After many deliberations and working through different obstacles, I decided to study abroad in Uganda and Rwanda in the Fall with a program called Go ED. Making this decision has added a whole new load of work for me this summer on top of my internship work, as I have books to read, homework to complete, and lots of paper work to fill out. I am excited as can be, but at the same time, it’s a bit overwhelming and scary.
I read a book "And you call yourself a Christian" by Robert Lupton which was a great book. I also read through a devotional book by Amy Sherman called "Sharing God's heart for the Poor" which was great too. I recommend both.
Embarrassing story: I was going to do an interview with the Boys and Girls Club. Unbeknownst to me, the club is in the same building as the police academy. I walked right through a door into the training room of a bunch of police cadets. I just stood there awkwardly with them staring at me in their short shorts. After freezing and blushing, one guy asked what I needed and as I stood there stuttering for a few seconds not saying anything coherent, I saw the lady I was meeting at the other end of the hall and just kind of pointed at her and mumbled something to the guy as I rushed past him and then I had to walk the whole hallway through the guys to get to her.
As far as internship work goes, one of Anna's and my jobs has been to set up interviews (listening conversations) for the Alliance we are working for and notetake for (and sometimes conduct) them. So far, 63 have been done with about 10 more to add to that list by the end of the week. We came into this summer with only about 5 being done and my boss wants hundreds to be done. So, I am excited about 63 (soon to be 70) being done, even though this isn’t near the hundreds yet. But, it’s a start and I celebrate the little successes.
One interview I was a notetaker for was a spontaneous stop-by at a resident's place. I know it was the Holy Spirit's prompting the person I was with to go to this resident's house because part-way through doing this on-the-spot interview, this person prayed with us and made a profession of faith right then and there. It was the neatest thing I have been a part of on my internship. This is the heart of community development: having people come to Christ.
On top of setting up interviews, Anna and I are trying to find more interviewers who will carry on our work when we leave so that this momentum that we have created will not stop cold in August. I was at a dead end on this front, until a breakthough was made and we got 3 more people on board. This is a big deal, even though it is only 3--3 is better than 0.
Another job has been for us to do asset mapping/data entry/research about the assets. This work has been slower going, but I’m slowly finding my way to figuring out the best way to research assets and then “map” them in a way that is helpful for the Alliance.
Last Friday marked the halfway point for our internship: 6 weeks we've been here, 6 weeks to go. I continue to learn everyday. I am growing a lot and being challenged in my assignments and the work I do in the community, but I am seeing growth and I'm thankful for all that I am learning on this internship.
Emily
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