A Summer In Indy

I've started a new internship this summer with a Christian-based non-profit organization called, Mission Indy. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The internship consists of a weekend retreat at a camp getting to know the other 11 interns, 2 weeks of training, 4 weeks of Mission Indy and 4 weeks of partnering and working with another organization that Mission Indy pairs you with based on your major/interests. Mission Indy weeks are when youth groups come in to serve in the community. This consists of hard labor at work cites (working outside on houses and organizations doing demolition, building, painting, etc.) and doing VBS at different churches in the community. My 4 ministry weeks will be at Wheeler Higher Ground where I will be working with homeless women dealing with addictions. I will get to know the women and their stories in order to counsel them and help them get out of their addiction and into the life they want. So far, we have completed the weekend retreat and the 1st week of training. I have already learned so much in the little time I have been here in the urban city. Here are some things I have learned so far:

• My behavior reveals my convictions and sometimes these 2 things do not match up. Things to work on for the summer: humility, being in the Word daily, learning to work hard and serve continually, being more generous and to see the positive things in people (instead of judging them and thinking they are weird or different, seeing what God has gifted them with).
• Enabling others to enable themselves and others. The goal is to not just give to people and keep them a needy individual.
• Community: what being the church actually means. Coming together as individuals with 1 focus and 1 goal and seeing past someone's needs in order to see what they have to offer in return. We feel like we are contributing and have purpose when we serve; we need to enable others to work and serve so that they can think and feel this way as well.
• ABCD (Asset Based Community Developtment) - Figuring out other's gifts and how they can serve. They will find life by losing it (Matthew 16:24-28), just like we did when we found Christ. If we do not give them a chance to lose it, then we are cutting off the very key that will unlock the door to them finding life, hope and Jesus.
• Pawn shops (need ID, sign 3 papers, thumbprint to sell anything - really long bargaining process), Rent-To-Own (end up paying more because we have a mentality that we need this right now - tv, couch, etc.), Grocery Stores (people pay double the price when shopping at convinient stores which keeps them in poverty because they cannot get to Kroger/Walmart) and Check Cashing (living day by day - poverty menality, end up losing money)
• About the city - 800,000 people in Indianapolis, trying to renovate city because everyone is leaving, 30% of population is under poverty level and 18% of those are teenageres, etc.)
• We should not just look at the physically poor and their needs, but the spiritually poor and their needs. Often we look at others and see physical poverty, but when truly evaluate ourselves, we will see spiritual poverty.
• Incarnational - we need to live in the community with the people we are serving!
• DONT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT PEOPLE!
• Everyone is responsible for poverty - family, state (government) and the church.
• Ask the poor what they need! Empower the leaders in the community and empower the people so they can lead others out of poverty and we are not just "heroes" coming in and working.
• It takes years to see the poor change and get out of poverty. It takes so much time and I am just a part of the plan, not the whole because I am only here for 1 summer. It takes time to learn the culture and know where people are coming from.
• Scaffolding (working on houses - demolition, scraping, painting, etc.)
• Racing (went to the Indy 500 and learned all about racing - 33 racers, 500 miles, 200 laps, caution flags, pit stops, the stories behing the racers, etc.). What an amazing experience this was to attend the largest sporting event of the year with500,000 other people!!
• How to teach VBS lessons and lead the youth groups that come in for the Mission Indy weeks.

I've only been here 1 week and learned a ton. I am excited to continue growing in my relationship with God, the other interns, the staff and the people in the community. I will continue to learn more and more throughout the summer about multiple things in a variety of areas. I cannot wait to see what else God has in store for this internship at Mission Indy :)