To all our dear friends and supporters,

It’s honestly pretty wild that we’ve already gone through almost 4 months of 2023. That’s already a third of the year! But with camps all around, ministry activities in full swing, and kids being reached out to in all our areas, it really shouldn’t be surprising that we’re already nearing the middle of the year.

Now what most of the YL Philippines staff are evaluating by now is where they are with accomplishing their year-long goals. Earlier this year, we gathered the staff in Dumaguete City to start a new staff development program called ADAPT. In this new multi-year program, YL Staff have been tasked to construct comprehensive plans for their areas based on the Next Kid Framework, and evaluating them using tools like the 5-box Strategic Investment Framework.

As the name of the program indicates, the main aspect of ADAPT is to allow YL Staff the opportunity to assess their own progresses and adapt their goals and plans accordingly to these assessments. This would allow our areas to not only be constantly aware of what the needs and culture of the youth are, but also be flexible enough to accommodate any changes brought about by the unpredictability of youth.

This past weekend, almost all of our staff gathered at Camp Eliezer to work on their 2023 goals and calendars. They came together to help each other ADAPT to the constant changes within the communities they’re doing ministry in.

With the staff all refreshed, reinvigorated, and adapted to the changing youth climates in their area, we are fervently praying that the ministry will only grow stronger in the coming months. Thank you so much for praying with us, dear friends, and we hope you continue to do so as we head towards the rest of 2023.

Mabuhay!

From all of us,

Young Life Philippines

Walk on Water

by: Suzanne Sittko

Scripture:

Matthew 14:28-33

“‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”

Devotional:

I love imagining Peter’s face as he looks at Jesus walking on water and immediately wants to join Him! And how Peter probably got even more excited when Jesus invited him to join Him. The sheer joy of Peter as he trusts Jesus to get out of the boat and walks on water toward Jesus. But as he notices the surroundings — the wind and waves — he doubts, starts to sink, and cries out for Jesus. Jesus immediately saves him.

As Young Life leaders, we see this moment in the lives of kids and leaders all the time! When kids get so excited to follow Jesus that they make a big step in their faith to trust Jesus. Or when leaders start leading. The sheer joy of starting a deeper level of faith with Jesus.

We watch as kids and leaders start to notice the wind and waves, and doubt starts to creep into their lives. When kids and leaders realize that following Jesus doesn’t mean everything becomes amazing and easy all at once, or that we have the strength to deal with the winds and waves on our own. And we see kids and leaders start to sink — give into the doubt or temptation. But we walk with kids as Jesus grabs them and saves them. He has invited them to walk on water with Him and He won’t let them drown. His grace keeps coming.

Do we know that Jesus has the same grace for us in ministry? Ministry is hard and we’re going to mess up, fail, say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, and even doubt. But Jesus is there to grab us when we do! He’ll keep calling us to trust Him and grow our faith, but also keep catching us when we fall.

Just like parents teaching their kids to walk, Jesus keeps inviting us to try and walk toward Him. And even when we’re able to run toward Jesus, those falls might hurt hard, but He still celebrates us getting back up and trusting him.

Prayer:

Jesus, thank You.

Thank You for inviting us into an adventure with You in this life. We’re thankful You promise to be with us always. We’re thankful You’re there when we’re walking with our eyes focused on You, and how You’re there when we get distracted by the winds and the waves and doubt You. Thank You for catching us when we fall and inviting us into deeper faith with You. May we have the same grace for ourselves and others. We love You, Jesus.

Amen

Louirene Grace Abuyon | Apr 24 | Volunteer Leader, YL Bacolod Northsyd

Jane Dela Cerna | Apr 30 | Volunteer Staff, YL Cordova

Lee Andrew Yasi | Apr 30 | Volunteer Staff, YL Cebu-North

Volleyball Camp

YL Dipolog

April 29 to 30

Bike-Packing

YL Cordova

April 29 to 30

*if you have any inquiries regarding any of the events below, just click on the organizing area to send an email to the staff-in-charge.

FROM: ROKSAN

Please pray for the Lord’s provision for my father’s medication and supplements, as well as career guidance for my sister.

FROM: LOREN

Please pray for Bigkis as we prepare Frontier Ranch Philippines and handle some necessary repairs within the campsite, prepare the volunteers and staff for upcoming camps, and for a good camper turnout for these camps.