Summer Internship

I have sat down many times to write this blog post, but it seems that every time I tried to put into words all that God taught me through my experience in Philadelphia, I got lost in thought and felt so burdened for those precious people once again that it was difficult for me to write.  This time, though, I think I can do it. It is high time I write an update and give glory to God for everything He has done!

I spent the majority of the month of July in a part of inner-city Philadelphia called Kensington.  For those of you who are familiar with the area, you know that it is not necessarily the safest part of town.  With high rates of violence and drugs, it is no wonder some people have nicknamed the city Killer-delphia. I was excited, however, to be living so close to the people I was going to be working with, despite the fact that the first night we heard gunshots and a rat chewed a hole in my bag.  I knew right away this was going to be quite an adventure! 

As an intern with Medical Campus Outreach and Esperanza Health Center, I was on a team with 17 other people from across the country.  The majority of team was made up of medical school students; I was the only nurse.  Honestly, one of the most amazing parts to me of the whole experience was this group of people. We were from all different cultural and educational backgrounds, yet we were unified by our passion for serving the Lord and reaching out to the poor and needy.  The sense of community there was incredible, and I learned so much from those dedicated Christ-followers!

The premise of the program was to spread the gospel and raise awareness about local churches in the area while identifying health disparities and offering the services of Esperanza Health Clinic. We did this by going door-to-door and offering free health screenings.  It is a predominately Puerto Rican community, which I loved, because I got to speak more Spanish than English! They were so friendly and hospitable, inviting us into their homes and many times offering us food, but these people also have many medical needs. I don’t know if you’ve ever had Puerto Rican food, but it is incredible! The problem is that lots of deep fried and salty foods leads to lots of cases of high blood pressure and diabetes.  In poor areas many people do not know they are suffering from these conditions because they have no access to healthcare, and it can become life-threatening. We offered health screenings for both hypertension and diabetes, and at the end of every screening we did a spiritual assessment as well.  It was incredible to see how quickly people opened up to us about their spiritual needs because we were helping them with their physical needs.  

One of the greatest lessons that I learned is what an incredible tool medicine can be in spreading the gospel.  It establishes a trust relationship very quickly.  Kensington is a drug-ridden community, and I daily had the opportunity to speak with people who were currently addicted to drugs or selling drugs. Many times they would even do these things right in front of me! It was an eye-opening experience, especially when these people would allow me to pray with them.  So many of them knew that they needed help, and would even stop us as we were walking down the street to ask us questions about their health. One day, a man with a large abscess in his arm approached our group asking for help.  He told us that he had been shooting up a mixture of cocaine and heroine ten times a day and it was completely destroying his life. This opened up a conversation about the condition of his soul, and God in His mercy gave me the opportunity to lead that man to the Lord and direct him to a men’s rehab program through one of the local churches!  The beauty of partnering with local churches is that they will have an impact in these people’s lives long after we are gone. They are on the real front lines, and it was a joy for me to be able to serve alongside them during my time there.

Probably my favorite story is about a man I met on my very first day of outreach.  He was very hospitable, offering us fruit juice and a seat on his couch.  During the medical interview he stated that he began smoking only 5 years ago. When asked why he began smoking later in life, he opened up to us and said that it was to cope with depression after his son had been shot and murdered because someone wanted to steal his dirt bike.  At first I had no idea what I could possibly say to him, but God was so faithful in giving the right words to say.  We talked about the concept of forgiveness and about a hope and peace that can only come through Christ. He was very receptive to the gospel, and agreed to go to church with us the following Sunday.  He said he believed that God sent us to his house that day for a reason; other things had been happening lately that made him think maybe God was trying to get his attention, and now here we were. He not only came to church with us the following Sunday, but he accepted Christ!! With tears in his eyes he said to me, “Diana, I can really feel it here. I feel happy for the first time since my son died!”  That day was so emotionally stirring for me, as was the following week when he brought his whole family to church! I was and still am so overwhelmed when I think about how God pursues each of us, how He loves us so much that He puts circumstances in our lives to draw us to Him, how He sought out this man and freed him from so much hurt. 

It is so humbling to think that God would choose to use me, a broken person, to reach other broken people with His love. I do not fool myself into thinking that I was the superhero in any of these stories. God had been working in each of their hearts for a long time, and I was only there for a small snapshot. Sometimes I got to plant the seed, other times I watered it, and a handful of times I was blessed to be there for the harvest.  It was cool to see that God has the whole story already written out, and He just calls us to be obedient in playing our part.

There are so many other stories I could tell, and maybe I will someday, but I should bring this post to a close. In summary, throughout my time in Philadelphia I witnessed many people come to know the Lord, caught a glimpse of God working in so many hearts, saw the hope on believers faces who were reminded they are not alone in their dark community, and even had the opportunity to tell one woman about Jesus who had never heard of Him before! All of these things blew me away and stirred in me a passion to share my faith with more boldness. This is what we were made for: to glorify God by delighting in Him, and to be His ambassadors, telling everyone about the hope that comes from Him alone.

Thank you again to everyone who was praying for me during my internship. God is so sovereign--it was exactly the preparation that I needed for my future ministry in the Dominican Republic.  He continues to equip me in ways that I never could have planned for myself! 

O Lord, You are my God.

I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name!

For You have worked wonders,

Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
-Isaiah 25:1