Back at it!

There has been a lot of changing gears. This year has been unpredictable, but in a way, it has helped us get back to our roots, to what is important.  Young Life is committed to praying for, seeking, and supporting the middle school and high school students.  This has continued to be the case during these last five months.  We didn't have graduation parties, but we did host 70 on a Zoom Baccalaureate event. We didn't go to summer camp, but we connect for virtual Bible studies.  We didn't share breakfast, but we continued to meet with kids individually or in small groups. And that is what we will continue to do this fall.  Last week, we met with youth leaders from six local Sitka churches to collaborate on the topic of youth ministry and reaching the children of our community during this trying season.  This fall we will be diving deeper with leaders and kids about transformational discipleship. God is moving, and it has been exciting walking through these times with young people.  And as always, thank you for your prayer and support. 

 

Zoom, chat, post

These last few weeks have taught us that we shouldn't take relationships for granted.  Quarantines and new routines have given us all time to reflect, to reach out, and to be bored. During these times, we are continuing to reach out to kids as we are having Young Life club on Zoom with our high school friends.  We are also still having campaigner Bible studies and have been able to include some of the kid's other family members.  In this way, we have been able to bring Sitka Young Life to many different communities across Alaska. 

YL Club, Campaigners, Leader's meeting, committee meetings, and prayer groups are all meeting virtually on Zoom

It seems that our whole world has changed during these past weeks.  Some days the sense of fear and hopelessness seems physically tangible.  Today is Good Friday and I can't help but think back 2,000 years ago and remember how the disciples' whole world changed in one night.  Their hope disappeared and they were afraid.  But days later, the most amazing thing happened that changed the world.  I  know that these weeks will change all of us, but as Christians today, we have a real reason for hope, and a real reason not to fear.  May we continue to keep our eyes on Jesus today, tomorrow, and in ALL the future holds.

A Place for hope to Shine

Conversations will not be cancelled.

Relationships will not be cancelled.

God’s Word will not be cancelled.

Self-care will not be cancelled.

Hope will not be cancelled.

Love will not be cancelled.

Dear Friends and Supporters of Sitka Young Life:

We wanted to address concerns raised by coronavirus (COVID-19) in our region. At this time, we feel the need to implement some area and region-wide measures regarding Young Life activities. This will include:

• Canceling all Young Life Clubs and Campaigner gatherings in our area

We are obviously following the lead of health organizations (Like WHO, CDC, and local authorities) on this and while most of our kids and leaders are not at much risk for the virus, we do not want the virus to spread further in our community.

At this point, it is hard to say how long these measures will last. We are doing this out of an abundance of caution to do what we can to help minimize the spread of the virus. We will keep you updated regarding any further restrictions as we monitor this situation and will send you another email when we're able to resume Young Life Clubs and Campaigner gatherings. We will continue to reach out to kids with Christ's love, that these times of uncertainty can point young people and their families to the Lord. This event in recent history can highlight the hope we have in Christ and how we are called live life differently because of what God has done in our hearts.

We hope and pray that we can fight this and trust our God who is our rest and our refuge. Kids are asking questions and have some fear, may we be people that shine the light of Christ while the world screams of chaos and fear. Our mission, as it always will be - is to create a safe, healthy space for kids to explore who Jesus is and what that means to them. We will be exploring ways with our Leaders to creatively connect with kids in safe, innovative ways. We have a unique opportunity to give kids peace, hope, and love amidst everything going on in our world.

A CALL TO ACTION: Would you join us every day for the next 91 days at 9:00AM in praying Psalm 91? Young Life around the world is uniting and declaring this passage to be true. We've set an alarm on our phones so we remember every day. When the Ebola outbreak happened in Africa, YL Africa prayed this Psalm for 91 days and on the 91st day the Ebola crisis was miraculously over. Let’s trust God and ask for miraculous healing in the world. 

Again, all of the actions, like the rest of the country, are precautionary and intended to help slow the spread and give space for doctors, nurses, and everyone in the health care industry time and space to help those that need the most help. We are praying for all of those people in our community and around the globe doing all they can to help. Should there be any way we can serve you or your family during this time, please let us know. 

Wisdom from Philippians 4:

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

With much uncertainty and fear around us – let’s be helpers in bringing peace, hope, and love to our community.

Laughing, Loving, Learning, and Leaning in

The dust from winter blast has finally settled and I just want to say, that it was truly worth all the work.  Over 100 middle school and high school kids and leaders laughed till our sides hurt at the games and skits.  We loved the songs, food, and making memories late at night and at the gym.  We learned more about Jesus and about each other's stories.  We leaned into the fact that the God of the universe came to be near each one of us.  Many many steps of faith were taken during the weekend of Winter Blast, thanks for your prayers and support!

The 2019 Winter Blast high school group

We have gotten off to a great start the semester and are currently gearing up for our annual middle school and high school winter camp, Winter Blast!  Holly, a  gifted speaker from Anchorage, will be coming down to speak and bringing along friend Eric to do music.  We also have two of our YL friends coming up from Idaho to keep us laughing and make our time together more memorable.  We anticipate close to 100 students in all, and we currently have teams from six different Sitka churches preparing our meals. Please keep us in your prayers as we are one week out. Also on the docket is a strategic planning session for Sitka Young life - so again, we welcome your prayers.  Thanks for your partnership.  We are grateful.  

End of Year

Merry Christmas

I wish you could be there for the 40 high school kids who wake up 90 minutes early every Tuesday and Friday so they can meet for campaigner Bible study.  I wish you could see the sheer bliss as 35 middle school kids create chaos at club and then get to hear about Jesus.  I wish you could just peek in to see kids shed the burdens they carry and get to be a kid, to be loved, and to hear about a God who radically loves them.  It is your prayers and support that make this ministry possible.  It is people like you that make it possible for kids to experience love joy and hope in Christ, through relationships with caring adults. You are impacting the kids and families in Sitka and 100 communities around the state.  If you would like to make a year-end gift,  CLICK HERE. (Please note our website has recently changed and use AK23 to designate to Sitka Young Life.)

Merry Christmas!

Aaron and Chris