B-PV Young Life Monthly Update

"His decision to live small made him larger than life.'"

-Allen Levi in Theo of Golden

In January of 2025 I set the goal of reading two books a month - one fiction and one non-fiction. I love reading and read so much for my seminary classes (which is awesome!) but I found myself for work and not as much for the love of reading as much as I'd like. This resolution has been an opportunity to push myself a bit and to find books to help me grow my mind and my heart. This April's fiction read was Theo of Golden - a beautiful story that made me laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously. Theo is also an excellent model of what it means to be a Young Life leader. Without giving too much away, I can tell you that Theo pays attention to people, he's inquisitive, he listens more than he talks, he calls out and encourages the wonderful qualities he notices in a person and he sits patiently with the difficulties life presents, he invests in individuals and in the community. Not a lot of flashy action, just small moments of care and attention.

I'm grateful that God is using lots of small efforts to love kids in big ways through B-PV Young Life. Here are a few things worth celebrating...

IMPACT…

WyldLife Clubs are pretty fast and furious - a lot of energy packed into an hour - and yet amazing moments of connection happen each time we meet! It might look like a kid who comes all the time noticing a first timer and asking them to be their partner, or it might look like a quiet conversation at the end of the night where a student lets a leader in on just how challenging junior high has been. We're here for small moments making a big impact!

PRAYER…

God is growing the number of relationships we have with kids which means we need to grow our teams! Join our Committee in praying the verse below daily and asking God to raise up more leaders, especially males, in our community. Maybe God is nudging you to grow in your own faith by being a Theo to teenagers in Bettendorf or Pleasant Valley!?

“Jesus said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest.’”

(Matthew 9:37-38)

FINANCES…

This year's spring fundraisers were great examples of the generosity of the friends YL has in our community, and we are truly grateful! The Flower Sale raised about $6,000 to support our summer camp trips and the Golf Outing raised about $7,800 to help with operating expenses. THANK YOU to everyone who supported these efforts! Please consider investing in our mission by donating to Bird #200 through Birdies for Charity! Click the image below to give!

STAFF, COMMITTEE & LEADERS…

Next week I'll be travelling to Indianapolis with other YL staff from Iowa and Illinois to meet with our new Regional Director and teammates. Change always brings lots of emotions but leading the way for me right now are gratitude and hope - gratitude for the leadership of Dave and Michelle Goy in the Heartland Region as well as our local area, and hope for what's ahead for all of us as the Goys transition to Arizona and our region merges with friends from the Raceway Region. Can't wait to see how the Lord uses this opportunity!

Thank you for being a friend of B-PV Young Life as we strive to be a friend to kids in our community.

Peace and prayers,

Emily

and on Instagram too @younglifebpv : )

Email: YoungLifeBPV@gmail.com
Website: bpv.younglife.org
Location: PO Box 632 Bettendorf, IA 52722
Phone: 563.940.2201
Facebook: facebook.com/YLBPV