Another week come and gone...

Another week has come and gone. So much has happened this week; I hardly know where to begin updating you. I guess I will just go by categories:

Internship: Last week at Joshua Station was very similar to the week before. I helped out with some filing at JAMLAC. On Wednesday, I got to go to court with one of the attorneys and a client he was representing regarding her ex-husband’s parenting time with their son. It was different from what I expected. The court room was very small and the only people there were the judge, the two parties, her attorney, me, and two other people. It was interesting to see our justice system in action.

At Joshua Station, we are continuing to do interviews to figure out which families will be moving into the empty apartments. All of the stories of the potential residents are so different and sad. Some of the people who are homeless have made bad decisions in the past that have led them to their current situation. But many of the people who come to us simply have experienced unfortunate circumstances that were beyond their control. Becoming homeless is really something that could happen to any of us. We are all just a pink slip away or an eviction notice away from ending up in the shoes of the people at JS. The people here are normal people, just like you and me. It has been humbling to get to know them and their stories.

One of the things that has really been a blessing with working at JS is the chance I have to attend the MileHigh staff meetings every Tuesday morning. We are currently going through a book by Ruby Payne, who has written several books on poverty and societal issues. The book is called What Every Church Member Should Know About Poverty and talks a lot about hidden class rules and values. Her stuff is very controversial and we have had some really good conversation about how to best work with the poor.

Classes: The classes this past week were so good. In my Friday class, Street Psalms, we talked about how we read the Bible and barriers that keep us from really encountering the Word. Barriers include hyper-personalism, domestification, reductionism, isolationism, heroism, moralism, and dualism. It was very helpful for me to be able to recognize these barriers in my personal Bible reading time.

In the Monday class, Leading from Within, we finished going through the book In the Name of Jesus (great read—I recommend it for all Christian leaders) and had a Jesuit priest come talk to us about Ignatius spirituality. The topic is not something I was very familiar with, but it was good to learn about. On Monday after class, one of our teachers led us on a walk around Denver and told us about gentrification and how Denver has been changing over the last few decades. Gentrification, for those of you who don’t know (because I didn’t know before yesterday) is when people with money renovate a run-down, impoverished part of town, increasing the land value. The result is that many impoverished people are displaced to the outskirts of town because they cannot afford to live where they used to. This has happened a lot in Denver and it is difficult to know how to respond to the problem. One of the things that has been difficult for me here in Denver and in many of my social work classes in the past 3 years has been the realization that many of the problems in society are big, complex, and really do not have easy answers. This can be frustrating for me, as I am a fixer and like to see hope in every situation and work towards a solution.

Weekend: On Friday night, I and three of the other interns drove up past Boulder to Nederland, CO, where we went hiking and camping. We went for a short hike on Friday, then set up our tent and made hot dogs and s’mores over a fire. Saturday morning, after eating breakfast at a neat little café, we went hiking again. We went way up a mountain, until we were tromping through snow. It was gorgeous—lots of mountains, streams, waterfalls, and trees. Though I love the city, I am a nature girl at heart and it was so refreshing to be out in the woods again. The weather was perfect, too; it didn’t start raining until we were heading home. On the way back, we stopped in Boulder, which is a really cool town with a lot of unique shops. The weekend was refreshing and just what I needed.

Overall: As you can probably tell by what I have been writing, this summer has given me a lot to think about. I have been stretched, challenged, and at times, frustrated. But I have also been so blessed by the relationships I have built and the awesome experiences I have had. It is going to be really hard to go back to Dordt for another semester of classes. But… next spring I get another amazing opportunity… I get to do my senior internship in Chicago! I just received my official acceptance letter! I am super excited!

Prayer Requests: First off, I ask that you pray for my sister, as she has completed her “boot camp” training at Teen Missions and is now in Haiti. She was able to call home the other day and was sounding quite homesick. Please pray for her as she experiences new, challenging situations in a foreign country.

Also, please be in prayer for Carlos, one of the staff members at MileHigh Ministries. His wife is extremely sick and is in intensive care at the hospital. She has a strep infection, which has been very damaging because she does not have a functioning spleen to fight off the infection. Please pray for complete healing for her and comfort for her and Carlos.

Finally, my car is having issues again. It overheated again tonight and I will have to call the mechanic again tomorrow. I am hoping it is something that is easy to fix again.

Thank you for your prayers and support. God Bless.