Life in "the Muk"

It’s been two months since Meg, Sam, and I moved to Mukilteo! As with any big transition, it’s been an adventure—adjusting to our new home, finding “new” furniture, and getting to know the community here. We’re discovering all sorts of new places around the North Puget Sound (have you been to the Everett Marina!?), and while we miss aspects of our European life, we’re grateful for this fresh start.

My focus in these early months has been meeting Mukilteo community members and sharing our vision for an adult missional community dedicated to caring for teenagers. We hosted an information night with over 20 attendees and are excited to activate this community to join in reaching out to youth. If you know anyone in Mukilteo I should connect with, please let me know!

Meg started her new part-time position with Young Life Europe this month (she'll be supporting staff by creating prayer/spiritual formation resources), joined a MOPS/Momco group, and is trying to figure out how to plug into the community! Sam has learned to make animal noises for dogs, monkeys, and snakes and loves his pickleball paddle--he won't leave home without it.

We haven't yet found a church community, we appreciate prayers that it will be clear. When we were in Issaquah, Meg had a very strong feeling that Pine Lake Covenant was to be our church home. That intuition served us well and we are hopeful to plug in somewhere nearby soon!

Kamiak High School Update

In early October, we held an interest meeting at MOD Pizza for students from Kamiak High School. We were thrilled to find several students who are eager to have Young Life at their school—some even attended camp this past summer! This momentum led Corbin (our fantastic volunteer leader) and me to launch Club at Kamiak. We’ve already had two gatherings, with around 10 students attending each time! They’ve heard stories like the Good Samaritan and Jesus healing a demon-possessed man on Halloween—SPOOKY!

I’ve felt a bit rusty in giving Club talks since most of my speaking in Europe was discussion-based or in German- LOL. But it’s been rewarding to dive back into it, and it's been fun to host students in our home again.

I also got a taste of Kamiak’s school culture by chaperoning Homecoming! Naturally, I volunteered for “gym duty,” and danced for three hours straight. At first, the kids weren’t sure what to make of my moves, but I’d like to think I helped get the party started!

Mariner High School Update

At Mariner High, our focus has been building relationships and praying for the school. Every Friday, I join our three volunteer leaders to pray with teachers and welcome students. Last year, Young Life was established here, but with many kids graduating, we’re now focusing on getting to know a new group of students by name. One of our ways has been through free pizza at football and volleyball games—always a good icebreaker!

Thank you for your prayers, support, and connections as we continue growing this ministry in Mukilteo. Please keep us in your thoughts as we work to build a supportive, faith-based community for these students!