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

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

March Prayer Requests

-
- pray for Jon as he steps into the role of Area Director for Langley
- pray for Danny as he transitions into the role of Community Engagement Coordinator
- pray for the students who we have been talking with who are struggling with their mental health; it’s a hard journey to walk
Read more

A Shift In Perspective

-
Image
Our team was recently invited to attend a community forum in which different Langley organizations came together to collaborate on the topic of Youth Health and Wellness. Prior to this meeting, a youth forum had been held in which students were asked where they saw gaps within the community. Gaps that were possibly leading to substance use and disconnected youth. During this community meeting it was shared that one of the questions that had been asked by youth to the greater community was, ‘Why can’t you be more like Youth Unlimited?’.
This question came as a bit of a shock to our team. Many of you know that this past season has been a difficult one. A significant cut to our funding has led to staffing changes, reduced hours and pauses in our programs. Instead of being able to dream and plan, we have found ourselves in a time of maintenance and re-evaluating where we pour our time and energy. As we were in a season of pause and discernment, this question gave us great encouragement and…
Read more