Telijah's guest blog: Back to the Bahamas

Help me go back to the Bahamas this summer with Young Life Expeditions! 

Dear friends and family, 

Last year I had the opportunity to go to Young Life camp in Eleuthera, Bahamas with my family. I got to hang out with Bahamian teenagers, help illustrate the gospel, and visit some beautiful beaches while I was there. 

It was the first time I had ever been out of the country, and I am so thankful for the people who donated money so our family could go. My parents were the camp speakers last year, so my siblings and I got to tag along as a vacation, and I didn't really have to help out as much as people who go to run the camp. 

This year, I am actually going back to serve with Young Life as work crew. My parents will be the camp speakers again this year, but as work crew, I will be staying apart from them, and I will be doing things that they are not expected to do. Instead of just going and hanging out with the kids, I will also be helping serve meals, cleaning up, and helping to run the camp. While I will still have the chance to relax and hang out with some amazing teenagers, I will be expected to do more work so that camp runs smoothly. 

In order for me to go, I need to raise $1,700 by June 15th. This means I need people who are willing to sponsor me. Will you consider helping me as I set out to help Bahamian teenagers have the best week of their lives?  

You can donate online here. 

Bahamas Update: The 12-Day Countdown

Our kids working on homemade thank you cards !!!! 

Just 12 days out, here are 10 facts about our Bahamas trip. 

10. Our youngest kids' passport came in the mail yesterday! That was (almost) the last big barrier to being fully ready to go. 

9. This is actually my second trip to the Bahamas. I went in 1996 as member of the Shenandoah University men's basketball team. (For those of you that know Jeremy Hartman or Mandrel Stuart, can you find them in this picture collage?) 

8. Waynesboro Chick Fil-A helped us with a big fundraiser. Our five kids were also unofficial  Chick Fil-A workers for the day. It was cool to see them putting in effort toward their trip. 

7. THIS IS NOT A LASSITER FAMILY VACATION!  We're actually going to serve with the ministry of Young Life in the Bahamas.  Lee Corder, who heads up Young Life mission work on the Western Hemisphere, sent me this encouraging e-mail as we prepared for our trip! 

"This often comes up around our Caribbean work. Just remind people that we don't drive from airport to resort, we stop before the resort in small towns and villages with all the same issues of poor nations everywhere.

Where you're going is poverty, despair & hopelessness all covered by a sunny climate. The descendants of West Indies slaves live in a world of licentiousness, religious bondage and superstition where the good news of Jesus' deliverance and freedom are desperately needed. Your willingness to serve is profound and crucial for our dear kids there."

6. I will be the camp speaker. I know from a distance most people only see the Photoshopped, cleaned-up verison of me, but I know I'm a mess. (I've got hang-ups like dial tones!) I'm thankful that God uses crooked sticks to draw straight lines, and that He specializes in accomplishing His purposes through broken people.  P.S. Here's one of my favorite sermons on that very topic. 

5.  Father's Day really made me think long and hard about the legacy I want to leave my kids. I'm so glad they are coming with us this year. 

4. In the past few years, I've been to Uganda, Bermuda and Hawaii as well. The truth is, however, I don't really need to travel. I'm pretty much like Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit. 

3. I'm a big picture person, but horrible with details. This trip would never happen without my wife! 

2. So many family members, friends, churches and ministries have come together to make this trip a reality for us financially. We could never say thanks enough! 

1. We still have a ways to go financially and 12 days to get there.  You can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking on this link:  Thanks everyone. Every penny helps! 

Why We're taking our own kids to Young Life Camp Overseas

My youngest daughter, bottom right, is upset because she doesn't think her shirt matches her outfit!

In 2012, my wife and I went to Hawaii. 

In 2013, my wife and I went to Bermuda. 

In 2014, my wife and I are going to the Bahamas. With the kids. All five of them! 

Young Life Commonwealth Region asked me if I would go to the Bahamas this summer to work at a Young Life camp for the students on an island in the Bahamas. 

After praying for a month, my wife and I said yes ... if the kids can come, too!!! 

Here's why! 

1.  We want our kids to have a bigger view of education. Not all education occurs in the classroom, as so eloquently stated by Propaganda in the song Bored of Education. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our kids to get an experiential education on cuisine, culture, geography, ministry, travel and other things. 

2. We want our kids to have a bigger view of family. In the midst of my career switch to nTelos (on Twitter at @nTelosLass), my summer is much more structured. In bringing our kids along, I wanted them to see that family is so important that we would jump through all these extra financial and logistical hoops so that we can be together. 

3. We want our kids to have a bigger view of the world. I believe it was Mark Twain who once said, "I've never met a well-traveled racist." 

4. We want our kids to have a bigger view of service. With our Young Life kids at Lee, we always talk about servant leadership being described as "taking initiative for the benefit of others." Although this trip will likely have some vacation-like aspects for our kids, they will asked to serve, too! 

5. We want our kids to have a bigger view of the gospel. At the camp, I will have the privilege of sharing the greatest story ever told with the kids on the island. I want my kids to be part of seeing that story change lives just as it changed mine and prayerfully changes their own lives one day. 

So here is are two things you can do to help us. Share this blog by e-mail or by social media with friends. 

Help us raise the $7,000 it will take to get to the Bahamas. Young Life is picking up the expenses for Emily and me. We are picking up the expenses for our kids. The trip does cost some money, but we believe it's worth every penny. And, speaking of pennies, every one counts. We need donations great and small, and you can give a tax-deductible gift online by clicking here. 

Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her blog here), and dad to these five crazy kids we see pictured above. His first book You're Grounded was released by Moody Publications in July of 2013. You can read about it here.