Maylee Barriger: Faith, friendship, and podcasts

What is “Hey Friend”?
If I were to tell you that I had a podcast or a YouTube channel, your comments would probably be similar to that of my English teacher’s, who stated, “How millennial of you.” I guess having a podcast does make me a bit cliché. I am practically living out every 12-year-old’s dream, except for the becoming famous part. However, my channel is a bit different than many you will find in a YouTube or Spotify algorithm.

How did “Hey Friend” begin and who are we?
I started this channel with one of my good friends right before Christmas. I will pause here to tell you all a little bit about my co-host, Sammie Gilbert. Sammie is such a bright and sweet spirit, who loves adventure, smiling, fruit-flavored ice cream, and Jesus. Shortly after Sarah Taylor went to be with Jesus, Sammie reached out with words of comfort and arms open wide. She was ready to take on the challenge of befriending the girl who had just lost her best friend- that was me. She is compassionate, wise, and always has a little twinkle in her eyes that one can only obtain by loving Jesus and experiencing his love. She enjoys listening to music and long conversations with depth and laughter. When I mentioned starting a podcast to Sammie, we agreed that we would use whatever platform was given to us to glorify God and remember Sarah Rose Taylor’s legacy. Although we have only created two episodes, the response has exceeded what we imagined.

How does “Hey Friend” carry on Sarah Taylor’s legacy?
“Hey Friend” was the only name we even heavily considered when deciding what we should call our channel. It just kind of stuck and embodied everything that we want our channel to be. It is a safe place, somewhere to make friends, and a community completely centered around Jesus and his goodness. Our first episode was utilized to get our feet wet and see what we could do. My biggest fear when we decided to execute this idea was that it was not truly God's will. The response we received to the first episode proved to me that this was exactly what he wanted. He was going to use this to show me that I can be bold and to push my boundaries so much that I had no choice but to rely on him fully. More recently, we uploaded an episode with Mrs. Kim Taylor discussing a variety of things, including her spiritual goals and the best advice she has ever been given. I obtained so much wisdom from her during those short 15 minutes! The presence of God was so evident, even just listening back to all of the good things she had to say. The way that we are able to spread the word about Jesus into the world through the episodes is so, so cool.

What does “Hey Friend” mean to me?
So, I guess you could still consider me a basic millennial. You could still say that I am just doing what everyone else does. However, for Sammie and I, it is so much more than that. “Hey Friend” gives us the ability to put our love for Jesus and his greatness into the universe. We are able to encourage others and share advice that has helped us in life. This podcast is becoming the center of a community for believers to come together and worship. We are able to remember Sarah and live out her legacy. Producing this podcast has brought me so much joy during the darkest storm of my life. Even just knowing that I am encouraging possibly one person is enough reason to continue doing this. Rather it be 3, 30, 300, or 30,000 views, until God calls me elsewhere, I will continue to produce “Hey Friend.”

To listen to the podcast by Sammie and I and learn a little bit more about our friendship, you can look up “Hey Friend: 2020 Recap” on YouTube or Spotify!

YouTube Link:

https://youtube.com/channel/UC1l0fgOH5am93HqPFeZnviA

Spotify Link:
https://open.spotify.com/show/6MKQ1wYh6h6heRga5Ri8BA?si=p5NPXThgR4yUWT3ZMj3UNQ