Get Involved
A Space for Me
By Austin Robertshaw, Area Director, Greenville, North Carolina
Malik loved his first Young Life club. As I drove him home, he told me it was the best night he'd ever had. “When are we doing it again?” he asked. “Will it be at the same house? Can I get a ride?”
Then he leaned over and whispered, "I have autism." He followed up with this question: “Can I still come to Young Life even though I have autism?” “Absolutely,” I assured him. “We'd love for you to come!”
That was the beginning of our friendship, and since then he’s been all in.
Single-handedly!
Over time I’ve asked Malik questions like, “How do you feel about having autism? What are some things you might need that would be helpful to you? What are some interests and some gifts God’s given you?”
He admits he has a hard time making friends and sometimes feels socially awkward with his peers. One of the gifts Malik has, however, is his outgoing nature. Malik has probably sent me the numbers of 50 kids he's invited to Young Life. If I had to guess, I’d say probably 30 of those kids have come to club in the last year.
Ethnically speaking, the school we lead at is pretty split: 50% white, 50% black. While our club has historically been predominantly white, the culture’s beginning to change. Since Malik started coming there are other kids of color saying, “Hey, Young Life feels like a space for me and my friends.” Malik single-handedly invited 24 of his high school friends to summer camp. And he’s prayed and worked hard to get them there.
LESSONS WE’RE LEARNING
This summer Malik had a pretty hard week at SharpTop. Still learning social cues, he saw guys talk to girls from other areas and he would try to do the same thing, but without the same reaction. He also had a hard time on the ropes course. When most of our cabin members were jumping off the top, he had to walk back down, and really beat himself up over that.
Despite the challenges, at the end of the week, he stood up at “Say So,” and said he gave his life to Christ. Today, he’s walking with the Lord and discovering what it looks like to be as excited about Jesus as he is about Young Life. He comes with us to church just about every Sunday, and feels like one of the family.
Malik is learning more about how God has made him. He’s also beginning to grasp he's no less a part of God's body because he has autism. God is clearly using him to impact the lives of others in his school and to bring about a change we didn’t see coming. We were hoping for and praying for and trying to figure out how to make club a space of belonging for everyone at Rose High School. And then this wide-eyed 16-year-old with autism walks up and becomes the one the Lord has used.
I'm learning a lot about Jesus from Malik. I see how brave Malik is — when he’s willing to fumble through an answer at Campaigners in front of his peers. I see him locking eyes with me the whole time knowing he has something worth saying, but it's scary or difficult for him to put into words. I love his bravery of, “I’m not going to look as cool as I want to, but I'm going to say what the Lord is putting on my heart.”
I see Jesus in Malik. He’s tasted and seen that the Lord is good, and he can't help but share it. I see in him Jesus' zeal and passion for the gospel, for loving God, and for others. He's passionate for others to experience the love of God.
Through Malik, God is impacting the lives of kids for generations. And through Malik, God is definitely impacting my life, too.