Help Bring Simon Home

Hey Friends!

I’m preparing for my last Young Life trip, at least for this season of life, and obviously, it is bittersweet.  Because our customary city, Seattle, is largely still on Covid shutdown, we’re actually doing the senior trip on Table Rock Lake in Missouri this year.  We’ll leave Sunday and get back Saturday!  In classic form, I have one kid dropping and one adding last minute.  The kiddo who is wanting to add is my friend Simon.  

I met Simon 4 years ago in the lunch room at Legacy.  He was a sophomore then and was this punk rock… long scraggly brown hair… black fingernails… black hoodie… surly looking kid, who actually, when I said “Hi,” surprised me with a smile and a “hello.”  We got to know each other a little bit and a couple years ago, one of my campaigner guys, George, had become friends with Simon in a class and invited him to Young Life.  Simon came and LOVED it.  He came all through COVID to different things we were doing including snow camp which, due to covid, we did with our campaigner group at a condo in Estes Park (the owner texted me at 3am one night with footage of him sneaking out of his bedroom window to smoke… classic Young Life).  After he graduated last May 2021, he came to Young Life camp at Crooked Creek (pic above is he and George… you’ll know who is who, trust me).  He had informed me going in that he really had no interest in changing anything spiritual in his life… that he was an atheist… and despite that, he loved being around Christian folks and didn’t mind hearing about Jesus.  His girlfriend was a firm believer in the greek pantheon (literally… prays to Zeus, believes Athena provides her with wisdom, makes sacrifices, the whole nine) so he also felt like changing from atheist to anything else would cause too much drama with her.  We finished the week as we had started.  Friends. 

It was about 3 weeks in when Simon's Mom sent a frantic text to me.  “Please call me ASAP.”  Afraid of the worst, I called right away to find out that Simons dad had gone in for a routine surgery and something went wildly wrong.  They lost him on the table.  She was now left with her 18 year old son, and his younger high school brother and middle school sister.  Tragedy.  Simon was working at the UPS store making a little over minimum wage and had now become the chief breadwinner for his family of 4.  

Since mid January, a couple things have been happening.  First, he’s continuing to see his addiction to alcohol be a growing concern.  He’s discovering that his coping mechanisms are ultimately hurting not only his body but relationships around him.  His knuckles are almost always scabbed over from fights with drywall.  His smoking has gotten worse.  Its been really hard.  However, the second thing is that he’s been at church at Discovery nearly every week.  He’s still far from following Jesus but is falling in love with the Bible.  I’m incredibly curious to know what the Holy Spirit is up to in this kid's life.  Why is he at church?  What is he really looking for that he thinks he can find there?  His mom has been coming with him as well.  George sits next to them.  It’s beautiful.  Classic Young Life.  Of course we know what he's looking for.

So back to senior trip.  A couple weeks ago, I mentioned to Simon that if he wanted to come with us, we’d be doing a pretty deep spiritual dive, but that if he wanted to come, we had a spot because someone had to drop!  He lit up like a Christmas tree.  He had to work it out with his boss and yesterday… 4 days before we leave… he got the green light.  Jesus, what are you up to?  

Finally, as we’re working out final details, the flights we originally purchased back in January to Kansas City were $187.  Despite cancelling the guy who dropped and needing that seat for Simon, the cost had gone up to $453.  The original cost of the week was $799 so after we balance it out, his actual cost is more around the $949 mark.  Can you help?  

We’d love to get him on the plane.  Can you chip in to help?  I’m hopeful this is the finale of what the Holy Spirit has been doing in and around Simon for years.  It’s time to come home, bro.  Jesus, let this be the week!  I'll have him write a letter to you all at the end of the week so you know the follow up.  Regardless of if you can give financially or not, if you're getting this, you're a personal friend of mine.  Would you mind praying for me and for Simon?  Pray that this would be the week Simon finally answers his Dad's call to come back home.  Pray that he'd be willing to let go of the anger and control he is holding on to so tightly and can surrender it to his Holy Comforter.  Pray he meets Dad.