Monday-Was our first day in inner city indianapolis. Therefore, it was only appropriate that we take a tour. At first I didn't think there would be much to learn about little urban Indy espcially since I grew up 30 min. down the road most of my life. However, I was mistakin!
The 11 interns Ron, Marsha, and Niccole piled on the "short bus" and listened as a man from the church informed us about the surrounding neighborhood. We learned the history of the city and interesting statistics.
It was sad to see the many vacant houses in the neighborhoods. However, we learned that in a lot of situations it's better to have vacant houses than a lot of houses for rent. That may be hard to believe, but a lot of the landlords don't live near so they don't really care who moves in. They just want a good price for the house. Therefore, they charge more than they should and the people renting can't afford it, so alot of times they move out and leave the house a wreck. That not only effects the neighborhood, but the school systems, and families that live there.
We also learned about the trap of pawn shops. I had no idea what a pawn shop really was, but to many families they're a source of income. You can turn in an item and get a loan, but if you can't pay them back then you start racking up interest. (Interest at this particular place was 23%!!!)Many families have probably not known any other way than to use pawn shops, because that's what they've been taught.It was so interesting to learn how much I don't know about the east side of Indy when I've grown up not far from it.
Tuesday- We participated in a simulation downtown. We were dropped off and given envelopes to open at certain times. Ron told us not to call him unless it was an emergency. The girls were in my group and the boys were the other group. We listened to Ron and made sure not to open the wrong envelope. Our first envelope told us to look around because someone might have helpful information for us. However, we never found that someone so we opened the next envelope when the time was right. It told us to go to the bus stop and catch the bus. Not a problem...so we thought. When we got there we realized we didn't have enough money or bus passes to ride the bus. We didn't freak out..right away. We decided surely it was part of the simulation and someone would hopefully come up to us and offer some money. People were nice and a lady did approach us because we obviously looked lost. She gave us a map,but no money. (we even shook the map..) When our bus came and went, we decided it was an emergency and time to call Ron. We should've done that in the first place because he told us we had bus passes in a different envelope the WHOLE time. (We were just following rules not to open other envelopes.)
We finally caught our first bus and rode that to the Julian Center,which is a shelter just for women. We got a tour and found out some interesting facts about one of the many downtown missions.I found the facility to be almost a cold setting with lots of rules. It would be hard to go to a shelter with so many rules. It's sad that our society needs a place like the Julian Center but it's reality. Our bus was late getting there so we didn't have much time. The next bus took us to Horizon House, which is a mission for homeless people. However, it does not provide a place for homeless to live or get a quick meal. They provide a place for them to form a community, keep their belongings, and apply for jobs. They try to be different than the other homeless missions and I think what they are doing is a great idea. I never considered Homeless having trouble getting a job because they had their suitcase with them or not having a telephone # to be reached. When the employers call Horizon their answering machine just says the # they have reached, so the employer will be more willing to hire them. It's a pretty cool sytem. I learned that the bus system is unreliable in Indy and both good and bad things about missions.
Wednesday- We worked on Vacation Bible School stuff. I remember being little a really enjoying V.B.S., but when I got older I thought it was for little kids. I realize now how much hard work goes into planning each and every little supply for the crafts and all the practice for the silly skits. It takes a lot of work! To all the v.b.s. volunteers of my youth I would personally like to show my appreciation, but I guess for now I'll just say THANKS! After punching out 375 picture frame holes, and threading little plastic needles I know I am not cut out for crafts. Then Andrew and I worked on our lesson for our V.B.S. at Damar. It is the last week of mision indy so we have time. We are still working on our lessons. It's been kind of stressful for me because I don't know what to expect, but I trust it will turn out all right. I will be working with Damar for my internship every other week so hopefully I'll get to know the kids and ask them what they would like to have at V.B.S. www.damar.org
Thursday- This was our first day to have an actual physical work day. We worked on an old house. It was huge and had a lot of potential. I'm sure it was beautiful once. It's sad to see how many families have just abandoned houses over the years to move to nicer developments in the "wealthier" areas. I know parents want the best for their families, but what about the other families that can't afford the best? Mission Indy is really challenging us to LOVE our neighbors. It has been something I've heard ever since I can remember, but I don't think the concept has really set in for me yet. I often give things away, but usually things I don't want any more. If I buy new shoes for myself and give the old ones away to someone in need...am I truely loving my neighbor? No, I don't think so. But that is so hard to live by. I know that, but is it truly my conviction? If it's not my conviction, I'm not going to live it out. It's becoming so real to me that I know so little.
Friday-The other interns met their host families for the summer and I ate with my parents. I will be living at home this summer since I live in Indy.
