Together We Can Reach More Youth. A few weeks ago I was in Colorado Springs with other YFC leaders from across the country. We gather in person a couple times a year to encourage, share stories, laugh, cry, and grow together. We drove up to Pikes Peak at 14,115'...
What's your story? Sometimes when I meet with youth at detention, I use a deck of special cards to break the ice and get us talking. Last week I had four young people in my group. I pulled out the cards and randomly gave each a set of 10. With their “Hands” laid out...
Purposeful relationships Have you ever tried to eat a leafy, green salad with a spoon? When I go to detention, I have to toss the plan I walk in the door with and adjust to what’s been going on behind those locked doors. Recently, when I showed up, I discovered that...
Perseverance Hello Friend! Even after almost 30 years of visiting incarcerated youth, Jake’s story was shocking to me. He was… Smoking weed and drinking alcohol by the age of 6 (provided by his father) Sexually assaulted by multiple adult men (associates of his...
Building relationships. It’s 70 degrees outside. The sun is shining, and a warm breeze is in the air. After a long couple of weeks with cold, wet weather, the warm sun was a welcome sight. I was ready to head inside the juvenile detention center to meet with a...
Never Abandoned March/April 2022 I recently met with four young men at Linn-Benton County juvenile detention and for a while, it seemed like the themes of abandonment, loss, and confusion…in other words, HOPELESSNESS was going to win out. Have you ever been in a...
