Bill Hebner

The weather has begun to turn here in the U.K. The rain is just a little bit cooler than it was last week, and the sun is cresting the terrace houses at the end of the street a few minutes later every morning.   All around me everyone is drifting back to the routine of school and work.   I visualize 1 st year students excited to learn their A,B,C,’s while feeling apprehensive of being alone in school for the first time without a parent.   I can see teenagers looking at an algebra text they put down in July with only a vague recollection of the concepts. Now they’re praying for secret decoder rings that will remove the fog of summer neglect from their minds.   This is topped only by the worry of “Will anyone like me?”, and “Will they fit in this year’s social calendar?”.   Finally I can see parent’s breathe a sigh of relief as the routine of life gets back into gear. They are free of trying to pry their kids from a screen or pushing them to go out and get ...

Since July 4 th I have had the privilege of working with just under 900 kids and leaders at camp .   Many of them hearing the good news of Jesus Christ the first time .   Others hearing it in a fresh and vibrant way.   ( Click to see photos of all the fun ) SEEDS SOWN   Vibrant and fresh presentation of the good news. As the lights go on in the souls of many of these teens, I often am quieted to think about their future as they go home.   Some face rocky soil, parents that will flat out tell them they are wrong, have made a mistake, and that the love in their life and the light in their eyes is a passing emotional phase.   Others will get home, perhaps even supported by parents that were hoping to introduce their youth to Christ in some way, only to see the seeds of excitement snatched away by the peer pressure and friendships that they are returning too.   15 young people from a community in Scotland will be facing such pressures as the world...

Click here for enlarge images in Photo Gallery 2013 will see the Middle Park Camp, settling in and expanding resources. This blog is late because I was busy grading the expanded residential fields, installing a road and football pitch and building a new blob tower with an expedition team for Scotland and a second from Virginia.     Year one was amazing with 550 bodies visiting the site over the summer.   Most, young people from the Celtic nations Ireland, Scotland and Wales are travelling with their leaders to experience the ‘best week of their lives’ at a culturally relevant event.   This year we will repeat that and, as much as we can, raise the bar for young people to see us love them in an unconditional way as Jesus Christ did for us.   2013 will see the return of a Hovercraft to the camp.   This will replace the experimental quad bikes that have proven very hard and costly to repair.   Then we have the addition of Air Soft (a modified pai...

2012 has been an amazing year .    We did build the school, we did move the camp and get a new lease, and we have seen lots of youth come to know Jesus Christ. But I know that this often is just words, and the only way that I can express clearly to you what is going on is in person.   Therefore, like clockwork, I will be back in Canada to visit with friends who support and believe in our ministry.   I will be making calls in the next few weeks to invite you to various events that we will be hosting in Calgary, Kelowna and possibly in Grande Prairie and Vancouver in February.   As well I have extended my trip to 4 weeks so I can have more time to be part of your world as well.   Please let me know if you would like to visit with me 1 on 1 during my time home.    Just send me an email   and I will try to get to you.. .. February is always a special time for me as I recharge my batteries for the next year and reconnect with those I hold de...

  More Photos Click Here With the amazing support from Young Life Expeditions providing 75 volunteers from Arizona and Wyoming, and a matched donations from the UK and USA of nearly £70,000.00, we moved the camp to what we believe could be the permanent site.   Phase one of the ground work was done in the spring, and the camp though very wet through the setup weeks, received 277 visitors July 20 th for the first ever Scotland/Ireland residential camp.   This summer the property saw over 550 visitors and now has the capacity for 1200/year in its existing format.   All the equipment on site has been purchased and we are so excited with the results on our shoe string budget.   We even had an inflatable sports hall donated last minute to use when the weather is not cooperating. (See our Photo Gallery for pics and video below) Please pray as we now have decent ‘toys’, and equipment to facilitate camps for youth in the UK taht we remember that the point of...

I have grown accustom to spending a great deal of time setting up the annual camps for YL and Urban Saints.   This year things have moved to a new level.   Setup, with camp, will be in total 2.5 months, as we are moving the camp to a new location in the middle of the property in Welshpool. CAMP BUILD : Taking over the old mixing hole, Powis Middle Park camp is getting one step closer to becoming permanent as we now are leasing some land from the estate and have permission to put in basic infrastructure.   For 2012 Water, sewage, electric and storage are now finding homes in this picturesque surrounding.   A new fold out kitchen, Dish room, and walk in fridge will replace the well used trailer we have had for the past 4 years.   And a new to us 12m x 30m dining tent with a floor will become home for our larger capacity groups.   (Camp layout at bottom of post) CAMPERS & STAFF : Scotland and Ireland will be the first solely YL group to use the si...

Please don't misunderstand me.... Whether it be the spiritual realm or the physical realm, both contexts abhors a vacuum. To eliminate the vacuum and bring things back into balance they create “suction”.   In the physical realm things moving to the equilibrium, a static or stable point, are mensurable in their transition - but what of the spiritual realm?    It is my belief that we HAVE TO CREATE SPIRITUAL VACUUMS TO SENSE GOD ON THE MOVE.   You might say “We are not supposed to put ourselves in a position where God is tested” -but I challenge you to see it as a natural extension of your faith journey.   If we do not live 'by faith' but only take part in activities we know we can do -activities that we know we can accomplish within the boundaries of our own strength - how can we expect to experience God’s rushing-in to fill the gap? Without God’s grace, power and provision, how can we explain to the world this 'victorious life in Jesus we keep alluding t...

Upto 600 kids@ Powis Camp 2012 Straight from the plane my life became engulfed in making preparations for the 2012 camping year.   Last year we had just under 190 participants @ Powis camp enjoying the new location.   This year we will smash that number as we are on pace for between 400 to 600 youth in the 4 weeks of camps we provide. Week 1 will be a new camp for Scotland and Ireland Young Life International.   Week 2 will be a discipleship camp, Week 3 The national Welsh Young Life Camp and Week 4 will close the camp season with the Wyldlife outreach for 11 to 14 years of age. What can you do ... 1. Please Pray .. the camp is growing but   the goal is the same .... presenting the truth in such a way that youth can understand a relationship with God. 2. Support ...   we are in an exponential growth time. Last year we had 1 Kart... this year there are 3.    There was dining for 150 this year 250... the waterslide was 25m this yea...

It has been years since I have been involved in YL staff conferences, and just like waiting for a bus, when one comes, they all seem to come. January /February this year has not been any different with the International Staff Conference in Florida followed by the Ireland, Scandinavian and UK Staff conference this week in Kidderminster. As of you know I am not a conference sort of person. I feel that there is too much to be done to stop and pat ourselves on the back. Besides others don’t get these luxuries, so why should I. But I must admit it was good to get perspective back.... Orlando saw over 4500 staff from 75 countries lift up the cross of Jesus Christ together, unitied in the belief that it is a sin to bore a kids with the gospel of Christ, and that every youth has the right to hear the good news in a manner they can understand.... Fantastic time to get perspective that yes.... God is moving, moving more than most us realize as we often endure routine church and long for more...

The YMP trip continues to have a life of it’s own as we see many youth fall in love with serving and making a difference in the lives of those less privileged, while learning about the good news of Jesus Christ. 2012 is no different except the SIZE of the structure. This year is 3 times larger than we have ever done before, this is because we are building a 12 classroom school with the main structure supported by 6 shipping containers . We know that the youth are capable of building the main roof and classrooms in the 4 day build time, however the amount of materials needed will be the rub. Each year the youth work to raise $2,000.00/each to travel to South Africa, sleep in a tent and work. This amount usually includes $250 component towards cost of the building materials, which has been enough for houses, but is not adequate for a commercial structure of this nature. Therefore I am making a special appeal this year for people in Canada to help with materials for the school. We need...

Remember Frankenstein and his stitched forehead, neck and every other appendage? Remember the stiff-necked, whole-body-turning shoulder checking of the giant monster? Currently, this is my reality. I have been limited in my typing speed and my clothing selection, but I do have a new appreciation for Tylenol. As I reported last month, I recently had my bicep reattached after my accident in Africa. Therefore, to keep things simple this month I leave you with a look at Younglife Wales and our dreams for the 2012 year . It is my desire to get back to Canada in February. Stay tuned for more info. In His service Bill (p.s Please pray for the over 50 young people who have already signed up for Africa 2012.) CLICK TO READ FULL REPORT

I Recently had the privilege of being a guest of the NHS in Wales. I had surgery to repair an injury sustained last year while in South Africa. (They are re-attaching my bicep). Since leaving full time church ministry to work primarily with youth, I have not had many occasions to visit a hospital recovery unit. I had forgotten that overall, the age of the nation is getting older and the occupied beds at NHS accurately reflect that trend. The real eye opener... The thing that takes me aback however, is the stark entrenchment of people's demeanor. Those who have hope seem relaxed and empowered.... Those without hope seem even more hopeless. In college I remember studying Erickson’s psycho-social stages of development and the final stage being intimacy vs. isolation. My visit and surgery has driven home the point of how important the things we do with youth are. Yes, definitely for their eternity, but also for their life here and now. I believe that the experiences we have...

In the past 4 years the scope and the depth of the YL work in Wales continues to grow.   Thank you for making this work possible by freeing up resources to allow full time staff supervision, mission trips, camp development and time to be with kids.   2010 saw $32,000.00 of support come from Canada and the USA.   These resources have been distributed to start new works and provide infrastructure for the growing work... I can not say thank you enough for the difference you are making in this world..       In Canada Make cheques payable to: Trinity Foundation - 1905 Springfield Rd, Kelowna BC, V1Y 7V7 Please note account on cheque: YL27 Online: Canada helps - KELOWNA TRINITY BAPTIST CHURCH LEGACY FOUNDATION http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s92672 Please note account on note field: YL27