The Next Stage: Crooked Creek Ranch

It's finally settling in that I am officially a graduate of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. I have completed four years at a university that stole my heart when I was just a little girl and I absolutely fell in love with the town of Chapel Hill. I learned a ton, both in academics and in life. I met some of the best friends that I could ever imagine. I was challenged beyond belief. And I am leaving with some of the best memories I could have ever asked for.

But college has come to an end and the next stage of life has arrived. And it is a stage of life that I am extremely excited about. This stage is one that will land me in Fraser, CO for the next year working as a year-long intern at Young Life's Crooked Creek Ranch.

I wrote a post on "Going West" when I first accepted the position, but I want to now explain a little more of what my year will look like and to invite you in on the journey with me.

I first went to Crooked Creek with my high school's Young Life area when I was fifteen years old. It was truly one of the best weeks of my life. It was a week where I encountered the love of Christ and made some of the best memories from high school. I had no idea when I was fifteen that I would ever return to Crooked Creek and surely not that I would return to work and live there for a year. God began writing Crooked Creek into my story six years ago, knowing all along that it would be an even bigger part of my story in the future. I am continually amazed by his faithfulness and expert story-writing skills.

gore cabin gettin' ready for the o-course

best friend & hiking

If you are not familiar with Young Life, it is a relational ministry that is geared towards middle and high school students that's mission is to introduce them to the love of Christ and what it looks like to have a relationship with Him. I was involved with Young Life all throughout high school and the relationships that I formed then have continued to have an impact on my life.

When coming to Chapel Hill, I was blessed with the opportunity to become a Young Life leader in one of the local high schools, East Chapel Hill High School. Being a Young Life leader has changed my life in more ways than one. I got to live life alongside some of the most wonderful high school girls and build relationships with them that I will forever cherish. It is difficult to even begin to explain what it means to be a Young Life leader, but my friend Johnson wrote a wonderful post on my blog that begins to shed a light on the beauty and challenge of what it really means. One of the reasons that it is so difficult to imagine leaving Chapel Hill is because it means I am leaving behind some of the most precious girls at East who I have loved getting to know, hanging out with, and spending countless hours talking about the Lord with.

our awesome group of leaders at leader weekend

windy gap fall weekend 2010

girls crafternoon 

saranac volleyball tourney 2011

ice cream olympics 2011

rockbridge fall weekend 2011

rockbridge fall weekend 2012

the sweetest

Not only have I been blessed to be a leader, but I have also been blessed to work at a Young Life camp each summer of college. I fell in love with Young Life camping at a camp in northern Michigan, Timber Wolf Lake. I served on Summer Staff there the summer after my freshman year, and worked there for the following two summers.

da femterns #twl2k11

all time favorite picture... ever.

timber wolf lake interns 2012

Young Life camp is a place where Young Life leaders bring their middle school and high school friends to experience life to the full as they experience the craziness of clubs with 400+ people, the ropes course, volleyball tournaments, rodeos, and also the love of Christ through the people serving and the speaker who presents the Gospel throughout the week. It is a place for kids to come and really be themselves and to begin to let their walls fall down. It is a place where life is found and kids begin relationships with the God of the universe.

And that is where I get to work for the next year: at a Young Life camp in the mountains of Colorado; at a place where the love of Christ will be shared; and at a place where guests can come and encounter the Gospel.

I will be serving alongside nine other year-long interns from all over the country. We will all live together and work together as we make it our mission to truly set the stage for all the guests of Crooked Creek to know Christ. I am beyond excited to see all of the ways that the Lord is going to bond us together and all of the ways that we will be challenged through our jobs and through our community.

I cannot go into this year alone though. I am excited to invite you, my friends and family, into this stage of my life with me as well. I will need your support, spiritually and financially. First, please support me and the ministry at Crooked Creek through prayer... prayer for our group of interns, for each of the guests that come to Crooked Creek, and for the ministry that will happen there. Secondly, we have the opportunity to fundraise a portion of our salary and I would love your support there as well. Any contribution you could make, whether it be a monthly donation or a one-time gift would be a huge help in my goal of raising $583.33/month or $7,000 for the year. All donations are tax-deductible. If you would be interested in being a part of my support team and donating, there is more information at the end.

I cannot begin to express how excited I am for this next chapter that God is writing in my life. I am excited for the relationships that will be built and the lessons that I will learn. I am excited to be able to share those on here as I continue to blog throughout the year. I anticipate that the Lord will move in mighty ways and that He will move mountains in my heart and in the hearts of guests at Crooked Creek Ranch. Please be a part of this adventure and journey with me... it's about to get real crazy, in a really good kinda way.

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2 Options to Help Support Me Financially:

1- Mail a check to Crooked Creek Ranch: All checks should be made out to "Young Life" and mailed to Crooked Creek Ranch P.O. Box 250 Fraser, CO 80442-0250. With your check please be sure to include your name, address, email, and phone number. Also, be sure to note that the check is intended to go towards Jordan Abourjilie Year-Long.

2- Online donation: You can set up online donations to be monthly or a one-time gift. Monthly donations are a huge help for budgeting purposes. In order to donate online go to www.younglife.org and click the "Online Giving" button on the left side of the page. You will have to create a Giving Account. Select "Give a Gift" once your account is set up and under Gift Designation select "Young Life Area Ministry." You will search by area number 5400 and select Crooked Creek. Once Crooked Creek--5400 Camp Properties is selected, insert "Jordan Abourjilie" into the sponsoring space.

Please e-mail me at jordan.abourjilie@gmail.com if you have any questions about how to donate or just to let me know that you have donated so that I can make sure that it all goes through the Crooked Creek Ranch system properly.

And again, THANK YOU for considering to donate and being a part of my support team. It means the world to me and is a huge blessing.