the coldest and craziest of christmas seasons

well, christmas came and went...in a whirlwind and a blur as per usual.  or maybe a blizzard better describes it.

but the warmth of friends, family, and community can combat the coldest and craziest of christmas seasons.  one such example was a christmas party held at the drop in centre for students.  great food, great people, and some fun times with games, movies, conversation, AND A PHOTO BOOTH!!  (compliments of Soulpix).

so now we're done with christmas, and back into the swing of things for 2014!  please keep us in your prayers as we seek guidance in working with young people of all sorts...and how to plan accordingly for this upcoming year.

thanks!

the Stigmatic Fear of "COUNSEL"

"everyone's gonna think I'm crazy"
           "I can handle this on my own"
"this is so not cool"
                                   "I'm fine.  Really.  I think?"
      "people will find out"
"what can talking do?"

These are some of the many thoughts that enter people's minds as they breech the topic of professional counselling.  The profession has been fighting this kind of stigma for a long time, and the fight continues.  But as the stigma can still exist, so does the effectiveness of counselling, impacting one life at a time.

That's why we at Niverville YFC believe in counseling, and (if you don't already know) we have partnered with Winnipeg YFC's Turning Point Counselling Services to offer this service right here in Niverville.  Right here in our Drop-In!  Eunice Wiebe is on staff with us, who has professional training and experience in counselling, and has her office in our facility. 
Feel free to make an appointment and come on by for some great Christian-based counselling, as Eunice works with families, couples, youth, and individuals of all ages.

Here's another little fun video we put together...enjoy!
Turning Point Counselling Services

the day and age of opportunity

It has been asked, "what's in a name?" 
This question prodded deep into the inner man for centuries.
The question that's currently prodding and haunting young people moving into adulthood is not "what's in a name?"
but rather...          
"what's in a job?"

I (Mark) presented the topic of "Identity for young adults in the workforce" at the Niverville YFC Annual Banquet this year.  This topic referred to our ongoing relationships with young people who graduate, turn 18, and face the effects of detachment from institutional routine in school - an ever-growing part to our ministry at the Drop-In.

Today, I believe we are at an awkward crossroad of unprecedented widespread job opportunity met with the lowest fundamental need for work in history!  With relative ease, one could be a massage therapist in Thailand, or a Social Network advertiser at home, but even easier would be just to stay home with no job and play video games in your parents basement.  Or take one class at University on your parents dime and live and home and drive around their expensive cars while constantly socializing.  Still no job.

But a job is strongly attached to who we are, what we think of ourselves, and what our life purpose is.  These are the fundamental elements us YFC leaders reinforce in our relationships, and the stronger they are, the further our young people can go in life.   So the "agenda" here is not to find the perfect job for each young adult, but rather to engage in the deeper, personal, and spiritual matters of our young adults.  The belief here is that when these elements are nurtured, one can find the character necessary to be good at mundane jobs and find greater purpose in them, as well as pursue dream jobs when the time is right with diligence and patience.

We also understand that when ANYTHING is done WITH and FOR God,
it can bring the most meaning to the simplest of tasks.

Here is a clip portraying what our young adult program is going through....

banquet success!

I'm so pumped to say that this year's banquet was a great success!

In the last few days prior to the event, sponsorships and attendance RSVP's poured in and we were so blessed to have quite a full house in our beautiful Atrium.

The buffet was great
The Horizon Choir blew us away with their creative repertoire, filling the acoustically perfect room with their rich voices, singing songs from up on the mezzanine, on the grand staircase, and on the front stage.
The video and technological aspects went perfectly smooth
The speeches flowed well, coming straight from the heart..

and we had guests all the way from Belgium!


Thanks for all your support, prayers, thoughts and help in anyway.  We feel it, Niverville.  Thank you!


Mark, Gord, & Johnny

the BANQUETING table

It's that time again...
BANQUET TIME!

                                        crunch time.

If you can do so, please help & pray that we can fill tables so we can connect with as many people as possible and share the vision of what God is doing with our little Drop-In ministry.  And of course, you are ALL welcome!

Here's the deets....

Fall has come and gone?

WHOA!
It's so hard to believe that fall is on it's way out!
(I mean, we really only have 1 month of autumn, right?)
As a ministry, we eased our way into the season, and each week seemed to bring along more events, young people, and regular programs.  Now we're almost in over our heads!

HIGH SCHOOL DROP-IN, SKATE NIGHT, YOUNG ADULTS, WRESTLING, ART, HOMEWORK CLUB, DISCOVERY TIME COURSE, AND COFFEEHOUSE.

Please pray we don't get overloaded with all this, and that we get the help we need to complete the task set out for us.

Thanks!

prayer calendar is here!