First Major Events!

After two weeks of training, I feel like I am finally getting into the swing of things here at City on a Hill! So far, I am really loving my job! The people I work for and with are incredible people, who are very dedicated to what they do. This really showed the past two weeks, as City on a Hill hosted two large events. The first, last weekend (June 7), was a luncheon for all of the men in the neighborhood around COAH. It was great to get my first glimpse at the camaraderie and tight-knit relationships between the people in this community, and to see how City on a Hill works to help them. At the luncheon, the youth from our youth center put on a great program while the men ate. Some students read poems they had written, some sang worship songs, and some got to talk about their accomplishments in school and clubs. It was such a great thing to see!

This past Saturday, June 14, we hosted our monthly free health clinic. The clinic offers free health services such as physical therapy, vision screening, blood pressure/sugar tests, medication information, insurance information, and doctor visits. We also had a lunch for guests, a food pantry for them to receive a bag of groceries, and a hygiene station where they could get one free hygiene item to take home.My role was to sign in people that had never come to the clinic before and fill out paperwork with them. I met some really interesting people through this experience, and I felt really grateful for the opportunity. One woman in particular came in towards the end of the clinic with her young son. They had walked around for hours trying to find City on a Hill after they heard about the clinic from a neighbor. They were absolutely exhausted. However, when I started to tell them about the services that we were offering that day, the mother perked up and became overjoyed. She had not known that we were serving lunch or that we would have toothpaste available for guests. She told me that she knew the entire time they had been walking that God was with them and that He was giving them strength, but she had no idea just how much God would be blessing them through City on a Hill that day. By the time she left my registration station, she had me in tears. Her optimism and faith made more of an impact on me that day than I ever could have imagined. I really saw how God was working in the lives of those in our impoverished Milwaukee neighborhood. Although the people don't have much in terms of belongings or money, they do have a lot of love and faith. Relationships mean everything to them, including a relationship with God.

I went into this internship thinking about how much I could impact other people and feed them spiritually. I had no idea how much they would impact and teach me. This is only the beginning, too. This next week we have our first missions team coming to City on a Hill. I am so excited to see what this next week brings, and what I am able to learn from my encounters with others through this first COAH missions experience!

Motto on the wall of City on a Hill