If you’ve ever spent time with Yousef Bittar, one of our YoungLives Committee members, ever present volunteer, and Myrna’s husband, you know what a golden heart he has. Today, he shares about the experience he had a couple weeks back in taking some teens to the Chargers football game. Enjoy!

A couple weeks ago Russell Okung, an offensive line backer for the LA Chargers donated 10 tickets to YoungLives. So I had the opportunity to take some teen dads, a teen mom and her boyfriend, and a 9 year old boy who is the son of one of the YL alumni and has been in our lives for about 6 years now.

Three dads that came were teen dads when we met them and now they are men. They are strong men that are living their lives caring for their children and girlfriends. The impact in their lives is not only when they are teen dads and moms, but the impact of Christ’s love resonates with them their entire lives. See, when Jesus shows his love, it changes things in the heart and mind of the one who experiences it. I walked beside these men over two or three years ago when I got to know them at YoungLives Club. Nevertheless, year in and year out, they are still a big part of our lives, God does not forget them and my family nor will I ever forget them. Seeing them drive to my house with their own cars, having their own jobs, thriving in their lives for their kids, and working hard brings tears to my eyes. These are the teens that we invited into our lives, and they are here to stay in our lives forever, because basically they became a part of our family. If God invited us to become His children and loved us for no other reason than Him being good to us, then who am I to not love as many as I can and invite them in to my family? How else they will know they are loved if they are not allowed to become family? Do you see what I am trying to say? Keep your house door open for these kids, throw as many burgers needed on a BBQ and tell them to come. Call them weekly, bug them as much as you can, tease them, joke with them, love them as you would love your own child, your own sibling, love them and never stop loving them for one second. Never judge them, just love them, never put them down, instead just love them, never push them away, just keep loving them.

Allow a transformation to happen in their lives, allow them to become your friends, best friends, and the ones that you would ask for help from. Allow them to become leaders, trust in them and let them be the children that God created them to be. That is it!

Forever I will owe it to these teenagers and their babies, for changing my life and opening my eyes to a greater love that Jesus called me to love and live. I encourage you to step in and reach out to anyone in your life that you see needing a loving heart. That can be you! A life changer!

Humbled by a greater love, Yousef Bittar.