The adventurous tales of Miss Martin

Becky with some of her YFC members

Five weeks ago, Becky left our cosy office in Southampton to throw herself into a year-long project, teaching kids dance and perform as part of the Youth for Christ (YFC) scheme. Despite it being a completely new challenge, she’s settling in brilliantly.

Week 1 was a training week and meeting the other volunteers on the programme, but the real fun began in the second week up in Birmingham; being thrown in at the deep end, Becky had to contend with a temporary host home as well as the hefty timetable.

Luckily, her temporary move was made much easier by the woman she was staying with. She had been part of Stance (the street crew) for two years and calmed any nerves of the scheme and moving away.

Most days are spent learning choreography and creating workshop routines to teach later in the week or the year, and the evenings consist of the youth work. The kids are lovely (most are from the church, but there are some that are new) but nerves kicked in before the first Friday.

Normally, around 150 13-16 year olds turn up every week but Becky coped very well, proving she’s definitely in the right place. The church (Zion Christian Centre) has about 500 members so it can be chaos, but it’s worth every minute of it.

Fort Rocky – the training camp

Now all settled into her proper host home for the next year, the lady she’s staying with goes to the church and knows the ins and outs (which is quite handy!) To make the deal even sweeter, the house is only a 30 minute walk away, so Becky’s getting plenty of exercise at the moment!

Fort Rocky (a group specialising in youth weekends away) invited the street crew to Litchfield on 19th September and put them all through their paces. Becky and her team not only looked after the children, but the youth leaders too who would normally look after the young people. The most nerve-wrecking part of the trip was being asked to host a session and telling them her experiences with God. But after explaining her reasons for joining YFC and Stance to the young people, the response was incredible. Even one of the young leaders thanked her for her story.

Becky learning choreography

Last Saturday was an early start for Becky, taking part in her first mission for Stance, and toured Reigate – near Gatwick – with Nomad (YFC’s other touring crew), a cage football team. Organising 50 children between the ages of 5 and 11 which was a challenge for her but she came through the other side.

Teaching a dance workshop for 45 minutes and watching the kids improve must be one of the most rewarding parts of her gap year so far, and it is just a sign of things to come.

Even though all of us in the office are missing her, we’re proud of our girl. Keep it up Becky, and keep donating to get her to her £1500 target!

And one flies the nest!

One of our family has taken a year-long sabbatical to follow her dreams. Becky, who has been working tirelessly at our company for the last few years, has flown the nest in Southampton to volunteer across the country.

Outside of work, her passion has always been dance. For the last 20 years, she’s done it all; from ballet to tap, to her newest style, street, but her love for the sport has never faded. Link that with her love for helping the younger generation and she’s in her element.

Helping out with Romsey Baptist Church for the last four years and teaching in various youth groups has given her the boost to venture away from home for the first time, take part in the Youth For Christ (YFC) gap year and gain a qualification in youth work.

Her role in YFC combines performing and teaching dance classes, and talking to young people who may be new to the gospel. Despite being based in Birmingham for the year, she will be travelling the length and breadth of the country, teaching and getting people involved in Christianity and the YFC values.

For Becky, this is her biggest step to date; leaving home for the first time and throwing herself into a completely new surrounding, but it’s a challenge she is more than capable of achieving.

Throughout the last year, she has been fundraising to help pay for the costs of the trip. However, as the scheme is non-profiting, the majority of money has been raised through generous donations from friends, family and businesses.

The cost for the year is £3000, which will pay for her accommodation, food, costumes and other travel expenses, but any other donations would be greatly appreciated and is all going to a brilliant cause for the children. If you would like to help out or donate some money, please reply to this blog and I will pass on the appropriate details.

As much as we miss her in the office, we hope she thoroughly enjoys her ‘year of a lifetime’ and will always be rooting for her success. Hopefully, we’ll also be able to get regular updates of her progress across the country. Good luck Becky!!

 

More details about YFC and the work they do is on their website:

http://www.yfc.co.uk/