Meeting Youth Where They Are

Often, all our clients need is someone to listen.

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Dear Terry Welcome to your spring newsletter! The purpose is to share with you what we are doing with your help to know, love and serve street-dependent young people who have come to Austin. They come from all over our region and even from other states as they travel and find their way. The damaging drug K-2 is once again making terrible headlines in Austin. We thought we'd share how you helped make a difference in K2 addiction in the life of one young person.

He is risen indeed! "Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!  Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!  Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!  Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

A client soured on life needed someone to listen On a recent Monday morning, I sat alone in our new Drop-In, watching the door. It was11am, and “Talk Time” – an intimate gathering focused on prayer that we’ve offered for years – was due to start. Was anyone coming, I wondered? Since Street Youth Ministry opened the Drop-In Co-op in January, we have focused a lot of attention on the afternoon come-and-go events and have given less attention, out of necessity, to the morning relationship-based programs that have been the staple of SYM since it began in 2008. A single figure walked in. His name was Jacob, and he was followed soon by three more youth. Jacob brought dirty clothes, which we wash in our laundry room while we talk. I started the prayer time by asking “What are you grateful for?” The responses on this day were surly. No one seemed grateful for anything. I suggested some positive answers to no avail, then posed a second question: “God is … what?” Often, the answer is “love.” This day, Jacob blurted out, “Absent! Showing up for anybody but me.” This was not going well, I thought to myself. About that time, our co-worker and missionary Melissa brought out some tacos. “Maybe I’m grateful for breakfast tacos,” Jacob admitted, “but that’s it.” I continued the discussion, asking them what they wanted God to do in their lives. "I'm so tired," one girl replied. "I want to have a chance to get a job," said another. But Jacob just laid down his head. "I don't even know if I want to go on,” he said. “I'm so tired, and I've gotten nowhere. I try, but nothing happens. I don't think God exists at all!" While the rest of us continued to talk, Jacob walked into the kitchen, found some bagels and toasted them. He came back and sat down, cracking “maybe I'm grateful for bagels, too." When prayer time ended, I walked into the laundry room to move Jacob’s clothes to the dryer. Our spin cycle was broken, so I had to wring out the clothes by hand first. Jacob followed right behind, continuing the commentary on his life. Suddenly, I heard him crying behind me. I turned to him and offered a hug. He hugged me back and sobbed. I told him he was going to be OK and that he was still a beautiful child of God, no matter how he felt about what he was going through. As he dried his eyes and I continued with the laundry, a lightness began to come into his voice. When we emerged from the laundry room, he smiled, his eyes sparkling. "I needed something here today. Those questions from prayer time brought things up for me. Things I had forgotten. Things I was ignoring." Prayer time can be frustrating. The shared thoughts can sound sour, but they are authentic. We don’t try quick fixes, we don’t criticize, and we don’t debate. We listen – and I believe that’s exactly what’s needed. We keep pointing to God and encouraging a relationship with Him through self-examination. Jacob found his answer. And it was valuable to him. And I value that he values it. The Drop-In is awesome -- the right thing for us to do and an opportunity to provide safety net services to many who are otherwise ignored and abandoned. Awesome, too, is our innovative and life-changing mix of small group and one-on-one activities. Our clients value them. God moves in them. And we are all healed together by them. Happy Easter!

“Amy” began using drugs as a seventh grader, and when her parents found out, they cracked down hard. She was sent to a special school but promptly got herself expelled and wound up back home, doing Cinderella duties amid mounting verbal and physical abuse. One day she fled, and her family came after her. “I literally ran through the drag with all my luggage,” she recalled. Thus began a year of living on the streets. Pregnant and addicted to K2, she became a Street Youth Ministry client.

Meet our new associate missionary!                                          Marissa Bostick Please join us in welcoming Marissa Bostick, our new associate missionary. Marissa is a graduate of Lubbock Christian University, where she received bachelor's degrees in missions and English. She met her husband, Garret, while attending school in Lubbock. After getting married, they moved to the Austin area, and Marissa eventually got connected to Street Youth ministry while job searching. She is a member of Round Rock Church of Christ. She loves reading, crafts and camping. Marissa is a fund-raising staff member. You can support her work by contributing atdonate.StreetYouthMinsitry.org. One hundred percent of your gift there goes to her salary. We also suggest you send her a note of encouragement.

Know. Love. Serve.Other ways you can help:

Have a question about this story, or our program? Contact us through social media. Text SYMNEWS to 512-553-3796 to receive an occasional message from us right on your phone!