The Other Side

-
At our new, after school, Pokemon Club


Grade 8/9: lots of games and fun, building trust, meeting parents.
Grade 10: life isn’t as simple as they thought, things are harder, friends are hurting
Grade 11: mental health, family, life/death, drugs, sex and sexuality
Grade 12: next steps, graduation, they’re alive, we celebrate that.

After going through a full high school rotation with some teens, it has been interesting to see where they come out on the other side. Some don’t need me at all anymore, and that is a very good thing. It means that they are starting to experience a healthy life; emotionally, socially, spiritually, intellectually, and physically. Not everyone gets to this point though. There are three young men in particular that I have continued to walk with beyond high school.

One has grown a lot and is exploring faith with us each week, unknowingly becoming the “religious” person he spoke so harshly against 4 years ago. Now he is attending a weekly faith gathering (Spiritual Life), watching sermons, and talking about Jesus. I love it and smile at the irony.

Another is someone I have definitely written about over the years and now that he’s finished with high school and moved out, he is experiencing life for the first time…and is starting to act like a “teenager”. He never had the chance to be a kid at home and now that he has some safety and stability, he’s finally starting to experience the things a normal teenager would. His environment closed him off emotionally and I don’t blame him. I noticed a few years ago that he was able to connect and feel things through film. So now we are learning how to interact with emotions together by watching movies. Since he is in a safer part of life, this seemed like a great next step for him to start reconnecting with himself and others.  We go twice a month and dig into the how and why these different thoughts and feelings come up while watching different things. It is fun and I’m so glad that he made it to this point and gets to see the other side of things after school.

Another looked like he was doing well but after two years of schooling and jobs falling through, life seems to be getting hard again. Mental health that was thought to be under control comes sneaking back.

It is a privilege to still be in these young men’s lives and I look forward to discovering what being a youth worker looks like on the other side of this stage of as well.

Thanks for journeying with me,

Jon Pue

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Message From Our Youth

-
Image
This month we asked one of our youth to write the main page for our newsletters. We asked them to be honest and open about what the hangar means to them. They came back with this amazing piece of writing:

A Message from a Hangar 17 Student...

The hanger is a wonderful home of creativity and friendship. It’s a place one can always feel welcome and at home. In the two and a half years I’ve been going, the space has evolved to be more welcoming, homey, and accepting to all those who come through.

Visiting the hanger is the biggest highlight of my week, there are always welcoming faces and an accepting environment. The hanger brews a wonderful sense of community and connection, it is the place where most of my friendships have been made and it’s our constant hangout place. The community environment that’s been built is a constant support through the stress of school.

On top of their wonderful art program, their “spiritual life” time has made a huge impact on my own view of the world and …
Read more

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

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