Guest Post by Kyle Raak, Area Director for Greater Holland Young Life.
During spring break Greater Holland Young Life sent a team of 17 down to the Dominican Republic. They spent the first few days doing homestays in Puerto Plata. Serving alongside local YL staff and volunteers, the team hosted a fun activity for kids in a local park, participated in a fundraiser to help send kids to camp, and celebrated with friends and family of YL in the community of Puerto Plata. After leaving Puerto Plata the team went to Young Life’s camp Pico Escondido in Jarabacoa. While at Pico the team served by working on a variety of projects around camp.
The biggest project the team was able to participate in was helping artist Joel Schoon-Tanis paint a mural entitled “Fruits for the Kingdom.”
It was truly a gift to be able to participate in creating a beautiful piece of art that will start wonderful conversations between Young Life kids and volunteer leaders in the Dominican Republic.
Joel worked alongside the team from Holland as well as friends from the Dominican Republic. Side by side they worked together to create something beautiful that will last for years. It was a joy seeing the excitement from the kitchen staff at Pico Escondido. The team noticed they started to take their breaks in the dining hall to watch Joel work. As the week went along they started getting closer and closer. The crowd started to grow as Joel put his finishing touches on the mural and when he finished, the staff cheered with smiles of pure joy on their faces.
The mural depicts the relational aspect of what Young Life is. Although it may be easy to view Young Life as a weekly event or a camp trip, YL is really about relational work. This work often takes time to grow. It doesn’t happen all at once, it’s a process that requires consistency, nurturing, and patience.
Description from Joel:
“Fruit for the Kingdom” – Joel Schoon-Tanis collaborated with a group of Young Life leaders from Holland, and our Dominican hosts, to create an acrylic mural that depicts the relational discipleship of Young Life. On the left, a leader invites kids to join him. In the middle, one of them helps plant a sapling. Finally, we see a full grown tree that bears fruit. The fruit is picked and shared with the world (as it floats outward). The backdrop is of the Dominican mountains with the animals of the Peaceful Kingdom walking through it (Isaiah 11).
This remarkable trip is just one of 3 college / young adult trips taken over Spring Break in the Western Great Lakes Region. We are grateful to God for all He is doing around the world through Young Life.
