Young Life Camping

Young Life summer camps are truly the best camps in the world for kids.  We take kids to pristine settings, away from distractions, and provide kids with an opportunity to hear about Jesus in a way that they understand. This summer we will be taking 40 kids to Washington Family Ranch in Oregon for "the best week of their lives." To help contribute to our camper scholarship fund and to see more about summer camp click here.   You can also read about the two amazing camping trips we took this last spring by visiting our blog at http://ylsitka.blogspot.com/

Young Life summer camp is really hard to describe and so we have attached a video that shows each of the camps we will be attending.  At each camp there are hundreds of volunteers who work behind the scenes to make sure that kids have the best week of their lives with their Young Life leaders and friends.   

This year we have around 80% of our students that need some type of scholarship support in order to go to camp. To help make camp happen for our middle school and high school kids from Sitka and around the state of Alaska - click the link below!  When directed: please select gift designation to a Young Life Ministry, click "Area Number" and type AK23 (no spaces), and finally & select "camp scholarship." Donate here - Sending Kids to Camp! 

The middle school camp we are going to from June 30-July 5th is called "Creekside" and is designed as a waterpark!

 The high school camp is called "Canyon" and has a high ropes course, basketball courts, rock climbing, mountain biking, go carts, a pool, and much more. We'll heading to this camp with our high school group from June 16th to June 23rd. 

2017 Spring Camping Trips 

   

This past month we had a chance to take 2 camping trips, (a guys trip and a girls trip) to a beautiful cabin 5 miles north of town.  Each weekend had beautiful weather and students had the opportunity study the Bible with their peers, to see northern lights, go swimming, go kayaking, make meals, and take have personal devotion times.  We also had the rare chance to eat herring eggs off kelp and for kids to go swimming in phosphorescence at night.   The guys went to a beach on another island, had a bonfire, and helped the owner remove lots of brush around the cabin.  The girls went on a hike, cooked, and enjoyed being  together and away from campus. There were 6 guys and 2 leaders for the boys trip and 4 leaders and 11 girls on the girls trip. These camping trips are always a highlight for all who are able to go. 



A Big Thank You

As part of the Sitka Young Life family - I just wanted to pass the following thank you.  This past Friday was graduation for MEHS and families from around the state came to town. One parent who I had never met, gave me a huge hug, looked me in the eyes and stated, "you don't know how much it means to me that you were here for my kids, thank you so much!" This family who was following Jesus was so relieved to know that people were investing in their two kids while they were 1,200 miles away from home.  So on behalf of these families, thank you for volunteering, donating time, contributing resources, and investing in the lives of so many around the state.  Click here to read more.

That same day I received a text from one of our senior girls who wanted to know if we would like to come and have dinner with their family.  Emily and I gladly accepted and when we got to the address they gave us we found 18 people from 4 generations, 6 of whom were cousins attending MEHS.  We were the only non-Native representation, and they were so grateful to have us in attendance. During the evening they served a huge meal, had wonderful food, sang 2 gospel songs and then asked if I would like to close their time together in prayer.

The Johnsons shared their song at Baccalaureate Service

Graduation week I also received a thoughtful text from a graduating senior that thanked me for conversation about faith that we had had the previous week- he said that our conversation really helped him feel like he was moving closer back to God. He was very thankful.

These encouraging interactions reveal just a part of God's work in our partnership in the ministry of Sitka Young Life.  

Emily with girls who have been involved in YL for all 4 years

So, thank you prayer team for meeting together weekly to pray, providing a strong foundation.  Thank you committee members for investing your time and energy helping plan events and turning them into a reality. Donors, thank you for being the means of the various resources that allow students to access Christ.  And thank you leaders and volunteer leaders for the hours of time you spend investing in relationships that might ultimately lead kids to a relationship with our Father.  To all involved, thank you for choosing to be a part of this team.  Love, Your Sitka Young Life Family