Goodbye Summer

-
Getting comfortable at the new school

Fall is a season of changes, some we might be anxiously anticipating and others might have us resigned to their inevitability. You might still be in denial, trying to squeeze out some extra summer! Then there’s those fall fanatics: binging on pumpkin spice lattes, breaking out their cardigans and Halloween decorations. If you are really keen (or Costco) you are probably already thinking about Christmas season. For me, the fall season typically means two things: endless raking of leaves and a return to routine.

This year, the fall brings more changes than usual. I have chosen to step out of a leadership role at Youth Unlimited and reduce my work hours in order to pursue a Master’s degree in Counselling. I have a couple classes to finish before I start this 2-year journey in January. I have come to realize that counselling is one of the strongest aspects of my ministry, but it is also the part that I am the most limited by in my education and professional credentials.

You might be wondering at this point what this means for me and my role at YU?  Well, my classes will be 2 days per week, which I anticipate allowing me to work part-time for YU until graduation but I have intentionally stepped down from leadership for three reasons: 1) I want to empower Jon and Megan, my amazing coworkers, to take on new levels of leadership. 2) I need time to focus on my classes. 3) I love the simplicity of just being a Youth Worker.

Allison and I said yes to this crazy idea because we felt it would open doors without closing any in the meantime. So far, it’s been a lot of hard work and sacrifice but God has been affirming this choice in small but significant ways. It has been and will continue to be a faith journey. We covet your prayers for us in this new season.

- Derian Julihn

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Changing Seasons

-
Image
As we move into the fall, we move into a new phase for the Langley Youth Unlimited team. This past winter saw a significant decrease in our funding. This led to a shift in staffing hours and caused us to refocus. As we took into account staff hours and the finances available to our team, we felt it was necessary to take a step back from how we had been doing things.

What does this mean?

As we go into the fall, we will be turning our focus primarily to our work in two Langley schools, working to build relationships with staff and students. By working in the schools, we are meeting youth where they are and entering into their day to day lives. This consistent presence helps to build up trust as these youth see our staff on a regular basis.

The relationships that begin at the school often grow into time outside of the school. Although these hangouts can often appear surface level and like way too much fun, they are actually necessary building blocks for deeper connections. In working si…
Read more

Renewed Vision

-
Image
One evening after putting my kids to bed and tidying the house I finally got a chance to sit. As I did, my vision suddenly turned into an array of bright shapes and colors, as if I was viewing the world through a kaleidoscope. I was able to make my way to bed and fall asleep. The next day everything seemed fine.Losing vision is a scary thing. I have an elderly neighbor I visit often who faces blindness more and more each day. It affects independence, safety and perception. While this incident only lasted a short time for me, his experience was echoing through my mind and I knew I should get things sorted out.
I checked in with my eye doctor. She told me, after an examination, that I’d experienced an ocular migraine. She informed me that unless I took steps to reduce my stress I’d likely have more frequent and severe reactions. My family doctor confirmed this and showed high concern for my health in this season. Stress is a normal part of life and while I work hard at caring for my phy…
Read more

The True Outcome

-
Image
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I drove.  I felt overwhelmed with grief over the news I’d received.  One of my former youth, who had beaten the odds, overcome their trauma, found Jesus and entered into ministry themselves, had suddenly done a major U-turn. They threw it all away in the pursuit of a newly developed passion. I questioned my purpose as one great success turned into a failure.  Pulling myself together, I came to our drop-in center to prepare for the 50-60 teenagers who would soon invade the space.  
As I walked in, one of my interns asked if I could help them with something.  Thinking it was a simple task, I agreed. It would help to get my mind off of things for a few minutes.  Instead, they pulled out a notebook and asked this question:
“What are some outcomes you’ve seen in youth you’ve shared the gospel with?”
I froze.  This intern wanted to hear victories. And there has been many ways in which Jesus has miraculously shown up - in dreams, transformations, softening h…
Read more