It is always special to have our entire Richardson Area Young Life family (committee, leaders and staff) together to celebrate Christ’s birth. From incredible food to fun games and great conversation, the night is one to remember. We couldn’t begin to thank everyone that played a critical role in making the night all that it was. So we will say “Thank You” to committee and the friends of Young Life that spent countless hours making sure the details of the night were just right! It was a night like none other!

Here are a few pictures from the night:

With great hosts, tasty BBQ, a message about Young Life, and a Ranger watching party could it have gotten any better? Thanks to everyone who played a vital role in making the night such a success!

Need a cute gift for Valentine’s Day? Look no further! From Funky Hats to Cute Scarves and more… all items are $16. Proceeds from your purchase help send Young Life kids to camp this summer! Email kidstocamp@gmail.com to place your order! (Click on picture to enlarge the image) We accept cash, checks (made to YL) and paypal. You can pick your order up at the YL office or shipping is available: $4.95 per item or $10.95 for three items.

Funky Animal Hats: Black Bear, Snow Tiger, Sock Monkey , Owl, Wolf, Mountain Moose, Brown Monkey and the Rowdy Raccoon, The Lion
One size fits all.

Head Wraps: Winter White, Brown, Black and Berry Red
One size fits all.

Scarves: 

Flowered and Stripped Scarves: Multi-Color Brown, Multi-Color Teal

Fun Furry Scarves: Gray, Cream and Brown.

Fluffy Scarves: Brown/Olive and Turquoise/Gray

Just In! Scarves: Brown/Tan, Pink/Gray, Black and White

Flex Necklaces:

Skinny Flex Necklace: Silver, Multi, Bronze, and Gun Metal

Regular Flex Necklace: Multi

Questions? Email us at Kidstocamp@gmail.com. We’re happy to help!

Pearce’s Mr. Christmas Tree

In case you missed the night, I’ve included the talent from each grade (thanks to Rob’s videoing!).

Sr. Talent:

Jr. Talent:

Soph. Talent:

Fresh. Talent:

Over the past few weeks club has been lots of fun and some really cool things are happening at RHS.  One of the coolest things took place over the break. During the thanksgiving break we got to have “family dinner” with some of our campaigner kids!  Students brought their favorite dish and we had so many different things to choose from.  We had 30 people packed in to our apartment and had such a fun night.  We all got to eat together, play games together and laugh together! It was an incredible night and am very thankful for what God is doing in Richardson!

The room burst with energy as we sang the song’s final verses and I stood in front of the crowd. My heart was about to beat out of my chest.  Inside I held the greatest news to ever grace the ears of my high school friends. I swallowed hard, and began to speak.

A bridge has been built, the gap has been filled. No longer are we slaves to our own sin, but through Jesus’s death on the cross we can be free. Jesus did not come to bring us rules. We already knew the rules and we still broke them. He knew we were going to mess up, but he chose to die anyway. The problem isn’t our actions, it’s our heart. We need a new heart…

Scanning the crowd, I locked eyes with Elijah, a freshman boy, swallowed by his yellow t-shirt. His eyes gleamed as I spoke. I beg and pray that for ten minutes, the distractions fell away.  He didn’t hear the girls whispering behind him or think about the food we were about to eat. For ten minutes I pray that all Elijah heard was Jesus and the truth of the Savior washed over him.

Like every week, the students filed into a line after the talk, eager for dinner. But instead of “The Cupid Shuffle” blaring over the speaker, songs from Young Life camp this past summer echoed off the walls. These were simple songs, but songs that spoke the truth of the Savior once again.

Please join me in praying for our students as the let they wrestle with truth.

Thank you to Julie Hess for the sub sandwiches!

A little piece of paper…

Sweaty hands thoughtfully folded it and handed it to leaders for no
eyes to see. Dozens of them were stuffed into a brown envelope and tucked away.

A little piece of paper, once insignificant, suddenly took on great
responsibility. Each one bore a secret of pain and hurt. A secret,
hidden deep behind the faces, smiles, and witty remarks of my high
school friends sitting in the room.

After listening to the story of the bleeding woman and hearing the
burden she bore alone for twelve years, we watched a video with a
series of post secrets from around the country. Post secrets are a
place where anyone can anonymously send their secrets and have them
posted online or published in a book. Students were asked to star the
back of their piece of paper if they were okay with having their
secret posted anonymously.  Here are a few-

I hated myself for what he did to me so bad that I started drinking a
lot one night. I passed out drinking.

Never ending lie.

I wish the guy who raped me would’ve killed me instead of giving me herpes.

I say I don’t miss my dad but in reality I think about him everyday
and sometimes shed some tears.

I laugh to keep from crying.

These little pieces of paper are evidence of the pain our high school
friends are facing, but thankfully the story doesn’t end there. As we
point them to the cross through their heartache, please pray they
would see their desperate need for a Savior.

Along with the banquet, this past week we also had a huge dodge ball
tournament with all of Richardson! It was crazy, but it was a great
time of competitive fun.

I am excited to finish the semester strong and see how the Lord moves
in the hearts of our students.

- Allison

Despite the busyness of this time of the year and the rainstorm right as club started, a lot of kids still came. Laughter could be heard all around as the kids participated in a friendly competition. Grades were competing against each other to see which one could get the most clothes pins on their team representative’s face. The Freshman walked away with the victory!

As always, the fun and laughter gradually took a turn to things more serious as the night progressed to the talk. Last week, Laura talked about how this world isn’t how it was intended to be and shared about post secrets, a place where individuals go to anonymously post secrets. She passed out paper and encouraged the kids to anonymously write what they would post. I used last weeks secrets, written anonymously, to continue the message of ‘This Life is Not How God Intended It to Be.” We talked about Sin, the disease of the heart, choosing self over God. And how the things they listed out last week were symptoms of our choice of self. God had something far greater planned for us, but we chose self. Sin’s difficult consequence we often like to skirt around, but a life eternally separated from God is a very real and disturbing thing. The unfortunate truth is that because of our Sin, that is what we deserve. That is the penalty, the wages of our Sin.

You could have heard a pin drop in the room as the kids watched what they and their friends had anonymously written on the paper flash across the screen…  (here are a few)

I am completely ashamed of the person I am

Sometimes I act like someone I’m not

Rumors hurt more than people think

I lie to my parents, girlfriend and God about porn.

I can’t look at myself straight on in the mirror because I hate the way I look

I am more broken than I sometimes pretend to be.

Sometimes I smile just to hide my worries inside.

Sometimes I feel like I am not loved by my parents.

I am hopeful that happiness will come

I have a reputation that I don’t deserve.

It is tough to be extremely skinny

I smoked to kill the pain, but it never works

 I AM surrounded by love. Why is it my heart is stained with hate?

 I’m afraid to let people in because every time I do they end up hurting me.

Trying hard to be perfect ends up breaking me instead

During this time of the year, the talks at club get harder. Harder to give, and harder to hear. But “Harder” certainly doesn’t mean it isn’t worth sharing. TRUTH is what matters and truth is what changes kids’ lives.

Please pray for leaders as they are processing hard truths with kids this week. And pray that the hearts of the kids are eager to receive the good news of the cross that is to come!