My focus was working with their summer program, Summer Jam, which pulls in elementary to early high school students. Summer Jam is an all-day, Monday to Friday summer program focused on bringing students to know and love Christ. We started Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings with a Bible lesson, referred to as G-Time (God Time). This summer focused on finding our identity in Christ through learning about the armor of God. The days entailed classes (which help promote literacy), beach or pool days, field trips, and art and science classes (like gardening or public speaking or hip hop). During the teaching days I spent my time assisting a Team Leader (how UYI refers to their teachers) in one of the Middle School/ High School classes. We taught the kids about Shakespeare. I got to help students memorize monologues from Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing. Some of the boys got really energetic and excited about their memorization skills, which made it so much fun for me to be with them and encourage them! Their faces lit up when they realized that I was memorizing the monologues along with them! I don't care about Shakespeare, but I really care about those kids.
While in Florida, I lived in the community we served. I lived off Tamarind Avenue, the "ghetto" of the city, so to speak. I don't want to take time here describing all that goes on in the community, but it's important to note that even though the neighborhood was dangerous (especially for unfamiliar Caucasians, who were assumed to be there to buy drugs), I was protected in community. I lived with other people from the church. I stayed in the Duplex with four girls on my side and three guys on the other side, all young adults. The Pastor of Bow Down Church and his family lived across the street and Leneita Fix (the lady I interned for) and her family lived next door to the Pastor. The people of Tamarind know the work that UYI and Bow Down is doing for their community. They respect us and protect us because of the testimony of our work. The church owns multiple houses on numerous streets in that community and plan on having at least one house on every street in the inner city of West Palm Beach.
Each morning I would wake up early (around 6 or 6:30... which goes to show how God gives strength to the weak because I am NOT a morning person! Like... at all...) and I would get to UYI before most of the staff so that I could ride the bus. Mr. Larry is UYI's Bus Driver (Transportation Manager AND Property Maintenance... he's pretty important), so I got to work closely with him all summer as his "rider." I helped maintain discipline while Mr. Larry focused on the road. The bus was a valuable time because it was one of the few unscheduled times to interact with the kids. Those kids saw me every morning and afternoon (whether they wanted to or not) and I quickly got to know the rule-followers from the rule-breakers.
My favorite responsibility this summer was having the privilege of teaching the Bible lessons for the last two weeks of camp. The students start Monday through Wednesday with G-Time (God Time) taught by different staff members. I got to teach a week on the Sword of the Spirit and the last Monday on prayer. By then, I knew the names of each of the sixty students. I think this was when the students (and staff) got to see the depths of my heart and true passion for Jesus. Most other interactions were programmatic, which made it difficult to weave in conversations on the gospel. But when I got to teach, God used me to encourage the students in the power of His Word. The first day I taught, two elementary girls came up and said, "Miss Amy, we need Bibles." We got them Bibles. The next day one girl told me she read three pages and the other girl had read four chapters in Genesis. They could tell me what they had learned. That's the power of God! I had kids come up and start conversations with me about what they were learning, asking questions about what the Bible says, and wanting to know more. At the end of camp we had between 10-15 students either dedicate or recommit their lives to Christ. Pray for these students to continue in their faith and find their identity in Christ.
Throughout my internship, I met one-on-one with Leneita Fix, an amazing woman who lives a missional life with her family in the inner city. She helped shape UYI into what it is today. She writes Bible study curriculum, blogs, and now works for Bow Down helping coordinate and work with interns and mission teams. Her husband is now the second-in-command at UYI. They're also raising three phenomenal teenagers, who became like my younger siblings this summer. They're such goofs! It was a cool experience to be a "big sister" for a time.
When I met with Leneita we talked through different books relating to ministry and discipleship. I learned a lot from listening to her story and different ministry experiences. We talked about where I see myself going after I graduate. There's no way I can summarize everything I learned and realized. One theme that kept coming up, though, is my interest in experiencing European culture and their need for the gospel. Maybe God will provide a way for me to intern in Europe this following summer? No matter what, I know I can always call up Leneita for advise, encouragement, extra resources, or to hear a funny story.
I could talk about so much more! The last thing I want to tell you is one of the most important. I love every person I worked with. I have a family in West Palm Beach, Florida. The staff (who could take up a whole post if I had the time) are absolutely phenomenal! I was continually encouraged and reminded of the power of our God through getting to know the staff. I learned a lot through their stories and the unending advice they had for me. The students at UYI are so blessed to be surrounded by adults who love them unconditionally with the love of Christ- a love quite literally "out of this world!"
If anyone from Urban Youth Impact or Bow Down Church reads this post, I want to thank you again for welcoming me alongside you for the furthering of the gospel in the lives of those students. You all encouraged me, strengthened me, and brought me closer to Jesus Christ. I can only imagine how much more you are impacting the kids! Do not grow weary in doing good.
"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
Ephesians 6:17-18
