“I don’t have any bread – only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug”

For those of you who may or may not know, I am spending my next year working in inner city Indianapolis with an organization called Shepherd Community Center.  Shepherd has been working in Indianapolis, on East Washington for many MANY years now, and this is my first time ever being here.  Shepherd is committed to working with and equipping families in second and third generation poverty, for the better.  They offer programs for every kind of situation: day camps during the summer, health clinics, paralegal advice, mothering classes, sports, food pantry, and many other services.  The hearts of the people at Shepherd Community Center are so open and compassionate.

My year will work in 2 parts.  For the summer, I am working as an Intern teaching grades 2^nd and 3^rd at a Day Camp that runs for 8 weeks.  After that has completed, I will work at Shepherd for the day and in the afternoons I will help run an after school program with the same kids I am working with this summer.   As part of our Day Camp and the many grants we have for this Shepherd Summer Project, each week we work on Reading, Writing, Math, and Science, as well as teaching the kids Bible, doing crafts, playing games, and taking trips, such as to the pool, the zoo, the park, or the Children’s Museum throughout the summer.  We also feed them 2 meals and a snack every day, since 80% of the kids in Indianapolis only get 2 meals a day if they are in school. 

My first week here was spent in training, preparing for, and understanding our kids better.  My devotionals for the first week were all about “We live by Faith & not be sight” from 2 Corinthians 5:7.  I know this will be the theme of my summer and also my calling to be here at Shepherd.  I got certified for CPR, First Aid, and driving a mini bus!   It was interesting and eye opening to learn how to manage our classrooms.  I did not anticipate the challenge of disciplining in love.  I mean, I suppose I did know that it is a challenge to do it, I guess I did not have a full awareness of what that would look like! Hah ( I am sure that all of you who are currently parents are laughing at this statement of mine…) The community of other interns that are here this summer has been a HUGE blessing to me.  Although we have only known each other a few days, I have gotten to know and joke around with a great group of people!  There are 32 of us Interns this summer, from colleges all across the United States, although, it is ironic that 10 of us Interns are from Olivet.  All the interns have so much fun together, including nightly games of SIGNS, small group Bible Studies, an Indians baseball game, and Duckpin Bowling. 

In other areas, my first week was spent in an apartment where the Air Conditioning went out, with back-to-back 90-degree days.  Although it was very ROUGH and hot, we all learned how to be very thankful for air conditioning, and it humbled us to those who have no air conditioning at all.  Thankfully, a week later we had a brand new air conditioning unit put in our apartment. 

For my second week here and my first week working with the kids at Day Camp. I was placed at a location called The BEACH, which stands for Brookeside East Alliance Community Hub, which is a church functioning as a school for the summer.  Although it is small and the sanctuary is our gymnasium, it is our home!    We will have a total of 34 kids at our site, making it the smallest of the other 3 elementary sites that Shepherd runs, but what we lack in number we make up for in “Character”. Haha We have great kids, and I love them all to death.  I just want to take some of these kids home with me & love on them!  Our kids come from some really rough backgrounds and some heart-wrenching homes – with drug dealers, different men leaving their homes every night, and only a few of our students actually have a father present.  It rips out my heart to see them so broken, so guarded, and craving attention in any way they can get it.  I would be lying to you to say that all of our kids are perfect angels all the time – let’s face it, they’re kids.  We have a handful of kids that keep us busy and on our toes all the time.  Every time I have to discipline a child one on one the first thing I say is, “What is at the bottom of our class rules sign, read it to me – “WE LOVE YOU”.  And then I affirm to them again, that I love them, they are a good kid they have just made a bad choice (or choices).  This first week was a challenge of culture shock, discipline, and flexibility.  Although, it wasn’t all just challenges, there were many more rewards and touching moments. 

My favorite parts of the week and each day would be when a child would walk up beside me, and simply hold my hand.  This happened at least 5 times this past week, and every time it touched my heart.  I also loved that any time we took the bus or van somewhere with the kids, I would have kids begging me to sit by them.  It amazed me that all each of the kids wanted was for us to spend time with them.  What I was accustomed to growing up was sitting by the teacher or grown up was NOT cool and what I see in each of these kids is the complete opposite.  I love getting to sit with the kids and just ask them about life and get to know them deeper.  Another thing this week that touched my heart came in the form of Bike Safety.  We did this the first day, where the kids not only learned about safety rules, but also were fitted and given a brand new helmet with pads and a reflector.  What a blessing to these kids!    On Wednesday, we took our kids to a place called Jireh Sports that focuses on individualized sports such as gymnastics, rock climbing, wrestling, and others to encourage self-esteem and personal achievement with inner-city kids.  Our BEACH kids loved it and I saw how important it was for them to have individualized attention.  Later that day we took the kids to the pool and it was wonderful to get to have fun being a kid with them.  I was also told by one of my girls that I had “Nappy Hair” and it made me laugh! 

Every day offers a combination of challenges and rewards, and you are completely drained: emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  At the end of a rough day, there are many things that happen. First, we crank up the song “Cotton Eyed Joe” and it puts us all back in a good mood with a smile on our faces!  Secondly, after processing all the things of the day, I realize more than the day before I want and need to go back to those kids the next day.  I understand God’s love for these children at The BEACH and how much I love them.  How much I need them as much as they need me. No matter what they say or do, I am never going to leave them, and I will never walk away.  I will not give up on these kids, even if the world they live in is stacked against them, trying to take away what little they have.  I want to offer them hope. 

Although there are times when I just want to break down and cry, I know that God is moving and working.  I am living by faith every day, even if I do not see results immediately, I know the promises I have been given that none of this is for my glory or benefit, but all for the Glory of God!  In writing these blogs, I desire to always be transparent and real with you and myself.  I never want you to see these kids as a cause or anything less than what they are: beautiful children!  We are not trying to fix them, because they are not causes or projects.  They have value and worth because they are His creation, not based on their circumstances.   I want to help give them a safe place of refuge in the presence of a loving God and I want my actions, words, and thoughts to be continually pointing them to the Lord. 

At the end of a rough and eye opening week, the Lord gave me these words in a devotional, taken from the Story of Elijah (I encourage you to read this entire passage). 

1 Kings 17:12 “I don’t have any bread – only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug”

vs. 14 “For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel Says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day of the Lord gives rain on the land’”  This passage spoke to my heart that it is in our times of greatest need that God provides the greatest supply.  I realize that it is in my weakness, that He is strength.

Thanks for reading, I know this is a long posting, but I am happy to share my life with you!

Please be praying for…

-       Discernment, tenderness, and wisdom in our words, actions, and thoughts

-       Our BEACH team:  Becca, Tanner, Jiin (my 2nd-3rd grade teaching partner), Nichole, Sarah, Jessica, and myself

-       Energy, as we have many field trips this week, including a trip to the zoo with 60-80 kids :)

-       Our BEACH kids – safety, love, stability, nutrition and health from us, their home, and most importantly Christ