Fundraising Update

Our 2010/2011 budget equals $78,784. PSYL is entirely funded by individuals from our community and money goes to three primary areas: salary and health benefits, office and program expenses, and dues to Young Life National, which provide us with excellent training, central processing for our financial needs and legal support, among other services. Donations are gladly accepted by sending a check to: PSYL (MN 91), 8700 West 36th Street, Suite 109, St. Louis Park, MN 55426 or clicking on the link below to donate online.
http://sites.younglife.org/sites/psyl/Donors.aspx

Summer Camp Testimonials

by Robby Kiley, PSYL Head Leader

Young Life and Wyldlife camps have been billed as “the best week of your life.” A week of rappelling, mountain climbing, tubing, banana boating, go-cart racing, horseback riding, rock climbing, and kayaking await, not to mention a week full of Young Life clubs and a fantastic speaker who is able to present the gospel in a way that is exciting and easy for students to understand. This summer, we took twenty four high school students to Frontier Ranch in Buena Vista, Colorado and thirteen middle school students to Castaway Club in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Students were given the opportunity to have a blast at camp, but, even more importantly, they were able to spend a week with their leaders, taking quality time to talk with their leaders about their lives and their faith.

I could spend pages and pages of text trying to paint a picture of a week at camp, but the best way to get a glimpse into the Young Life camp experience is to ask the kids themselves. We asked our high school and middle school friends to take a couple of minutes out of their time at camp and complete a couple of sentences about their experience. Below is a collection of their answers, which we hope will give you a better idea of what our friends experienced this summer. We hope you enjoy it!

My week at camp was…

• A great experience. It was full of great people, amazing support, and gave me a chance to connect with God on a deeper level.
• Amazing, fun, dirty, a great experience and one of the best weeks of my life.
• Awesome, life-changing and exciting.
• Eye opening. For a long time, I pushed God away, but the activities, people and speakers made me want a close relationship with him.
• A lot of fun. I learned so much about God and myself through all the activities this week.
• Life changing. I was able to meet God and get to know him in a completely new and different way than I ever have before. I was able to reaffirm my faith and for the first time in my life become friends with my sister.
• So much fun! I had a blast doing all the activities! The speaker was amazing!

My leader is…

• Amazing! They are so easy to connect with and super supportive.
• So, so loving and generous! Throughout the week, it was obvious just how much my leaders cared for me, even though some of them were meeting me for the first time.
• Thoughtful, kind, fun and capable of listening.
• Amazing people who know how to relate to us.
• One of the most genuinely kind women I’ve ever met. She is willing to be uncomfortable and still see the positive in any situation.
• Always there for me when I need to talk and always cares.
• One of the coolest adults that I know and great to be around.
• Someone who is always there, I feel I can trust them because I know they support me. They are always willing to help with anything and made this week at camp amazing.

Jesus Christ is…

• My Lord and savior. I totally couldn’t live without him. This week I was able to view God in different ways and draw closer to him.
• The rock of my life. Camp helped me reconnect with him in a stronger way. It felt good!
• Lord, God and most importantly, my friend.
• Going to be welcomed into my life after this week.
• Someone who loves me and gave up everything for me.
• Probably my closest friend. He knows me for who I am and he accepts me and loves me unconditionally.

While these quotes can go a long way to help you understand a week at camp, the only way to truly experience camp is to go for yourself! Young Life has a fantastic Adult Guest program, and we would love to help you come and see Young Life camp live and in person. Young Life has beautiful, four- to five-star quality lodges, and would love to host you for a day, couple of days, or even for a whole week of summer camp or during fall camp. If you’d like to receive more information about Young Life’s adult guest program, please contact the Young Life office. We have several spots available for only $89.50 for the weekend of November 19-21. Your fee includes meals and a fantastic room in Castaway’s beautiful lodge. We hope you might consider joining us!

Robby Kiley
PSYL Head Leader

Madison Lommen on PSYL WyldLife

Here is what Madison Lommen, 8th grade student at Breck School, has to say about PSYL WyldLife.

1) What is your favorite part of WyldLife?
• Getting to know people who share my faith.
• Making relationships plus connections with new people.
• Camp. Best week ever!
• My leaders

2) What are you excited for the new year of WyldLife?
• I’m excited to meet more of the 7th graders through WyldLife.
• I'm also excited for coffee plus conversations (I'm a morning person!)

3) Can you describe your relationship with your PSYL leaders?
• Awesome!
• Friendly relationships cause me to appreciate all of the time they invest into my life.
• Meaningful conversations help me to “dig deeper”.

4) How was your week at Young Life Castaway Camp this summer?
• A blast!!
• A fun week with all my friends
• Surrounded by positive energy and uplifting people.
• It's not your typical "church" camp. Camp has an atmosphere that makes you feel comfortable, and the music is always blasting - livening spirits and hearts.
• Tons of games, good talks and the BEST food EVER!

Private School Young Life Highlights

by Dawn Keller, PSYL Cabinet Leader

We are well into our 2010/2011 school year and I couldn’t be more pleased with how Private School Young Life (PSYL) is operating. We are seeing God in many places in the ministry and I’d like to share a few highlights:

1) There were over 70 people who attended the PSYL Kick Off Event at Greg and Peggy Mesna’s home on Monday, August 16th. The purpose of the event was to celebrate camp that occurred over the summer, socialize with other families involved in the PSYL ministry, meet the leaders, and listen to a message given by Robby Kiley speaking to the purpose of Young Life and what was planned for the Fall.

2) PSYL ended its 2009/2010 fiscal year on September 30th with a balanced budget, and the 2010/2011 fundraising is off to a healthy start. Our budget for 2010/2011 totals $78,784, a conservative and financially responsible budget. PSYL is entirely funded by individuals from our community and money goes to three primary areas: salary and health benefits, office and program expenses, and dues to Young Life National, which provide us with excellent training, central processing for our financial needs and legal support, among other services. Donations are gladly accepted by sending a check to: PSYL (MN 91), 8700 West 36th Street, Suite 109, St. Louis Park, MN 55426.

3) Robby Kiley celebrated his one year anniversary as PSYL Head Leader on October 11th.

4) We are blessed to have 15 young adult leaders who are dedicating their lives to walk alongside our kids to make a difference, nine with the high school students and six with the 7th and 8th graders. Did you know that Jess Nash invited the sophomore girls over to her house for lunch and conversation on a beautiful Saturday afternoon? Nick Brue is wanting to teach guitar lessons to high school boys so be watching out for more information to come, Laura Brown and Courtney Anderson plan regular social events with our middle school girls, and Christi Lareau plans to take a few senior girls to St. Thomas for a college visit, just to mention a few things that these young adults are doing with our children.

5) With the leadership of Robby Kiley and Christi Lareau, seniors meet every Friday morning at Panera Bread for Senior Breakfast. The purpose of Senior Breakfast is to engage our seniors and walk alongside them as they prepare to transition into college next year. Many of these students have made the commitment to give back to the ministry by taking on the role of assistant leaders for WyldLife Club.

6) Saturday, October 16th was the first Weekend Club. We are piloting a new concept for all high school students with the intent to reach high school students who want to participate but unable to attend Monday Club or Campaigners on Wednesday morning. Encourage your child to attend the next Weekend Club on November 6th from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Ottawa House.

7) Did you know WyldLife Club is happening in a big way at the Ottawa House once a month for 7th and 8th graders? On September 10th, 19 7th and 8th graders joined the WyldLife leadership team for a great night of Western fun and a great message introducing them to our journey with Christ throughout the year. On October 8th, 15 students attended to experience an epic evening of Pirates and Ninjas and heard about the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19). I strongly suggest that you encourage your 7th or 8th grader to find out what is in store for the November 12th Club…Robby tells me it will be full of fun with our friends from the Food Network! Come hungry!

8) I will end with mentioning the PSYL Cabinet, which consists of 14 adults from our community. PSYL would not exist without the Cabinet. Individuals on the Cabinet are passionate about the existence of PSYL and do everything necessary to keep the ministry afloat, which includes: fundraising, opening their homes for events, providing food, sending email communications, and implementing and executing programs to support and love the leaders, just to mention a few. The Cabinet will meet five times this year and anyone is welcome. The Cabinet grows by people stepping up and showing interest in being involved. If you are interested in participating please email me at dkeller@solutran.com.

These examples just touch the surface of what is happening in PSYL. As always, all students are welcome no matter what their religious beliefs are or what school they attend.

Lastly, I’d like to end by requesting feedback from the PSYL community. We welcome your thoughts, opinions, and suggestions for improvement! If you have anything to share with us, please email me at dkeller@solutran.com.

Grace and peace,

Dawn Keller
PSYL Cabinet Leader

High School Perspectives

For this edition of our newsletter, we asked a few of our sophomore friends about their experiences with Young Life. We’ve been focusing this quarter on our volunteers (both leaders and Cabinet), so we wanted to get our high school friends’ perspectives on their leaders as well. We had a chance to sit down with two great upper school students, Chris Erickson and Halle Gustafson.

What is your favorite thing about Young Life?

Chris: I just like chilling at YL. It’s a great opportunity to relax and have a good time, especially before and after school, which is so hectic. It’s just a great time!

Halle: I love how it gives you the opportunity to relate to God on an easier level. Church can be a little overwhelming but, at Young Life, stuff is a lot easier to understand and relate to. Plus, it’s really fun.

How has your relationships with your leaders impacted your life?

Chris: They’re awesome friends, people I can always talk to, and they’re always there.

Halle: They’re good role models for how to balance all parts of your life, having God be in every part of your life, not just in church. They’re easy to talk with, and they’re not going to pass judgment. They’re friends and role models all rolled into one.

What is your favorite memory from Young Life?

Chris: The bus ride to Crooked Creek last summer – it was a long and tiring trip, but there were a ton of great people around, and we just talked for hours on end. Yeah, the bus ride was awesome.

Halle: Crooked Creek last summer was amazing. We went through an obstacle course the first night – we rolled through the mud and did some crazy stuff, but it was so fun! I also loved club at camp, and the speakers. They were fantastic

PSYL Cabinet – Why They Serve

by Dawn Keller

Private School Young Life (PSYL) is making a difference in the lives of kids in our community in part because of adults who care enough to dedicate a small portion of their time and talents to the program.

Currently we have 15 adults from our community – parents and other volunteers – who play a role in the following important functions: Prayer, Communications, Fundraising, Leader Care, Database Management, Adopt-a-Leader Program, Meeting Minutes and Hospitality.

These individuals include: Paige Bingham, Danis Byrd, Jim and Nan Corwin, Diane Erickson, Jeff Holker, Emily Joern, Dawn Keller, Angie Lee, Peggy Mesna, Billee Olson, Ethan Otterlei, Carolyn Pierce, and Ron and Teresa Sit. They work in conjunction with our Head Leader, Robby Kiley, and meet monthly during the school year to discuss and agree on priorities and how best to accomplish them. In addition, Alan Hogg helped lead our Strategic Planning in 2009 and continues to play a strategic role along with Paige Bingham in the larger area, Southwest Twin Cities Young Life, and we have a committee of 11 other parents led by Joe Keller who are charged with raising $120,000 for the fiscal year to meet our financial needs.

I thought it might be interesting to share what a few of these volunteers have to say about serving in PSYL. Jim Corwin (Hannah, 9th grade), Teresa Sit (Andrew, 7th grade), and Jeff Holker (Maddy, 10th grade) were kind enough to contribute their perspectives.


1) Why do you serve on the Private School Young Life Cabinet?

Jim: From the beginning, I wanted to provide my kids and other Breck students the option to have Christian mentoring among their band of friends at school. Our church youth program wasn’t reaching our boys, and we felt PSYL could, particularly if others they knew at school were participating. The summer camp experience was the icing on the cake as all our kids have been enriched beyond expectation.

Teresa: I serve on the PSYL Cabinet because I truly support Young Life's mission of "Connecting Kids to Christ." I know of no more important or valuable possession that I desire in my life and the life of my family than a deep and growing relationship with Jesus Christ. In this ever-changing, unsure world that we live in; I am safe and secure in the hand of an ever-present, all-knowing, constant, and wise God. His abundant Grace is sufficient in both the good times in my life and the bad. It is my desire that my child will know, love, and depend on God in this same way; and will hold fast to the Hope we have in Christ as Savior and Lord of our hearts and lives.

Jeff: I serve because I believe Young Life is a great organization for Maddy to be involved in. My work schedule makes serving challenging at best, but I do believe I am a can do, energetic, creative thinker who brings new ideas from an outsiders perspective.

2) What impact has serving had on you and/or your family?

Jim: Seeing God move within our midst when we are obedient to His call has been a joy. When you talk about bearing fruit, this ministry has been and continues to be a wonderful sign of God’s blessing on our family and school.

Jeff: I think it has encouraged me (and Cindy) to ensure Maddy stays focused on being involved and engaged in Young Life. Although she enjoys it so much that isn’t much of a problem. It has helped us, as a family, be a tiny bit more spiritual—an important thing given our hectic, harried lives!

3) What words of encouragement would you have to anyone considering getting involved?

Jim: Our school community needs some “shining lights”…and this ministry can serve that purpose. Plus, you get to be among a great group of parents and volunteer leaders who have a heart for the Lord and our kids, a great combo deal.

Teresa: I would encourage anyone who is interested in PSYL's mission to consider serving. You don't need a special degree and your God-given talents are more than enough. It's not very time-consuming and it is very rewarding-especially for Eternity!

Jeff: Young Life is key to your child’s development, socially, spiritually and in building a base of faith to rally around when times are tough or friends/family are suffering. And it helps your kids build leadership skills through observing their leaders, as well as providing a framework of being responsible and considerate—all which will serve them well going forward.

I strongly encourage you to prayerfully consider volunteering your time and talents to PSYL. We are always in need of helping hands and fresh ideas to help fulfill our mission of connecting kids to Christ.

Last, I would like to thank Holly Grover, Marketing Communications Manager, Graco, Inc. and Matt Kucharski, Senior Vice President, Padilla Speer Beardsley who have volunteered their time and talents to make this electronic newsletter possible this school year.

God’s peace,

Dawn Keller
PSYL Cabinet Leader
612-816-2828
dkeller@solutran.com

What Makes a Great Ministry?

by Robby Kiley
Recently, Young Life’s national board conducted several surveys to find out what makes a great ministry. It should come as no surprise that the number one factor that separates great ministries from the rest is a great base of committed volunteers. At Private School Young Life (PSYL) and Wyldlife (PSWL), we have 11 fantastic volunteer leaders, in addition to our amazing Cabinet and parent volunteers. But who are these committed, faith-filled individuals who sacrifice their time and energy to spend time with our teens? Dawn’s article will focus on the Cabinet, our parent committee who helps steer our mission. My article will give you a quick glimpse into the 11 amazing volunteers who make up our PSYL and PSWL ministry teams. I hope you enjoy the chance to get to know our spectacular leaders a little bit better!


Meet our Leaders (in alphabetical order)

Name: Laura Brown

Age: 28

Hometown: Bloomington, MN

Occupation: Merchandising + Operations Manager at RedStamp.com

How long have you been with PSYL: Seven months

How did you get involved with PSYL: My friend Katie Pretzel (current PSYL leader) asked if my husband and I would be interested in leading last fall and we said yes!

Why PSYL? We were both looking for some way to get involved with youth ministry and this ministry just felt right. I was involved in Young Life all throughout high school so I knew the impact my old leaders had on me and I wanted to do the same for these kids. Young Life is such a great organization that teaches kids so much about life and faith. I am honored to be a part of a great community of kids, parents and leaders.

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas. Love everything about it - the lights, the Christmas carols, the cookie exchanges, the family get togethers and sending Christmas cards.

What is your favorite color? Sky blue

What are you passionate about? Sending birthday cards. With e-mail, facebook, texting, it's easy to just wish someone a happy birthday in one of those ways but I try hard to send out birthday cards because everyone enjoys getting snail mail once in a while!


Name: Tim Brown

Age: 28

Hometown: Bloomington, MN

Occupation: Retail Manager with Target

How long have you been with PSYL: Just over six months

How did you get involved with PSYL: For the past couple of years, my wife and I have talked about getting involved in some sort of ministry with kids. Out of the blue, Katie Pretzel, another leader, sent us an e-mail and asked us to consider YL. We came to a leaders meeting, and from there we decided to try it out!

Why YL? My wife, Laura, was in YL all through high school, and she always spoke about what an amazing time she had and what a positive influence they were, even today. I’ve had great role models too, and I’d like to give back in the same way.

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas, by far. As busy as my life gets, it is a great time to slow down and be with family and friends. I also love to give presents and see how happy it makes people.

What is your favorite band? I love everything from Sinatra to country-western. I listen to jazz, anything. I love music!
What animal best fits your personality? I’ve heard giraffe before because I’m so tall. I’m a calm person and giraffes don’t seem very violent either. I’ll go with giraffe!


Name: Dahlia Brue

Age: 22

Hometown: Mt. Bethel, PA

Occupation: Event Coordinator

How long have you been with PSYL: Since the fall of 2009

How did you get involved with YL: Jess Nash was involved with YL throughout college and would tell me about it. When I moved to St. Paul and wanted to get involved I talked to her about it and thought it would be a good fit!

Why YL? In Mt. Bethel, PA we didn't have Young Life so I had never heard of it before coming to MN. I really appreciated how Young Life approached getting teens excited about the Gospel and focused on building a relationship with them. I think that really shows the PSYL teens how important they are to us and Young Life does a great job making that a priority.

What is your best joke? Q: What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence? A: Time to get a new fence!

What is your favorite color? White! It’s a color to me!

What goes on your sandwich? TUNA! I try not to eat it around other people because most people don't like it. But a toasted English muffin with butter, tuna with a ton of mayo and bread and butter pickles really does the trick!


Name: Nick Brue

Age: 25

Hometown: Fergus Falls, MN

Occupation: Graphic Designer

How long have you been with PSYL: Six months

How did you get involved with PSYL: Through a friend, Jess Nash (one of our current leaders)
Why YL? I love this ministry because we meet kids where they're at and we share God's love by building relationships and having fun!

Who is your favorite cereal mascot? Count Chocula

What is your favorite band? Coldplay

What goes on your sandwich? Hot peppers & mustard


Name: Lauren Buesgens

Age: 22

Hometown: Becker, MN

Occupation: Actuarial Science student at the University of St. Thomas

How long have you been with PSYL: Four years

How did you get involved with PSYL: A random string of connections brought me here. My HS track coach encouraged me to get involved in Young Life in college, I met another leader, Wesley Deiss, and I began to tag along with him to Wyldlife.

Why YL? A big reason for me is that, even though I wasn’t in Young Life in high school, I went to Castaway with my youth group, and it had a big impact on me. I wanted to give back to kids as a leader, just like the people I had in my life.

Who is your favorite cereal mascot? Lucky, the Lucky Charms mascot…but I think the cereal should just be a box of marshmallows, forget the oats!

What grosses you out? I really don’t like it when people chew with their mouths open. Yuck!

Who is (was) your favorite band? It used to be N’Sync. I was a fanatic; I went to five concerts, and even drove up to Fargo to see them. I had an entire wall of N’Sync posters.


Name: Wesley Deiss

Age: 22

Hometown: Tulsa, OK

Occupation: Chemical Engineering student at the U of M

How long have you been with PSYL: Almost four years now!

How did you get involved with PSYL: Andy Swanda was my youth pastor in high school and had me come check out club and see what I thought.

Why YL? I really agree with the vision that YL has for connecting kids to Christ. Sharing the gospel, letting kids respond. It’s a great ecumenical ministry with the right heart, and a great desire to save youth.

What is your best joke? I just heard a really good science joke the other day. An airplane is flying from Russia to Great Britain. One of the pilots looks out the right-hand window and says “Oh, look, Poland!” and then the plane crashes unexpectedly…Get it? (Editor’s note: Wesley is a Chemical Engineer, so this one might go over your head. He explained it to me for ten minutes, and I still didn’t get it…)

Tell me about your worst date? My second date with my current fiancé, Sharron, and we decided to take her parents’ car. Backing out of the driveway, I scraped the car against one of the yellow pylons, and left a huge mark. I felt horrible the rest of the date, like throwing up horrible.

What animal best fits your personality? A hawk and a puma combined.


Name: Matt Duer

Age: 24

Hometown: Andover, MN

Occupation: Retail Specialist at REI How long have you been with PSYL: A little less than two years

How did you get involved with PSYL: I was asked by a friend (Bjork Ostrom, a former leader) to come check out Young Life.

Why YL? I do Young Life because when I was in high school, I had people who invested in me, and it made all the difference in my life. I want to do the same for others, so that’s a big reason I’m involved.

What celebrity do you most look like? Matt Kearney (a popular musician) or Taylor Lautner (Jacob from the Twilight movies).

What is the most useless thing in your house? I live in a 1920s apartment, and there is a random, boarded-over, coal chute in my bathroom. My friends convinced me to open it up once, but it doesn’t connect to anything anymore.

What goes on your perfect sandwich? Two slices of toasted wheat bread with avocado, sliced turkey, tomato, sprouts, and a slice of Swiss cheese. No condiments – none.


Name: Andy Hunt

Age: 24

Hometown: Plymouth, MN

Occupation: Commercial Real Estate Broker/Advisor with UGL Equis

How long have you been with PSYL: Seven months

How did you get involved with PSYL: I was invited to become a leader by a student, Kevin Steinhafel. At the time I was coaching lacrosse at Breck, and he invited me to come meet with the leaders and think about getting involved.

Why YL? My favorite part about coaching isn’t the sport, it’s the impact I have on the kids’ lives. With Young Life I can impact their lives in an even greater way, by walking with them in their relationship with Christ.

What are you most proud of? My younger brother, Nathan Hunt (an ’08 Breck grad!). He’s my hero, I look up to him. He’s the coolest person I know, the hardest worker I know, and my best friend. I’m so proud of all that he’s accomplished at Breck and with lacrosse. I feel lucky to be in his life.

What is the most useless thing in your home? I have a multi-colored strobe light ball that I won from Dave and Busters that just sits on the shelf and grows dust. But maybe we’ll use it for club sometime…

What grosses you out? When people cough or sneeze in their hand. Please use the crook of your elbow!

What is your most embarrassing moment? I ran into a house on my bike when I was ten. My cousins tried to convince me to go off a jump on my bike, and when I landed, I missed the pedals, couldn’t stop and then ran smack into the side of a house. Ouch.

Name: Jessica Lynn Nash

Age: 23

Hometown: Rochester, MN

Occupation: Business Unit Coordinator, Target Corporation
How long have you been with PSYL: About a year and a half

How did you get involved with PSYL: I became involved in PSYL once I moved up to Minneapolis. I was connected with Andy Swanda, and he explained there was a need for new leaders.

Why YL? When I was growing up my Dad was the camp doctor at Castaway for two summers. I always have loved the organization since I was a little girl. I am fortunate to be able to give back all that YL was for me growing up. I hope that I can develop relationships with my PSYL friends that are as strong as the relationships I was fortunate to have and still have in my life!What is your favorite holiday? My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Now that all three of my brothers are married, it is the one day out of the year that we ALL get to spend time together without feeling rushed.
What was your first car? My first car was a blue 1991 Honda Accord. This car was driven by all three of my brothers, so let's just say...it had A LOT of love! :)

Name: Katie Pretzel

Age: 25

Hometown: Plymouth, MN

Occupation: Recruiter for Target

How long have you been with PSYL: Four years

How did you get involved with PSYL: Ethan Otterlei (current cabinet member and former leader) recruited me.

Why YL? My passion is working with high school (and now middle school) kids. I love their passion and their hearts, and becoming a part of their world is an honor. What is your favorite color? Gold – one day I hope to be a Golden Girl.

What was your first car? A 1984 White Chevy Camero with a t-top and a red leather interior. So hot!

What are you passionate about? I’m passionate about life, Minneapolis and building community.


Name: Laura Wurdeman

Age: 21

Hometown: Burnsville, MN

Occupation: Bridal Sales Consultant at The Wedding Shop in St. Paul

How long have you been with PSYL: Just over a year

How did you get involved with PSYL: I was looking for a way to serve and give something to God after I got back from an internship New York – I was looking for a way to outwardly express my faith, and I met with Andy, tried out PSWL, and found out that I loved it.

Why YL? I don’t know if I chose Young Life – it’s kind of where God ended up putting me. I wasn’t looking for it, but God led me there, and now I love it!

Who is your favorite cereal mascot? Captain Crunch – I love everything that he represents.

What was your weirdest dream? I had a dream that I won a trip to Hawaii, and in my sleep, I began to pack my bag. As I walked out the door, I ran into a friend, who woke me up. In my sleep, I had packed a single flip flop, a plug-in fan and a pair of shorts.

Who is your favorite artist? Tara Donovan. She’s a sculptor, and she does these cool wall texture sculptures.

Will Smith on Camping

By Will Smith, Junior Breck School

Fall camp was only a few short weeks ago, and we’re already thinking forward to summer camp – how crazy is that? To help you get a better understanding of what a weekend or week at camp looks like, Robby Kiley, Private School Head Leader, sat down with junior Will Smith to ask him a bit about his experiences.

Robby: Okay Will, first off, which camps have you attended?

Will: I just got back from Castaway (Detroit Lakes, MN) last weekend, and I’ve been to Windy Gap (Weaverville, NC) and Crooked Creek (Winter Park, CO) for the summer.

Robby: How would you describe camp to a person considering going?

Will: I would have to say that it’s one of the most fun weeks of the summer – camp is just non-stop fun! The food is amazing too! It’s just really fun! Did I say that already?

Robby: Can you tell me about one of your favorite moments at camp?

Will: At Crooked Creek, we got to hike to the top of a mountain – you wake up one morning and go as a group up a trail for at least an hour and a half to the top of this mountain. When you get up there, it’s awesome! You can see everything – the camp, the mountains, all of that! It’s a real cool way to culminate your experience together with everyone in your cabin.

Robby: How has your relationship with Christ been impacted by going to camp?

Will: Crooked Creek was when my faith really clicked – before camp last summer, I didn’t go to a lot of Young Life clubs or camp, but I decided that it would be a good idea to go to camp last summer, and I’m really glad I did. Camp really changed my perspective on things, and when I came back, I really decided I wanted to get more involved. Club is great, but camp is an amazing experience – you get out of your normal routine and think about the other dimensions of your life you don’t always have the time to consider. Sometimes things get so busy at home; it’s nice to have some time set aside to think more about my faith and God.

Robby: Anything else you want to say about camp before we end this?

Will: I’d say that if you’re not sure if you want to go to camp or not, just go for it! You’ve got nothing to lose! Everyone is awesome, and it’s a great week – definitely my favorite part of Young Life!

Summer Camping Is Coming Soon!

By Robby Kiley, PSYL Head Leader

"Who started the idea that Christians ought to have the seat of their pants in patches, or that we ought to hold camps in tents? We are talking about the King of Kings; let's act like He's the one in charge! We're gonna get the classiest camps in the country."
-Jim Rayburn (founder of Young Life)

As strange as it may seem, January means it is time once again to begin talking about Young Life and WyldLife summer camping. Last summer we had great turnout, taking 21 Young Life students to Crooked Creek in Colorado and 24 Wyld Life students to Castaway Club in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. That means 45 students from the Private School Young Life community had a chance to spend a week at some of the most beautiful places on earth -- climbing majestic mountains, parasailing across the sky, spending quality time with leaders who care about them and learning about a God who loved them enough to die on the cross. Camping with Young Life is a remarkable experience, perhaps even the “best week of your life.”

Camping has been an integral part of Young Life’s mission since the first camp opened in 1950 (only nine years after Young Life began its ministry). Young Life’s founder, Jim Rayburn, believed so strongly in this program that he was willing to risk his whole ministry to make it happen. Why would he do this? The answer is simple: Camping affects everything we do in our ministry. It is one of the best tools we have to reach out to students, because it combines everything we try to achieve in ministry in an action-packed week.

I want to take a little bit of time and look at the ministry tools we use in Young Life and WyldLife. These are often called the five Cs: Camp, Contact Work, Club, Campaigners, and Christ. It is my strong belief that camp works so well because it impacts every other C in a positive way. For example, at a weekend or week-long camping experience, everything leaders and students do is planned to foster relationships. It’s packed with tools for leaders to engage in intentional conversations with students and share in activities that they will remember for the rest of their lives. Camp is one giant contact work experience!

Students also get a chance to go to club once or twice a day. Seeing club done well at camp is a huge blessing for us leaders. The amazing clubs at camp get students excited to come back home and join us on a Monday or Friday night. It’s also a blessing for leaders, because we get to steal all of the great ideas that the talented folks running the show have used! How about campaigners? Each night, after club, students and leaders head back to their cabins to discuss the message, and have a chance to share what is going on in their life and faith. This is the same thing we do every Wednesday morning at the Ottawa house with our high school friends, Friday morning with the 11th and 12th grade girls, and the same thing we hope to begin once a month with our middle school friends beginning in January. The only difference between morning campaigners and cabin time is that, during cabin time, students aren’t rushed or thinking about the test they have first hour. They’re in a place where they can take some time and really consider what God is saying to them through the speaker. This is a perfect occasion to invite Christ into their lives! And it works! How do I know? Because, eight years ago, I was one of those students and I accepted Christ into my life at a Young Life camp in Alum Springs, Virginia!

Young Life camping makes a conscious goal of setting up leaders and kids to talk about Christ. Every moment of the day is designed to allow leaders to discuss what it truly means to begin a relationship with Jesus. The program staff and speaker are intentional about everything they do, and their approach bears fruit. On the last day of camp, Young Life holds what they like to call a "Say So" (from Psalm 107:2, 'Let the redeemed of the Lord say so'). Kids who have made a decision over the course of the week to follow Jesus Christ have the chance to stand up and ‘say so.’ Every year I am at camp, I am amazed to witness the impact that this week has on kids’ lives. But even more amazing than all the kids who stand up is the fact that behind every one of these kids is a group of volunteers, staff, committee members and friends that cared enough about these kids to get them to camp. All that time and energy instantly becomes worth it when you are blessed by seeing a kid stand up tall and announce, “Hi, I’m Robby, and this week, I’ve decided to accept Christ into my life.”

If you register for camp before January 31st, you will receive a $100 discount. Camp spots will fill soon, so act quickly by going to the Young Life website: swtc.younglife.org.

Greetings from Private School Young Life

By Dawn Keller, PSYL Cabinet Leader

Camp is the focus of our Winter newsletter and we can’t be more excited about sharing the contents with you. The article written by Robby Kiley, Private School Young Life Head Leader, is intended for parents to read to help them understand why camp is so important. The article written by Will Smith, junior at Breck School, should be shared with your child. Will shares a few of his camp highlights and explains why your child should consider attending camp this summer.

Since both Gabriella and Georgia have been to camp a few times I will share our perspective as parents. The girls come home with statements such as…it was the best camp ever, I had so much fun with my friends, I just loved my leader(s), the food was excellent especially the warm chocolate chip cookie topped with ice cream, that was the biggest hot tub I’ve ever seen, I met some new friends, we played so many fun games, the wakeboarding was awesome, the accommodations were first class, the club talks were amazing and quiet time with leaders really meant a lot, I accepted Christ in my life, I experienced others accepting Christ in their life, and the list goes on.

If you register before January 31st you will receive a $100 discount. Camp spots will fill soon so act quickly by going to the Young Life website: swtc.younglife.org

God bless,

Dawn Keller
Private School Young Life Cabinet Leader
763-416-4860