EMERGE summer interns 2010

We had a great summer intern program for 2010!

There were some differences in set-up for this year, biggest was that we offered options this year for length of service instead of everyone serving for 6 weeks as in past years. This year we offered 4, 6 or 8 week internships. We had two come for four weeks, two for six weeks, and two for eight weeks. We also have two other interns this year outside of the summer program, Heidi is here for ten months and Meredith is here from September into December.

The downside to the options is that we want all summer internships to end together with a two day "Next Step" in Texas with all interns from, this year, four different countries.

This meant we had interns arriving starting May 26th every two weeks, needing a very important orientation. Years past we held a four day orientation when all the interns arrived (arriving the same day), but this year we needed to hold three orientations, so we shortened it to two days.

Guatemala Summer Interns 2010

Erin, Rachael, Heidi, Sarah, Allison, Rebecca & Amy

Heidi was already serving at Casita Benjamin, and Allison, Erin and Amy joined her there. Rachael, Rebecca and Sarah served at The Oasis home for girls.

With the interns arriving at different times and serving in different locations they did not all get to know each other much to start. So we did try to get them together a few times. We had the Oasis girls come in for a sleep-over with the Casita girls, and we had a week-end mini-retreat to Panajachel. That was a fun week-end away to talk, worship, eat and shop!

Mini-retreat in Panajachel

We also took a boat ride across the lake, which was a lot of fun. I asked the pilot of our boat if I could drive. Well, he said okay and I drove all the way back from Santiago. Sandi didn't realize I was driving at first and said to someone, "we seem to be going faster than before". We did get back about 15 minutes faster than going over!

They let me drive!

On July 18th we, and the interns traveled to Denton, Texas where St. Andrew Presbyterian Church hosted our Next Step program for the third year in a row. What a huge blessing they are for us. They provide vehicles to pick everyone up at the airport. The arrange host families to house everyone, they pretty much give us whatever we want and use of their entire church facilities. We love them there!

CAM Summer Interns 2010 at Next Step

Next Step was a great time to meet the interns that served in Mexico, Honduras and Spain, as well as ours from Guatemala. We heard their stories, broke up into small groups and processed what they experienced, where do you go from here with that, and how has God changed and grown them with it all.

It was a great time, and also helps us learn ways we can improve as coordinators for future interns.

A bonus for us at St. Andrew were the children! During July each year they have a weekly children's program that focuses entirely on Missions. This years theme was world hunger and clean drinking water.

They meet Wednesday mornings and asked Sandi and I if we could come and share with the kids, because....they had adopted our ministry with water filters as there fund-raising focus for this year! So, we showed some pictures of the things we have been blessed to do in Guatemala with water filters and shared about it with them.

When we finished the kids said they had a surprise for us....so they presented us with a sign that said, at that point, they had raised just over $1,800 for water filters! And they still had another one or two weeks to raise more!

Since they finished they have let us know they have a total of approximately $3,000!

WAY TO GO kids of St. Andrew!