An Open Door

If you scratch a bit into the Leist family, you know that Young Life, has shaped us as individuals and as a family. My mom got involved in the 1950s. Both Scott and I were involved in high school and later volunteered as leaders. We ultimately met at a Young Life camp in Canada called Malibu. Anna is even spending a few weeks this summer serving at Young Life’s newest camp in Texas -- Lone Hollow.

Young Life is an international Christian organization which reaches out to teenagers with the message of life in Jesus. Young Life is growing like crazy in the developing world, especially Africa. I recently had the chance to see some of the great things happening in Uganda.

Meet Cathy and Henry (first picture).

Two pillars of hope in the community.

Both of their lives have been forever changed by their involvement with Young Life and through relationships with their Young Life leaders. Not only have they found a vibrant faith but Cathy and Henry are also both recipients of Young Life’s Developing Global Leaders (DGL) scholarship program. Each received a 4-year academic university scholarship and a small stipend. Henry wants to go to medical school and Cathy is working toward being a teacher.

The DGL program is designed to develop ministry leaders who, regardless of their vocational choices, will always prioritize bringing others along on their spiritual journey. Each DGL student is immersed in a Young Life mentorship/training program where they serve as Young Life leaders in their own communities AND work to multiply their efforts by identifying and training other new leaders.

I spent a day with Cathy, Henry and 5 other “DGL’s,” along with some Uganda senior Young Life staff during a recent training retreat. Two things became clear. First, they all view ministry as a calling. Their enthusiasm was contagious, their passion refreshing. They are serious about their faith and reaching people for Jesus. Second, there is no way Cathy, Henry or any of the other DGLs would be able to further their studies without this scholarship.

While much of the world seems hopeless and broken, these young people -- each with their own challenges and imperfections – are excited about their faith and the transformation they have seen in their own lives as well as those around them.

There was no discussion about what they didn’t have. No lamenting the difficulty of their personal circumstances. No paralysis due to difficult current Ugandan politics.

Their focus was what God has done for them and what He wants to do through them. Simon, the Ugandan Country Manager repeatedly said, “Our job is to create people like us or better than us.” Challenging the leaders to look around, “Who are we leaving behind?” In every difficult situation (Simon calls them “challenges”), rather than getting stuck with what you don’t have, “sit down and innovate a solution.” His overall message was to “always lead in love.”

The staff acted this out, especially during the early days of COVID. Uganda had very aggressive lockdowns and curfews. During that time, it was extremely difficult for most Ugandan’s to generate any income to buy food or basic necessities. They came up with a new motto of “giving your neighbor enough to get through to tomorrow,” Staff and volunteers delivered bags of beans or rice to struggling leaders and kids, meeting tangible needs with Christ’s love.

In addition to the DGL retreat, I recently sat in on a Uganda Young Life Regional Leadership zoom call. 35 senior Ugandan staff and volunteers and 5 members of the Uganda Committee (folks who pray, support, encourage and help raise funds). Only one hour. Introductions all around. Ministry updates. For many of the staff, the wifi was poor, but the message was clear.

God is working in this nation. He is using Young Life to change lives. In 2019, 141,000 Ugandan teenagers heard about Jesus through their Young Life leader. 13,500 of those kids went to a Young Life camp that same year. All from a shockingly small budget.

Camping didn’t happen in 2020. In order to restart in 2021, Ugandan staff and volunteer leaders are feverishly working to prepare and revive properties to receive campers staring in a month. There are, in Simon’s words, “challenges.” One prime camp location outside Kampala is (or was) on the shores of Lake Victoria. It is now partially underwater as Lake Victoria is at historically high levels. Please join us in praying for an alternative location.

At the end of the call, the leader had everyone open their mic. 40 people. Lots of background noise. All were invited to pray simultaneously. Most did. Beautiful Ugandan voices. Powerful prayers of gratitude, humility, and petition. Then a chorus of amens at the end. I felt like I had experienced 2 minutes of heaven. I left the call with tears of awe and a grateful heart.

I knew then that I was “all in” for this work here. I’m excited to see how we can support Young Life’s Uganda work moving forward.

This has been a significant highlight of my first 3 months in Uganda. Perhaps God is opening another new door for us. Be encouraged by the video below.