FFWPU USA YAYAM Spring 2021 Newsletter — Mary Anglin · Following the Stories of Real People

Hello YAYAM family! It’s been some time since we shared a YAYAM update. But we hope you’ve been well and are staying safe. This newsletter includes subregional winter highlights and spring updates. Expect another newsletter coming your way this summer!

We love you!

Northeast In April, SR 1 held their first YAYAM+BFM Blessing workshop online for young adults, parents and matching advisors. Over 60 participants attended from all over the nation, with some participants tuning in from Europe and Africa. Parents had the opportunity to connect with each other, and participants were also put into breakout rooms by age with a matching advisor to facilitate and support their discussions.

Up & Coming NY Youth Ministry held their first in-person youth group event with separate gatherings for the Belvedere/Redhook community and the NYC community in order to keep numbers low. Although it was a simple gathering, it meant a lot for the NY community as they had not seen each other in over a year!

Southeast In March, a mix of youth and young adults from the DMV Community supported GPA in their Saturday Clean Up Project to restore part of a local hiking trail! They managed to collect numerous bags of trash (too many to count), and ended up hauling away a wheelbarrow carrying a mattress, tent, car bumper, rusty bikes and so, so much more. The volunteers were enthusiastic to work together and help take care of a little part of God’s creation while enjoying the beautiful spring weather!

Midwest In April, SR3 restarted monthly youth ministry virtual gatherings after a brief pause. The theme was “Reclaiming our Dreams”, and the youth groups came together to talk about what their dreams would be if they had no limitations. They separated into 3 breakout rooms to talk about ideal careers, homes, bucket lists, and then shared stories of times when they each felt loved. They learned a lot about each other and their passions in life.

South In December, the Gather Family Church (Alabama) community was inspired to make an offering after a Sunday School kids series, “Gifts from God,” where kids were encouraged to think of giving gifts to the world and others (instead of only expecting gifts for themselves). The community raised funds to sponsor five beautiful children at Destiny School in Uganda in 2021 through IRFF - UK.

West A team of dedicated parents and young adults in Colorado organized a 4-week Il-Shim program for their 13 to 18-year-old youth. There were 17 participants who attended weekend workshops where they received education, enjoyed a fun zip-lining outing together, and celebrated their completion of the program with a beautiful graduation banquet at the church.

Kenzo Tanaka, one of the parent staff, reflected that, “[it] seems like all participants, as well as parents, are really moved by the program. This was an amazing milestone for those young brothers and sisters, and we are continuously guiding them with weekly Sunday school and quarterly workshops, etc. Thank you for your prayer and support.”

Watch their recap video here.

Canada SR 6 completed a spring-break camp for 7-12 year-olds that focused on teaching Bible Stories with a Principled view and connecting to Heavenly Parent’s heart. All stories were written and illustrated by youth members of the community!

In January, Youth Gaming calls began for each age group of elementary, middle school, high school, and young adult members of the community and are continuing to meet each week on Friday evenings. These calls have become a place for youth to connect and bring their friends.

YAYAM Team This past February and March, National YAYAM hosted a seven-week online Devoted program for young adults in high school or college and their parents. Devoted was created as a program to follow Il Shim, preparing young Unificationists for their future matching and Blessing. This was the first time Devoted was hosted online at the national level. In addition to the education provided by the Devoted program, YAYAM teamed up with the BFM to provide speakers like John Ableseth, Myrna Lapres, Yun-A Johnson, and Akira and Makiko Watanabe who presented the parent education sessions.

It was inspiring to see parents and children do meaningful homework assignments together such as attending parent-child date nights, engaging in meaningful conversations around the topic of matching and Blessing, and setting spiritual conditions together for their future. We can’t wait to host another national online Devoted program next year!

Generation Peace Academy After an At-Home condition, GPA split into their training groups in preparation for what each participant plans to do next year. Some participants were able to go Adventure training to experience God in nature, without technology. We have combined this training with the preparation to welcome True Mother to the US. GPA participants have spread out into nine different communities across all five subregions. We hope to invest into each community to share True Mother’s message and heart.

Also, early bird (application is free!) ends May 9th! Start your application at gpa.my.stacker.app.

Learn More about GPA

True Mother is Coming to the US in June!

Coming Up YAYAM will be hosting Grad Night events for both high school and college graduates. We want to celebrate you and all the hard work you’ve put in to get to where you are. More information coming soon!

Planning for Summer Camps is underway all across the nation. Keep your eyes peeled for registration opening in your local subregion!

Weekly YAYAM Events Check out YAYAM Online for the latest happenings. Many communities are hosting local YAYAM events, either online or socially-distanced in person, so reach out to your YAYAM subregional coordinators to find out more!

There have also been an increase in BC-created podcasts that have been linked on our website, so check them out and show them some love!

@ we.are.yayam #weareyayam