The first time Antonio walked into a Young Life Club he had no idea why. His older sister Betzy had gone and liked it so much she invited him to tag along, luring him there with the promise of pizza. After that day he started coming more regularly and decided to go to camp the following summer. While he was at camp he saw kids his own age serving meals.
“How do I do that?” he asked me, while we were sitting at lunch one day.
“Don’t worry, I’ll sign you up next year.” I told him.
The following spring Antonio reminded me of my promise, we applied together and he went to Woodleaf, a camp in Northern California to be on Work Crew. His Work Crew boss found me one day, “Antonio is a really special kid,” she told me. “He is stubborn and sometimes makes me crazy, but there is something different about him.”
“Yeah, I know,” I told her back, “You’ll want to scream and hug him at the same time, that’s what makes him so great.”
The following year Antonio went back to camp and made it a mission to bring several friends with him.
That's where he met Carter.
Carter had been a Young Life leader for several years prior at a local high school and felt like the Lord was calling him to be a Young Life ONE leader, in part because when he met Antonio he felt a certain kind of bond with him and his friends.
Carter began walking with Antonio and his friends—going with them to eat tacos, hang out and play video games, something that Antonio and his friends loved to do.
Antonio was getting close to graduation, trying to figure out next steps, and then a little thing called COVID-19 happened. While he was able to graduate alongside his friends, he struggled to know what to do next. He started doing odd jobs, delivering groceries and such, but was struggling to land post-graduation.
Antonio and Carter were talking about this one day and Carter had an idea—he’d recently heard of an opening in his company as a video game tester and he thought Anthony might be a good fit. Antonio was interested in applying but wasn’t sure how to fill out the application, interview, or work a corporate job. Carter began prepping Antonio for the interview. He coached him on questions they may ask, gave him tips on professionalism, and helped him buy interview clothes.
Antonio nailed the interview and got the job, but Carter knew it couldn’t end there, nor did he want it to. To this day Carter still stays in regular touch with Antonio and helps him as he navigates the world of the corporate world and adulthood at large.
This relationship is one that I go back to time and time again as an example of how beautiful it is to be a Young Life ONE leader. It is such a huge privilege to walk with kids, starting in adolescence and then continuing into adulthood.
We want kids to always know that when they become friends with a Young Life ONE leader, they are not just trusting someone who will care about them for a season—they are making a friend for life. It truly is such an honor.
Thank you for saying yes to the ONE,
Rachel Karman
Thank you for giving to Young Life ONE. We want every kid impacted by homelessness, incarceration, trafficking, and the foster care system to have a friend for life and your generosity helps make this a reality—one city at a time, one kid at a time.
