Welcome to the real world

Before this internship, I pictured working with non-profits as a time of helping people out through fun activities. In fact, one of the main reasons I started getting interested in working with non-profits was because I had so much fun serving food to the children and their families at Give Kids the World in Orlando, FL. Today I realized that there is always a behind-the-scenes picture to everything "eventful" that happens. Throughout my classes at Covenant, I have learned that community development is a very slow process and is always complicated, which echoed the workings of tonight.
Tonight the leaders of the Western Heights Community Alliance had a 3 hour long meeting. Of course, it didn't just "happen". It took the leader of the leaders a couple of times just to find a date that the other leaders could come and even then one three people couldn't join. Emily worked alongside another key Alliance worker all day preparing documents that needed to be given out during the meeting. Someone had to make sure the catered food got ordered. Documents had to be printed out. A power point had to be prepared and approved. All of this to say: non-profits don't just involve working with the community, they also involve inside the non-profit agency. There has to be a business-like voting consensus, a meeting facilitator, a note-taker, people willing to take time out of their life to come, etc...
Before this internship I never imagined this summer to be filled with such normal day business activities. I guess I was expecting some sort of surreal experience of working hands-on with the community, but I have now been introduced to the regular world. Even non-profits have to go through the technicalities of meeting together and discussing the next move, it doesn't happen on its own.
I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or not about this wake up call. I'm kind of bummed out to find that there will be business meetings no matter what field of work I enter into after college. To be honest, I don't really like meetings. But, I am grateful that I now realize that community development is not surreal.
Before I stop writing, you must know that there were positives to tonight's gathering. 1. it gave the leaders opportunity to get to know each other a bit more and to hear each others' opinions 2. People started to volunteer. We got people to give us their schedules so that they can start getting more involved in the Western Heights Community. This was VERY exciting to both Emily and I.
Tonight was a great success I thought. It took many people to bring it together, but that's a good thing (people working together).
I hope that the business-like formalities won't discourage me about continuing in this line of work, or any line of work for that matter! I hope that God will give me a love for His people, even though working with people is long, complicated, and can be stressful. People are God's creation and therefore I need to care and love for my brothers and sisters because God loves both them and me!

-Anna-