Boss: "How are you?" Me: "I'm a little overwhelmed." Boss: *huge grin* "BUT THAT WHAT YOU WANTED!!"

I am finally sitting down to write my first a blog post. Anna and I created a joint blog so that between the both of us, we would actually keep it up, but Anna so far has 5 posts to my 0. Time to remedy that and start pulling my weight on this blog. I promised her I'd try to make it long to catch up on all that's been happening the past 10.5 days.

The first week, we eased into our work, scrambling a little to find our way and figure things out, at least for me. We toured the community we are working in the first day and started to figure out our way around town.

However, this week has more than made up for last's week's ease, as I feel like I have been working 24/7 and still feel behind. I'm not sure if behind is the right word, because I'm not sure half the time if I'm doing the right thing, but things are slowly falling into place and I'm beginning to understand my place here on this internship. However, the more I understand, the more questions I have and then my understanding changes, but the picture is slowly coming into focus.

Anna and I have been learning to delegate and work together. She and I have a hard time giving work to the other person but we are learning how to work together and balance each others work out and not overlap.

We have been going to neighborhood association meetings where we talk with residents and introduce the Western Heights Community Alliance to the community and explain what they are all about. At these meetings, we try to find people who would be good to interview (or do what the Alliance calls a "listening conversation.") A lot of the members are interested in getting interviewed because they really want to share their thoughts about their community.

At the first meeting, we participated in the group activities and we did this personality survey. Anna was a "People person" and I was the "Processor." So, now I have an excuse when I don't want to talk, I make Anna do it because that is her profile. Its great. Actually, that is not working out so well, because a lot of what I have been doing this week is talking...a lot. Its been stretching me and is really uncomfortable oftentimes, but I guess that's a good thing.

Anna and I did our first interview of a lady we met at the association meeting. Anna did the talking and I did the note taking. It went really well, but now my job is to get members of the Alliance to be interested in becoming more involved in the community. Because I am just here for the summer, my boss wants me to create momentum in the Alliance to continue after I leave. So, I've been making more phone calling, emailing, and spontaneous visits with people than I have ever imagined I could, but its been fruitful. Frustrating too as I have hit a lot of walls. But today I had a break through of sorts and made some progress in getting through to people. I would like to say the more I talk and put myself out there to try and get people on board, the easier it gets, but, so far its still a struggle, but a good struggle.

I have been relying on the power of prayer. Even for the "little" things, I have to remind myself to bring them to God because only he can take what I do and create something out of it. I need to constantly be reminded of this because all too often I catch myself working hard and forgetting where my strength comes from.

The response to Anna's and my presence in the community has been mixed, as to be expected, and I am learning to put on my "tough skin" as Dr. Mask talked about last semester. These are the times when I have to trust that God indeed knows what he is doing and that even through my fumblings, he is still working. Because the Alliance is already established at many places in the community, we have been able to come in on their coat tails and be accepted because of the people before us. However, a lot of this week has been forging new trails and Anna, bless her heart, is blazing a trail like you wouldn't believe and is stepping right into the community full steam ahead and is making connections all over the place. I just like to stand back in awe and watch her sometimes.

While she has been talking to open businesses and introducing them to the Alliance and hearing their opinion on the community, I have been going around to closed businesses. Today I drove for 3.5 hours making a list of all the closed buildings I saw. I am going to research what they were so we can find out what sort of asset they were and can be to the community. People person and processor at our finest. In the next two days, I have 4 interviews though, but I think I'm just the note taker and Anna has one next week. Our boss has crazy goals for us, but he is pushing us. I'm glad they are high. I'll never reach them, but I'm already pushed further than I first imagined possible.

Another thing we have been doing besides getting to know residents and businesses, is getting to know the churches in the area. We have attended Sunday School, Sunday worship, Wednesday night service, and a Thursday night street evangelism outreach at different churches. After each one, we each write up a reflection paper of our thoughts, feelings, and experience at/with the church. Its been great doing these papers because they cause me to reflect and think about what I hear and see and not only do I learn a lot, but my boss says that he is learning a lot from them too, so hopefully they can be/are of some use.

Yesterday, at the last neighborhood association meeting, some ladies shared their testimonies about what the association meetings have meant to them this past semester and I was so blessed to hear the testimonies and see how, just like we always talk about in our community development classes, my story is joining in with the community's story. I'm already weary and frustration and fear are continual struggles, but I'm excited to see where this summer takes me. Its already been a crazy ride, but I know its only going to get crazier. Hallelujah that God is the leader and will be until the end.

We covet your prayers.


Emily