Nick & Steve
by Nick Palermo
Happy and blessed 2009 to you! I ended 2008 with an amazing experience. I visited our post high school club called Club Beyond here in San Jose. I don’t normally attend that club because I volunteer in another one of our Capernaum clubs. But I had a strong urge to go, so off I went to the Club Beyond Christmas Party and dance.
As I walked through the doors of our beautiful club room, it was a tsunami wave of music, dancing, laughter and joy in a sea of smiling faces. It is amazing to be a part of Capernaum because this is the normal state of things surrounding ourCapernaum friends. They are God’s joy factory.
My dear friend and fellow staff person, Lydia, greeted me and pointed to her right asking me, “Do you know this young man?” I glanced over and was paralyzed by a moment of wonder that took me back to 1980. Sitting in front of me was Steve Hall, who is now 47 years old.
In the fall of 1980, I walked into Blackford High School campus and was given a destiny moment from God, and Steve was at the center of it. That day I saw a group of 25 kids in wheelchairs that God, in His crazy way, would use to birthCapernaum. The first kid I met was Steve Hall. He tried to shake my hand but I drew back because it was deformed. He tried to speak, but I could not understand.
One month later as God led me gently to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, it was Steve that broke the proverbial ice. We became friends, and it was Steve, 5 years before Capernaum even started, that I took to my Young Life club and to a weekend camp.
I will never forget telling 10 of my guys who signed up for camp that we were taking one more guy that they didn’t know. I told our guys that we would have to serve Steve together for the whole weekend. You know what? They did.
Steve became the center of our cabin. They carried him up hills, into games and activities. It was my first of a thousand memories formed with what would become Capernaum.
So as I stood in wonder looking at Steve 28 years later, I realized something amazing. All those years ago it was Jesus in Steve calling out to me. It was Jesus inviting me into a new world of kids with disabilities. It was Jesus reaching out His hand to me inviting me to take it and come with Him. Thank God I did because that changed my life and thousands of others lives.
Finally, I launched myself to Steve in a big long embrace. So much had changed for me in 28 years. Twenty-eight years ago I could not get myself to embrace his deformed hand, and now I couldn’t get to him fast enough to hug him.
My transformation is Young Life’s transformation because now we as a ministry have learned to embrace our Capernaum friends. You are a door opener for all these kids into the house of God with your lavish generosity in the gifts you give.
One behalf of all the Steve’s we know and are yet to know, thank you!
God bless you as He has me in this New Year!
