Encouragement

     I have a personal filing cabinet next to my desk at work.  It contains budgets, programs, evaluations, grant rejection letters...normal, important business stuff.  The file at the very front of the cabinet is the one that I open the least but need to have accessible the most.  I have it labeled as simply "Encouragement."  This is where I keep thank you notes, words of support, drawings from my kids and other items that will remind me of why I have a great job.  

     This fall has been quite busy with travel and classes and putting together Ramp It Up (tickets still available, by the way!) and staff turnover and grant management and...the list goes on.  I talk a lot about how great Joel's Place is and I write a lot about how great Joel's Place is.  The problem that I have is that I get so wrapped up in our administration that I miss out on our mission.  I wonder if we are doing anything important or having any impact.  I wonder if young people are being transformed.  I wonder if the kingdom of God is richer because of what we do. 

     (Quick side note:  When looking for development and transformation in teenage boys, one must take a long-term approach.  Whether they are 9 or 19 they will still chase each other, throw things they aren't supposed to throw, eat things they aren't supposed to eat, act as rude as you will allow and test every boundary that you establish.  The key is not to see if they stop these things but rather to observe if they follow up the socially unacceptable behavior with more compassion, awareness and humility than they used to.)

       When I begin to wonder these things, I have three assets that I have built into my work life. 

• I turn to the monthly reports of my staff.  I ask each of them to give me a report each month with the best thing about their job, a hard thing about their job and a story from the month.  The staff are the ones who are witnessing our mission being lived out.  They are the ones seeing youth grow before their eyes.  It is encouraging to see the staff investing themselves into young people with the result being that both parties come away richer.
• My second asset is field trips.  Joel's Place hosts several events during our closed hours: camps, field trips, playgroups, etc.  Usually the staff are still home, preparing to come in to work at 3 when we open up.  So I get to teach kids how to skate or show them what kind of resources Joel's Place offers.  I run around for an hour or two; everyone has fun and breaks a sweat.  Then they leave and they tell me that this is the greatest place in Fairbanks and they will be bringing their friends back. It helps me remember how much fun this place is.

      (Quick side note 2: When talking about working with at-risk youth, we are talking about a Continuum of Care.  On one side of the spectrum is emergency services: food, shelter, safety and other vital services that pull them out of the spiral they are in.  On the other side of the spectrum is transition into society: job training, education and other resources that set them on the trajectory of being productive members of society.  You cannot go directly from one side of the spectrum to the other...too massive a leap.  Between those two sits Joel's Place and other organizations that provide opportunities for youth to discover the things that they are good at or are passionate about or want to explore more or simply things that they enjoy.  The importance of fun cannot be overstated in this part of the process.  Youth won't change their lives just to get out of bad habits or situations.  They will change their lives in order to pursue something better.  They get out of a bad situation, find a place of safety, discover what they want to pursue in their lives, utilize the resources to pursue it and move into society, ready to transform the world.  This is the continuum and our place in it.)

• My third asset is my Encouragement file.  I see pictures of kids on the autism spectrum learning to skate and garden and play with others this past summer.  I see thank you notes from a housing project who we fed.  There are letters from 6th graders who had a blast.  There are messages from my staff, friends, partners and scripture that are especially poignant and meaningful.  Joel's Place...this silly little skate park...has touched hundreds of lives and made this community a little bit brighter for lots of people.

     I hope you have an encouragement file or drawer or folder.  Something that reminds you why you got out of bed and showed up at work today.  We are not just working for the money, but to make the world a better place.  When reminders of that come in, stash them away; cling on to them.  I find them to be extremely valuable...and who doesn't like having an "Awesomest Dad Ever" sign hanging out by their desk?