July 4th will be two years of living in Nazareth.
Here’s the funny thing. High school students, still ask me “Zack, what do you
do for work?” or “Why are you here?” These questions have come from students I don’t
know as well. I mean, they see me at school often and we’ve swapped hellos, but
they aren’t the ones who I've spent more time with or come to Young Life. Albeit, it’s great
to have these conversations because it is proof to myself that I’m entering
into more circles and getting to know new students. Inshallah (God willing) the
students who do come to Young Life stuff have no need to ask these questions
because they know why I’m here haha.
These new students are usually guys. Without a car I do a
lot of walking around Nazareth and I often pass by groups of boys hanging out. They give me a wave paired with “shoo Zackyy” (What’s up Zack).
Before, I would wave back and continue on my way, but recently I’ve decided to stop for a little and just talk with them.
Side Note: I watched a talk given
by Bob Goff (who wrote Love Does) about generosity and the biggest point I took
away was I can be more generous with my time. I don’t have much money, my
cooking skills are the greatest but something I can give is my time. Where I'm headed can wait and you never know what could happen if you linger ;)
Anyways, as I have had more conversations with guys, it is interesting to me what continues to come up. I’ve decided to be
straight with my answers as to why I’m here and what I do for work, and it
all centers on Jesus.
- I believe everyone in the world deserves to hear what Jesus
did for them. If they choose to believe it or not I respect that is up to them.
- I work for an organization where He is the main focus of why I
do what I do.
So conversation topics are steered to that next level quickly. With the
guys between 16-18 years old, almost always they ask me questions about sex.
What is right? What is wrong? How does it relate to sin? Why does it matter being out of
marriage and doing it? This is what is on the mind of high school boys around
the world. Especially the ones who are just going about life as they want and
don’t really have anything or anyone holding them to a higher standard. I was
one of these boys.
You know how tough it is to try to explain this out? Even
more so in a different language and culture. I know that for the most part
anything I say will not change their mindset. But, the best response I’ve chosen to use
is to compare sex with fire. There is a special place in the home to make a
fire (fireplace), right? It’s set up and built specifically for this purpose. You don’t put a
fire on the ground in the middle of the family room. That would be crazy and cause a lot of problems. Same way there is a special place created for sex, within marriage. You can still choose to build the fire in the family room, maybe try to make it safer....but still it was not meant for that...Get it?? I hope that it
sticks in their brain and usually their facial expression shows that they understand what I’m trying
to say. I’m doing the best I know how to while still being a sinful human
who has my own temptations within this topic of life.
(P.S. if you have any thoughts, in favor or against what I share, feel free to comment.)
I share this just to give a more specific example of what I
do. I’m trying to be an extension of Jesus and encourage kids in looking to him
as the focus of their life. I’m trying to walk the walk and honestly it is
tough for me in some areas. For 2 years I’ve been sharing what I believe concerning
how the choice we make about Jesus is a life changing decision. And sometimes I
wonder if I can follow through on what I tell them in my own life. My prayer is
I recognize my own weakness and it makes me go to God even more.
YL Capernaum (special needs) Camp - Campers were from Bethlehem and come from Muslim backgrounds.
Yes life in Nazareth still consists of playing football once
a week with guys, some volunteering at the Nazareth village, and doing Young
Life Club/Bible Study. All of these things give me joy in my day to
day. Furthermore, Young Life summer camps have already begun. There will be
around 8 or 9 camps and almost 1,000 kids reached in the Holy Land over the next few months (praise God). I
am actually the camp speaker for a middle school camp at the end of June. You
can pray for me and my preparation…it’s my first time being a camp speaker!
As I spoke about generosity I thank you for yours. Your
prayers and support financially have given me these opportunities for growth in
my own life and in turn trying to help others grow as well.
Blessings, Zack
