Help Disadvantaged Kids Get to Camp

March 2009

Dear Friend:

Some kids swim in deep waters and need a helping hand. Eli was one of those kids. Orphaned by his mother and abandoned by his father, Eli was barely treading water when two Young Life leaders spotted him drifting toward danger and went to work weaving a lifeline for this young man.

It took almost two years, countless hours of conversation, dozens of home-cooked meals, a closet full of clean clothes, and a season full of football practice one-on-one before Eli was willing to lay hold of the lifeline and trust his leaders. With the help of a generous friend who provided a camp scholarship for Eli, his leaders were able to pull the weary young man safely to shore for a week at summer camp.

At camp, Eli could finally stop treading water for a few days and rest. He could stop wondering where his next meal would come from or where he would lay his head to sleep. Instead he could use his legs to climb the ladder to the zip line, to run across the basketball court or to jump up and down and dance at club. Now he could take a deep breath and hear something besides the sound of his own desperate heartbeat. Now he could hear singing, laughing and the winsome telling of the greatest story ever told. Now Eli could meet Jesus.

Apparently King David and young Eli had much in common. “He reached down from on high and took hold of me,” David wrote in Psalm 18. “He drew me out of deep waters.” That’s the same song Eli sings today.

Would you please consider giving kids like Eli a helping hand? Would you please consider helping disadvantaged kids get to camp? Many are in over their heads today and are in danger of drowning. But with your help, we can weave a lifeline that’s tied to Jesus. With your help, even more kids can stop treading water and use their legs to walk with Him.

Like Eli, many kids involved with our multicultural ministry can’t afford a week at Young Life camp, which, with transportation, costs an average of $618. Last year, through the campership program we were able to award partial scholarship to more than 9,000 campers from 463 areas so they could experience the best week of their lives. With plans to bring even more kids to camp this summer, we have a goal of $600,000.

Please give to your local area first, and then consider giving above and beyond to help disadvantaged kids get to camp. I am deeply grateful for your prayerful consideration of this request.