DYFC Lately...

Well, the snow is back. I wouldn't be British if I didn't start with a moan. Now that that's out of my system, I can be positive. 

We have been even busier than before over here lately. We are now opening the center 3 days a week as well as having the kids hang around on a weekend. They just keep arriving, which I think is pretty nice! It's what we're here for after-all. We also have a new partnership that is now active on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the guys starting to build relationships on a Monday evening to figure out what our new programs at 'Word of Life' Church in Newark, Delaware will look like. We have some plans ready to offer to the kids and we will run whichever programs have the highest sign-up rate. This is such an exciting opportunity because it means we can get more people involved in delivering programs such as sports, art and cookery and we can begin to develop a means of creating apprenticeship type relationships whereby young people can learn specific skills from adults that can help them figure out their futures. 

This week, I say my goodbyes to Urban Promise (Wahhhh) and will instead focus entirely on the work of DYFC. Though it is sad, I am happy to be using my skills to a higher potential and helping us to develop plans here that will be long lasting. We will also be working to develop our relationships with Urban Promise and other ministry sites, so it certainly is not the end for me there. The day I had decided to be pulled out of UP all together, just so happened to be the day that the kids in my camp wanted to call me to say they were praying for me and they missed me. I got to speak to most of the kids and had a small emotional breakdown afterwards. Ha. I sincerely didn't think they would notice I was gone. I guess Miss Sarah was wrong! I will get some pictures as I say ta ta for now!

Tomorrow will be my first time in 'Grace' cottage which is the female prison. I am really looking forward to it and have been asked to observe for this one and then decide if I want to teach there. The hope is that out of this, we may be able to identify some potentials for the 'Parent Life' ministry we are hoping to set up in the near future. My schedule is beginning to look quite different to the other interns but I am glad we are all using our gifts in the best ways. I certainly am not a 'soccer coach' nor am I a pro basketballer. But I can make a good form so it's all good!

This past weekend I experienced my first 'lock in' which was titled (by the male interns, I was not a party to this decision,) 'YFC's Night of Awesomeness.' I'm sure you can all hear me saying the word 'awesomeness' in everyday language. NOT. I love you really, America. Anywho, we had such a wonderful time. A group of kids arrived that we had never met before so we let them stay until around 8pm but then kept the two boys who had signed up over night. We ordered some pizza, baked cookies, watched the 'Freedom Writers' movie, ate kettle corn, played games, ate pancakes for breakfast and went to Church in Downtown Wilmington.

Outside 'Loma' Church - this place is my dream, as it's in a Coffee Shop!

My personal highlight of the NOA was the 'name game.' All you have to do is guess the character or famous person that has been stuck on your head. We explained the rules to the kids multiple times and all placed the names on our heads. You have to ask questions to identify who you are such as 'am I male?' Tyree (who is stood next to me above) went first. His opening question was; 'am I a tie?' We quickly re-explained the rules and carried on the round. His following questions included; 'am I cholesterol?' 'Am I a pathway?' and 'Am I a finger?' By the end, I was crying with laughter. We started to film him each time it was his turn because we didn't know what he might ask next! This is why I love kids.

They didn't want to leave us!

This week we also managed to find time to fit in our surprise birthday treat for our friend Ro/Rashad. We had planned it a few weeks ago and managed to keep it a secret the entire time. Ro loves basketball so we all clubbed together and bought tickets to go see the 76ers vs Pacers. It was way more fun than I thought it would be and after being blindfolded for the entire journey to Philadelphia, Ro even shed a little tear. Ahh. 

It was more fun than I thought it was going to be, every time out and every quarter had some sort of entertainment to get the crowd excited. There was even a magician at one point! I also got to watch the dance cam, which I have seen on Youtube before but watching it live was more fun than the basketball! They did a 'Carlton Cam' based on the dance from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air which was hilarious!! It was a pretty close game but the 76ers lost 94-101. If they'd have got 100 points, there was a promise of a free Big Mac so the boys were gutted to miss out on that!

Group Selfie at the game!!

Throw in the odd birthday party, Bible study, trip to the gym, team meetings and lunch at someone's house and this is our average week! Thank you all for reading, praying and supporting me to come here. We are having a great time and I am loving being a part of this team! 

Until next time...

Read More

My First 24 Hours In The US of A.

I have landed safe and sound in Delaware! My flight was pretty uneventful and I had a really nice apple crumble! The weather is nowhere near as bad as I was thinking, apart from the odd pile of snow here and there, there is little evidence of the big freeze. The whole team came to meet me at the airport in Philadelphia so that was a little overwhelming but really nice. I asked them promptly if they had a kettle in the house to which one of them replied, (this was a genuine question) ‘what’s a kettle?’ That seriously worried me. None of them drink ANY hot drinks. That also worries me. So I am thanking myself for bringing tea and I bought some coffee at the store today. We have a water cooler that also dispenses boiling water so I will be just fine. You can all stop worrying!

 My first 24 hours have been somewhat eventful and I have thrown myself in with both feet. I’m almost unpacked and living with 5 people. I’m actually sharing a room with one of the other female interns, which for those of you who know me well, you will know that this will challenge me! We live right above the youth centre which feels a little alien but I think I will grow to really like it. This morning, I attended my first team meeting which was really exciting as things are about to step up a gear. We are going to figure out how I will fit into that on Wednesday. After the meeting, we went ‘grocery’ shopping and then had my first experience of a drop in at the centre. There were quite a few kids here and I played ligretto for the first time and one of the young people made me switch cards with her because I kept winning and she thought they must be lucky! Halfway through that, I left with some of the guys to experience my first taste of their juvenile justice ministry which takes place in a prison not too far from us. At first I was a little overwhelmed and felt out of my depth but after the talk we had all planned about drugs and alcohol, we broke into groups and played a card game called Spades which I had never played before. On the first hand, I ‘wheeled’ it which meant I won all the tricks! Ha. After rubbing that in, I had some good chats with the guys and am hoping to go back there. We finished up just after 7pm and then headed to Wendy’s for tea and two of the guys filled an ENTIRE tray with a variety of burgers. Welcome to America!

This weekend, we are going on a retreat with some of the young people to a Church in Pennsylvania which means by the end of this week, I will have been in three states. We are so close to so many places and the guys said they’d like to go to Washington D.C. as they haven’t been there yet. I’m excited about that! After all this time of waiting and wanting to be here, it still feels very strange. When you’re working, especially doing something that you love and have a lot of experience of, you could really be doing it anywhere. I guess the difference is that I stand out a lot but it helps that I’m comfortable being me. I think it will take a little bit to sink in that I am living here and doing this! I think this time is going to be really exciting and I want to see how we can all work together as a team to reach more kids after what has been a bit of a crazy time for this centre. The leader here is SO passionate and so honest, it’s really refreshing to be around that again. Tomorrow, I am having a day off to get myself together and have a bit of me time. I am sat on the sofa now watching TLC programs on Netflix so not much is different!! 

I will update as often as I can! 

P.s. I’m on EST time so I am 5 hours behind England and my phone is no longer in use though I think I may be able to hook it up to WIFI and use whatsapp!  
Love, S x

Read More

Time To Go!

Well, after approximately 6 long hours, I am finally packed up and ready for the big move. It's much different than when I moved to University, because that required all sorts of items like pans, dishes, bedding, lamps etc, whilst this is purely clothes and a couple of home comforts. I have managed to fill 2 suitcases and a holdall, hoping that I haven't forgotten anything drastically important. The Yorkshire tea was one of the first things in there and I separated the Earl Grey into another case should one happen to go missing on the journey! I have also stocked up on hats, scarves and mittens just in case the big freeze lasts any longer. If it doesn't stay cold, I will be a little bit gutted because I really want to wear my new bobble hat. 

Admittedly, I am absolutely worn out after a wonderful but busy week at the British YFC Conference. We just spent 5 days in a hotel with a jam packed schedule of great speakers, time to gather together and attend seminars about youth work. It was so nice to hear about a subject I am SO passionate about again, it really set me up to go back in to working with young people again. One thing that stood out to me was what an incredible privilege it was to spend five days amongst people who share that same passion. I was so overwhelmed to be surrounded by people who are willing to better themselves, push themselves, take risks, get up every day at 7am when they're technically off work - all for the benefit of the young people they work with, and for those they have not even met yet. It was so beautiful. 

Youth work is NOT a selfish profession. That was so clearly demonstrated amongst the YFC family this week. We do everything in order that we might reach more young people, the ones who no-one else wants to work with, the ones without a family, an education, self-esteem, self-belief, a purpose, hope. We gather together to learn more from each other about how we can do that better, to make our work wider and more relevant, to build better relationships, to make a deeper and more lasting impact and to love each other more. What better reason to get up in the morning! 

Often, people over complicate youth work. One of my favourite speakers was Mark Oestreicher. He wasn't just my favourite because he is American and has a big beard. He spoke so honestly and gave such good advice that is so applicable to my life and work. If you work with young people, I recommend that you read some of his stuff and great ready to learn some great things! In one of his talks he said this:

'The power of great Youth Work/Ministry can be summed up in these 3 points;

• Showing up
• Listening
• Words of truth'

Just by you, an adult, turning up at a youth group - you could massively impact the life of a young person without even realising it. All you have to do is BE there! Easy as pie. 

Giving a listening ear to young people today in a world where their voices are very rarely heard or taken seriously, can lead to a VITAL relationship in their live whilst they are living a 'relationally disconnected' life. 

Good words spoken into the lives of teenagers who are constantly put down. 'You're so creative, you're beautiful, you're a great friend, you'd make a great leader, you are loved just as you are, you were worth dying for' - these few words could transform a young persons life. It could impact them for y-e-a-r-s to come. You may not even recall saying it to them. 

This totally blew me away. It takes such a small step to get involved with volunteering in any form of youth work be it at your local Church, on mission, in a youth centre, reading to kids in a school or millions of other formats - we can ALL sacrifice even just an hour a week just to have the chance at giving a positive impact in the life of a young person who was worth dying for. Often, it seems like a scary thing - but young people need a whole plethora of adults in their lives to help them make sense of this ever changing world. With the rapid growth of the internet and social networking, levels of face to face communication are always dropping. But we can be the solution! We can be brave, step out and get involved. 

So, can you listen? Can you show up? Can you speak words of truth into the lives of young people? If you can - I would urge you to find out how you can get involved in something local to you that seeks to benefit youngsters. It could end up being transformational for you too! 

It is time for me to find out what life is like for American young people and to figure out how I can best help them in the 6 months that I have with them. I am SO excited to get over there and to practice what I preach! I am so grateful for all those that have supported me to get me there - this is more for them than it is for me and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Please do follow my journey as I leave the comfort of my belovéd Yorkshire hills to work with young people in YFC Delaware. 

It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,

    be compassionate and loyal in your love,

And don’t take yourself too seriously—

    take God seriously.

Micah 6:8

Read More