Dominican Republic Camping Exceeding Expectations

Pico Escondido, Camp in the DR

Excitement

·      78 teens committed and rededicated their lives to Christ in the first week of camp.

·      576 teens attended camp in the DR this summer.  Double the 2011 attendance.

·      4,663 teens attended Club this year in the DR.

·      Jose’s Story and many others like it.

Challenge/Prayer Need

·      Financial support for our 6 in-country staff

·      Prayer support for our 191 volunteer leaders

New Believers from week #2 of camp in the DR

Jose’s Story:

Jose mentoring at camp

As a teenager, Jose lived with his mother and two sisters and worked as a mechanic.  In his free time he liked to be on the street causing trouble.  He was very independent and ruled his house.  His mother and sister were subject to do whatever he asked them to do.  Jose lived for the moment; he lived for the party life.  One night while he was out on the streets he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, got in the middle of someone else's fight and ended up with two bullets in his spinal cord.  While he survived the injury, from that day on, he was paralyzed from the waist down.  This awakened a whole new set of emotions, and lifestyle that Jose had to live.  He became so depressed that he tried to commit suicide unsuccessfully on more than one occasion.  He didn't see what other solutions there were for his life.

Jose was invited to go to Vida Joven (YL) club and was then soon invited to Vida Joven camp.  The first summer he attended, his heart was hard and and he did not allow the Holy Spirit to penetrate.  However, he was invited back a second summer to camp, in 2010, where he was blown away by the Christ-like attitudes of the staff and leaders.  It was because of peoples attitudes that he decided to give his life to the Lord.  

Since then, he has grown a fire and passion for Christ and for sharing his goodness and truth with other teens.  This summer in attempts to get some of his friends to come to camp, he drove his wheel chair around barrio (neighborhood) after barrio, selling donuts to raise funds to send his friends to camp.  This summer Jose brought 7 of his friends to camp to meet the Lord and he continues to disciple these teens throughout the year.  He is also heavily involved in his church and has a dream to enroll in college and continue to serve the Lord as a volunteer leader for Young Life in the Dominican Republic.  Jose is a Champion for Christ.

Developing Global Leaders - It takes people to change people

Excitement

·      109 DGL students discipling nearly 500 teenagers

·      4^th class of Freshmen under review

·      1^st class to graduate in 2013

Challenge/Prayer Need

·      Identifying candidates in developing ministry areas

·      Funding 20 new DGL students in 4^th class

Current Total Students	109
Current Fully Funded	90
Current Partially Funded	8
Current Not Funded	11

A Sponsor’s Story – Mark Thannisch – Austin, Texas

In December 2011, my good friend, Curtis Olson, and I were visiting and I asked him how things were going at his new job at Young Life.  I have known about Young Life most of my life but never have had a chance to get involved  as there was no Young Life group in the small East Texas town where I grew up.  Curtis said that things were going great and asked me what I was doing on January 9th.  I couldn't come up with a conflict so he invited me to join him on a trip to a leadership training in Nicaragua.  Much to his surprise, I called him the next day and told him that I would meet him in Houston and fly with him to Managua.  I really didn't know where all of this was taking me but there was never a doubt that I was supposed to go.  The Lord works in strange ways!

Hermes - Business Major

We arrived and the next morning met up with Dan Jessup and the staff from Colorado Springs for breakfast.  We heard a moving testimony from Douglas who related how God had transformed him through Young Life from a gang leader to a Christian, young life leader and attorney.  The light began to flicker.

We made our way to the camp where the leadership conference was being held.  It was a beautiful place high in the mountains, greeted by 200 leaders and staff from all over Central America.  I must admit that my Spanish is poor at best, but the language barrier could not hide the fact that Christ was at work in these leaders lives.  After a couple of days, the light came on.  I realized that these young adults were being held back from breaking the cycle of poverty that they experience because no one had taken a personal and financial interest in lives, education and spiritual development.  I talked to Curtis about my thoughts and he told me that Young Life has a program called Developing Global Leaders that provides university scholarships to Young Life members around the world.  I asked him to help me find a student that I could sponsor.  Well, the Lord has brought Hermes and me together and he now attends a university in Nicaragua.

I appreciate the fact that Young Life, aka Vida Joven, is able to make an impact on the lives of youth one at a time.  All it takes is for people like me to slow down long enough to hear and experience the story. 

Thanks, Curtis for having enough courage to ask me to go. 

If we can answer any questions you may have, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We are honored to receive your prayers and support.

Dan Jessup                                                 Curtis Olson

VP, Latin America                                       Development

w. 719-381-1814                                         w. 719-381-1744

djessup@sc.younglife.org                         colson@intl.younglife.org

New Staff Member - Curtis Olson

New Staff Member, Curtis Olson

Latin America is experiencing explosive growth to meet an enormous need of teenagers and Curtis has joined our team to help round out the development efforts and business engineering. “After living a life of pursuing a life of success for so many years, I really felt called to step into a new chapter of God’s plan for me.  Gathering the courage to experience Jesus in a whole new way through the ministry of Young Life is such a blessing to me.” He comes from the high tech industry with a background in International Marketing and Finance, with a 3-year stint in Penang, Malaysia.

Curtis and his wife Kris have been married for 26 years and have two children.  Megan, 20, is a junior at TCU and Davis, 17, a junior in high school.  Curtis serves as an Elder at First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, and a board member for both, Green House Ministry and Big Brothers Big Sisters, Pikes Peak.  Curtis also is a volunteer adult leader in his local Young Life club.  In his free time he enjoys cycling, golfing and skiing.

Mexico -It's time.

Mexico – It’s Time
Excitement

• Experienced couple being interviewed to lead Mexico expansion
• Startup capital matching gift of $100,000 given
• Team forming in Chiapas with enormous potential
• Current clubs in Monclova and Puerto Penasco

Challenge/Prayer Need

• Finalize legal status
• Raising funds in Mexico as well as funding to $100,000 match
• Mobilizing local Chiapas committee