Summer Interns!

Last fall, I traveled to Mississippi to begin the process of adding summer interns to the Chugach Resort Ministries Staff for the months of June-July. By February, I knew who my interns would be, and we started emailing and skyping to get ready. May 31st, 3/4 flew into Anchorage, and the 4th one flew in a week later.

Ben, Mary Kathryn, Aryn, Nathan, and me

My hope in taking on interns was two-fold. With an additional 4 staff members, there is simply a lot more that the ministry can do here in Girdwood. When there are community projects, having a few extra hands is great! Especially when an event takes place on a day I am working and can't go help, it was awesome that I had a couple of interns so willing to help out and show up.  After working for a while being the only CRM staff member, it was pretty great to have 4 more teammates. Secondly, I hoped I could teach them how to minister in a non-church environment. Churches and ministries today have some amazing programs, but that's just it- they are programs. "Come join us, be like us, do what we do, talk like we do, look like we do." Although this model may work elsewhere, it sure doesn't work in Girdwood. When I look into scripture, I see Jesus going to individuals. I don't see Him telling people to go to the local synagogue, but rather loving them and meeting them where they are. That's the kind of person I want to be, and what I want this ministry to model its methodology after. Also, Girdwood is a unique community full of amazing individuals that we all can learn a lot from! I think in the Bible belt there is a much more main-stream view on church and spirituality, and it's very different here. After spending the summer with CRM, I hoped my interns could return home, and be a light in their communities in addition to serving through their churches and/or college campus ministries. During the two months they were here, they participated in several community service projects with Rotary, Four Valleys Community School, and the Chapel in addition to working full time at the resort. There were countless adventures; each spent a good bit of time outside with coworkers and new friends.

I am very pleased with how well each of them did. As we've done some debriefing over the past few weeks, talking and catching up, reflecting on the summer, I'd say mission accomplished. They learned a lot, and I sure learned a lot from these four! I am so grateful for the time we had this summer!