Be intentional.

Give your bodies as a living sacrifice.

Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life—and place it before God as an offering. Romans 12:1 MSG

Meet Cindy, T.R.A.C.life mentor from Santa Rosa, California. She joined T.R.A.C. when the program started three years ago in Sonoma County.

Shout out to Nick and Jess Mehle, former T.R.A.C. directors in Ventura, California. The two have you been involved in T.R.A.C. since 2012, first as camp counselors, then as directors starting in 2016.

This trip is theirs . . .
Serena recently shared the quote above with me when I was frustrated over a former camper and T.R.A.C.life mentee (now age 22) who keeps returning to an abusive boyfriend and the father of her four-month-old son.

Protection and care for vulnerable children has been a defining mark of Christianity since its first days. Even as a persecuted minority in the Roman Empire, Christians were known for rescuing and raising children abandoned by their pagan neighbors. Early church documents required that candidates for leadership be known as lovers of orphans.

Martins Ferry, Ohio, T.R.A.C.life recently had a scavenger hunt at the mall for mentors and their mentees. Three teams competed for various gift cards.

Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better by Brant Hansen is a must-read! During the Prayer & Vision Casting retreat, the national team read and discussed this incredible book. Check out some of our favorite quotes

Do we fall prey to the tyranny of busy? The whirlwind of a hurried life?
Why does time often seem the most difficult to manage?
In the Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren wrote, “Never confuse activity with productivity.”

Dawn, a T.R.A.C.life mentor from Austin, Texas, recently took her mentee to get their nails done together. Ashlynn left the salon, saying the day was her best ever.  
Simple things.
Moments many of us take for granted.

Thank you to everyone who completed the short CrossTalk survey. Here are the results from 43 responses. While the curriculum is complete for 2024, we will incorporate as many recommendations as possible in the future. However, as you can see, the responses are split on the preference for offering a rotation every 4-5 years or having a new topic every year.

Recap: Summit 2023 – Panel Discussion
NOTE: Camper Placement Coordinator binders are
NOW available on the Teen Reach website
under T.R.A.C. RESOURCES on the STAFF PAGE.

Panelists: Sylvia Gray, Retired Social Worker, Covington, LA
Roger Franklin, T.R.A.C. Norman, OK
Kathi Franklin, T.R.A.C. Norman, OK
Amy Jones, Eastern Regional Director

The Andea condor is the largest soaring bird in the world. Impressive indeed at 33 pounds with a 10-foot wingspan.
When researchers strapped cameras on these massive birds, what they discovered was amazing.
They only flap their wings 1% of the time. The other 99% of the time, they soar.
How do they do this?

The 2023 CAFO (Christian Alliance for Orphans) Conference was an event full of connection, learning, worship, and more. You can watch the recorded sessions at CAFO.org.

One of my greatest takeaways came from the More the Enough Initiative. For a community to be more than enough for foster care, the following is essential:

A former camper recently reached out to us at Teen Reach to thank us for giving her the book “His Princess: Love Letters from Your King” by Sheri Rose Shepherd.
When asked which letter impacted her the most, Jenna* was quick to respond. “My Princess . . . You are Free to Love”.

Fourteen years ago, Teen Reach added a pregnancy clause to T.R.A.C. so pregnant teens could attend camp. One of these teen moms is now 32. Three weeks ago, I got a call because her car broke down. Without a vehicle, she would get evicted because she couldn’t get to work.

Last summer, volunteers from T.R.A.C. picked up Dom from a group home on Thursday afternoon so he could go to camp. Dom immediately told one of the other campers in the van he was an atheist. He wanted nothing to do with God. The only reason Dom came to camp was to swim.

We can rack up an incredible list of personal achievements, get our picture on the cover of Fortune magazine, win the Nobel Peace Prize, build a billion-dollar company, the list goes on . . . but none of this is worth much without love.

This question is one I often get regarding the time I give to Royal Family KIDS Camp and Teen Reach Adventure Camp. The story I have shared many times is my why.

I wanted to thank all of the people that helped make the Camps possible for my two children, Malachi and Nevaeh. It was such a great experience for them! They both came back from camp feeling so loved.

Imagine the untapped resource of epic proportions, ready to transform the strength and impact of Teen Reach. Did you know 48 million Christ followers feel trapped in a cycle of hopelessness in their retirement years?