Back To School

-
At R.E. Mountain Secondary

Day 1: “I can’t believe I’m back in school!”

Day 2: “I can’t believe how much homework I have!!”

Day 3: “I can’t believe I’m enjoying the classes as much as I am!!!”

Day 4: “I can’t believe how busy the Skytrain is on a snow day!!!!!!!”

Yes, my Master’s program has FINALLY started. At least that’s the way I feel, given I made this decision almost a year ago. A year is a lot of time to ruminate on a decision. A year is a lot of time to second guess yourself. By the time I was actually sitting in class I was probably on the slightly unhealthy side of over prepared.

Yes, I am also still with Youth Unlimited. I am writing this letter as I sit in our room at Walnut Grove Secondary School. This sacred space is often filled with laughter and joy and almost as equally filled with stories of struggle and pain. Today I might play Uno and debate the latest Stars Wars film. Or I might share my lunch with a youth who did not have one and listen to the very real pain behind their self-deprecating jokes. I never know what the day will bring but thanks to people like you who support our ministry I am able to be present.

 “Joy never denies, represses, or avoids. It wraps its arms round the full spectrum of human experience: doubt, angst, betrayal, loss.” Rob Bell’s thoughts on joy have profoundly resonated with me this winter as we have sought to be present in the fullness of the human experience. 

Happy New Year!

- Derian Julihn

Visiting a young person in the hospital with my team

Timbit Tuesday at Mountainview Alliance
- a community partnership

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

Let Your Love Overflow

-
Image
Being a youth worker means you can hear and run into just about anything you could imagine; sometimes even things you would never think possible. I like to think that I have the whole thick skin/soft heart thing down pretty good given my past experiences. Yet I had a moment last week where my heart just broke in two for a young woman. Turns out my skin wasn’t quite thick enough.

What led to me feeling so deeply for her was the fact that I myself am now a parent. And without going into the details of her story, I just couldn’t even begin to imagine how a parent could not show the care or love to their child that they need- it’s completely foreign to me. It’s a concept that I can’t grasp, especially as it doesn’t speak into my experience with parents, and man does that make me lucky, as it seems like growing up in a loving home goes against the norm.

Not only was this foreign to me in my time growing up with my Mom and Dad, but it goes completely against what I’m experiencing now with …
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