Okay, sorry for not blogging since my last one. I keep forgetting. I also am not much for blogging.
Wow... I can't believe it's been a week since I last blogged! Oh well, this one will just be longer.
Okay, so I left of on Tuesday, therefore I will start with Wednesday (the day Brennan was born!!) Anyway, Wednesday was our outreach in the Hill, an area of town that is dominantly Mexican. The weather was great, sunny with a few clouds, but really hot and humid. They were expecting only a few people to come, since it was still our first outreach there, but there were about 20 who showed up! Since it was a mainly Hispanic population, we did some things in Spanish (the chorus of "Trading My Sorrows" is really easy in Spanish. "Si, senor, si si, senor") But thankfully, the kids all spoke English. I was suddenly grateful for my Spanish courses that I took last year. But anyway, they seemed very responsive to everything, which was amazing! I am still amazed by how much these kids just want to help out.
Thursday was our first outreach in the Wentworth area in Chicago Heights. One of the other interns and I switched roles, and she did the puppet and I was the person who interacted with the puppet in our skit. The kids there were so open and welcoming! They are so free! They would get up and dance and do all the motions during all the songs, and were involved and interested in everything we did. I met a lot of new kids, and I think I have most of the names down. Right when we ended everything and were mostly packed up it started to rain, so we were so thankful for that! These kids are just so open to everyone, and will randomly give me hugs, play with my hair, and toss a ball around. It's nice to know that you're getting them out of their ordinary schedules or routines and giving them something that will last eternally with them and give them some hope.
Friday was kind of a chill day, so we hung out and watched movies (mostly chick flicks, since one of the other girls wanted to get her "heart captured." So that was fun. We also got stuff ready for this coming weeks' outreaches. We're talking about citizenship and fitting in and being yourself (feel free to write any suggestions you have on my Facebook page, or comment on this blog).
Saturday two of the other interns and I babysat the New Hope kids during the Father's Day breakfast. We ate and played some games, and I met a few new kids. Then we got back to the church and again watched some chick flicks and ate ice cream.
Today we did Kid's Church because the children's pastor had some things that came up unexpectedly. So we had a skit with some puppets, had a story about tithing, and worked on books of the Bible. They are really good! I was impressed. We talked about how not tithing was robbing from God, and one of the girls brought up a really great point about how giving all to God didn't just include income. It's everything about us. Our happy times, our burdens, our praise, everything. We didn't get to do Sunday school because there weren't any kids there at that time, so we got to stay and listen to the adult class. They talked on Joshua 9:1-18, and Judges 2: 6-8 and it was really good. We need more black people in our church. I'm learning so much about so many different things, and I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Second String of Updates
I'll start off with talking about Sunday. We are helping out at New Hope International Church in downtown Chicago. The children's pastor there has been doing children's church all by himself for a while, so we're helping him out by doing activities, helping with the lessons, puppets, etc. It's a black church, so I'm excited! I love how free they are! There was only one kid there during Sunday school time, so we sat in the adult class, and it was really good! Then after praise and worship, we (the other interns who came and I) took the kids down to kid's church. They have some really cool names in the black community. I learned Jameisha, Daneiva, Ethanya, and Jarmel. There were only about 5 white people (including us), but not in kid's church. In kid's church, we talked about Daniel and the lion's den, and I did a puppet with another intern who did a lion puppet. Then Pastor Ross (the children's pastor) did some Bible drills (these kids are smart! They're working on memorizing all the books of the Bible in order, and they got about 64 of them!), and then let them have a few minutes of free time. Church wasn't over until around 1, which was different. Pastor Tim took the other interns and I to a little corner restaurant to "give us a taste of the real Chicago", as he put it. It was pretty good. We met some interesting people there. One man came in and asked Pastor Tim to buy him something to eat. He was a homeless man, so we took him to a Chinese restaurant and got him some. New Hope usually doesn't have an evening service, but on Sunday night Pastor Tim's son Nathan came and we had a praise and worship night at the church, which was phenomenal. You could really feel God's presence there right from the beginning. After that, they had a potluck type of a thing and we all ate some amazing food and just talked for about an hour. I loved it. They were so free and comfortable and weren't hesitant to let us white people hang out with them. The kids will just come up to me and give me a hug, and play with my hair.
Yesterday was pretty much a "get ready for Tuesday's outreach" day, so we went shopping for prizes, groceries, and anything else we needed. The things that we were asked to talk about were things like "championship", "citizenship", "relationships", and so on. We noticed that they all ended in "ship", so we made a huge ship out of shower curtains to use as the curtains for the puppet stage. It turned out looking really cool! We also did some team building activities in the morning, and that was fun. We did the Gary Smalley personality assessments, and I came out as the Navigator. "I am practical, factual, a perfectionist, detailed, inquisistive, orderly, analytical, and deliberate", among others. When I'm unbalanced, I can be "critical, too pushy, or too focused." I thought it was pretty accurate.
This morning we had our daily devotions with Pastor Travis (pastor at Restoration Church, where we're staying). We read 1 Thessalonians 1, because it was on his heart that that was what he wanted to see in us throughout the summer. Then we finished the touch-ups on our ship made of shower curtains, and made a little sun out of construction paper, got everything in the truck and made sure we had everything we needed. We ate lunch at around 11:30 since we were going to have to leave at 12:15 to start setting up since it was supposed to start at 1, but then Andrea (Pastor Tim's daughter, who is his assisstant) got a text at 11:45 from Nathan saying that he and Pastor were going out to lunch to disscuss funeral plans. So we ended up leaving at 12:55. We got to the site, and it was sprinkling lightly on and off, and then the kids started coming, so we got everything set up and got the outreach going. They came up and gave me hugs. They were so cute! We played the Cheeto game, in which we had people put shower caps on, and then we put shaving cream on the caps and had a contest to see which team could get the most Cheetos on the hat in 30 seconds. Then we sang "Who Is the King (of the Jungle)", "Leaning on the Lord's Side", and "Trading My Sorrows." Then we had a message about championship and why David was called a man after God's own heart, and Samson wasn't. We had just finished the lesson when the rain started pouring. So we packed up and had to go, but not before throwing out candy. So we got back to the church, unpacked the sound system, dried it all off, and put our clothes in the washer and dryer. And now we're just chilling (literally) and hanging out. But we were happy that we at least got to give a message. I think this summer is going to be a good one.
Yesterday was pretty much a "get ready for Tuesday's outreach" day, so we went shopping for prizes, groceries, and anything else we needed. The things that we were asked to talk about were things like "championship", "citizenship", "relationships", and so on. We noticed that they all ended in "ship", so we made a huge ship out of shower curtains to use as the curtains for the puppet stage. It turned out looking really cool! We also did some team building activities in the morning, and that was fun. We did the Gary Smalley personality assessments, and I came out as the Navigator. "I am practical, factual, a perfectionist, detailed, inquisistive, orderly, analytical, and deliberate", among others. When I'm unbalanced, I can be "critical, too pushy, or too focused." I thought it was pretty accurate.
This morning we had our daily devotions with Pastor Travis (pastor at Restoration Church, where we're staying). We read 1 Thessalonians 1, because it was on his heart that that was what he wanted to see in us throughout the summer. Then we finished the touch-ups on our ship made of shower curtains, and made a little sun out of construction paper, got everything in the truck and made sure we had everything we needed. We ate lunch at around 11:30 since we were going to have to leave at 12:15 to start setting up since it was supposed to start at 1, but then Andrea (Pastor Tim's daughter, who is his assisstant) got a text at 11:45 from Nathan saying that he and Pastor were going out to lunch to disscuss funeral plans. So we ended up leaving at 12:55. We got to the site, and it was sprinkling lightly on and off, and then the kids started coming, so we got everything set up and got the outreach going. They came up and gave me hugs. They were so cute! We played the Cheeto game, in which we had people put shower caps on, and then we put shaving cream on the caps and had a contest to see which team could get the most Cheetos on the hat in 30 seconds. Then we sang "Who Is the King (of the Jungle)", "Leaning on the Lord's Side", and "Trading My Sorrows." Then we had a message about championship and why David was called a man after God's own heart, and Samson wasn't. We had just finished the lesson when the rain started pouring. So we packed up and had to go, but not before throwing out candy. So we got back to the church, unpacked the sound system, dried it all off, and put our clothes in the washer and dryer. And now we're just chilling (literally) and hanging out. But we were happy that we at least got to give a message. I think this summer is going to be a good one.
Friday, June 12, 2009
First Updates from Chicago!
Well, I promised to blog about my experiences here in Chicago. I've been here for two full days, and haven't really done a whole lot, but mom made me promise to blog at least every day or so, even if it's just to say I cleaned a toilet. So, here it is.
Yesterday was mostly a chill day to just settle in, get to know the other interns, and prepare for the next two months. Mom and I went to go find something to load pictures from my camera to the computer (so generously loaned out to me by Pastor Bob, thank you again, by the way). That was an interesting experience. We had looked for a Best Buy and found a location on the internet, got directions, lost the directions, got lost, drove on an island, and finally found an Office Max. Then when we finally found the USB thingies, they only had two and neither of them worked for my camera, and when we were about to leave, the sales associate found a thing for my memory card that would take the pictures straight from my memory card, which was pretty cool. Then mom decided that I needed a lap desk, a mouse pad, stationery, pens, and a sweatshirt. I'm thinking I should do this kind of thing more often, if mom is so willing to buy me stuff! We were going to get me a sweatshirt, but the only one they had at the thrift store was a 3X Chicago Bears swearshirt that mom wouldn't let me get. I would have worn it, too. So we left, and went to lunch at Red Lobster. Then Pastor Tim called, and said that he was there (which was what we were waiting for), so we went back to the church and got the rest of my stuff settled, and after what seemed like an eternity of hugs and kisses mom left. Then me and the other interns all went to Pastor Tim's house and hung out until we were given instructions for the supplies we're supposed to use. So we got back to the church where we're staying and started to make dinner, and everyone else decided on spaghetti. Joy. After that we all just kind of chilled in the lounge and watched "A Walk to Remember" and "One Night with the King."
Today we had our orientation and learned what we were going to be doing today and the next few months in regards to the outreaches. Then we went through all the candy and prizes, and ate lunch, and here I am now, writing this.
Care packages can be sent and will be gladly welcomed, especially ones bearing food, such as cookies. I'll have to send the address to my dad, unless my mom has the address, in which case, you can ask her, because I have no idea what the address is.
I am missing you all so much! Love you all!
Yesterday was mostly a chill day to just settle in, get to know the other interns, and prepare for the next two months. Mom and I went to go find something to load pictures from my camera to the computer (so generously loaned out to me by Pastor Bob, thank you again, by the way). That was an interesting experience. We had looked for a Best Buy and found a location on the internet, got directions, lost the directions, got lost, drove on an island, and finally found an Office Max. Then when we finally found the USB thingies, they only had two and neither of them worked for my camera, and when we were about to leave, the sales associate found a thing for my memory card that would take the pictures straight from my memory card, which was pretty cool. Then mom decided that I needed a lap desk, a mouse pad, stationery, pens, and a sweatshirt. I'm thinking I should do this kind of thing more often, if mom is so willing to buy me stuff! We were going to get me a sweatshirt, but the only one they had at the thrift store was a 3X Chicago Bears swearshirt that mom wouldn't let me get. I would have worn it, too. So we left, and went to lunch at Red Lobster. Then Pastor Tim called, and said that he was there (which was what we were waiting for), so we went back to the church and got the rest of my stuff settled, and after what seemed like an eternity of hugs and kisses mom left. Then me and the other interns all went to Pastor Tim's house and hung out until we were given instructions for the supplies we're supposed to use. So we got back to the church where we're staying and started to make dinner, and everyone else decided on spaghetti. Joy. After that we all just kind of chilled in the lounge and watched "A Walk to Remember" and "One Night with the King."
Today we had our orientation and learned what we were going to be doing today and the next few months in regards to the outreaches. Then we went through all the candy and prizes, and ate lunch, and here I am now, writing this.
Care packages can be sent and will be gladly welcomed, especially ones bearing food, such as cookies. I'll have to send the address to my dad, unless my mom has the address, in which case, you can ask her, because I have no idea what the address is.
I am missing you all so much! Love you all!
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