wah! what a week we had a Mission iNDY....it was probably the most tiring, challenging, stressful, and fun week we have had yet.
the coolest thing: our theme for the summer is Live to Love, all about community. after the first few hours we were there...youth groups we mingling. so COOL. the previous weeks we were talking about how we would have a night where kids had to sit with people from other youth groups. last MI week we had to challenge the kids to break out of their youth group...but after the first few hours they were already breaking out. this week was such an amazing display of community...displaying our devotionals (carrying burdens, accepting one another, honoring others, sharing with others, and serving). it was such an encouragement...it seems like this group "got it" this week.
monday: got up and ran 2+miles. at 5:30AM. vbs planning went really well and the pastor of the church took us on a neighborhood tour so we could see the community that the kids come from. this was the first time we have done it, and i loved it.
the first day of VBS (tuesday) was great. we had 100+ kids each day, which was a total change from the previous 2 weeks,, only having 25-30max. i actually really enjoyed the busy change of pace. i was running around like crazy...sitting for at most 5 minutes, but i was able to see each age group (k-teen club) and getting to know some of them. the worksite was great too. we weeded a jungle of a yard the whole week. our youth group was AMAZING! after tuesday though, i brought up my struggle with whether or not i needed to ask certain questions to the groups in order to bring up a discussion on poverty....the response was wait for God. so i did.
the next day (wednesday-- stressfull VBS day, but still great) ron suggested we take a neighborhood tour/walk-around by our worksite and discuss what the kids saw and such. WOW. did God show up. i took 3 gals...maybe not the ones you would think would know alot about poverty...but ah. it was so good. we talked about the difference between homeownership and renting...why people would want to stay in prision...do you give money to homeless people on the street and if not, what could you do instead...what it means to love your neighbor as yourself --not giving away your old shoes to go buy new ones, but buying new ones for your neighbor. ah. kelsey had said the night before that we sometimes underestimate what jr. high kids know, and i had done that too. but i asked the question and they responded and it was an amazing conversation. one of the highlights of the week.
after i got back there was a man riding his bike and he came over and asked what we were doing...did we fix up old houses and sell them because he needed a house by the 1st. we got to talking and found out he had a wife and 2 kids, had moved in with a couple but got kicked out and his fam. was able to stay at the house but he slept on the street riding his bike looking for a house. i was able to tell him about some places we worked with and he didn't want to go to a shelter. i asked him if i could pray for him...he said he wouldn't say yes, but he wouldn't say no....he also said he never stopped to talk to people either. it was so cool to know that God had made him stop for a reason, even if it was just to have someone to talk too for a bit. he came by the next day to say hello as well...
wednesday was just an emotionally draining day. we found out that one of the girls in one of the VBS youth groups mom had died suddenly. another God thing that we were able to be there for them and pray together and be a comfort to the youth group. it was so hard to hear and see the kids sobbing...but so encouraging to hear what some kids had to say about the mother and as a comfort to their friends...
the cool thing about what happened with the death is how God brought everyone together. two youth groups did VBS this week and they also shared rooms. when the interns walked around to sing the groups goodnight, we walked into that room and ALL the girls were bawling. the group had shared what happened with the other groups and all the girls lost it. the cool thing is that the girls were able to carry each others burdens, accept one other, share together, they had an opportunity to honor one other and in doing that, serve one another. AAAHHH. SO COOL. visible display of community, of our theme...God's hand was in everything this week....
thursday morning was hard. girls were still torn up, which got all the VBS interns not feeling so great, thursdays are usually a rough day too. so i just went off by myself to read my Psalm. God again...i read Psalm 46 which was God speaking words of comfort to us all...and i was reading, joe left the room and said, the God of peace will soon crush satan (from Spring Up, O Well). bah. i about lost it. so i drove OLGA that day...or at least i tried, because the brakes and power steering went out. i barely made it to a parking lot, and the one i pull into. STARBUCKS. God was watching over me because i ordered a tall and the guy made extra so i got a grande. :]
VBS ended up going well...as did the worksite! speaker for the night. AH. so great. such great urban ministry that he is part of. such encouragement.
...
every drug dealer, prostitute, and gang member knows about Jesus and could tell you how you can know Him...but do they know Him?
...
friday was another 5:30 morning...we had a surprise of 25 teen club kids that we had not had all week. it ended up working out perfect...and nick rocked out the lesson. the lesson for the day was the Good Samaritan and God used him in such a cool way. he has worked with the Hawthorne kids all summer and was able to make the story relevant to them, but also keep the message. i was SO glad when VBS was over. the pastor at the church brought in a speaker/neighborhood resident thursday/friday which was so cool.
the worksite. i was really tired and having a bad attitude. but God worked it again and we had a little competition and were able to get 90% of the project done!
looking back on the week...man, it was hard. but good. it seemed every bad/stressfull thing that came up, God brought something to make it better, to show why the bad/stressfull stuff happened. looking back, i can see His hand in everything!
so. my days at the Care Center are over and i have lots of prep and clean-up for next week at DAMAR...which i do not have the best attitude about. But i know God has something sweet planned. just a week and a half left of MI. :'(
the florida.
another long novel... :]
psalm 46:
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble....
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
how do we help people?
a few questions i had today at the care center:
*how do we really help people??
*do programs help or enable people? take the care center: women are in the program for either 30 days, 6 months-1 year, and some 18 months. how are we helping them in that time? they go to Bible study, do work around the center, and go to addictions classes and healthy relationship classes, but what are we really doing to help them? in some programs they get job training and try to find a job, but for some people, it can be 6-12 months of no job, and then when their time is up, they are expected to find a job. i was talking to a case worker today and she said how alot of the ladies come in and out of the program and how 6 months to a year is too long to be in a program, which leads back to my question...how are we helping these women? i'll be honest...i want a concrete answer, but i don't think there is one.
*how do you help people who don't want to help themselves? a lady came in today. a user for years. came to the shelter in '03, hasn't had a stable home since then and only wants to stay for 5 days until her BF gets a check to buy a house. clearly, i can see that this woman needs help. but she doesn't see it. so, i just pray for her and be Jesus to her for 5 days and then send her off...hmmm.is it enough?? God can use that 5 days in any way, and we can plant the seed...it just doesn't seem like enough....
like andrew says...we forget that we are not the ones who save people, God is the one who saves them. and then i think of the emery song, listening to freddie mercury, [[we are all the same people/ with sinning hearts that make us equal/ here is my hand, not words said desperately/ it's not our job to make anyone believe]]
i'm struggling with bridging the gap between what i am learning here and my own views and ideas about helping others and what i learn at school about helping people and 'how to be a social worker.' it's tough business....
*how do we really help people??
*do programs help or enable people? take the care center: women are in the program for either 30 days, 6 months-1 year, and some 18 months. how are we helping them in that time? they go to Bible study, do work around the center, and go to addictions classes and healthy relationship classes, but what are we really doing to help them? in some programs they get job training and try to find a job, but for some people, it can be 6-12 months of no job, and then when their time is up, they are expected to find a job. i was talking to a case worker today and she said how alot of the ladies come in and out of the program and how 6 months to a year is too long to be in a program, which leads back to my question...how are we helping these women? i'll be honest...i want a concrete answer, but i don't think there is one.
*how do you help people who don't want to help themselves? a lady came in today. a user for years. came to the shelter in '03, hasn't had a stable home since then and only wants to stay for 5 days until her BF gets a check to buy a house. clearly, i can see that this woman needs help. but she doesn't see it. so, i just pray for her and be Jesus to her for 5 days and then send her off...hmmm.is it enough?? God can use that 5 days in any way, and we can plant the seed...it just doesn't seem like enough....
like andrew says...we forget that we are not the ones who save people, God is the one who saves them. and then i think of the emery song, listening to freddie mercury, [[we are all the same people/ with sinning hearts that make us equal/ here is my hand, not words said desperately/ it's not our job to make anyone believe]]
i'm struggling with bridging the gap between what i am learning here and my own views and ideas about helping others and what i learn at school about helping people and 'how to be a social worker.' it's tough business....
Sunday, July 5, 2009
some will seek forgiveness, others escape...
one of the best underOATH songs ever...amazing lyrics.
[[oh sweet angel of mercy/ with your grace like the morning/ wrap your loving arms around me/ hey unfaithful i will teach you/ to be stronger, to be stronger/ hey ungraceful I will teach you/ to forgive one another/ hey unloving, I will love you]]
anyways, another week of mission indy is done. i'm quite sad because we only have 4 weeks left total. the summer is just flying by....and the day after MI is over, i'm heading out to naples for a week! :] i'm ready for the beach. below are some thoughts from the week, things i'm still processing...
the week started off with a discussion on whether savings accounts are biblical on sunday morning after sunday school. someone said that if we actually live in community with one another and look out for one another, then there would be no need for savings accounts because whenever one struggles, someone would be their to help them out. good point.
ron said if you are stingy with giving money away, then you are probably the same way when it comes to giving things to God. bah....so true. it starts even before we get to MI church for the week.
we were at hazelwood CC this week, out in the country. it was a good change of pace. it was quiet, went on a couple morning runs...at 5:30. we had some amazing groups, and it was so great getting to know all the kids. it's so sad by the end of the week when we all have to leave.
favorite speaker: tuesday night. of course, on accepting others. he had this pieace of cardboard that a homeless man was carrying that said, 'i love Jesus as much as the person i love the least.' that was a huge smack in the face....i really do not love Jesus. when you stop and think, this quote is so true. matthew 25:41. one of my favorite verses and one that is often quoted, but is it really put into practice, do we really love 'the least of these?' and what does love look like?? we sang a song with AMAZING lyrics...
[[God of Justice, Saviour to all/ Came to rescue the weak and the poor/ Chose to serve and not be served/ Jesus, You have called us/ Freely we've received/ Now freely we will give/ We must go live to feed the hungry/ Stand beside the broken/ We must go/ Stepping forward keep us from just singing/ Move us into action/ We must go/ To act justly everyday/ Loving mercy in everyway/ Walking humbly before You God/ You have shown us, what You require/ Freely we've received/ Now freely we will give/ Fill us up and send us out/ Fill us up and send us Lord]]
oh. great lyrics. the keep us from just singing, move us into action...mmmm. knowledge devoid of action is useless. this is what i am learning even more this summer. to be intentional and to do something. alot of the interns have talked about how with the stuff we are learning, we are trying to figure out how to change when we go back home...how to change for the future. but the thing is, if we can't put what we are learning into practice now, how are we going to in the 'future.' if i can't be intentional now about accepting others and forming relationships, how will i be able to do it later? so. i have knowledge, i need to move to action.
so we did vbs at a trailer park this week. you can see the brokeness all around, but the kids. on monday we were prepping and there was 2 kids playing on the playground right by our vbs tent. i went over and met them, cassidy and eddie. the ended up haning out with us for the day and got to go through the vbs lesson before any of the other kids...a vip pass if you will. our 50-75 expected kids turned into 25 at most. low numbers has it's ups and downs, but the kids were great. and my inters, elizabeth and megan were fantastic, as well as our group from Grayson, KY! on wednesday, 2 of the sponsers we talking to a mom who had brought her kids to vbs all week. marcus comes up to me and tells me that she wants to be baptized...now. ahhh! so cool. we ended up working it all out and she got baptized at someone's pool tuesday. she said she had been at her lowest point, and being at vbs all week had put her on cloud nine and she had been wanting to be baptized for a long time. a few kids went with her and it seemed that they just got baptized to just get in the pool...but that is for another blog. it just reminded me of this quote Ron says from chip ingram that goes something like, 'the real you, meeting real needs, in the right way, for the right reasons.'
God is teaching all kinds of things and i wish i could write them all down. it's like the song, 'whatever you're doing inside of me/ it feels like chaos somehow there's peace/and it's hard to surrender to what i can't see/ but i'm giving into something heavenly...time to release all my held back tears...it feels like chaos but now i can see/ this is something bigger than me/ larger than life something heavenly.'
i'm all about the songs tonight. i love music and how i can always find a song that puts my thoughts into words. :]
it was a great week. i miss it already and its only been a day. i'm getting tired. i relaxed my hair today, no more curls for a while. i have the day off tomorrow to hang out with the fam and eat pancakes for breakfast! :]
looking forward to this prep week and getting SO EXCITED for next mission indy week.
more to come...
[[oh sweet angel of mercy/ with your grace like the morning/ wrap your loving arms around me/ hey unfaithful i will teach you/ to be stronger, to be stronger/ hey ungraceful I will teach you/ to forgive one another/ hey unloving, I will love you]]
anyways, another week of mission indy is done. i'm quite sad because we only have 4 weeks left total. the summer is just flying by....and the day after MI is over, i'm heading out to naples for a week! :] i'm ready for the beach. below are some thoughts from the week, things i'm still processing...
the week started off with a discussion on whether savings accounts are biblical on sunday morning after sunday school. someone said that if we actually live in community with one another and look out for one another, then there would be no need for savings accounts because whenever one struggles, someone would be their to help them out. good point.
ron said if you are stingy with giving money away, then you are probably the same way when it comes to giving things to God. bah....so true. it starts even before we get to MI church for the week.
we were at hazelwood CC this week, out in the country. it was a good change of pace. it was quiet, went on a couple morning runs...at 5:30. we had some amazing groups, and it was so great getting to know all the kids. it's so sad by the end of the week when we all have to leave.
favorite speaker: tuesday night. of course, on accepting others. he had this pieace of cardboard that a homeless man was carrying that said, 'i love Jesus as much as the person i love the least.' that was a huge smack in the face....i really do not love Jesus. when you stop and think, this quote is so true. matthew 25:41. one of my favorite verses and one that is often quoted, but is it really put into practice, do we really love 'the least of these?' and what does love look like?? we sang a song with AMAZING lyrics...
[[God of Justice, Saviour to all/ Came to rescue the weak and the poor/ Chose to serve and not be served/ Jesus, You have called us/ Freely we've received/ Now freely we will give/ We must go live to feed the hungry/ Stand beside the broken/ We must go/ Stepping forward keep us from just singing/ Move us into action/ We must go/ To act justly everyday/ Loving mercy in everyway/ Walking humbly before You God/ You have shown us, what You require/ Freely we've received/ Now freely we will give/ Fill us up and send us out/ Fill us up and send us Lord]]
oh. great lyrics. the keep us from just singing, move us into action...mmmm. knowledge devoid of action is useless. this is what i am learning even more this summer. to be intentional and to do something. alot of the interns have talked about how with the stuff we are learning, we are trying to figure out how to change when we go back home...how to change for the future. but the thing is, if we can't put what we are learning into practice now, how are we going to in the 'future.' if i can't be intentional now about accepting others and forming relationships, how will i be able to do it later? so. i have knowledge, i need to move to action.
so we did vbs at a trailer park this week. you can see the brokeness all around, but the kids. on monday we were prepping and there was 2 kids playing on the playground right by our vbs tent. i went over and met them, cassidy and eddie. the ended up haning out with us for the day and got to go through the vbs lesson before any of the other kids...a vip pass if you will. our 50-75 expected kids turned into 25 at most. low numbers has it's ups and downs, but the kids were great. and my inters, elizabeth and megan were fantastic, as well as our group from Grayson, KY! on wednesday, 2 of the sponsers we talking to a mom who had brought her kids to vbs all week. marcus comes up to me and tells me that she wants to be baptized...now. ahhh! so cool. we ended up working it all out and she got baptized at someone's pool tuesday. she said she had been at her lowest point, and being at vbs all week had put her on cloud nine and she had been wanting to be baptized for a long time. a few kids went with her and it seemed that they just got baptized to just get in the pool...but that is for another blog. it just reminded me of this quote Ron says from chip ingram that goes something like, 'the real you, meeting real needs, in the right way, for the right reasons.'
God is teaching all kinds of things and i wish i could write them all down. it's like the song, 'whatever you're doing inside of me/ it feels like chaos somehow there's peace/and it's hard to surrender to what i can't see/ but i'm giving into something heavenly...time to release all my held back tears...it feels like chaos but now i can see/ this is something bigger than me/ larger than life something heavenly.'
i'm all about the songs tonight. i love music and how i can always find a song that puts my thoughts into words. :]
it was a great week. i miss it already and its only been a day. i'm getting tired. i relaxed my hair today, no more curls for a while. i have the day off tomorrow to hang out with the fam and eat pancakes for breakfast! :]
looking forward to this prep week and getting SO EXCITED for next mission indy week.
more to come...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
