Incredible love, you fill me.

Well, since the last post, things haven't been quite as chaotic, but I have been dealing with physical difficulties lately. Three of the four interns on my team have been sick, and Jessica and I both ended up having to go to Urgent Care and getting steroid shots for viral infections. I didn't respond so well to the shot, though, and I passed out twice before I left the doctor that day. Since then, my sore throat has gone away, but I cannot stop coughing. I literally stayed up all night the night before last because every time I attempted to fall asleep, the coughing woke me up (I guess that could be a blessing in disguise though, because I stayed up all night talking with two of the interns). Sweet Luke bought me three different types of medicine and some cough drops yesterday though, and that helped me sleep last night. Hopefully this cough will go away soon so I don't annoy everyone at night anymore, hah.
Yesterday Wes and I had to abandon our day camp for a while and go to a hunger seminar in the morning, and it was really interesting hearing about different aspects of the food bank, Angel Food Ministries, and several other ministries that reach out to those who need assistance. The most amazing part of the day, though, was coming back to our kids. We were able to spend the last 30-40 minutes of the camp with the kids, and as soon as we walked into the building, I had at least four kids jumping on me and hugging me, looking so happy for us to be back. Experiencing love like that is so incredible. I can't say enough how special these kids are and how much I love them.
Also, when we were driving to dinner at Pleasant Valley UMC, I had an awesome God moment. If I'm ever doubting my faith, all it takes to bring me back is a nice look at the sky. I happened to look out the window and was instantly blown away. The sky looked 3D...some clouds looked so close to us that it seemed as though we could have touched them, and then tons of other white fluffy clouds covered the sky. The sun was perfectly shining through them, and a rainbow of color radiated the clouds closest to the sun. My description can't come close to capturing the scene, but I could barely even believe what I was seeing. Our God is a brilliant creator and a magnanimous provider, and what a beautiful picture he painted for us to experience yesterday. Even after dinner and our meeting, He was still sharing His awesome love in the sunset. I like to think that on days like that, He's nudging me in the right direction, or smiling at me and letting me know that everything is okay. :)




They were playing with my hair.

week of chaos

So far, this week has really tested everyone's nerves. On Monday, my team had to help with the VBS at Spanish Fort UMC, which consisted of at least 320 kids, if not more. Then we had to drive all over Mobile in the pouring rain to run errands for our boss. Tuesday we were back to our kids' camp, and the kids were CRAZY. They actually said no when we asked them not to do things, they ran around like wild animals, and they trashed every room in the building. Red and black marker was all over the chalkboard, crayons and crumbs were scattered everywhere, and the place was just an all around mess. The kids weren't quite as unruly today though...still slightly disrespectful and messy, but not as rough as the day before. Right after work yesterday, we went to 15 Place in Mobile to feed the homeless, and that was a really rewarding experience. It was awesome to talk with the men and women there, and it was inspiring to see how, despite their situations, most of them still wore the biggest smiles and were so appreciative just to receive a meal for the night. Today directly after work, we had to drive out to a house on the river, tomorrow right after work, we have to drive out to West Wilmer for dinner and worship, and Friday (yep, right after work), we'll be going to the Prodisee Food Pantry in Spanish Fort for a long day of unloading boxes under the Mobile sun. Despite all of the chaos of the week....I couldn't imagine being anywhere else this summer. I love our kids, I love the places we go to help in Mobile, and I love how God is visibly working in these communities and how He is keeping all of us interns going when we feel as though we can't do anything but sleep anymore. I'm kind of stuck in my own little world of 3.0 internship though...it's going to be really difficult to leave at the end of the summer.

First week

Today a woman came to the church during our day camp so she could register her son and bring him next week, and I was just talking to her and explaining what happens each day, and before she left she told me that she knew great things were going to happen with our camp because she could see so much love written all over my face. That was probably the best compliment I could have received...it definitely encouraged me to get through the day, even when kids were running everywhere and creating chaos. Just another example of how God works in the simplest ways to make each day better. Our first week of kids' camp was really great. We grew by 7 kids each day, and had a total of 42 kids today. We know of at least 4 more who are coming next Tuesday. We've done art activities, told Bible stories, made an edible ark to coincide with the Noah story and an edible commandment tablet to go along with Moses, and have generally had lots of fun activities and crafts that made the week go pretty smoothly and successfully. Even when I had a slight food crisis one day and was freaking out about how to feed the kids, God provided and everything worked out fine. Along with all the love and fun of the week, some of it has been pretty difficult for me to handle. The first day, one girl wet herself, so I went into the bathroom to help her clean up. She took off her underwear, and when she handed them to me, they were old, used boy's boxers. This girl lives in a home where probably up to 16 or 17 kids come and go all the time, whether they be cousins or siblings or what, and a lot of the kids come from the same mother but different fathers. It's a rough situation, but the kids are so sweet and creative and just want to be loved. So many of the kids have asked me if they could go home with me, and another little girl said she wanted me to be her mom. It's rough, already loving these kids so much, wondering what's happening in their homes at this very moment, and knowing that I can't do much to change their situation. I just have to show as much love to them as I can while I can and hope to help them in some way.













p.s.--Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments! They make my day and give me a lot of encouragement. Be sure to leave your name with the comment so I'll know who wrote it. :)

Registration Rally

Today my team held a Registration Rally for our Kids' Day Camp that starts tomorrow! Registration was so successful. 32 kids have already signed up, and there's no telling how many more will come tomorrow. Jean, one of my bosses, arranged for two clowns to be there with us (not like, freaky clowns, but fun ones that make balloon animals and have games and bubbles and prizes and stuff like that), and that went over really well with the younger kids. We felt so accomplished when the day was over...can't wait to see how our first day with the kids will go tomorrow! I can tell that God is working in this community, because we've already doubled the amount of kids who came last summer. Two of the kids, Isaiah and Brandy, who came to the camp last summer, hung out with us during the last hour or so, and it was great to get to know some of the sweet kids that I'll be working with all summer. Here are a few pictures from today!



My team at Whistler! The four of us have sole responsibility over the kids.



Silly picture of the team with our balloon hats and swords



The team + a clown + Isaiah and Brandy :)



Face painting always goes over well.

Thoughts

Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.

--Mother Teresa

20% of children are born into poverty. The major cause of poverty is not lack of education, ignorance, or bad people--it is where you are born. Poverty is usually a cycle that is incredible difficult to escape. Of course, there are the few cases such as Michael Oher becoming an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick, but usually, children are born into poverty and live their entire lives merely making it by from day to day. People are suffering every single second of every day, and not enough people are doing anything to help. We've already spent a trillion dollars on the war in Iraq....think about how many mouths we could have fed with that money; how many children could have been more nourished, even if just for a day. They live a day at a time as it is, because they don't have the resources to plan ahead to what food or toiletries they may need a week down the road.
The crazy thing about the neighborhoods in which the other interns and I are serving is that they are sometimes so close to rich neighborhoods. We went to Taylor Park one day, which is an incredible impoverished and crime-ridden area, but once we had gotten out of the neighborhood and made it back to Government Street, mansions literally lined the street. Those people in those huge, beautiful, expensive homes may have absolutely no idea of what is occurring right behind them, and they may not care even if they do know. That is what is wrong with our world today--we ignore the things that are right under our noses. We hear reports on the news every day about people being murdered over drugs or gang problems, but we don't think about the people. Consider this: You are an impoverished male living in a tiny, run-down apartment with three children to raise, and the mother of the children is gone. You can't find work because you were caught with marijuana one time and sent to jail, so you can't find the money to feed your three young precious daughters. Then one day somebody says that you can make a lot of money selling drugs for them, and even though you've been caught for using before, you agree, because you can't stand to see your children suffer anymore. Does this make you a criminal or a bad person or a "thug"? Absolutely not. Only 10% of people in jails are actually criminals...that leaves 90% who are actually safe to still walk the streets. 90%. Try to tell me that this world doesn't have problems, and I will come up with a million reasons of how it does.
This is precisely why I am here, though. People at church freaked out when they heard that I would be living in Prichard, but guess what? I have now been door-to-door within the community to tell the people about our kids' day camp. God definitely put me at this site for a reason, and that reason is being revealed to me more and more each day. At first I was nervous about going to each door in this area, but after a while, I was more comfortable than I probably would have been in a rich neighborhood. What amazes me is how different neighborhoods are even when they are close together. RV Brown houses tons of children, while Magnolia Trace is rougher and houses mainly older people or teenagers. But let me tell you this: Anyone who has ever complained about having to swim in an above-ground pool has never witnessed 6 or 7 children having the time of their lives in a tiny kids' inflatable pool because that's all they have to beat the heat. Anyone who thinks that every black guy hanging around on a corner is trouble has never stopped to talk to that person or taken the time to understand his situation. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BAD CHILD--sure, there are bad circumstances and bad situations, but children are not bad. They are raised in environments that may not always be encouraging or loving or morally conscious, and they grow up living the best way they can for what they have.
I have already experienced a shift in my way of thinking. I've never really helped with things before because I'm always so busy with school and my determination to make all A's. Now I realize, though, that being able to attend school and receive an education at all is a true blessing. These kids that I'm meeting may never be able to attend college, but that does not make them ignorant or stupid. I know now that perfect grades aren't quite all they are cracked up to be, but helping the world and living as Christ did is the most important part of life. You cannot say that you walk in Christ's steps and express an unconditional love to all of God's children if you shy away from the poor, the meek, the hungry, the dirty, or the incarcerated. I can already tell that my life is going to be changed drastically after this summer, and I absolutely cannot wait for that change. I want God to shake me out of my comfort zone and to make me see the good in every single person, and I want to continue to help these people wherever I go.

Picture time!

Whistler UMC is where I live and will be attending church all summer. The church is a little white building on the corner of Whistler Street, and there is a small building attached to it by a walkway. The building behind it has a sort of auditorium set-up in the front, with a small kitchen, a stage, and a large ground area that's used as a fellowship hall. By going up the stage and through the door at the back of the stage, you walk down another hall that has some children's Sunday School rooms, and then another door that always stays locked (unless we're all there) leads to where we live. We have a family room with a tv that works every now and then, a little kitchen for us all to share, a changing room/shower for girls, and separate "dormitories" for girls and guys.




part of the girls' room. My bed is the one in the bottom left corner with the flowery quilt and blue blanket. There's a little table right next to it and then another bed next to that, where my close friend Sheridan sleeps, and then another bed is against the back wall. There are some cabinets on that side of the room also.



picture from the stage of the fellowship hall



part of our kitchen--a big refrigerator and a microwave are hiding in the corner



part of our family room, with Wes lying on the couch. Wes is part of my Whistler team, and I also go to school with him at Huntingdon.



I made this Rules sign for our day camp! :)



Jessica is one of the three other interns who serves at the Whistler site with me.



This is from the dinner at Pleasant Valley UMC with the Iraqi refugees. Heather is the girl in the picture, and she's one of the interns who works with the refugees.