Selfie Sunday

This upcoming week is my last week serving in Homestead, FL with Student Dot Go, and it will not be easy. I have two performances to help prepare for the annual family night on Thursday. Both the youth and the elementary program are presenting. Another member of the youth and I are making a short film as well. I have laundry and packing to do, and I have a lot of goodbyes. This week will be busy and probably emotional.

So as I approach my final week at Open House Ministries, I find myself needing some self-reflection. What have I done this summer? What have I accomplished or not accomplished? How was my experience different than I expected? How have I grown this summer? There are many questions that I need to answer for myself, and I find the easiest way to do this is to look at pictures and think about all of the fun memories I get to pack up with me too. So here, in the social media tradition of “Selfie Sunday” I share some selfies that I have taken with the kids.  

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Church Clap

These kids love to dance. I think I've heard DJ Silento's "Watch Me" at least twice a day, five days a week, for five weeks. You would think that our students would get tired of hearing the same ten worship songs week after week, but instead they always have the same level of enthusiasm whether they have heard the song twice or two hundred times.

This summer I have learned so much. I've learned how to whip, how to nae nae, how to bop, and how to worship. Now maybe doing the whip isn't exactly worship, but "Church Clap" by KB, and "Fix My Eyes" by for King & Country are just as popular with the little ones. It doesn't matter if you know all of the words, or if you are good at the dance moves (these kids will tell you I am certainly not.) It only matters that you are worshiping with the enthusiasm that God deserves. We should rejoice and celebrate God with the same amount of heart as these kids. 

So let me hear that Church Clap! 

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Learning to Swim

Even though I am in South Florida, just miles from some of the most beautiful beaches on the country, most of our campers don't know how to swim. Naturally pool day is a challenge. We do our best to teach them to swim. Sometimes just getting them to put their face in the water is a struggle. After just two hours in the pool, I have a sunburn, and can feel tiny bruises forming from kids gripping on to my shoulders. Most of our kids have never been to the beach, and have only been swimming at the public pool with our camp. So we all crowd in to the shallow end of the pool with those who can't pass the swimming test and do our best to teach them how to swim.

As our campers bravely faced the water I pulled out a water proof camera that my mom had sent with me. After downloading the pictures, I don't see any fear or hesitation. Instead, I see courageous, trusting, smiling faces. 

This week, a kid who wouldn't even let us take him off of the steps the first day could swim almost ten feet to someone's arms. Another kid, who just learned to put his face in the water can now swim, and isn't afraid to just start out on his own. 

Here are some of the moments I captured from our first week at the pool. 

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Blessed

Happy Independence Day everyone! I decided to delay my post this week, so that I could enjoy the holiday weekend. I’m pretty sure everyone reading was busy watching fireworks on Saturday night, and then watching our USA team dominate the World Cup last night. We are so blessed to call this country home!

As I sat in the Homestead Miami Speedway and watched fireworks burst in celebration above me, I had time to think about how truly blessed I am. I get to spend two months of my summer working with some of the most amazing kids I have ever met. To make this happen: Student Dot Go gave me an internship and a small stipend for costs, a family I had never met opened their home to me, my congregation at home has supported me financially and spiritually, and the Open House Staff has lovingly welcomed me on to their team.

Last week I was incredibly blessed to have extra help in my elective time. Without mission teams, I have been in charge of elective time for this kids as well as enrichment for the youth. Six lessons a week can be exhausting. Charity, a staff member at TML in Overtown, drove down each morning and taught mime to our kids. Not only was I able to take a break, but I was also able to witness how theatre is working in these kids. They all mimed their original stories, and were able to wear real mime makeup. It was awesome to witness them create something, and then be able to share through performance.

I am blessed to be here in Homestead, and I am blessed to work with such wonderful kids.   

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Letting Go

We've all heard that cheesy saying "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans," and maybe it's just me but I never thought it was as cute as everyone else seemed to. I love plans. It is probably because I was raised by project managers, but I rely heavily on making my weekly to do list and consider the monthly calendar one of my best friends.
Unfortunately for my anal retentive tendencies, I have found that working in ministry, and working specifically with kids does not allow for this heavy reliance on plans. Planning is essential, but in the execution of those plans fluidity is key.
Each morning I am tasked with teaching drama to  four thirty-five minute sessions of campers. I come in every day with a thought out lesson plan. Warm up- 5 minutes, introduction- 5 minutes, activity one- 10 minutes, activity two- 10 minutes, wrap up- 5 minutes. And each day, it changes drastically. Sometimes campers don't like an activity or game that I planned for them, sometimes they are tired from playing outside, sometimes they don't want to listen to the instructions, and most of the time they just want to play freeze dance.
I have one group of third graders who never wants to play the games I plan. I can implement a lesson perfectly in each of the other groups and get to this one and have to give up half way through.
So what do I do? I have the choice to try and force my plans, or I can turn to God for the strength to let go. I have to trust that he has a plan that is bigger than anything I could foresee. So I turn to a proverb I have heard many times in my life.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3: 5-6 (NIV)

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A Bigger Question

Just yesterday I was sitting by the swings with a little girl, when she told me that Mrs. Wanda had said I was going to be here all summer, and that I was doing it for free. I told her yes, that my expenses were all covered, but I didn't really get paid to work there. She was shocked, but quickly replied with a question more difficult to answer.

"Why?" 

Campers, staff, family members, and friends back home have all asked me why I would want to spend my summer in Homestead. I have thought a lot about this question. Why do I want to spend my summer in the heat?  Why would I want to work for free for two months? Why not get a real job? Why not take summer classes instead? When I applied for this internship I faced a lot of whys and why-nots, but I think I have been ignoring an even bigger question.

Why has God called me here? In 1^st Peter 4:10, God calls us to use our gifts to serve others. I believe that God has called me to use my theatre education to teach these children and youth about the performing arts, something they have had little exposure to. I can only hope that in the process I help some of these students find their own gifts and talents to share with their community.

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a few old pictures

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Student Dot Going to Homestead

More than six years ago I got in a van to Homestead, FL excited to have an entire week without my parents. I went in to the trip thinking it would be a fun way to spend a week of my summer and to have a little bit of freedom, instead it was a hard week, where I really began my journey with Christ. I have spent the last six summers being challenged, loved, needed and changed. Open House has been a part of my life, and a part of growing up.

This summer I will be interning as the Arts Instructor at Open House Ministries. I will be working with both the children and youth integrating the arts in to their camps. I hope to be able to teach them performance skills and to give them the opportunity to create their own theatre.

I believe that the performing arts are can be used in a number of ways. It helps build confidence and allows for creative expression. Theatre, music, and dance can all be used as vehicles to teach, whether it be social skills, teamwork or your basic school subjects. In high school, I was a part of a class that taught second graders math, science and English through art lessons. Last summer I went with Theatre on a Mission and did a ten day theatre camp at an orphanage in Kenya. I have seen firsthand how the arts can enrich lives and build relationships while crossing cultural barriers. I hope to share this passion of mine with the children and youth at Open House Ministries.

The Student Dot Go internship program through CBF has been home to many HAB students over the years, and I am proud to be a part of that relationship. This program gives me the privilege to share my love of God and my love of the arts in a ministry that I have long been a part of. Thank you to my congregation for teaching me to be a faithful steward, and for supporting me in my endeavors. 

I hope that this blog will allow me to share with you many wonderful experiences this summer. 

Camp starts next Monday, and I am driving down on Thursday. 

Wish me luck!

Meredith

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