“Every decision you make this year, be sure to involve God. You will have a lot of new experiences and choices to make, but be sure you don’t forget He is to be a part of it all,” Abeke*, a veteran Transition student, spoke these words over the incoming Transition Program teens in Nigeria.
Back2Back staff recently held a ceremony to officially welcome new students into the Transition Program. The program exists to help facilitate transition from living in Hope Homes or with their peers to independent living and planning. House parents, captains, and many staff members were present to celebrate this exciting change for the teens, and veteran Transition students charged the new students with powerful testimonies. Abeke was just one of the many who challenged, encouraged, and congratulated the young adults on this next season of their lives.
This new group of teens was welcomed with open arms as 13 of the young adults who recently graduated high school and are either in university or waiting admission. Each of them is doing a type of apprenticeship while they wait. As the program grows and welcomes 13 new students, the older group of young adults were asked to find their own apartments.
“They were living in apartments on the same campus as our Hope Homes, but with the new group of students, we needed the space,” explained Meredith Messer, Back2Back staff.
They were each given a budget and started looking for housing that would work best for them. Many of the young men found apartments quickly and have moved in already. The young women have been more hesitant, but Aisha* was the first to find her own place – no small task!
She asked the guys who had already moved for advice as she was looking and once she found her new home, she enlisted their help to get her moved in. One of the Hope parents, a carpenter, helped build shelving to make her house more homey, and she is now living completely independently. She packs her lunch each morning and goes to school, where she formerly attended, as a full-time teacher’s assistant.
“We are so proud of Aisha for setting the pace for those around her, leading by example to encourage the others that they, too, can set goals and reach them,” shared Meredith.
Each of the independently living students and the incoming students clung tightly to the words Abeke shared at the ceremony, knowing with God in their hearts and their eyes on Him, they can accomplish anything they set their minds to.
Please join Back2Back in prayer over all the students served in Nigeria – that they hold tight to Jesus and understand their inherent value as His kids.