I feel like we give introductions often. Hi. We’re the Youngs: Brian, Robin, Caleb, Tristan & Alyssa. We’re originally from Arkansas. Now, we travel around the United States, gathering testimonies of what God is doing in the lives of His people…

We say it often. To every new group of people we meet. Which is understandable. We stay in any given community for about 1-2 weeks at a time. We meet new people all the time! Of course, we have a lot of introductions.

But.

We’re on a website, now. That means you can go to our About Us page or our home page & learn all the basic details about who we are & what we do. So, I thought I’d share a little bit more here. A few more of the quirky details that are important if you want to get to know us better & understand our backstory. I’m not going to go into great detail, but rather share a few fun facts about us. Five random facts about each person, to be exact. Read on for the good stuff!

Brian Young. The Talker.

1. Brian wasn’t born as Brian Young. He was born as Brian Zompetti. No, he’s not Italian. Zompetti was actually his step-grandfather’s last name. Brian’s biological father’s last name is Crosby. He was raised by a wonderful man whose name he still carries. Brian often jokes that, one of these days, he’s going to write a book titled What’s My Name, and Who’s My Daddy? 😏 We’ll see. It’s a complicated tale of hurt, pain, loss & confusion…and love, healing, provision & redemption. Sounds familiar.
2. Brian is completely deaf in his right ear. This is very, very important to know, as he will absolutely pay you no attention, whatsoever, if you happen to be speaking & you’re on his deaf side. He apologizes in advance if he ever ignores you.
3. Brian is an extrovert. You’d think his lack of hearing would make him hesitant to dive into a crowd. Nope! Brian loves to talk. To all of you. All the time. He never runs out of stories. He’ll tell you everything. He also wants to know everything about you, and will give you his complete attention for as long as you will offer it. People always feel better after talking to Brian. He has a gift. He’s really good at talking, and really good at listening. For very long periods of time. This exhausts his wife at times, but she secretly loves this trait. Sometimes.
4. Brian loves coffee and tea, but they do not love him. Brian cannot have caffeine, much to his dismay. No decaf coffee, either. Or chocolate. He can have herbal teas, but that’s it. This is very disappointing, and he will occasionally rebel & have some anyways. This almost never ends well.
5. Brian is quite possibly the most useful person we know. He knows how to do just about anything, and what he doesn’t know he can quickly learn. Need some graphic design? Brian’s your guy. Want a website? He can build it. Want a table/shelf/sliding barn door/piece of random furniture custom-designed for your space? He can build those, too. Have plumbing/electrical/some other random problems? That’s not his area of expertise, but he’ll figure it out in a few minutes. It’s a little annoying, really. But, we definitely benefit from his handiness. Everyone needs a Brian!

Robin Young. The Scribe.

1. Robin writes all the things – and she usually writes way too much. She used to be pretty good at this, but her skills have definitely suffered over the years. That’s why she starts off using ‘I’ pronouns & switches to ‘she’ pronouns by this section. She apologizes for any confusion. Robin also desperately wants you to hear emphasis & emotion in her writing. It’s why she often writes short, choppy sentences. Hear. All. The. Feelings. People!!! It’s annoying. Sorry about that. She plans to do better, but probably won’t.
2. Speaking of which, Robin has much better intentions than actions. This is a great source of disappointment for her, but she cannot seem to find enough hours in the day to do all the things. Robin tries hard to be thoughtful. She thinks up all kinds of wonderful ideas, but cannot easily find the time or concentration required to actually carry out all the ideas. This explains why she gifted her sister-in-law with a photo album of her niece’s baby shower…when her niece was about five years old. You would think Robin would just give up on all her ideas. That is not the case! Instead, Robin will file away all ideas for a time when she can actually complete them “properly.” This is why the Youngs’ extended family will all receive 2018 Christmas cards in 2019. (Hopefully before June! 🙏🏻) Robin fully embraces the “better late than never” philosophy. Be blessed.
3. Robin loves chocolate. And chocolate ice cream. And brownies. But not chocolate cake. In fact, she has several weird quirks when it comes to food. They usually have to do with texture, but really there’s no rhyme or reason. This baffles just about everybody. Eh. Oh, well. She’s a grown woman & she can eat what she wants! Let her live her life!!!
4. Robin loves photos. Really. She currently has over 6,500 photos on her phone. She has taken 3,451 photos with her camera since March 1, 2019. You can probably see why Fact #2 isn’t a shocker. Because it’s not just photos! Robin homeschools her kids. And she wants to create the curriculum herself. And she “has” to grade everything. She also loves music. At one point in her life, Robin played five different instruments. Those days are long gone – but Robin is tenacious. She will not give up! She still dreams of playing all those instruments, plus a few more. And learning a few foreign languages. Also, she wants to learn how to knit… You know what? Just pray for her. Fix it, Jesus.
5. Robin is an introvert. She may appear social. At ease in conversation. Friendly. Oh, but looks can be deceiving! Okay. Maybe not deceiving in this case. Robin is social, at ease in conversation, and friendly. And she really, truly does love people. One of the greatest joys of her life is listening to people’s stories. But. Y’all exhaust her. It’s not your fault. She’s an introvert. That’s how they are. Even worse, she’ll tell you that people exhaust her! Robin has stood before many a crowd. Told them that she doesn’t like groups of people, and that they exhaust her. And listened in shock as those same people come up to her afterward & thank her! They say they loved hearing her speak! This is mind-boggling to Robin. She doesn’t believe people can actually hear her. Or maybe God changes the words from her lips to their ears. Either way, she’s grateful.

Caleb Young. The Planner.

1. Caleb is the one responsible for this whole “traveling across the country” thing! That’s right. When he was about five years old, he looked up at us with those adorable blue eyes & those cute dimples, and asked us if we could take him to all 50 states before he was grown. All I can say is…we were young and dumb. 😏 In all fairness, Caleb is wonderful & would never make us feel bad – even if we are unable to keep that commitment. He’s also not actually the reason we’re doing all this. But, don’t tell him that.
2. We call Caleb ‘The Planner’ for a reason. For the past 15 years, or so, all mornings have started with a single question: “So….what’s the plan?” We’re not really sure why he asks this question, because our plans change all the time. All. The. Time. Still, he asks. And, he’s perfectly fine when we have a change of plans (Which we greatly appreciate!). In fact, it’s become a bit of a joke in our family. “What’s the plan?” “Change of plans!”
3. Caleb is also one of our greatest sources for all things techie. The boy loves pretty much anything electronic. He loves video games. He loves to code. Caleb can create websites, for crying out loud! He can also create all sorts of beautiful digitally designed artwork. The child has skills. He will excitedly ramble on about things like processors…or terabytes…or 5G networks…or the latest Apple products…I’m not really sure. But he sure is cute when he’s talking. ❤️
4. If you spend much time around Caleb, you may notice that he has tics. He may clear his throat often, or blink rapidly. Sometimes he’ll stretch his neck or his hands. Nothing that out of the ordinary. But, you may notice it. Believe it or not, they used to be worse. He used to make odd vocal sounds all the time. His arms would flail out in front of him. He would twist his head so far, it would look like he was trying to break his own neck. 😢 It took us many years to learn that these tics were largely caused by a dairy allergy. Caleb also should not have white potatoes, coconut, MSG, BHT, cashews…and a host of other foods & preservatives. Why am I mentioning this? Because it matters. We often get invited to lunches and dinners. While none of our children can have dairy, Caleb has the most food sensitivities. So. Please don’t be offended if we ask you to meet his dietary needs or if we bring food for our kids. We’re not trying to be rude. But we don’t miss the flailing.
5. “What’s that, buddy?” “I’m gonna sell ’em to the neighbors!!!” That was a giant pile of sticks and rocks. Four-year-old Caleb was ready to make some money. That was just the start, because Caleb is an entrepreneur, through and through! He’s motivated. A go-getter. Eager to work & earn money for all the things he wants to tinker on and all the places he wants to travel to. Bless him, though, he’s like his mama. He has an endless stream of ideas…and he wants to do them all. 😬 Thankfully, he’s also like his daddy & is extremely resourceful. 🙌🏼 Watch out world! Prayers are appreciated – we could use some wisdom guiding this precious child in the way he should go.

Tristan Young. The Jokester.

1. Tristan is a funny child. (Hence, ‘The Jokester.’) Seriously, the kid will have you in stitches if you get to know him. He’s a classic middle child, and he’s our only child who doesn’t have red hair. He had to find some way to stand out. 😉
2. Nothing phases the boy. This is important to know if you ever try to “get a rise out of him.” Best of luck to you! Tristan is the most laid back child we’ve ever known. When Robin was pregnant with him, she went to the hospital – repeatedly – because Tristan would not kick, and she was concerned something was wrong. When Tristan was born, he did not cry – again sparking fears that something was wrong with the child. Nope. Tristan was just looking around. What’s up, world? I’m here. Punishments were largely ineffective on Tristan. It’s extremely difficult to punish a child who just. Does. Not. Care. Tristan takes almost everything in stride. We’re excited to see how God uses this gift for His glory.
3. None of our children can have dairy, but Tristan doesn’t actually have a dairy allergy. He is, however, lactose intolerant. It took us a while to figure out what was causing all his stomach aches. Tristan occasionally feels bad when we’re in a community & we say the kids all have a reaction to dairy. We have assured him that we chose that wording because it’s true – they all have reactions to dairy. Those reactions are not the same. But, they are reactions, nonetheless. This explanation seems to satisfy him. We’re thankful for that, because explaining all our distinct reactions to weird food sensitivities gets exhausting…
4. Tristan is oblivious. Sometimes, we look at him and wonder: How do you not fall down more? Bless his little heart. 😂 We have literally watched Tristan search for an object – located just by his feet – and never find it. The poor kid would actually spin in circles, and not find the item located literally right beside him in plain view. It’s mind boggling.
5. Tristan is brilliant. If anyone can actually come up with a solution that leads to world peace, Tristan is that person. The child is amazingly compassionate. Such a beautiful soul. He is also very intuitive and shockingly perceptive. He was a self-taught reader. Honestly. Not a single lesson was needed. He is capable of understanding incredibly complex situations. Now. Compare this fact with Fact 4. It’s mind boggling…

Alyssa Young. The Giggler.

1. Alyssa is the sweetest. She has a true servant’s heart. Alyssa loves to be a helper. Need a glass of water? Alyssa will get it! Time to make dinner? Alyssa wants to help! Going to the grocery store? Can Alyssa go, too?! We don’t deserve her. She really, truly does love to serve. So, we often find ourselves asking her to do things for us, just to watch her face light up. We also have to work hard to not take advantage of her sweetness for our own selfish purposes.
2. Alyssa is the baby of the family, which means she is used to people doing things for her if she deems she cannot do them for herself. You’d think this fact would be at odds with her helper disposition…but no. She has no problem offering to do everything, and asking for help with everything. It’s a strange paradox. We’re not really sure what to make of it.
3. Alyssa loves pink. And purple. And princesses/fairies/unicorns/dancing/crafting/all the “girly” things. This is important if you’d like to know the way to her heart. Alyssa is also as tough as nails, and has a bit of an edge. This is important if you’re contemplating underestimating her. We wouldn’t.
4. Alyssa is ‘The Giggler.’ This is funny, because – for the first 2-ish years of her life – she used to be a Grumpy Cat. Yes. Really. No one ever believes us on this one, but it is 100% truth. She hated everyone. Everyone. Just ask anyone who was around her during the first years of her life. Alyssa didn’t like her parents. Or her grandparents. The child didn’t like other babies. She sort of, maybe tolerated her brothers…if they amused Her Royal Highness. She cried at her own reflection, for crying out loud! It’s like she was miserable for two years, then Jesus got ahold of her & filled her with His love for all mankind. We know. You probably won’t believe us either. But it’s true. We have multiple photos/videos/witnesses to back up our claim. We’re happy she likes people now. 😊
5. Alyssa has high ambitions. Her lifelong dream has been to go to Paris & see the Eiffel Tower. She wants to be a “world changer.” We think she might just be one. 💖

Well. I think that about covers it! Of course, there’s more to our story. But, it can wait. Lord willing, we’ll have plenty of time to get to know you better! The plan is to try to share something about once a week or so. Emphasis on plan! Our main goal is to share the stories of others…but we want to share our own lives with you as well. We’ll try our best.

Interested in sharing your story? Like what we’re doing, and want to help keep the campfires burning? Want to offer a word of encouragement? We’d love to hear from you!