Pray for "D"

There are kids in middle school that even I can be intimidated by. Often they are more mature both physically and emotionally (kind of), and they make it clear that they want nothing to do with you. Recently I started a new Wise Guys group at Clark Middle School and invited one such guy, "D" to join. Because his friends were invited he joined and we've been meeting for about 3 weeks now. I have to say that I've really been amazed at how much his demeanor and attitude toward me has changed in such a short time. I even get the sense that the front he put up before was really just a defense mechanism to hide the fact that he really wanted to be around me. Lately he's been saying things like, "I wish we could stay in here with you all day", and just the other day I dismissed them early but he came back just to hang out a little longer. Yesterday we had a talk about the pressure to have sex that is placed on him by his friends. I had the chance to tell him that a "real" man doesn't do things for other people but makes decisions that are right for him. I could tell during our discussion that we were really connecting and he genuinely valued my input. Those are good days. The reality is, that whether a guy puts up a tough front or not, most desire real relationships and respond when we make it clear that we care about their lives. Pray for "D", I invited him to Young Life and he is planning on coming next week for the first time. Pray that the gospel message would break through and touch his heart, leading him to Christ.

Chris LeMaster
Associate Director, SCYM