Laura's Letter Vol. 1, Issue 4, Christmas. 2006

Family at Christmas

When I think about Christmas, I think about family. And although there is some added stress involved in making sure everyone gets the gift they want, working out schedules so that we can all spend time with each other, and cramming that last bit of work in before I fly home, I look forward to spending the holidays with my family. But for many of the kids I work with, spending time with family is not something they look forward to.
Jessica, who I mentioned briefly in my last letter, is one of those kids.
Jessica is 14 and in grade seven. She lives in a group home here in Langley, her mom lives in Surrey, and her dad lives in Vancouver. As I said in my last letter, I don’t know all the reasons why she doesn’t live with her mom or dad, but I’m starting to learn more of the story.
She has more than ten brothers and sisters, including her twin sister who lives with her dad. She told me she is not allowed to see her dad, but can’t say why because “it’s complicated.”
Jessica will be spending Christmas with her mom in Surrey. Afterwards, she will return to Langley and spend the month of January preparing to move back in with her mom permanently.
When I asked her how she felt about that, she answered me plainly. “I think it’s sh***y.”
I usually take what Jessica says to me with a grain of salt, but this was one time when I saw truth in her eyes. She is scared. And it breaks my heart. But what breaks my heart even more is that so many people have given up on Jessica. She is a beautiful young woman, who holds so much potential, but she desperately needs someone to believe in her. Yet, I was told that even staff at the school have recently said that they don’t have any hope for her.
And Jessica is not the only one with a difficult family situation to deal with this holiday season. There is Amy, from After School Art, who told one of our staff that she lives with her dad because her mom is bi-polar. When she was asked if that was difficult for her, Amy replied, “I just don’t have time for her.” And Jeremy, whose family is just making ends meet, and whose mom is fighting breast cancer. And then Andrew and Steven, who live with their aunt in Langley instead of their parents in Vancouver, but they are “not allowed to talk about it.”
So during this season where family is so important, please remember Jessica, Amy, Jeremy, Andrew, Steven, and the many other kids just like them in your prayers.


We still need a volunteers, people to provide snack, prayer partners, and financial partners. If you want to get involved, you can contact me by email ( laura_solberg@telus.net ) or by phone (604.308.4123)

Ten is the New Fifteen

“Child development experts say that physical and behavioral changes that would have been typical of teenagers decades ago are now common among “tweens” — kids ages 8 to 12.”

Associated Press

I have to admit, when I first realized that I would be working with mostly younger kids (ages 10-14) here in Langley, I was a little disappointed. I’ve mostly worked with older teens (15+) in the past, and really enjoyed it, and felt like it came more naturally for me to work with them. And in the World of Youth Work in my head, working with older teens seems more glamorous, and exciting. After all, they are the ones with the “real” problems, aren’t they? I look back on that stream of thought now and laugh at myself a little.
Although I still really enjoy working with older teens, I’m starting to realize that I am exactly where I should be right now, working with the kids that I need to be.
Ten really is the new fifteen. I suppose this is something I’ve known for a while, but if there was ever in doubt in my mind, working with kids that would be considered “tweens” has definitely confirmed it for me. Things like the eleven year old girls at After School Art, singing “My Hump” by the Black Eyed Peas, and the conversations we’ve had about boyfriends and kissing leave little doubt!
I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to walk with these “tweens” during this pivitol time in their lives.

End of Year Giving-- You Still Have Time!
Please think of my ministry as you consider your year end giving. For your prayerful consideration, After School Art is in need of art supplies for the new year, and your financial gift would be very helpful. Thank you for considering this work and a special thank you to all of you who support my ministry.

Click HERE if you would like to make a year end gift.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9: 6

If you want to help financially with my work in Langley, please click here.

Laura's Letter Vol. 1, Issue2, Oct. 2006

Different Worlds
The other night at the Bus I was upstairs hanging out with some of the regular kids, most of whom are between the ages of 10 and 13, when one of them suggested we watch some Veggie Tales. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this children’s’ cartoon, it is basically a Bible lesson/story taught to you by a Cucumber (Larry) and a Tomato (Bob). They very clearly come from a Christian point of view, so I was surprised when all the kids greeted this suggestion with enthusiasm. Apparently many of them have seen the videos before at some point and thought they were hilarious. So we popped the video in and immediately the Bus was buzzing with the theme song as all the kids sang along at the tops of their lungs. It was in the midst of this that Danny peered around the corner of the stairs and caught my eye. “Do you mind hanging outside for a little bit. I think we need more staff out there.” He explained to me that some older teens (15-17) were hanging around outside. He had interrupted a drug deal that was about to take place, and asked if I could maybe keep an eye on things out there and make some connections with those teens. So I wandered over to one of the groups and started chatting. After fending off the flirtations of a few of the more inebriated boys, I took a few of them to check out the Bus. We walked upstairs to see the younger kids, still singing away, watching Veggie Tales. Some of the older kids started to laugh and poke fun at the “immature little kids.” Even as I was defending the younger kids for acting their age, I was struck at the difference in worlds that these two groups of youth live in. Separated by only a couple of years, their lives revolve around completely different things. Although the younger kids are starting to dabble in the “cool” world of adolescence, they can still have fun being silly and singing along with animated vegetables, while these older teens are wandering the streets getting drunk and high. They’ve misplaced their imaginations and dreams, and the younger ones are perilously close to doing the same. I say misplaced rather than lost, because I am convinced that each and every one of these young people has the potential to become a person who not only dreams creatively, but walks toward those dreams. They just need the opportunities, tools and encouragement to think differently about themselves, the world and life. That is what keeps me coming back— I so desperately want to see these kids come alive!! Even when I get shortchequed and it seems impossible that I’ll ever be working full-time; even when I’m stood up for a coffee date with one of my girls... again; even when it seems like kids make positive steps in one area of their lives only to fall back into old habits in other areas. I’ll continue because they are all worth it.


If you want to get involved in helping these teens rediscover their imaginations, there are LOTS of opportunities— from volunteering to financial and prayer support and everything in between. If you are interested, contact me and I’ll hook you up!


Team
I’m so excited to see the Langley team growing! We’ve recently welcomed Kandy White on staff. Her and her husband Peter moved here recently from Edmonton where Kandy worked with YFC Edmonton’s Teen Mom’s program.
We’ve also added two Lifeteams students (lifeteams.ca) to the mix. Carmen, from Salt Spring Island, and Hannah, from Inverness, Scotland, are a great addition to our team, and are going to be working closely with us on the art program as well as with the Langley Meadows Nights Alive program. I am a Lifeteams alumni, so it is really exciting for me to have these two with us for the year.
As well as the new additions to our team, we also have a wonderful core group of volunteers. Every week I am amazed at the incredible team I get to work with! But, we still need more volunteers! So if you are interested, or know of someone who may be, please email me at laura_solberg@telus.net


Annual Fall Dinners

I’d like to invite you to come check out our Annual Fall Dinner. It’s always a fun evening with good food, good people, and good conversation. Throw in some amazing stories of youth work around the Lower Mainland, some great videos produced by our East Vancouver team, and the president of YFC International, and it promises to be a great event. This year we are hosting a dinner in Langley, on November 18th, at South Langley MB Church. For more information, or to book tickets, please email me at laura_solberg@telus.net.

if you want to help financially with my work in Langley, please click here.

Laura's Letter Vol. 1, Issue1, Sept. 2006

Art Camp!
Art Camp was a wonderful success!
My goals for Art Camp: to make new connections, and strengthen existing relationships, with people in Langley; to help the kids I work with re-discover their imaginations and start thinking about things, including themselves, differently; and to see if an on-going community youth art program would be feasible in Langley.
We only had 6 participants on our “fullest” day, but my first goal was definitely met. With only 6 kids I had enough leaders to partner up with each participant and I was free to assist whoever needed it. Four of the kids were ones that I’ve known for a while, and the other 2 I’d never met before. After the camp, the mom of the 2 I’d never met before emailed me to say thank you, and to keep her informed of further activities.
My second goal also worked out far better than I had imagined it could. I’ve known Lacey, one of the participants, since February when we started working in Langley. Lacey just turned 13, and is at a very critical stage in her life. She has a lot of potential, and how she chooses to direct her energy now will impact the rest of her adolescent life. Throughout the whole camp, Lacey kept telling me how embarrassed she was of her painting—how she wasn’t creative and she didn’t want to take her painting home. Every comment was countered by an encouragement from the team and I.
We displayed the paintings in the lobby of the Langley Township building. Quite a few people had a look as they were passing by, and one in particular looked quite interested. I took the opportunity to introduce myself to the woman who turned out to be Hikmat, the owner of the Wired Monk coffee shop located in the building. She asked me what we were doing with the paintings and I told her I was just planning on sending them home with the kids. Then she offered to buy Lacey’s painting! So the girl who said she had no creative ability now has her first painting displayed in a popular coffee shop in the Township building! All of the stress of organizing the camp was worth it just for the look in Lacey’s eyes when someone showed an interest in what she had made. She is already bugging me about making more canvases!
And the success of my third goal was really a no brainer considering the success of my first two. The whole camp was soooo much fun for me. I often tell people that you need to do what makes you feel alive. Leading the Art Camp definitely made me feel alive! In chatting with my Langley co-workers, we’ve decided to go ahead with co-ordinating an on-going community youth art program in the fall.


Grace
I am often amazed at how much I learn from leading teens! During the Plunge, one of our Langley team members was struggling with some issues that were making it difficult for her to participate in the mission. She clearly needed help, but was very difficult work with. Sending her home seemed like the only option. She was sent to stay with Jen (Plunge co-ordinator) while details could be arranged. While Jen, her husband, and Jon (another Plunge leader) loved her as best they could, God started to show them that maybe sending her home wasn’t the only option. Maybe this could be an opportunity to show grace and reconciliation. So, along with seeking the forgiveness of her teammates and some guidelines for her behaviour during the rest of the mission, she was giving the opportunity to re-join our Langley team. Justice is a high priority to me. So much so that grace can be difficult at times. This was one of those times. But I knew I needed to be a good example to the group of teens that I was leading. I thought I would be the one teaching them about grace, but it turns out that they needed no help in that area! As I watched them welcome back our team member I saw some of the purest examples of true reconciliation— teaching me much more about grace than I could have taught them!

Job Update
For quite some time now, I've been mulling around some ideas in my head, and now that some of those ideas have been discussed with my supervisors, I can let you know a bit more about my plans for the near future. Recently my heart has felt more and more pulled towards the community of Langley, and because of that, I will be beginning the process of moving away from the admin/communications side of YFC and pursuing full-time youth work. Even though all the details aren’t fully fleshed out yet, I’m very excited about beginning this transition. There are a few things that are holding me back in this. Communications is a huge job for our organization, and in order for me to move into full-time youth work, someone needs to take over the work that I do at the office. As well, the communications position is partially funded by the YFC Operations Fund, but youth workers are responsible for raising all of their salaries as well as program expenses. That means a huge increase in my personal fundraising (around $2000 more per month), which will be a challenge. Please keep those two things in mind as you pray for me, and if you want to help financially with my work in Langley, please click here.