2024 End of the Year Review | Executive Director Arcelia Miller

Episode Summary

The Lord has worked through Under His Wings mightily this year! Last month, Under His Wings hosted the annual "A Night to Sow" Gala which featured a panel that answered questions live from guests. Unable to answer all of the questions due to time, Arcelia Miller and Kimberly Charest answer the rest on this episode! They also share moments of gratitude from this past year and excited anticipation of what the Lord will bring in 2025. 

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Under His Wings Summary 

Under His Wings is a 501c3 non-profit located in Baldwin County, AL. Our mission is to fulfill the Great Commission in our community through a better understanding of daily mental health challenges faced by both students and parents/guardians. Our focus is for the youth and we practice this mission through three separate modes: this podcast, a residental home for teenage girls (central mission), and off-campus counseling/coaching (outreach).

This facet of our mission seeks to bring listeners together through accurate psychological practices, testimonies, and Gospel-centered encouragement.

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Transcript

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Hello and welcome to Yosin in Love. Since this is the month of December, we are doing our annual year in review with the Under His Wings Executive Director, Arcelia Miller. Hello. She's excited to be here. We have prepared extensively. So today we are going to answer questions that we were not able to answer at our annual gala, A Night to Sew, in November due to time. That was really cool. Yeah, it was. It was definitely something different. I loved the way you designed it. We had a panel and for those of you that were not there, there was a live question and answer. She used a certain software program that the audience was able to put their questions up on the board and we were able to answer them like that. So they had a lot of great questions. Too bad we didn't get through all of them, but we are now. That's what we're doing now. And we're going to couple this with explaining a moment of gratitude and the highlights from our past year and then what we're excited about for 2025. So this will be a good episode. Yes. But before we get in, I would like to thank our sponsor for this episode, Curtis Landscape. Curtis Landscape is based in Baldwin County and offers quality lawn care service from basic maintenance to stonework, pavers, and irrigation. You can call them today for a free estimate on your lawn care needs. Thank you, Curtis Landscape, for your sponsorship and partnership with Listen and Love and for helping us educate, support, and listen to parents and youth of Baldwin County. Yes. Yes, thank you, Curtis. Thank you. And if you guys have a business or an organization that you would like to sponsor this podcast with, please reach out to us and contact us. And we would love to– we have the form below in the podcast description. We'd love to connect. Yes. Okay, Aracelia, the first question is how can we get involved in Under His Wings? Are there any volunteer opportunities? Yes, there are many volunteer opportunities. Well, first and foremost, we're always looking for prayer warriors. Dr. Nina, she said that that night it began in the heart of God and it continues in the heart of God. A lot of humbling takes place here under his wings. So we need a lot of prayer warriors, so people to be on our prayer team is huge. But beyond that, we need a lot of people to step up and be interested in event planning, specifically be part of our committees. We've done it for the past couple of years. It's just been you and I, and this year we're able to expand so that was really good. And we would like to have committees for our night to sew and for our candy cane dash and for our tea and testimony event that we have, and even the stirring up the community. And so I would love to be able to see more people on that team, but also step out and start maybe new fundraisers for us just to share about what we're doing. And so I think I would say those are the top two. We also have a couple others that I think we'll go ahead and put on the website so people can peruse on there. We even wrote on their time commitment because we realized that it's not just about providing funding. It's also a time commitment, but the youth leadership ones. We're excited about that. We're going to look to start that in January, February. A youth leadership volunteer opportunity. We kind of like unofficially had a youth leadership board for the past couple of years, but we're looking to officially make this something that will not only just be involved with Under His Wings, but with Baldwin County community. And we're excited to see where that's going to go. I think the reason why I like that so much is because it starts to show the value that we bring to our community. It's not just what we do with the Girls in the Residential program or the outreach program that we're doing, but all of us are committed to growth and all of us are committed to helping the youth grow in whatever gifts and talents that God has given them. And so to know that we can be intentional about growing leaders. And we met with a young lady just already and that she's excited about doing an event for us and being able to- She had a great idea. I know, she did. For help with the stir. Yes. She's really excited about that. Yeah. So we're all about cultivating community with the youth and building them up. Yes. And so this is just one way that we're going to be able to foster that in our program really outside of our program. And so we're excited about that. Yes. But those are the volunteer opportunities that we have available Also, if you'd be willing to be a church ambassador, those are fantastic. But moving on to the next question, which I know is your favorite. What is the average cost for one year's residence care? It is priceless. It's priceless. But, you know, that is the qualitative side of me. And that's the qualitative answer is to it is how can we put a cost to what we do here at Under His Wings and not just a residential, but even the off campus. but specifically for our logic side of the brain and wanting to be good stewards you know a cost can range anywhere from$2,800 to$3,000 a month and so that's roughly maybe$30,000 a year for a girl and so we ask the parents to come alongside us and to sow into the ministry but occasionally they can't afford that and in what cost it doesn't necessarily include everything that we have because we're also have other additional costs that we're doing with outreach but for the I like how you said that it's priceless. the cost of living here in Bowman County is high. And I wouldn't want to make any of our employees one of our clients either in any way, any form of the way. And so I want to be able to take care of y'all. That's biblical too. Yes. It is to pay people what they are owed. And Bible talks more about money than it talks about. Jesus talks more about money than a lot of other things. But anyway, that's just something Holly and I were talking about. Sewing. About sewing, yes. Because we also want to be good stewards. We want on behalf. Faithful stewards. And not just in the money, but even in the experiences. That's the reason why I'm so excited. I think that always wanting to add value to our communities. Like even with the youth that we're helping out with the volunteer program, we're not charging anyone for any of that, but we're wanting to be good stewards of the experience that we have with the youth and the experiences that we have with John Maxwell and all of the I lead and the values, things that we learn, we want to bring to the community. Yes. And the worship night that we do and all of that as well. Yes. So what program, speaking of all of the things that we do, what programs do we offer? Exactly. Yes. Okay, so that was a great question because we... So Under His Wings in 2025, we're going to have our strategy session. And again, we have a small version of it like for the following year, but we also are talking about five, 10 years out. But this was more than just five or 10 years out. Under His Wings, when I used to introduce it, I would say we're a residential home for girls. And still I'm trying to untrain myself from saying that because we're more than just residential care. We're also now providing off-campus counseling. And so what that is, is so we've got our residential Thank you. So yes, the parents that were part of the residential program, but we're also coaching parents outside. This year, we had the opportunity to go to Ruff Wilson Community Center, which is an amazing, amazing place. And we're able to do training, trust-based relational intervention training with their parents there. And so we're trying to add value beyond the walls of what we're doing. And so we're really praying and rethinking and saying, okay, Lord, you show us in what capacity you want us to be used in 2020. Yes. Speaking of the Ralph Wilson House, we had a question here that said, please elaborate on how you determine participation. What other organizations do you partner with for those that are not served? So I listen and love. I listen to whatever it is that they're sharing with me. What are their concerns about their daughter, their granddaughter? And then I quickly determine whether or not we're going to be a right fit for them. And the right fit red flags are if they're actively suicidal, if they're actively dealing with an eating disorder, I know that we're not the place for them. But I do look up online and I've got a list of all the references of places that I can refer them to. and some of which I will let them know I have not fully vetted. Blue Boat Ranch, completely fully vetted. We are in partnership with them as we are planting oak. And so that's a place that I will refer and I always reach out to them if I need something or some help there. Mercy Multiplied is another place up in Tennessee that sometimes we'll refer girls up there if it's too much for us. But beyond that, I've got another listing of different referrals that I can. But with that, I'll tell the parents and the guardians, listen, I'm not fully endorsing these places. You're still going to need to do your homework because you know it's best for your child. But for the adult versions, because sometimes we have adults that call, even men. So for the adults, we've got Wings of Life that is down in Mobile. And then we also have Home of Grace. And so those are the different locations and areas where I'll walk in partnership, sometimes they'll give us a call and they'll say, hey, we've got a family here with a young lady that needs help. And so just, it takes time. I've been here five years. It'll be six in January as a volunteer and then in the spring as the director. But it takes time for have relationships and to build that trust to know who you can refer who to. But Ruff Wilson, of course, with them, I absolutely love Tracy. I love them. And so those are the types of organizations that we'll partner with too. That's awesome. And going back to like what programs we offer, you did a great job explaining everything that we have. Because one thing that we're trying to do actively in the stages of is trying to break down the ideas of like, yes, we are a residential home, but we do so much more for the community now. And partnering with these other organizations is also something that we do because our heart is for Baldwin County and for the youth of Baldwin County and for families. Yes. And on Emeraldville too, yes we cannot forget that we have had families from mobile um many families from a bill you can't you know yeah like the whole area i would call it gulf coast we'll call it gulf coast definitely um the next question is can you oh this is a fun one can you tell us what a day looks like in the life of a resident at the home okay so um well on a daily basis you know they they're in a home setting they get up they just like any regular family and they make their lunch and they get ready they come to school school is usually from 8 30 to 2 and during that time period the girls will finish their school whatever it is and we tailor it to which each child which young lady needs um that's also another volunteer opportunity is tutoring and so if you guys are interested in tutoring give us a call let us know um and then after school then they'll come home and i like to say that they have about 30 minutes of quiet you know i like We have a variety of different girls. Some are introverts, extroverts. And so we have this 30-minute rule where everyone just spends time quiet, alone to kind of decompress. And then after that, it's the after-school activities anywhere from crafts, you know, walking. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays, they do exercise with Nitsa and they actually go to the actual personal training place and they do CrossFit type exercise. And, you know, you heard the young lady say the other day, it really helps her out a lot with clearing her thoughts. So they'll do that. We also will have equine therapy. So with our equine therapy, they're able to go once a week as a group to do that. And then we also have our art therapist that she'll either, we'll take her out to Foley or they'll come out to this, she'll come out this way and do art therapy. So those are the types of things that their girls can do. But on a daily basis, it's pretty much like a regular home. Wednesdays, they do go to church On Sundays, I go to church. On the weekends, they can go to the zoo or to the beach. We also like going to Blakely. We love Blakely. And so, yeah, they do a variety of things. And all of this is technology-free zone. No electronics. Yes. We've had girls say, though, you won't even miss your phone. Right. Take it from you. Yes. And that can really help as well. How do you evangelize? and disciple these young girls, effectively making clear in love that the cultural norms of the world are counter to those of scripture. That's a very good question and a very weighted question. First of all, I love as a Christian that we do not have the burden of conversion. And Titus 3 says that is the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit. It also says in Ephesians, it's for by grace we've been saved through faith. It is a gift of God. So that gift being saved of God and from God, we know we have to stay within our boundaries. And so every girl that comes to our program, they're not Christian. Some of them may be, but some of them are not. Maybe their families are not. And we're not here to convert anyone. I do say that our mission is to fulfill the Great Commission, which is making disciples. But what that looks like is yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to work in and through us, just like it says, it is He who works in and through you for His good purposes. So the best way of discipling these young ladies is definitely everything is better caught than taught. So living a life that is authentic, living in Christ, abiding in Christ. He said, if you were abiding me and I in him, you will produce much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. So for us as a staff and a team, anywhere from the house parents to the teacher to us here in the office, abiding in Christ is the most important thing that we can do. we can do. Specifically, we do have a program that we go through, which just starts with the values-based. And because it's a nice, safe place to be able to present a value a week. Today, we went through growth and we discussed about growth. And it feels a lot like a Bible study because we're able to talk about what that means to us and actually have tangible next steps that we have to do for that. And that is a discipleship program. Even if right now what we're doing is coming alongside to where they're at just like jesus did at the woman at the well like just like he did does with all of us he comes to where we're at and soon later we'll have these girls that might ask questions and that's when we know it's time to get even more you know more intentional but we do take them to church and then there's a bible but we do not want whitewashed tombs with dead man's bones we don't like that so because of that we honor where they're at, starting out with the values-based program and then following the leading of the Holy Spirit as to where they're at. And that's just not even with the girls, even with the parents. Yes. Hopefully that was the answer. I think so. I was inspired. What are some of the greatest blessings you've seen in Under His Wings? Oh, so it goes back to what you were saying, you know, how much does it cost? It's priceless. Jesus said, says, unless a man pick up his cross and follow me, you cannot be to my disciple. To be here under his wings is an honor, but to be here is a sacrifice too. And I'd say the greatest thing is seeing lives changed. And we don't ask the girls, what do you want to be when you grow up? We ask them, who do you want to be? Because we tell them it's a lifetime of growth. And so I've had to have that change of mindset because when I first got here, my mentality is I want a happily ever after story with a nice bow tie. If I'm going to sacrifice my time and even the money that I could be making outside of a nonprofit, I want to see change, right? Much like a parent would field with their kids. But we don't get to demand that. We don't get to demand the fruit. So I would say the biggest thing is being able to embrace those incremental change that does happen. So when people ask, what does success look like? Well, success looks like growth, right? The young lady who texts me pretty much every morning, did again today, and she's not given her life and committed her life to Christ. But she's still going forward and moving forward and still staying connected. That to me is success. And that to me is what brings, you know, the most. Sometimes we do have those stories, those little happy. Yes, we do. We got to celebrate one this past. Yes, we do. Sometimes we do have those stories, but the Lord moves on everyone's heart differently and everybody's story is going to be different. Yes. And we're just here doing whatever the Holy Spirit wants. Mm-hmm. If we're thinking that perfection is going to happen here, it's a matter of sanctification, growing in holiness. But the end state is glorification, which happens the other side. Yeah. Yes. How do you monitor the girls post-care? Very good question because that's so important to us. So we tell every girl after they leave that we want to be involved in their life however much they want to. So once they leave our program for the first month, every week, I contact their parents. The young lady, we don't make contact with her because we want her to connect back with her environment that she's in without leaning upon us. And so after 30 days, they're welcome to call us, write us. Text us however much their guardian is wanting them and allowing them to do. And so that's one way that we do that. Officially now with our alumni program, we're actually actively involved in their life, calling up, checking up how they're doing. Of course, that takes time. That's why we have our staff now, you, me, and Holly. So we've got us. And we actually now have all their birthdays posted on our calendar. So this year, the audience, we won't say a girl's name. But we're going to go ahead and honor her and post something every month, whoever it is, it's their birthday. And so praying for them is the best way for us to stay connected on the phone, mail. Something I've heard you say in the past and what you said I don't like to say is that we are involved in the girl's life as much and as long as they want. I just see it dropped. Yes. And when you said that, I don't like to say the whole audience went, hmm. That's a good one. That's a good one. We can't. force ourselves on them yes um the last question is how do you determine oh this is the the hardest one how do you determine if a girl will be a good fit for the program yeah there was that's a hard one but i feel like after these years it's kind of a little easier so um anyone who has been uh through a lost tools of writing will understand what i'm about to say so What's important for us is, yes, the healing for whatever the young lady is going through, depression, anxiety, or some sort of abuse that they've gone through, right? That's that portion that we are interested in. We're also interested in the professional development aspect of it, which means that the young lady needs to be ready. They need to be ready to roll up their sleeves and do the work. And so what's beautiful about our program is that we're working in tandem with the counselor and the coaches to see when that timing is. But it begins the moment I meet the young lady. So she comes in and I share about the program, tell her everything there is to know, even up front, that there's no phone, right? And then I give her a blank piece of paper, fold it in thirds, and on one column, I put affirmative on the top. And I tell her, I want you to write down all the reasons why you want to come to under his wings. And then in the end column is a negative. All the reasons why you don't want to come to under his wings. And then the last column is an I, and I use that for inspiration. What quotes, what scriptures that come to mind, and this is not a one and done thing. I tell her, take about a week or two to do this. Keep this with you in your back pocket. And when you have another idea, just pop it out and write it. So if she uses a quote that confirms any of those columns, write it down. Because I tell her, this is your ticket to come to under his wings because he wasn't like that before. And so it's gotten easier to be able to see as far as the success. Out of the heart, the mouth speaks. If a woman lady is filling it out and they say, I want to get better. I want to improve my relationships. And you've actually posted online some of the answers that the girls have said. Then we're saying, wow, this is her. This is not her parents. And that's what I'll tell you. This is your life, your growth, and you're getting a gift right now. You're getting the gift of time. You're getting the gift of healing so that you can press forward. Because if you don't address these things now, It's going to just bubble up later. And so knowing that they filled that out, knowing that they're being courageous, and we're teaching them choices have consequences. And that's what's listed right there. And we'll soon see that in the end file, all of the column, everything that they listed, they're going to get back. Because most of the things are, I'm going to miss my friends. I'm going to miss my phone. And I understand that. And we're not dismissive on any of that. that we say you're right it takes some courage and it takes sacrifice just like all of us here we're doing sacrifices here too our donors are sacrificing for you

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your

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parents your guardians everyone is sacrificing but are you willing to sacrifice for 9 to 12 months to gain something so much more and so you can really tell now with that and then presenting it to the team

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and

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asking the team to also meet her and to see if there's any red flags. I have learned the most from my mistakes. And I have, in the past, have taken some where there were red flags or my team has said, not sure if this is a good fit. And so we have learned from that. And based on that, we now have this process. We are always improving process. We're committed to growth. Yeah. And we're humble enough to know that we're not perfect. Yes. So, but yeah, so that's, that's how we, we determine. And, and really the Lord, like we pray, like it's bathed in prayer because only God knows what this year is going to be like. I mean, even you just don't know. Yep. There's a lot that goes into determining if we're going to be a good friend for the program. A lot. We do post some of their AD charts. Yes. Online. And those are always really encouraging to see. Yes. And listen, I cheer up every time. She calls my AMI chart A-N-I, the affirmative, negative, and interesting. Well, I believe now it's an intro. But yes. Yes. Those are beautiful to see. That's why once you read those, once you read their reasons, you'll see why we say that it takes courage to come to understand. It takes courage to take that next step to heal. And we don't just take anyone. Yes. Exactly. So those are all the questions. So we're just going to take a moment to reflect and remember some highlights from this past year. So what's your favorite memory and then your favorite biggest or your biggest win moment? Wow. So... Well, can't they be the same? I'm just kidding. Well, I mean, there's the same. So, well, I would say with the biggest memory is that this has been, so 2024 has been a growing year. Like I said, we're always committed to growth, but we had a lot of transition happen this year. And so we had our house parents who we love so much. They've been with us for three years. They retired. And so we had that transition, that transition time. We also have transition time when the girls go back. So we're always in transition. And so I think my greatest memory is that we have learned to celebrate those transitions, not... we embrace them. So to be able to have like a graduation ceremony for the girls and even for the house parents, Jacob and Sharon, and just to really honor them and value and share the value that they brought to us and to our community, I think that was a huge win. Those are things that are important. We have, you know, those of you that were at the night to sew heard a testimony there and just for privacy reasons, I can't really share much here. We're able to share there because It was an enclosed setting, but that was a huge win. And if you guys are wondering what that is, and if you want to talk to me personally, call us, call us. And I will, I will tell you that was incredible, but it was an incredible, incredible win. The Lord has been giving us those testimonies and the fact that we, we weren't looking for somebody to come speak like that for her to say that she wanted to come and share. And she did it. so eloquently. That's when, you know, that has been a great memory for me. I mean, I feel like I have so many that come from just everything that has occurred this year. And I'm thinking about, you know, we were able to have, despite the huge transition of bringing on new house parents and saying goodbye to the other house parents, we're still able to get five girls through the program for the residential program and get 22 off-camp We were able to provide counseling for 22 girls. What that means is these are 22 girls that we're helping to not be in a residential setting. That's a huge win. Yes. We still have more girls. We can still help in 2024. And just the coaching hours and the conversations being able to have over the phone with parents and to be a lighthouse, there's just been so many great memories. And I'm still going to have my day at the end of this month to just reflect on all of that too. Yes. It's important to do that because it can be easy to forget sometimes because we are in constant transition. We are. You've been doing such a great job. So to me, that is a win too, to see you succeed. That has been a huge win. So you put a lot of time and effort. I feel like I need to be doing more. We should put our social media for it, but I'll take it. Thank you. But we've already talked about the last question I had. So as we close, can you share a bit about where Under His Wings is headed in this upcoming year? And what are some of your goals, expectations or maybe even some anticipation of what's coming for this year. So yes, I'm in prayer about that always and just asking the Lord what's the next step. So I sent out questionnaires to all the staff and volunteers in the board to try to find out from them what's their take on this past year and where do they see Under His Wings going? Because I'm curious to know what everyone else is saying, but being part of United Way of Baldwin County has been And part of that, we were able to be part through a grant that they had been received. And actually, I have to say, it's the Lee Mitchell Foundation. Praise the Lord. I'm thankful for them. It's through their donation that several nonprofits in this area was able to go through this leadership course. And already we, as an organization, as a nonprofit, are improving. And so where I see 2025 is really we're already expanding the impact that we're doing. We're not chasing funding for it. It's the need. It's not under his wings, a residential home for girls. It's under his wings, providing help and care for families and girls, you know, just in the Gulf Coast, because in the Gulf Coast, and we're still working through what that looks like. I'm excited to see where it falls as everybody has their time and place to be able to share and put input to it. I'm excited. We've got new girls coming. We already know they're coming in January. And so that's How you can pray for us. We've got any time I say the hider's rules of group is forming, storming, norming, and performing. And we go through that all the time. You form as a group. So these girls are coming. And then there's storming that happens because you're trying to understand what is residential living like, right? And then you've got norming. Everyone starts to accept the role that they have in this unit. And then performing. That's when we kind of gel. And the last one is really adjoining. That's when they graduate and they go out. So we're about ready to start new in January. So I'm looking forward to having these three young ladies join us. We have already been in contact and been in prayer. We already have a list waiting for others to come. And I'm anticipating to see what the Lord will do in the lives of these girls. Thankful that these girls have already filled out their AMI charts. And they're committed to healing and they want to come. I'm excited about that. I'm excited about growing with a professional development program and seeing the girls. That's been something new this year is providing them the DISC assessments and being very strategic about their growth and helping them to understand, be self-aware. So I'm excited about that part. I'm excited about possibly bringing that to the community in other ways. It would be nice to be able to go into the schools and to share that with the schools. And it doesn't even have to just be the girls, but we can just focus on the girls but being able to do that I'm anticipating that as well we still see the need for a house for 18 and 23 year olds but where I'm at on that is yes we have the land but but do we have the funding for it? And so we're going to still write grants. We're going to still go forward with that. But I'm definitely doing it on God's timing because if we don't have the people or the funding for it, yes, there's the need. But if we don't have any of those, then I'm willing to just walk with where the Lord shows me on that. I mean, there's no other place to be. And the same thing with the Community Development Center. That almost seems to come forefront even more so a lot of people are asking about that the stir and we're still inching towards that and looking towards that but waiting upon the Lord on what that looks like but right now my focus area is to really help with the girls that we currently have within the residential and even the off campus the off campus we provide coaching for them as well when it's time so just just a lot Yeah. But to be able to hear from the team and from the Lord, just help us do what you've asked us to do faithfully and in your time.

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Yeah.

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Well, that's great words, Ursula. We have a lot to look forward to this year, a lot that we, I know I'm probably anticipating more just far as with everything that we've talked about. I'm excited to see how this year is going to go. Yes. And to start fresh and do the volunteer, the youth lead. our volunteers. So this will be an exciting year, but it's not over yet. No, it's not. One of the reasons it's not over yet is because we have our annual Candy Cane Dab coming up on December 14th, so in almost two weeks. This is a family event for all ages. This is probably one of the most fun events that we have. It's fun. We have sweatshirts this year. We do have sweatshirts. So even if you don't run, buy a sweatshirt. And this run features a contest for the most festive of tire it consists of a 5k and a one mile fun run and we would love to see you there so thank you guys for listening thank you for sharing your cilia thank you and we hope that this encourages you to listen and love this week thank you for your support