Drenched in Peach Juice and the Holy Spirit

Unless you've been living on a life raft without Wi-Fi in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with dolphins and octopuses for the last decade, you've probably heard the headlines telling us how teenagers today are lonelier, sadder, and more anxious than ever before. News stories are often hyperbolic to capture our attention, but if you speak with people who have spent years working with adolescents, many will tell you there is truth behind the label of "the anxious generation."

Yet, if the doomsayers were to spend a week with our students at Gleanings for the Hungry in Dinuba, California, I think they would be filled with hope.

The Gleanings campus, operated through Youth With A Mission (YWAM), is unlike any place I have ever experienced. It is a place saturated with prayer, service, and genuine joy. You can feel the presence of God there. The staff serve without selfish ambition or personal gain; everything they do is for his glory. Prayer is woven into the rhythm of daily life, and the people who minister there do so with sincerity and faithfulness.

And then there were our youth. In 95-degree heat, covered in peach juice and sweat, they worked with smiles on their faces. Much of the labor in the peach factory is repetitive, tedious, and exhausting. Yet our Foundry students worked with diligence and literal singing-out-loud enthusiasm. I found myself continually amazed by their work ethic and their willingness to serve.

One late afternoon after seven hours of this tiresome work, I watched Tristyn—known affectionately as "Big T"—take on one of the dirtiest jobs in the facility. He crawled beneath machinery, scraping away piles of peach remnants and debris while enduring the constant overspray from a nearby power washer. He never complained. He simply kept working. Later in the week, Tristyn made an even more significant decision, committing his life to Christ and choosing forgiveness for wounds inflicted by members of his own family. Witnessing that transformation was both humbling and inspiring.

One of our leaders and parents, Jacey Reidl, a therapist who works with adolescents, remarked that she had never seen anything quite like what was happening at Gleanings. She said that if more young people experienced this kind of meaningful work, authentic community, and shared purpose, many of the struggles we see among today's youth would diminish dramatically.

The students spent nearly every waking hour together, working, eating, worshiping, laughing, and serving. They encouraged one another. They showed kindness. They celebrated each other's victories and supported one another through difficult moments. 

The high point of the week came on Thursday evening during the baptisms. Seven of our Foundry students publicly declared their faith in Jesus Christ. One parent even flew in specifically to witness the occasion. I believe the swimming pool where we did the baptisms was overflowing from all the happy tears that were falling into it as these young men and women publicly professed their commitment to following Christ.

Those moments reminded all of us why we came. (And it reminded me how old I am. After a tough day at the plant, I was completely worn out. But, if you give a teenager a plate of taco casserole and some watered-down lemonade, they are instantly as fresh as daisies.)

The week was not glamorous. It involved long hours, sore muscles, sticky clothes, some normal teen drama and endless peaches. But it was also filled with laughter, worship, friendship, and profound encounters with God.