Neighborhood Ministries Summer Interns Report

Dear Intercessors,

August is counting its last days and N.M. is gearing up for the Fall.  So before the heat and summer are completely behind us, I wanted you to hear from our seven summer interns. They are now a few weeks away from their experience of serving in the trenches of urban Phoenix. So many of you were praying for them by name and supported them financially. Thank you for your faithfulness to this work and to them.

This is their collective report:

THANKS

THANK YOU for all the support, prayer, and donations. You have no idea how much you've helped me. (Melissa Rivera)

Thank you for helping me financially but most of all thank you for all of your prayers, because they really helped me get through this summer. (Raul Sida)

I'm very thankful for your prayer and financial support. Without them this whole journey would have been impossible. (Carlos Palomo)

THE CHALLENGES, HOW WE GREW

Working with Neighborhood Ministries this summer was definitely a challenge and a blessing. God stretched me in ways that I wasn't really expecting. This would be quite a long letter if I named all the things He taught me so I will just stick with the obvious. Christ can use anyone for His purpose no matter where they are at with Him. (Sarah Callahan)

Out of all my three summers in the ministry this summer has been the toughest. I would say the Lord has taught me many things but the most important thing that I have learned is to have trust in him and to try not to fix my problems by myself. He showed me love and how to have peace -- how to be patient, humble, understanding, and how to show love to all my kids. This summer I have drawn closer to the Lord and interning was without question a great experience. (Raul Sida)

This summer has really been a blessing in my life and God has shown me what He wants me to do in life. Starting this summer out, I knew that I would either love my internship or not enjoy it at all. I knew that God was going to stretch me but I did not know how much He would have for me to learn and how much I would value my experience. There were hot and tired days filled with stress with the kids and tension with the other interns. But that is just a part of any job. I was trusting in God and seeking His will and plan this summer, not my own, which was difficult.  There were times when I wanted to do what was the "easy" job and not do the more sweaty or difficult job. But I said "OK Lord, I am here for you, not myself." I don't know how to put into words or writing what God has taught me, but God has called me to do inner city work and I knew that He was calling me to ministry." (Diane Crew)

WHAT WE DID

Much of what we did this summer was planning, planning, planning and then praying that the plans would work. I never knew just how much time and effort and planning it took to make Kid's Club (and camps) happen. (Sarah Callahan)

We registered over 380 children for Kids club, with 450 being the final registration head count. Every intern spent the first part of our internship in neighborhoods, in homes, looking for lost kids, in random places with no addresses. During registrations, I went to a house and signed up Pedro and Jose along with his sisters. These two were the happiest ones I believe at Kids's Club. Every day from the time they got on my bus until getting off my bus going home they had a big-ole-smile on their faces. I know, like a lot of other kids they looked forward to going everyday. (Jamal Pye)

THE FRUIT

The summer was one of growth. Introducing some children to Christ for the first time was definitely my biggest thrill and highlight. (Carlos Palomo)

Among the highlights of my summer ministry, the one highlight I enjoyed the most is this one: Vince Fernandez was a kid who basically grew up with us in the program throughout the years, along with his nephew Frederico and friends Jesse and Chris. Vince was one of the kids that I had to chase, catch, and take home back to his class for the lesson. It was a big game to him and the other kids who had their leaders chase them around on program night. Well, Vince has come a long way since them. He is now part of our high school group. This year at Kid's Club he was a leader and helped out with the smaller kids for two weeks on day crew. A few times he joined us (the full time work crew) for our daily debriefing. The last night of debriefing he said something to the effect: "I have watched you all, how happy you are and I want what you got. I haven't asked Christ in my heart to be a Christian yet, but I would like to. After debriefing, my friend, Kenny McDowell prayed with him and Vince accepted Christ. I asked Vince to write about his experience in his own words. (Jamal Pye)

My name is Vince Fernandez. This is how I became a Christian. It all started with a church named Neighborhood Ministries. I started going since the fifth grade. My nephew, Frederico, told me about the church. How they took the kids on trips, so I went, but not to get to know God. I knew who He was and who His Son was, but how can you praise somebody who you can't see? The year 2000 is when I started having a relationship with God. At Kid's Club debriefing with some of the leaders, I saw that God was like their best friend and more. So I was missing out on the greatest friend in the world. The last debriefing we had, I wanted that relationship with God. So I was talking to one of the leaders named Kenny. We went out of the room and right there, by the door, I let my best friend named God in my heart. I hope and pray to get as close to God as possible. That's how I became a Christian. (Vince Fernandez)

One night at camp a young girl by the name of MaryAnne and I were talking about things that went on in her house. She began to cry about habits that her mother carried out and she said that she never prayed for them because she really believed that God wouldn't help her and her mother. We kept on talking and I was explaining situations in my life and how I had to let God take control of it without stressing over them. At the end of the conversation I had asked her if I could pray for her and her whole family and she said okay, but I could still tell she was a little shaky about the situation. Later on that evening Kit was giving the message and it was about trusting in the Lord. After that, my co-counselor and I explained that she didn't have to be afraid any more. She finally understood that we were telling the truth, and she said that she was ready to trust in the the Lord with her problems and that brought me so much joy. (Melissa Rivera)

THE ADDITIONAL BLESSINGS

Adrianne Oakes is one of the work crew who has done Kid's Club for a few years now. This year she was working with the 5th graders. It was great to hear that this year she lead her first kid to Christ. (Jamal Pye)

Lake Day -- On the first Friday of the first week we pick up the kids and take them straight to Canyon Lake for the whole day. We were blessed by people we know, who brought their boats out to the lake. They took the kids on rides and swimming beside the boat while touring the canyon. The kids also had a great time just being in the lake. (One great swimming pool). (Jamal Pye)

The feelings and emotions we experienced this summer were of brotherhood, communion, and love for our Savior, Jesus Christ. (Carlos Palomo)

THANKS AGAIN

Your gift of support has now helped me help children come to Christ. That's the greatest gift anyone ever gave anyone. That's a precious account in heaven. I would like to finish by once again thanking you for your gift. You definitely helped my whole growth process happen. I know my thanks are minimal compared to the love you will receive from Christ and I know God is smiling at you right now. (Carlos Palomo)

This summer was wonderful and a definite life lesson in a lot of ways. The one thing that I know is that I DEFINITELY would not have been able to do it on my own. I thank you so much for making the commitment to partner with me while I did this internship as well as having the dedication to not only support me financially but also through prayer. Without either of these things I would not have been able to participate in this opportunity. (Sarah Callahan)

God Bless you, each one.