Okay, Jessy again with a real quick update. So I just finished my first full week with kids at St. Tim's. These kids are a riot. Here's why:
Louie (age 6): He came to camp on Tuesday, and he is the real quiet type... at first. When we asked his name, he responded with Louie, or Lou was okay too. Today (3 days into him coming to camp), we were playing Bingo in math class. When I wrote down his name indicating he won, he told Cari that he didn't see his name. Louie's name was on the paper. It was then that we found out his name was in fact Tajuan.
Next example.
Layla (age 6): She came in today wearing the cutest outfit. Cari and I asked her if her daddy picked out her clothes today. She nodded "no". So we asked who did, and she replied with, "My daddy." Too cute.
And finally, Dayja (age 9): She was in the hall getting a drink of water yesterday when she saw the sign on a door that said "missions" on it. Naturally, a church will have some sort of missions going on. When she saw the door, she looked over at me and said, "Missions?!?! I didn't know you were a secret agent!"
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
First week on kids at St. Tim's
Hello again faithful blogging friends! This is Jessy, one of the interns updating you this week. Things are in full swing at the YLI house.
To explain my specific site a bit more, I am working at a program called the Outpost. Like I said before, I am teaching math to three separate groups. This week has been a little eye opening for me. I'm having a bit of a hard time especially with my 9-11 year old group because of the huge differences in what they now. A lot of my younger kids are still having a difficult time, whereas the older group is so advanced with fractions, it's almost ridiculous. So for the math teachers out there... any suggestions?
As far as playtime goes, I've learned real quick that my experience is really more one of a beauty stylist's customer. In my three days with the kids, I have had about 23 different hairstlyes a day. It's actually really cute. Today I was playing a sit down game, and I was attacked by 4 or 5 little girls. You can see the picture below!
They braid my hair so tight, and sometimes I think they forget that I'm attached to it! My roommate Cari, who also works at St. Tim's, tells me that I will probably be bald by the end of the summer. I hope she's lying.
Well, thats all I have to update for you right now. For all you tweeters, follow us @yli4detroit or by searching #yli for quotes directly from us. I promise that is updated FAR more often than this! (Sorry about no updates, by the way. I'll get on the other interns about it!)
Things to be praying for us about:
*Continued prayer for our placements
*Unity in the house: spiritual and others
*The City of Detroit, that people would see its beauty and God would make His presence known
*Family and friends back at home, that they would forgive us in times when we forget to call them back because we are exhausted or busy and just forgot. (sorry everyone, I promise I am still alive!)
To explain my specific site a bit more, I am working at a program called the Outpost. Like I said before, I am teaching math to three separate groups. This week has been a little eye opening for me. I'm having a bit of a hard time especially with my 9-11 year old group because of the huge differences in what they now. A lot of my younger kids are still having a difficult time, whereas the older group is so advanced with fractions, it's almost ridiculous. So for the math teachers out there... any suggestions?
As far as playtime goes, I've learned real quick that my experience is really more one of a beauty stylist's customer. In my three days with the kids, I have had about 23 different hairstlyes a day. It's actually really cute. Today I was playing a sit down game, and I was attacked by 4 or 5 little girls. You can see the picture below!
They braid my hair so tight, and sometimes I think they forget that I'm attached to it! My roommate Cari, who also works at St. Tim's, tells me that I will probably be bald by the end of the summer. I hope she's lying.
Well, thats all I have to update for you right now. For all you tweeters, follow us @yli4detroit or by searching #yli for quotes directly from us. I promise that is updated FAR more often than this! (Sorry about no updates, by the way. I'll get on the other interns about it!)
Things to be praying for us about:
*Continued prayer for our placements
*Unity in the house: spiritual and others
*The City of Detroit, that people would see its beauty and God would make His presence known
*Family and friends back at home, that they would forgive us in times when we forget to call them back because we are exhausted or busy and just forgot. (sorry everyone, I promise I am still alive!)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Off to a good start!
Hello bloggers and supporting friends and family! My name is Jessy Stark, and this is my first year as a Transforming Leader intern. I am originally from Brighton, MI. I just recently finished up classes at Central Michigan University this past semester, and will begin student teaching in the fall, followed by graduation in DECEMBER!!!!
We've been underway for about two weeks now, and things are going great. Last week was training at Lake Louise, and I thought it was great how we could escape to the (relatively) quiet wilderness for a couple days. I always love going up to Lake Louise. I'm able to really focus on what God is trying to speak to me at that moment in tim. One thing He was putting on my heart was the importance of community, particularly in 1 Corinthians 12... "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ" Working as a body to bring out the many talents and gifts of others is something I really want to achieve this summer. Living in a house with five others, I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities to do that.
Speaking of living with others and working as a body of Christ...
Last night we went and visited some friends over in Hamtramack in the Ailanthus House. It is an intentional living community that we can definitely learn a lot from. We went for a potluck dinner (hooray for Methodism and potlucks!), and it was great to just sit around and fellowship. Before we ate, Jeremy (one of the guys who lives at the house) showed us the community garden in their backyard. IT WAS SO COOL! Seeing his passion for bringing people together and helping the environment all at the same time has really had me thinking about making a lot of my own food. So I am going to start by making some hummus! It's so yummy, and one of the women who was at the house last night gave me a great recipe.
So this summer I will be working at St. Timothy's United Methodist Church off of 6 Mile. I will be part of running an educational enrichment program. Basically it's a day camp where kids can come and have fun, but there is also a portion of the day devoted to school subjects like reading, math and science. I will be teaching math to three groups: 6-8 years, 9-11 years, and 12-14 years. Now don't get me wrong. I am very excited to teach. In fact, I am getting my degree in education. The only thing is that it is Music Education... Needless to say, this summer will definitely have me out of my comfort zone, where God apparently likes me to be. I am okay with it, though; I know that when I am out of my comfort zone, God will stretch me to my maximum capacity, and that I am eternally thankful for! Praise God!
This weekend we are having an open house for our neighbors on our block. We invited them over for hot dogs out on the grill, and some fellowship and "get to know you" time. The neighbors that we have met so far are so wonderful to us. They are very supportive of us and welcomed us with open arms and open hearts. One lady in particular, Mrs. Martin, has been such an angel. Every time we see her, she is so full of joy! We invited her to the barbecue, but unfortunately she has to work that evening. She said that if we need ANYTHING, she'll bring it over in a heartbeat. I think the Lord is going to use her this summer to teach me about humble serving towards one another.
Things you can pray for us about:
*Unity in our house, that God would make us stronger in love, patience, and humble serving towards one another.
*Our neighbors, that we may live our lives as a light to them, and that they would continue to be open to us in their neighborhood, and that the Lord would bring many blessings upon them and their neighborhood.
*Our internships; many of us start making contact with people on Monday.
*That God would give me knowledge and wisdom when teaching my math classes, and that I wouldn't feel inadequate in a subject that I have not had training for.
*The city of Detroit, that people would not look down upon it as a horrible city, but rather an opportunity to show God's love through hospitality. Also that people can find ways to meet that need and serve God's people.
*The many sites that are struggling financially right now.
We've been underway for about two weeks now, and things are going great. Last week was training at Lake Louise, and I thought it was great how we could escape to the (relatively) quiet wilderness for a couple days. I always love going up to Lake Louise. I'm able to really focus on what God is trying to speak to me at that moment in tim. One thing He was putting on my heart was the importance of community, particularly in 1 Corinthians 12... "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ" Working as a body to bring out the many talents and gifts of others is something I really want to achieve this summer. Living in a house with five others, I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities to do that.
Speaking of living with others and working as a body of Christ...
Last night we went and visited some friends over in Hamtramack in the Ailanthus House. It is an intentional living community that we can definitely learn a lot from. We went for a potluck dinner (hooray for Methodism and potlucks!), and it was great to just sit around and fellowship. Before we ate, Jeremy (one of the guys who lives at the house) showed us the community garden in their backyard. IT WAS SO COOL! Seeing his passion for bringing people together and helping the environment all at the same time has really had me thinking about making a lot of my own food. So I am going to start by making some hummus! It's so yummy, and one of the women who was at the house last night gave me a great recipe.
So this summer I will be working at St. Timothy's United Methodist Church off of 6 Mile. I will be part of running an educational enrichment program. Basically it's a day camp where kids can come and have fun, but there is also a portion of the day devoted to school subjects like reading, math and science. I will be teaching math to three groups: 6-8 years, 9-11 years, and 12-14 years. Now don't get me wrong. I am very excited to teach. In fact, I am getting my degree in education. The only thing is that it is Music Education... Needless to say, this summer will definitely have me out of my comfort zone, where God apparently likes me to be. I am okay with it, though; I know that when I am out of my comfort zone, God will stretch me to my maximum capacity, and that I am eternally thankful for! Praise God!
This weekend we are having an open house for our neighbors on our block. We invited them over for hot dogs out on the grill, and some fellowship and "get to know you" time. The neighbors that we have met so far are so wonderful to us. They are very supportive of us and welcomed us with open arms and open hearts. One lady in particular, Mrs. Martin, has been such an angel. Every time we see her, she is so full of joy! We invited her to the barbecue, but unfortunately she has to work that evening. She said that if we need ANYTHING, she'll bring it over in a heartbeat. I think the Lord is going to use her this summer to teach me about humble serving towards one another.
Things you can pray for us about:
*Unity in our house, that God would make us stronger in love, patience, and humble serving towards one another.
*Our neighbors, that we may live our lives as a light to them, and that they would continue to be open to us in their neighborhood, and that the Lord would bring many blessings upon them and their neighborhood.
*Our internships; many of us start making contact with people on Monday.
*That God would give me knowledge and wisdom when teaching my math classes, and that I wouldn't feel inadequate in a subject that I have not had training for.
*The city of Detroit, that people would not look down upon it as a horrible city, but rather an opportunity to show God's love through hospitality. Also that people can find ways to meet that need and serve God's people.
*The many sites that are struggling financially right now.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Meat Water Basement
Hello!
My name is Josh McKamie and I am one of the 6 interns living this year on Wildemere St. in Detroit near U of D Mercy. I just finished my Junior year at Wayne State University majoring in Nutrition/Pre-Medicine. I just took the MCAT (medical college admission test) in May and am waiting for the results (hopefully soon, the suspense is killing me). I've lived on campus or near campus at Wayne State since I started there, so I'm somewhat familiar with the city already, but the area we're living in is new to me.
Most of us moved in last Monday on June 8th. The house is huge, old and has a ton of character. We'll put a picture of it up soon. We spent the first day exploring the house and finding lots of interesting things left behind by the people who were previously living here. We found boxes and boxes of shaving cream, honey marinade, magnetic poetry kits, salsa, and huge industrial sized cans of tomato sauce. The freezer in the basement was strangely padlocked shut until someone pried it open and found a solid block of ice with blocks of packaged meat scattered throughout. Later we found out opening this freezer was a mistake....
On Wednesday morning, we all headed up north to Camp Lake Lousie Louise for a teambuilding/training retreat with the other Transforming Leaders interns and 20 or so other Mission Interns not living with us. When we got back on Saturday night we had a nasty surprise waiting for us in the basement: meaty water covering half the floor. We're currently in the process of figuring out how to clean it all up, we'll keep you posted.
This summer I will be splitting my week working at the Joy-Southfield Community Development Corporation in their free health clinic and helping to organize the Motown Mission Experience. I started working on planning the Motown Mission weeks today and am starting at the Joy Southfield clinic tomorrow. I'm not sure what I'm exactly doing there, but I will find out tomorrow and let you know!
Josh McKamie
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Welcome to TL 2009!
Hey all!
Welcome to the official blog for the 2009 Transforming Leaders Interns!
We hope that this will be a place where you can stay updated and informed on the work and missions that the TLs will be doing throughout the summer in the city of Detroit.
Follow the interns on their journey as they share the ways in which their hearts and minds are opened and expanded through this humbling experience, as they spread the love of Christ throughout the city of Detroit with their missions, community, and everyday interactions.
Last but not least, thank you for your support of Transforming Leaders and Young Leaders Initiative programs. If you wish to find out more information or become more involved with the programs, please visit our website at youngleadersinitiative.org.
Peace and Love,
Kristen Kosmider
Development Intern, Young Leaders Initiative
Welcome to the official blog for the 2009 Transforming Leaders Interns!
We hope that this will be a place where you can stay updated and informed on the work and missions that the TLs will be doing throughout the summer in the city of Detroit.
Follow the interns on their journey as they share the ways in which their hearts and minds are opened and expanded through this humbling experience, as they spread the love of Christ throughout the city of Detroit with their missions, community, and everyday interactions.
Last but not least, thank you for your support of Transforming Leaders and Young Leaders Initiative programs. If you wish to find out more information or become more involved with the programs, please visit our website at youngleadersinitiative.org.
Peace and Love,
Kristen Kosmider
Development Intern, Young Leaders Initiative
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