Project Transformation Interns’ Blog

 “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.”

 Jeremiah 24:7 (NIV)

 If after a very intense yet encouraging week of training, I still questioned if I was where I was supposed to be, today showed me the answer.

 My name is Ludi Acevedo and I will be graduating from The University of North Texas in August with a degree in Development Family Studies. I came to PT not completely sure if this was where I should be for the summer. After being here for nearly two weeks, I no longer have any doubt in my heart that I belong at Elmwood UMC as a Project Transformation Intern. I am starting to see why God called me to work with youth this summer. Being at Project Transformation has already started to transform me. God has been moving in here. I have seen him in the relationships I have built with my fellow interns and in the ones I am building with the children.

In the last two weeks I have seen God move people in many ways. Today in particular I saw Him at our site with our youth. To give you some background on our kids, Monday when we started our Talk About God time we asked the kids to pray. Most of them said they did not know how to pray. When I said it was actually simple and it was just as if you had a conversation with your best friend, they laughed at me. They did not seem to understand what prayer was. Fast forward to Thursday and it was my turn to lead T.A.G. After that Monday night and a very moving worship service on Tuesday at SMU, I really felt that God had put it in my heart to talk about prayer with the kids. After praying about it and talking about it with the group, I decided to cut my original lesson short and lead into some basics about prayer.

I started off the lesson talking about how they could now be an example for others. I talked about 2 Timothy 4:12 and the children actually discussed what they thought about it. Afterwards I started asking the children what they knew about prayer. I must admit that I was nervous. I had never really talked to kids about God in a classroom setting. I was scared I would say something wrong. As the lesson continued, I remembered that this was not about me. It was not about what I said or how I looked. I instantly prayed in my haste, that God would use me to speak to these children-that they would see Him and not me. At this point we were writing down different ways the kids could pray. They had ideas such as; talking, music, drawing, writing, with someone and by being silent. After asking them a few questions, one that included asking each person one thing they pray about, we began our activity.

I am going to admit I had no idea the impact this next activity would make.

It was planned for about 10-15 minutes and ended up lasting about 30 minutes. The youth were all given blank papers and a few markers. They were to draw or write out their prayer. As they drew them out they were to be thinking about them and praying about them. I remember walking around the room and seeing the faces on these children. Some of them had hurt and anger written on their faces. A few others had pure joy as they drew pictures of their families. What surprised me was that every child was engaged the whole time. They were actually silent for most of the time. There were a few of the girls who actually teared up and had one of the interns pray with them. One of them actually told us that she had never had someone pray with her before. It was so moving to see their thirst for God at that moment- to see that desire to know Him grow in their heart.  I remember not wanting to leave that room.

My fellow interns and I decided to collect the prayer requests and get together in the evening to pray over the group. I don’t think I realized what I was walking into when I sat on the couch that night. After praying together we started reading each one of them aloud. As we prayed for them, I felt the tears streaming from my face. My heart would break as Sarah would read the words full of anger and pain, yet at the same time with every angry word the same person would also write words of hope and encouragement. They were asking for God to come into their lives and be their light. It was incredible to see them do that. There were joyous ones where the kids prayed about how happy they were and how thankful they were for all they did have. A few other kids also prayed about the homeless. I can already see that some of these kids have a serving heart. A few others also prayed for everyone at PT and for all the children at the sites, their prayer was that they would all build a relationship with God.

These kids are already teaching me so many things. Those children who prayed about the homeless, were not even thinking about themselves. None of the prayer drawings had material things. The kids were not asking for anything physical. They were asking God to come into their lives, to comfort or change them. Some of them wrote about their attitude. A lot of them wrote about concerns they had for their family. It blew my mind that these children who were having a hard time understanding prayer three days before, were writing and sharing with us, intimate thoughts.

I can’t even explain how it felt to share that moment with my fellow youth interns. To be sitting in silence on the couches after reading all of them. To think about how much more there still is that we don’t know. To pray with each other. To remind each other that it is not about us, that the glory is all for Him. It’s about them seeing His love through us this summer, so that when we leave they know that they have someone who loves them and is with them every minute, that they know that they are not alone. That is my own personal prayer for this summer. I pray that we remain focused on why we are here. That we continue to build relationships with those around us, and we continue to grow in our spiritual walk with Him.

Ludi Acevedo

PT Intern 2011

University of North Texas

Upon arriving in Dallas for the summer, mentally preparing myself for project transformation, I had various concerns regarding my role as an intern and the new relationships I would be building throughout the summer. A week before arrival I was asked to be the reading coordinator for my site. I initially wanted to work with the youth; I have always had a passion to work for the age group and was very excited to do so, but I decided to try something new.  Day one didn’t come soon enough! As I waited in the library for the kids to arrive I was extremely nervous and asking questions in my head like: Will the kids like me?, How do I control them if things get out of hand?, Will they enjoy the reading rotation?. Too many questions and too little time!!! Well, all I have to say is that as of right now, day three of week six, I am extremely excited that I said yes to this responsibility as reading coordinator. I never thought I would see the day that I would enjoy working with kids, but right now I can say that I not only like working with them, I LOVE working with them. I feel that God has taken me out of my comfort zone to show me that I shouldn’t shy away from different and maybe uncomfortable positions in my life.

My second concern was the new relationships I would be building with the other interns throughout the summer. I just graduated from college leaving four of my best friends behind and making new friends was not one of my first priorities. I like sticking to my same routine and the same friends that I have been surrounded by for the past five years. Again, God is taking me out of my comfort zone and I have once again gained a new perspective on things. I could not have asked for a better team this summer! We are all so different but mesh perfectly together. We know when to have fun and at the same time we know when to be serious and get down to business. No matter what obstacles get in our way we still find a way to over come it! I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many amazing people everyday. I now know that when the summer comes to an end I will be leaving here with nine new amazing friends!!

Irma Glueck

PT Reading Coordinator 2010

 Lambuth University

Training week at Project Transformation is now complete, and all I can think of is how much it was like an amusement park. Like a little kid going to Disney for the first time, I was so ready to get to PT that I could barely sleep. It was probably best that my parents were not with me on the drive to Dallas, otherwise I may have barraged them with “are we there yet?” for hours on end.

Then when I arrived, I got overwhelmed by the spectacle. It was so beautiful to see the numerous people with a heart focused on Christ and a mind aimed at helping underserved children. Walking into check in was like seeing the castle in the Magic Kingdom for the first time.

Yet, once actual training began, it seemed as though I had parted Disney and been transplanted in Sea World, because I was sitting right in the Shamu splash zone. Seemingly without warning I got hit with a blast of information, an ever-growing to do list and deeper desire to leave the show and go on the rides, a la being on site with the kids. I was now soaking wet with information, however, oddly enough, I was so refreshed by the cold water I had been hit with and wanted to wring out my new knowledge on the world around me.

As the week wore on and I got to meet the other interns on this wild ride with me, we built a deeper bond. We went from strangers to more of a unit, a body if you will, particularly within the realm of my team.

Nonetheless, the best part of it all is there is so much more to see. There are so many rides to experience and shows to see. But for the rest of my trip at this amusement park of PT, I can proudly wear my “I survived training week” T-shirt. Let the journey begin.

Brandon Boylan

PT Intern 2010

Texas Lutheran University