Gap Year Profiles | Jo

It feels weird to already be almost halfway through my gap year. It doesn’t feel like that much time could have passed. When I chose to do Gap Year, I was just coming to the end of my university course and somewhat unsure about what steps to take next. I felt a calling into missionary care but also real confidence that there would be some steps out of that context to get there. I was debating options for my next year trying to take it a step at a time, which is very hard when I like to be planned three steps ahead.

I already knew SU Scotland very well. Previously I have served on the Student Executive and have been part of many teams and different events. I felt like I needed a bit of space after university to process those few years of my life and to rest and listen to God about where the next steps would take us. I think it was late May or early June when I first emailed Kirsten to ask about doing the Gap Year programme.

I wasn’t sure at the time that I wanted to do it or that SU would take me but we met on Zoom and talked about what I would want from a gap year. I thought about it and did lots of verbal processing with Kirsten on the call about why I loved helping with SU and why I was picking this option over any other. But as I was quite late on the train, I didn’t have too long to dwell before I had to get going with the application process before it would be too late. 

During the process, I chose what topics I wanted to study, I offered my opinion on where I would like to be based, and what I wanted my work to focus on. I am spending my year doing Gap:Fusion. This means I spend some of my time with David Clipston, helping with the COmMISSION programme and other Young Leader Development tasks. The other half I spend working with local churches in Ayr where I am based for the year. This is mainly with their weekly youth groups and wider youth events in Ayrshire.

Coming into this year after university has been strange in some ways, such as living with a host family rather than in my own space, but it has also been super rewarding. I get to step out in my faith taking the lessons I have learned, and then pass that wisdom on (hopefully!) to the youth I see every week and those training to be leaders and also through things like our podcast or at Equip events. It has been amazing to see how often God has set me up with prior experiences to be able to answer people’s questions. I cannot wait to see how God continues to use me in part two!

Jo Bailey | Gap Year 2022/23

This article was taken from the March 2023 edition of @SU Magazine.

Editor: Hilary Phillips | cygnus-extra.co.uk

Design: Kimberly Wray | innovivid.co.uk

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