I read this chapter a couple of days before hopping in a van full of middle schoolers and was struck by it. The way God moved in his people at Pentecost to be able to speak the language of the people around them so that they would be able to more freely share who He was hit home for me. It made me think about the Young Life ONE kids I get to love and serve in San Diego, and how for most of them, their native language is Spanish.

I used to know a decent amount of Spanish, but it’s gotten so choppy in the last several years. For a while now I’ve been talking about how I need to take a Spanish class, but haven’t done it. After reading these verses I felt moved to action and decided I needed to start practicing so I signed up for a remote class and got to work.

I don’t typically lead our middle school kids, rather their older siblings, but we needed another leader at camp so I said yes. Because of this however, I only knew a handful of names of the kids who showed up at the van. Immediately I met a girl named Ashley who I noticed wasn’t talking much. When I introduced myself to her I realized it was because she’s not very comfortable speaking English. I took a deep breath and in Spanish, I told her how happy I was to meet her and that I wanted her to speak to me only in Spanish if she felt comfortable, but that I needed her to help me with the words I may not understand.

Her eyes lit up and for the rest of the night, she was by my side dancing, singing, and speaking to me in Spanish.

It was a really sweet moment, one where I was reminded WHY we meet kids where THEY ARE at, not the other way around, and the importance of showing kids that they belong—here, and in the Kingdom of Heaven. ​ For a lot of our Young Life ONE kids, they’ve been told by the world that they are less than, but that God says emphatically otherwise and we get to be the first glimpse at that Truth.

What an honor.