People of TeenPact: Mr. DeLange

P E O P L E   O F   T E E N P A C T

This is Mr. Dale DeLange from Michigan. He's a red berry farmer and a shop teacher. He lives and farms on the same land where he was raised and his father grew berries. He's a TeenPact dad and hosted us while we were in Michigan for the class.

Mr. DeLange gets up at 6 every morning to do chores before he goes to work. He's hard working and also one of the most subtly funny people I've met. I tried to figure out why I enjoyed being around him so much and then I realized it: Jesus is the key piece of his life. From Bible studies after meals to private devotions in the morning, Christ saturates everything he does. "The reason I'm so happy is because I've got Jesus." He even sacrificed celebrating his 50th birthday with his family to let them serve at TeenPact.

I've taken to asking men who are in their midlife how living over half their lives has changed their outlook for the rest of their lives. I had the chance to ask Mr. DeLange and he answered:
"Every year I give more than I did the year before and I always find that every year I have fewer needs than the years before...It's a heart issue; I've matured spiritually so that I love Jesus now more than I did last year and ten years and twenty-five years ago. The beautiful thing about the Bible is that it's so perfectly simple for the new believer and so deep and complicated for the mature believer." Mr. And Mrs. DeLange choose to live simply but are incredibly generous to everyone around them.
"I used to squirrel away money for retirement and worry about it. And then one day I realized that when I get to heaven, and see people who say the one thing they always wanted was a Bible and they never got one, and I had all this money, what am I going to say, ya know?" At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how nice of vacations or retirements we have. What matters is loving people like Jesus and telling others about the eternity we can have with him. I think we can all learn a little something from Mr. DeLange (Also, ice cream and farm strawberries is the breakfast of champions.)

Until next time,

Justin

People of TeenPact: Mr. Larry

P E O P L E   O F   T E E N P A C T

(I didn't get a picture of this gentleman, but we talked for several hours, so this picture of our view will have to do. I've also changed his name for privacy reasons)

This is Mr. Larry. Larry is a farm business consultant. He flies across the country most weeks of the year, helping farmers understand business practices. He started at the company at a desk job, but convinced his boss to let him fly and meet farmers, face to face. Their business has rapidly expanded since then. His real passion is working and connecting farmers across the US and Canada. We had a great time discussing the value of peer to peer discussions and mentorship.

"It's incredible what a corn farmer in Nebraska can learn from a cranberry farmer from another state....They don't even know what they're missing."

His business model is to get different types of farmers in peer groups together to share experiences and advice.

Larry has a fascinating story. He was born into a troubled family with a father who was rarely around. At a young age, he got involved in drugs and became a high level dealer. His mother prayed for him every day, and those prayers had an effect. In his mid 20's he had a child, and decided to try and get out of drugs. He went to TeenChallenge where his life changed. A gentleman there handed him a Bible and told him to read it cover to cover and come to his own conclusions; not to read it through other's perspectives, but rather to see what his thoughts were. He spent two years doing just that and cleaning up his life. He began teaching pastors and has trained numerous pastors all across the nation. He's now happily married with a child, and works both as a pastor trainer and consultant. He had some incredible thoughts on basic theology, most of which are too complicated to write here. We talked about the times he met John MacArthur and John Piper, and what they had both taught him.

"I was at...a conference where John Piper was preaching. I happened to sit in the row behind him, and noticed how incredibly nervous he was to go preach. I asked him why...he said he didn't want to preach something that wasn't correct or would hurt Christ's message. I've never seen someone with so much reverence for preaching."

He also had incredible stories about the people the consulting people had brought him into contact with. The love of Jesus clearly shone through everything he did, and it reminded me of all the ways Jesus can use broken people like us. 

Until next time,

Justin

People Of TeenPact: Mr. V.

P E O P L E    O F   T E E N P A C T
I've only been on the road two weeks in my internship with TeenPact and I've already met so many great people with incredible stories and advice. I'd like to periodically share them here.

This is Mr. Keith V.
He's a race car owner and driver and a bus driver on the side. He owns a bunch of cars (He told me about all of them and their details but I honestly can't remember all the intricacies) and spends much of the year traveling in an RV, traveling to races with his family. He holds the track record at the asphalt track south of Omaha. That's his passion.

Mr. V has a long history in the military with his grandpa's in the Navy, his father in the Army and then himself serving in the Navy. He served seven years aboard a carrier before deciding to retire and become a shop teacher amongst other things. Here's his view on life:
"I don't want to have millions and millions of dollars. I wanna live comfortably with my family and help some people who need it...The problem is folks want to make millions and everyone wants to be rich. That's all they want, is to have all this stuff. How can you live in five houses at once? Live comfortably and then help those who need it."

Mr. V shared numerous stories about how he helped everyone from single mothers to D league baseball players with his advice and his auto shop. However, they're too numerous to record here. But while talking to Mr. V I felt that I had found someone who truly understood what life is about. It's not all about getting money and riches but about being generous and spreading Christ's love. It's about desiring to help others and to love his family instead of loving the things of this world. I hope we can all be a little more like Mr. V. 

Until next time,
Justin