Week 1

Because of the holiday, most of our internships didn’t start this last Monday. We didn’t have anything scheduled, so we went exploring in the Heights. This neighborhood was mostly the same as the Bronx, but slightly more wealthy. Because the Heights are in wealthy and corporate Manhattan, it is automatically given higher revenue. It was so hot that day. I have to confess that I wasn’t really up for another day of walking around in the sun. I was still pretty jet-lagged, and my body wasn’t used to the high level of moisture in the air. Thankfully, we all took a nap in a park for 2 hours. Praise God.

When we came back, the kitchen team and myself had to go shopping for dinner. Afterwards, we all went down to the nearest public school to play ball with the neighborhood kids. We played handball, and knockout. I tried to teach them hacky-sack, but to no avail. I think they were too young.

That Tuesday, finally, was the big day. My first day in the office! I got up really early, so I wouldn’t be late for work. I ironed my business casual attire the night before, and hopped on the 4-train around 7:45am to ensure my arrival by or before 9am. The subway was packed in the morning, so much so that I couldn’t sit down at all for the half-hour ride. I must say, after being in the ghetto for a week, it was a little shocking emerging from the subway into the bustling and affluent Financial District of lower Manhattan. Such a contrast to where I’d been. I saw white people. I saw people in designer business clothes. I heard the English language. I saw Starbucks and CVS. So strange.

When I got to 111 John St, I took the elevator to the 23rd floor and met my supervisors Paige Bellenbaum and Matt Dunbar, who were interestingly both from California. They started me off with an orientation of their organization. I spent the first 4 hours of work reading about Habitat for Humanity; what they stand for, what they do, why they do it etc. It was grueling pouring over all these pamphlets and fact sheets and web pages, but so eye opening. I’ve grown to quickly respect this non-profit. Habitat for Humanity acts as a counter-attack against the housing crisis, by building affordable homes. Like they say in their literature, they are not “a hand out, but a hand up.” Habitat doesn’t give out free housing, but they partner with people to build affordable, high quality homes that they will own. The families’ payment is their “sweat equity”, meaning their minimum hours working on their own future house. I love that concept. They do have to pay off a mortgage, but Habitat ensures that it’s at a rate that is 30% of their income or lower.

Then there’s the Advocacy Department, which is Habitat’s watchdog. They monitor the local politics of housing, lobby for specific bills, then educate and empower people to fight for the cause of affordable housing. I got to see what exactly they’re fighting for that coming Friday.
We had one hell of a time trying to make dinner for everyone after work. The idea was “breakfast for dinner” so we made eggs and pancakes. What an ordeal! We didn’t have enough pans, or spatulas…and we gave everyone the option of personalized orders. It was so insane. The four of us were hurrying around, in and out of the kitchen, sweating our faces off as smoke from burnt pancakes billowed throughout the whole house. Everyone got their pancakes like an hour after they sat down to eat. Fortunately, the rest of the interns were so gracious and commended our efforts for being the first team to cook. It may not have gone smoothly, but it turned out pretty well. After dinner we watched District 9, in an attempt to discuss the realities of racism and immigration. Everyone was a little tired, though…so it didn’t last too long.

I went to work in the morning, and came back later on to face a very familiar challenge: middle school boys. Yes, middle school boys. Every Wednesday evening, the male interns will be running a bible-study for the neighborhood boys, while the girls do one for younger kids 10 and younger. And to think, I just quit middle school ministry! It looks like the Lord still has something more to teach me in this arena, doesn’t it? I still can’t believe it. This is definitely going to be a huge challenge for me; these boys from the next block are wild. They fight each other, they cuss, and they’re loud and obnoxious. They definitely don’t want to learn anything about Jesus…so they seem to convey. I don’t know why else, they’d come, though. No one is making them, not even their parents. I figure their apathy is just apart of the image, just like it is in California.

Thursday, I had a bunch of meetings at the office, but none that pertained specifically to me. My presence was more for my own exposure and education than anything else. They talked about fundraising and networking for the Advocacy Department. Later on, however, Paige, Matt and I tried to come up with a name for the faith-based advocacy training. I’ll have to post the names later, they’re pretty hilarious. My contribution was “F.A.I.R. = Faith Advocacy Is Rad."

After work, we had a bible study in small groups and we read through Isaiah 6. We talked about things that God needed to redeem or change in us, as well as where we are being called to. Again, this is something that deserves a post of its own.

Casual Friday was such an awesome day! I met up with my supervisor, Matt, in another part of the South Bronx to check out one of Habitat’s current projects. First of all, I’d like to point out the goodness of God by revealing to me that my boss is a total hipster. He’s a surfer who plays the drums, and dresses in plaid and skinny jeans. And he at least recognized the name Sufjan Stevens. Can it get any better? Oh, yes it can. After we checked out the projects in the Bronx and later in Brooklyn, we went to lunch at a coffee shop called Tiny Cup. It was amazing. Vegan entrees, art on the wall, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles playing in the background, abstract mobiles hanging from the ceiling. And of course, a young unshaven woman in a cowgirl hat jadedly manned the cashier. I think my boss and I are going to get along quite nicely.

Now that that’s out in the open…the apartments that Habitat builds are huge and environmentally friendly. Not only are they spacious, but also they conserve energy. I was very impressed. I guess because I knew it was non-profit, and was funded by donations, I figured they would be pretty small homes. Not at all! Habitat’s family partners really earn themselves a nice place to live. It was really cool to see an example of that I’d be helping work towards this month, especially after a week of data entry.

This first set of apartments was different, though, than Habitat’s usual model for development. They normally build up from nothing, but this project is being accomplished through a partnership with another developer. The developer was already building a 60-unit apartment complex, but gave Habitat 14 of them to use at their disposal. Over in Brooklyn, however, they had three four-story town-homes in the making. They were equally as impressive.

Saturday was equally as amazing. I got to sleep in until almost noon. Afterwards, everyone went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, outside of Central Park, where we spent like three hours walking around looking at all this art from various time periods and cultures. Specifically, we saw ancient arms and amor, musical instruments since the dawn of time, and then jumped over to the modern art exhibit for some delightful abstract paintings. Later, we saw the movie Despicable Me, and went for pizza afterwards. Nathan, who grew up in Harlem, took us to a sweet park on the edge of the Hudson River to watch the sunset over New Jersey. It was beautiful, even better than Central Park; right on the water, facing the sunset, three levels including a walkway, a grassy area and then various ball courts. We found this adult-sized playground, and pogo sticks. After we got back to the house, Mike and Frances taught everyone Salsa and Bachata, so we danced late into the night in the living room. Good times.

World Cup party! The interns – as well as that same crowd of random people who came to the 4th of July BBQ – spent the whole day after church at some upscale coffee shop in the Village watching the game. It was a good time. We had a private room with a huge flat screen and couches and everything. Most of you know, I don’t really follow sports…but the game was so enthralling. Everyone was going for Spain, but I was going for the Netherlands. The teams were so evenly matched…it definitely wasn’t boring. Especially with all those yellow cards the Dutch got. After 120 minutes of no scoring, however, I was getting a little fidgety. I must say, I did enjoy watching the Dutch employ gratuitously aggresive defense on the Spanish. Anyone see that kick to the chest?

Things are going really well here. I can’t believe how short the time has been. It’s gonna be an awesome month.

Prayer Requests:
-Safety
-Good rest
-Purpose-driven focus and mindset at work
-Authentic relationships with my fellow interns, my leaders, and the neighborhood boys
-Security in God’s word
-Finances