An update full of stories...

I'm sitting in the Newark airport during a 2-hour layover on our way to Richmond, VA for a regional YL retreat. Naturally... it's time for an update.

The past 2 weeks have been exciting! It has been so cool to see how God is orchestrating events towards growing his kingdom through Young Life in PR. 

First item: In our update email a few weeks ago, Matt and I asked for prayer for a marathon weekend with kids. The first event on the docket that weekend was BLISS, the overnight fundraiser put on by Baldwin School to raise money for the Lost Boys in Sudan. It was a blast! Over 1,300 high school students from all over San Juan camped out in the soccer field at Baldwin from 6 p.m. - 6 a.m. I was acting as the adult chaperone for one of the sophomore teams from Baldwin, and got to be with kids from 11 a.m. on Saturday until the event ended on Sunday morning. It was an incredible time hanging out with the girls on my team, but also getting to see kids that I know from other high schools all over San Juan... some of whom I hadn't seen since being back from the holiday break. There was music, food, parandas, soccer tournaments and zumba classes to keep the students occupied as they took turns walking in honor of the Lost Boys. The students took 1 hour shifts and walked from station to station where they had to complete "tasks" that gave them an insight in to what the life of a Lost Boy was like. It was so fun to hang out with girls I hadn't seen in a while, meet new ones and get to have a shared experience with a lot of girls that I know but haven't been able to spend a lot of time with yet! 

Sunday we rested up during the day and then headed to a high school Super Bowl Party we were invited to. It was really fun to have another opportunity to hang out with those kids in a relatively chill setting (compared to Bliss). So needless to say, Matt and I put in about 30 hours of contact work in 36 hours... it was exhausting, but God really blessed us with more relationships with kids! 

That week God continued to open up doors to hang out with girls that I haven't been able to much so far... which was an incredible answered prayer. On Tuesday, the Baldwin headmaster randomly decided to give the whole school a day off. So I invited a couple sophomore girls to go to the beach with me. They had a basketball game that afternoon in Dorado, a suburb of San Juan, so we ended up driving out to the beach in Dorado and hung out all day. I was with 3 girls; one I know really well, and the other 2 are girls I've been praying for every day... that the Lord would give me time with them, that they would know Him. It was such an answered prayer to get that chance to hang out with them all day! I got to hear about their lives, their friends and just have fun. By the time their basketball game was done and I dropped them off at home, we had been hanging out for 8 hours! It was such a sweet time. Please continue to pray that God would give me more opportunities like that and continue to grow these relationships. 

Don't worry... it just keeps going... one more story... 

Last week, Matt and I were hanging out at Starbucks... I was doing admin work and he was tutoring one of the girls we took to camp last summer for a history test. The conversation soon turns from history to what it looks like to live out a relationship with Jesus. She has a relationship with Jesus, but the desire to really know what she believes and grow in it has been ignited in her. It was an incredible conversation to be a part of and, as a result, we're now reading through the New Testament with her. We're reading a chapter a day, and talking through it every day.... incredible. So essentially, Matt, her and I will be talking every single day for at least the next 3 years until she graduates high school, no matter what. God's goodness is unreal. 

It's conversations like that that make this worth it. It's moments with kids one-on-one that make you think... "If my only purpose in PR was this... right here... it's all worth it." God is slowly moving the relationships that we have with kids from the shallow, we're fun people stage to the we're consistent, have a voice, really know them and they trust us stage. It is so humbling and awe-inspiring to watch Him continue to give us opportunities like that over and over and over. 

These stories are so fun to tell, and I hope the give you a little insight in to what God is doing here in Puerto Rico... and encourage you in what God is doing wherever you are as well.... If you want to hear more stories please feel free to email me or give me a call! Thank you for continuing to pray for us.... 

We're having fun and things are rolling so I'll update again soon! 

Much love,

Linds  

YLPR... we're official.

Great news. YLPR is official... we now have an office! This has been very needed and very prayed for by us and many of you for a long time, and God has provided us an incredible place!! The office is located in the center of the city- walking distance from Sagrado Corazon, a large university and from the major business district of San Juan. Matt and I have had a great time in the past week shopping for furniture, getting moved in and starting to dream about how God will use this place. It will be great for committee meetings, for kids to come hang out and for us to have leadership training. But, the thing I'm most excited about is how I think God will use it to start creating a really compelling community here.

Community... REAL community... people who just live life together and care about each other is something that's hard to come by here. I have been really blessed to make great friends since I've moved here, but the desire for a community that can bring together all the people we know is growing stronger. I can not wait for God to use this place to bring people together... people that are in different life stages, have different levels of influence and different beliefs. I can't wait to really have a place where we can invite people in to be a part of our lives. I can't wait for this to be a safe place for any of our friends to come and hang out... a place where they know they are welcome and loved and accepted.

The thought of that makes me come alive inside... The potential of this place is almost overwhelming. The coolest part of it to me is that 3 months ago, I wouldn't have felt this way. God has started growing my heart for Puerto Rico and the people here in a beautiful way... in a way that only He can do.

So please join me in praying for that... in praying that people will know they are loved by us and we want them in our lives... without an agenda... we just want to know them and let them know us.

I will write more soon... thank you for supporting me so well in all of this, and for praying for me and with me!

Love,
Lindsay

It's 2011... and about time for an update

The new year started less than a month ago. Typically, one year merges in to the next and I don't notice the difference. Kind of like when you turn 20 after a year of being 19. But as January is nearing a close, I can say this year already has a different feel to it... more like I'm turning 16... or 21... or 50... though I'm not quite there yet. 

I went home for 3 weeks to the States over the holidays and it was a really sweet time. I spent time with family in Houston, got my fill of Philadelphia culture with my extended family and spent a week in Austin catching up with friends I haven't seen in way too long. It was great to be in a familiar place and see familiar people. As the time to head back to San Juan drew closer, a sweeter thing happened: I found myself missing the island. Missing my friends here... missing high school kids... missing warm weather... missing the crazy unique culture that makes this island what it is. I was excited to come back. It was an unexpected feeling... I was surprised at myself, but incredibly thankful. For the first time since moving here in September, I felt like I was going HOME. 

The first two weeks back have been wonderful; it wasn't long before I was thrown completely back in to Puerto Rican culture. The day after Matt and I returned to the island, Las Calles de San Sebastian happened. For those of you who might not be familiar with this... think Mardi Gras... then think bigger. All 4 million people living on the island of Puerto Rico, plus tourists, plus Puerto Ricans who live in the States that fly back just for this festival, cram themselves into the tiny streets of Old San Juan for one weekend and have a party. Anyone aged from high school up can be found there... and this year Matt, I and our friends joined in. It's one of those things you just have to experience in Puerto Rico, and it was great to begin reconnecting with our high school friends so soon after returning to the island. 

Our official work began this past week as we started planning out Young Life this semester. It's going to look a lot different than it did in the fall, but Matt and I are both incredibly excited about what it holds. I'll keep you updated on specifics as they happen, but we've basically shifted our focus from doing club every week to spending more time building into kids for the future and deepening relationships. A good chunk of my break in the States was spent praying for high school girls that I know well, kind of know, or don't know at all... and I'm really excited to see God continue moving and forming those relationships in ways that I don't expect and can't see right now. In the midst of planning, Matt and I have been asked several times to sub at one of the high schools we're working with, which is a huge blessing. It's such a great time with kids- we get to spend 8 hours with them and just hang out. God has been so faithful in continuing to open doors for us... please continue to pray for favor with schools and that He would begin opening doors in other high schools around San Juan! 

Gretchen, Peggy, Taylor and I at the Indian Caves

I mentioned earlier that this year felt different. There are many reasons for this: Puerto Rico feeling like home... YL looking different... but one of the biggest changes is the commitment Matt and I have made to thoroughly enjoy this beautiful island we get to live on! Our adventures in this area began this weekend. There was a professional longboarding competition in Guajataka, a town on the western part of the island. Matt, I and our friends Peggy, Gretchen and Becca road tripped out there... stopped at some incredible Indian Caves on the way... made friends with professional longboarders... ran in to high schools kids... and watched a surfing competition at an incredible beach. It was so life-giving. We've gotten pretty good at working hard. The next couple months we're working on learning to balance work with play. Check out the pictures from our weekend! 

Taylor, Peggy, Matt and I inside the caves

Please continue to pray for Young Life in PR... for God to give us opportunities to hang out with high school kids... for favor with administrations, schools and parents... and for God to continue growing us in our love for him and that it would overflow to our love for the people here. 

Longboarding... some sweet drifting going on here

The gang at Guajataka Beach

More stories to come soon! Thanks for caring... reading... supporting... praying. 

Much love,

Lindsay 

One Semester In... and it's Christmas!

I'm sitting at my dear friend Peggy's house tonight for our weekly Glee watching party. It's something that she has been working to establish as a norm. As an event that will, without a doubt, happen every Tuesday night. It's a sweet time where our extremely varied group of friends get together, talk about our weeks, eat grilled cheese and eventually, watch Glee. As we're wrapping up our first semester of Young Life clubs and I'm thinking back on the past 3 months, that is my prayer for YL club here in Puerto Rico. That it will truly become part of the culture; an event that will, without a doubt, happen every Monday night at 7:27 p.m. An event where high school students from different backgrounds and different stories can come, have a blast and feel comfortable just being a kid. This past semester was a huge step in getting there, and the hope of what God is going to do through Young Life here is what drives me each day as we hang out with students or run campaigners and club.

Puerto Rico Young Life Club!!

Mario and Jaycob dressed as Christmas trees!

We had our final club of the semester last night, and I think it was my favorite so far. It was Christmas themed (obviously) and students had a blast getting high quality white elephant gifts (if by high quality you mean it cost 25 cents at Party City), dressing up their friends as Christmas trees and eating pizza!

The students also got to hear the story of Mary and Martha, and how Jesus just wants to be with them... no matter how many things they think they need to "clean up" first. I love that they heard that truth about Jesus last night. I love that I was reminded of it. And I love that my life is filled with opportunities to remind kids of that as well.

My reaction after Milton (our skit character) asks me on a date

Christmas season has finally started in Puerto Rico. Ok, that's a lie. Christmas season started before Halloween happened. Yes... hard to believe, but very true. Last year during this season, thoughts of how amazing and incredible it is that God actually put on human flesh and walked around, that he hung out with ordinary people, dominated my thoughts. Lately, those thoughts have resurfaced and I was reminded Monday at club how incredible it is that  after Jesus left earth and couldn't physically hang out with us anymore, he sent us as ambassadors in his place. We walk around with the Holy Spirit inside us; we get to go and be in the flesh with people, to share truth with them and be a physical picture of Christ's love for them. That is at the same time a huge responsibility and a huge honor. God loves us so deeply... so passionately that he didn't just stop with the incredible gift of his son Jesus, but gave us the ability to be his ambassadors because we are his beloved children. 

I'm going to be honest. The past couple of weeks it has been hard to live here. I miss my family. I miss my 1509 Enfield roommates. I miss Austin and the way the sunset looks on the city as you're crossing the bridge over Town Lake. I miss cold weather. I miss watching football all day on Saturday. I miss good barbeque and Mexican food. My life would be easier if I didn't have to worry about money, work at making new friends, or try to live life in another language. But, I get to walk in to high schools with the Holy Spirit in me and show students Christ's love in the flesh. I get to watch Glee with a mixed-up group of friends and learn how to live life with them. And knowing that I get to do that simply because I belong to the King... simply because I'm his beloved child... is enough to make all the hard things worth it. 

So as the first semester of Young Life is wrapping up, I just want to thank you for all your support and prayers. God has done and will continue to do incredible things here. So thank you for your love and prayers. 

And God... Daddy, thank you... for loving us enough to come in the flesh and be with us. 

Christmas Club!!!

Here is our event poster for our Christmas club happening this Monday! It's our last club of the semester... crazy!

Check back for a longer update next week- just wanted to let you guys know I was still alive and YL is still kickin' in PR! Thanks for your continued prayers.

It's Almost Thanksgiving... What?!

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post... Sorry about that. I've been really busy getting a tan at the beach... just kidding. Young Life has been continuing in full force down here! Matt and I have been spending the majority of our time visiting high schools, meeting new kids and building stronger relationships with the students we already know. It's been really fun for me to start the transition of "Hey, I'm this girl who hangs out at your school." to "Hey, let's hang out this weekend... can I have your number?" and see the girls' reactions when they realize I actually want to spend time with them and think they're cool. It's great.

On top of that, we've now had 5 official Young Life clubs in Puerto Rico! God provided us with a new meeting location, so we're now meeting at a rotary club that is more centrally located in San Juan than our last location. It has a great parking lot for kids to hang out before club and for us to have an "after party" after club... complete with music, light up frisbees and even root beer floats! To give you a little insight to the madness that goes on in our clubs, I'd like to introduce you to Milton... a nerd who often comes in and interrupts everything while I'm attempting to give announcements. The kids love Milton... they often tell Matt that Milton looks just like him. This week we decided to make Milton a Facebook profile so the kids can interact with him even when they're not at club... check out his profile picture below!

Milton... being a nerd... typical. 

On another note: I actually did take a day off yesterday and went to El Morro... one of the old Spanish forts located in Old San Juan. It was a beautiful day (the weather is really nice here this time of year)... and was so great to just lay on the grass, relax and read books all day. If anyone wants to come visit me... you can see this in person! That kind of sounds like a bribe and well... it kind of is.

El Morro... aka my version of the South Mall on UT campus

Love you guys so much! Thanks for keeping me and YLPR in your prayers... more updates soon!
-Linds

3 clubs down... and some refreshing insight

One of the things I love most about my life post-graduation is the time I have to read. Don't get me wrong- I don't have boatloads of free time... but I also don't have textbooks about effective public relations to read anymore. Growing up, I spent all my time reading (Nerd... I know). But since high school, when English teachers decide to assign 100 pages a night of a certain novel that the school board feels necessary for American teenagers to read... let's just say I haven't had a whole lot of reading-for-enjoyment-time. So forgive me for writing about what I've read....

... So I've been reading this book, "Back to the Basics of Young Life," by John Miller. It was a want-to/ had-to read mandated by my brother and boss, Matt Golley. It is incredible. What I read last night was by far my favorite part of the book so far. It was the chapter about contact work, which for those of you not as familiar with Young Life, is when we go to where kids are and hang out with them. This could be in the lunchroom at their high school, basketball games, their houses, etc. For many YL leaders, including myself, contact work is something you have to psych yourself up for. Put bluntly... it's awkward. Yes, I'm 22. Yes, I have a college degree. Yes, I'm on average 5 years older than any of the students I'm talking to. And on any given day this is my routine before going in to the school: I sit in the car... pray... and then act like I'm my own self-help book with thoughts something like, "I'm cool...I'm cool," or "I have my own friends," or "Remember... they're in high school." Miller's chapter on contact work reminded me why we go to where kids are. When Jesus was on earth, he went to people who were in need, sick, dying. When Jesus died on the cross and cried, "It is finished," his work here on earth was just that- finished. Now, we as the body of Christ are called to go in his place. That was an incredible reminder to me last night, tired after a full day of hanging out with kids. Jesus would like to go to lunch. Jesus would like to go to that volleyball game. Jesus would like to have coffee with that girl. But, in his love and grace, he allows me to go in his place, to be his ambassador. Wow. I think my pre-going to the school thoughts just changed.

Aidy and Michael showing off their tropies! 

Jettie, a volunteer leader and Nalani showing
off their costumes

On Monday, we had our 3rd club, which was a Costume Party. This might seem like a weird transition, but hang with me. Half of our club didn't speak any english and it was their first time coming to Young Life. This is a result of Matt's faithfulness the past year in coaching a football team in San Juan.

Everyone had a blast showing off their costumes, playing games and competing in a Thriller dance-off! The best part is that at the end Matt got to talk a little bit about this guy named Jesus. The fact that kids came, had fun and heard about Jesus is a miracle... and God let us be a part of it!

Matt and his football boys rocking out 

On Tuesday, as we went to high schools to hang out, we met new kids, talked with ones we knew and built relationships. We're doing our best to show up, to be consistent in the kids' lives that God has allowed us to meet because... well... He sent us here in His place. That is exciting and really really cool.

Ricky, the penguin... walking the red carpet! 

So, thanks to John Miller, his wisdom and my post-grad time to read for refreshing my view on why we GO.

Sidenote: If you're wondering why Matt chose to hire me... check out this link for reason #1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raGuaXxKzyo