story about God's faithfulness as Jeff looks at the BIG picture of what God has called him/us to.

10 years ago, I (Jeff) spoke at our Young Life middle school ‘Wyldlife’ camp at ‘Canyon’ camp. After I said a prayer, concluding my second talk that first week, i saw all the kids get up to head to cabins and something hit me and it brought me to tears. Camp director Craig Hooper came up to the stage to comfort me that my ‘talk’ wasn’t THAT bad, but that wasn’t what triggered the tears.

10 years previous, it was early summer 1998, and I had taken a road trip to Ocean Shores to pray for God to direct me what to do next after I graduated from WWU with my communication and Russian degree. During a nap, God for the only time in my life, spoke to me in a dream. I was wearing a YL tee shirt, holding a Bible, speaking to 500 kids. I awoke from that nap with a complete confidence that God was leading me to come on staff with YL. 

So as that group of 650 campers got to leave for cabin time, the sight of them triggered that dream on the beach. I looked down at my YL tee shirt, with my Bible in hand and that kairos moment froze me in my tracks. 10 years after a crazy little dream on a beach that altered my course became fulfilled before my eyes. 

Fast forward another 10 years. Here I am at the same Washington Family Ranch camp, only next door at Creekside, and I’m speaking to middle school kids again. I connected with one of the summer staff guys who is a waterslide operator. I reminisced about 2008 and he said he was there as a camper with Vancouver/Clark Co. DeMarcus. I felt like I remembered him.   

Just before heading out the door to camp, I had brought a picture from when I spoke in 2008. My all-time fave Wyldlife leader, Robb Schreiber, snapped a pic of me and his cabin and printed it off as a thank you note to me for speaking into his kids lives. I dug it out of my bag yesterday and realized...the kid in the middle on the right...it’s DeMarcus! He was there too. 10 years later

Monday, August 13, 2018

He Still Moves Stones...and BUSSES!

Our second week of WFR Creekside departed today. We will rest, pray, eval, play with fam and prep for the next 2 weeks. I love catching my breath. Especially when God takes out breath away.

Some bus-moving, breathtaking moments from this past week:

-A 7th grader named ‘Abdullah’ got on the bus after the bus had already left for camp. His Muslim father caught up with the bus, and hoped if Abdullah went to camp, perhaps the demon the dad thought was inside of him would depart. Not your typical reason a kid is sent to camp. All week, he avoided meal times, hid from his leaders, and disengaged from club. On day 4, he finally opened up to his leader. He talked for 30 mins non-stop, sharing his story of rejection from his family and having no place to call home. A highly analytical kid, he agreed to start reading the book ‘A Case For Faith/Christ’ with his leader, Ken Knott. Huge progress!

-Dietrich has been an absolute GEM.  He has been so tender hearted towards us, brings team members custom-made coffees, is very kind towards other kids here, volunteers to serve in the Tin Cup ice cream shop to serve campers during free time, and even hangs out with the quiet, introverted campers.  This is the same kid who begged to not come to Creekside with us.


-Another bus story? Yep! Two brothers, Diego and Dabi, could not be reached weeks and days before camp. Their mom was in jail and they were MIA. After the bus left, the area director finally heard back from them...and picked them up, and drove hours to meet the bus at a rest stop. They came! Both were in a state of brokenness, hurt and hopelessness. By Day 4, Diego prayed with his leader to start a relationship with Jesus. His brother is warming up to! Move that bus!


-Over 200 kids stood up this morning to say they 'came home' / 'opened their door' / started a relationship with God or re-committed this wk. Quite a sight! And over 150 showed up at the New Believers Walk this morn to dedicate their life to God. 

-A girl came who stood out like a sore thumb...and walked around with a sore heart. Her Wyldlife leader prayed for her and felt the Lord give a word for her: “you’re not alone.” During cabin times and with leaders, she kept denying any problem, saying ‘I’m fine.’ Finally day 4 she shared in cabin time, 'I feel alone!' and they all prayed with her.  During her one on one with her leader, confirming what the Holy Spirit had already spoke to the leader, the girl said on her own, "I know am not alone anymore." Loved that God gave a 'word' and it didn't even need to be shared. Sometimes God reminds us ' I GOT this!' when we are clueless and anxious.
-Finley from Lynnwood, approached me and asked, almost like the 'rich young ruler' in Mark 5, 'what must I do to really connect with God?'  I asked 'what have you tried.'  He said he tried but gave up. My wisdom was to take 15 mins alone, and ask 1) what has been in the way between you and God? and 2) What do you want from God?  He agreed and took full advantage of the two 15 min quiet times.  He said, I asked God what was between us, and he told me. I asked for forgiveness for what I was 'plugging into' instead of into him. Then, I felt like God was holding me. It felt like his arm was around me.  I prayed for God to help me know what I want from him. Then, he said 'I think I know what the Holy Spirit is now, because I felt God fill me with peace, wrap himself around me and confirm that he is close to me. He said he got a journal and I'm going to write this down and do this more often.  Love this!


-One kid signed up for camp to have a good time with friends, but was sternly warned by his athiest parents NOT to give into believing in God or religion that we may push on him.  Yet the whole week, even though we shared about God, and what a relationship with him could be like, he felt zero pressure. And, God became very real to him. During the last cabin time, one of the questions was: "Where are you at with the process of A-Admitting I push/leave God out of my life B) Believe I am fully loved and C) Come Home" (as in the lost son returning to his awaiting party animal father.)  He said he acknowledges and admits he clearly pushes God out, and now believes God loves him. And he is in the midst of 'C'...coming to his senses and thinking about coming home. Progress!!

-Toni came to camp as a leader with her daughter Avery in the cabin too. Avery has had a long health battle that leaves her fearful and reluctant to get out of her 'comfort zone' (which is my theme all week!) Avery had some huge breakthroughs and her mother Toni led the way in praying for her and celebrating the huge successes, both on the scariest waterslide, the Big Muddy, and in seeking after God amidst all her fears. She was visibly CHANGED by Day 4. She came alive, became fearless and joyful.  Then, I found out that they are finally going to move to Okanogan, now that her health is stabilized, and NOW want to start Young Life next year there. Can't wait for Bill Dooley to work with them to help build up a spirit-led movement and help get that off the ground! Who'd have known that this mom-leader and shy, fearful girl would end up being a great story to unfold in my region for years to come. :)  


God is so good.   -Jeff

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Kids Lives BEAUTIFULLY Transformed!

Would you join us in praying for kids these 3 weeks?

So many great stories of God's grace have been swirling around us. Well over 150 kids showed up to the 'new believers walk' this morn, with kids placing a 'tile' in the sluice box to commemorate their decision to say 'yes' to a relationship with Jesus. Such a thrill to see all this unfold!

A cabin of kids went on the Day 2 night hike to see the clearest view of the stars these kids have ever seen.  They sat together and prayed they could see a shooting star. Immediately, the brightest one any of us had ever seen zipped by and it's trail remained for almost 10 seconds until finally vanishing.  I saw it happen too, but did not know this cabin of kids who have never prayed, were praying specifically for something like this to happen!  God is so able.


A girl who had put up walls, not wanting to look into knowing God, nor talking to leaders about it, had a divine encounter. During the Day Four, 15 minute quiet time, she finally figured she would give God a try. She caved in and tried praying a first time, and closed her eyes. She said she began to see a vision, a picture that came alive, of being in a dark room with a door. She heard God's voice calling to her from the door, and in her vision she reached out to open the door and said that she saw the face of what looked like Jesus (even with tan skin) and he said, 'everything is forgiven, come home!'  And that is exactly what she did!  Incredible how what Jesus shared a combined picture to her of both Rev. 3:20 and Luke 15!  Standing at the door calling her by name and coming to her senses to come home to her heavenly father!  It was fun to see her show up to the 'new believers walk' the next morning!

On the last two days, I copied God's approach with how he thinks of us. Isaiah 49:16: "See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands."  I wrote kids names on the palm of my hand to pray, and during my Day 4 message of how Jesus stands at the door and knocks, I spoke the names of 10 kids as examples of how personal that God is with us.  Later that day, a leader commented that when I said her name out loud, it helped her realize that Jesus was specifically knocking on HER door, and she opened her life to God for the first time.

After sharing how Jesus listened to the WHOLE story of the hemorrhaging woman from Mark 5:25, a young man from Ellensburg, 'Double J', asked if he could tell me HIS whole story. His story included being torn down from kids at school insulting his skin color and race; not being 'black enough' for some, nor white enough for others. In 7th grade he was taken out of school after an angry outburst after racial slurs being written on his locker.  And this year, he lost his father to a lethal combo of cancer and a heart attack, after his mom lost her job. I waited for the story to resolve but at that point...that was all to his story.  I asked to pray for him and as I prayed, the Lord brought a picture to mind. Double J is a 'masterpiece and work of art' that Ephesians 2:10 refers to. And that as God enters into his life and works a redemptive new story, He has his 'perfect mixture' of paints on his palette...and that Double J's skin color IS the perfect mixture for this masterpiece.  I sensed the Lord leading me to say that he will use his skin color, the loss of his father, and his mother's profession of teaching 'Communication' to raise him up to be a gifted communicator to all nations, races, socio-economic statuses, and from all kinds of backgrounds and stories.  As I prayed, we cried together and hugged and agreed that this felt like this moment and these words from from God. I believe Double J is a kid we will hear much more from in the future!


Another kid's life story tore my heart to shreds. Sergio from Seattle. After our work crew shared their cardboard testimonies, he got the courage to want to open up to me. He said he hates emotions and talking. I suggested that this is not from God but from the evil one. So he shared. His parents had gotten divorced, and after a terrible debacle, CPS disallowed his mother to see him and his little brothers anymore. He moved in permanently with his father, whom he struggles mightily to connect with in any way. Depression and dark thoughts and anxiety overwhelm him often. And he wants to be free from all this. His leader joined me to pray. The words God gave us were that he needs to open up to a few mentors to be as father-like influences in his life, to invite his friends in his cabin to know the secret pain he carries and lastly, to take a bold step of faith and trust in God... to let his father know that he is struggling with depression and anxiety and dark thoughts and ask him to assist him to get professional help. We cried together, prayed and hugged for a few minutes. His leader let me know he would walk with Sergio.

A group from Waitsburg (near Walla Walla) had an incredible week, where every kid 'stood up' and were powerfully changed. The leaders commented that it was a 100% success rate of kids lives transforming. Ha!


A last one.  A longtime leader from Ellensburg had two kids here that signed up from their family, but they did not want to come, nor talk about God.  Both refused to get out of bed a number of times and wanted to skip activities and sleep through club and the messages.  They made it evident they did not want to be there.  Something began to change.  Other boys they knew from school were being really open and 'real' during cabin times, taking God more seriously than they'd ever seen peers do.  They watched the others' lives change before their eyes and even though they did not pay attention to the content of the messages, seeing God's power and works was enough for them to decide to pray for the first time ever, to open their hearts to Jesus and start a relationship with God.

All this and so much more in the past few days in the lives of 448 campers. Praying for transformations in the lives of over 400 more campers that just arrived from Auburn, Federal Way, Enumclaw, N.Y., Lynnwood-Terrace, Tahoma, and Shoreline.

-Jeff-




Monday, August 6, 2018

Let the Summer Camp Stories BEGIN!!!

Friends-

The Huber family is now at Creekside, campers just arrived last night.  447 kids and leaders from Everett/Mill Creek (with dear friends like Tanner Kunard, the Dowdells, Kylene Schaeffer, ABaker, etc.) here as leaders!), 4 Seattle/Highline areas (including leader Allen Turner, Hugo Lam, Micailah Moore & Jordan Bettencourt), Billings/Big Sky, Cody WY, Ellensburg, 5 Cle Elum kids, Dayton/Waitsburg, and McMinnville & Albany OR.

I gave my first talk last night. It was a jam packed room...wasn't sure what my prepared words were going to contribute.  I shared a story last night of getting a pic with Seahawks/U.W. WR Jermaine Kearse with my 'shooters sleeve', relating it to the hurting woman who audaciously reached through the crowd to Jesus and he noticed, healed her and listened to her whole story. A cabin of girls made their own shooters sleeves out of tube socks too & we got a pic. Classic.

This morning (Day 2) Tanya and I co-hosted an all camp gathering we called 'Real Life' where we had 3 work crew kids share a drawing of their family. Tanya helped them explain it from the stage, and then we invited kids and leaders to draw their own family, outline style.

Kids and leaders bunched up and took it surprisingly serious. Some kids left their family outline and it broke my heart...reminding us of the kinds of stories young people have.  See below, see the family in the 'clouds' which symbolized family had died. Also included family in jail and on drugs...with what seems to be a single mom with many kids.

Pray that the Lord would open the broken hearts of these 400+ middle school kids.  And somehow use our team to proclaim and relay his love to them in terms they 'get.'  

Thank you!
-Jeff and Tanya Huber