Micah Corps Summer 2013

The 2013 Micah Corps experience concluded August 2.  Check us out for details about the application process for the 2014 Micah Corps  beginning January, 2014!  Until then, "do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God."  Micah 6:8

Epworth Village

One of the workshops offered at the UMW Mission-U this year was an

information session on Epworth Village.  Located in both York and Grand Island,

Epworth Village strives to serve God by providing opportunities for success in a

secure, loving environment for families and at-risk youth which nurtures personal

growth, individual and family strengths and responsibility for self and others.  The

workshop was lead by Patrick Garcia, the President and CEO of Epworth Village.   It

started back in 1889 when it was an orphanage located on a diary farm up until

federal regulations called for a push for Foster Care, rather than the latter.  In 1959

it was officially named Epworth Village after John Wesley’s hometown and has been

constantly improving ever since.  Patrick Garcia spent a majority of the workshop

time explaining the newest “metamorphosis” of Epworth Village, which has recently

closed down both psychiatric treatment houses and the therapeutic group home due

to a process of “right-sizing” to ensure that every patient always has the best care

possible at all times.  Not only that, but closing down the on-site homes also allows

for people to receive more outpatient therapy and in-home safety services; doing so

eliminates the worry of the transitional period back into the home.  The two main

goals of Epworth Village are to provide hope and healing and the dedicated Epworth

Village staff all work together to serve God and fulfill those intentions.

For more information or to donate, please visit the Epworth Village website: http://

www.epworthvillage.org/

Poverty Session I

At Mission U, formerly known as the School of Christian Mission the Micah Corps interns took a class on Poverty. The first poverty session we discussed Deuteronomy 15:11 which says, “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open handed toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.”

We made a list of words that come to our mind when we hear the word “poverty.” Some of those words include: hunger, lack of education, economic inequality, food desert, unemployment, health issues, doing without utilities, difficult choices, and homeless. While these are common words that are associated with “poverty” we are still called to care for the poor. Poverty has been a problem since Biblical times. We can’t just give to the poor because giving = fixing and fixing is short term. If we truly want to help the poor we need to start looking at the injustices in our worldly and governmental systems here in the United States and across the Nations.

Mission U: Poverty Session II

     This year, the Micah Corps participated in the weekend portion of Mission U, formerly the Schools of Christian Mission. We took part in a three-part series about poverty and justice led by one of our own co-shepherdesses Andrea Paret. The core text of the program, "poverty" edited by Jack A. Keller Jr., covered poverty from a wide range of perspectives; from the practices of John Wesley to the conflicts of consumerism. The second workshop covered precisely these points, along with facing the global reality of poverty. Using several sources and mediums, Andrea guided discussion and small-group text studies in identifying the key messages from the founder of our religion, the world around us, and how to be a companion rather than a consumer. It was remarkable to hear all of the revelations around us, as friends openly discussed new views and solutions as they were presented around such a universal issue. One of the last things we did was watch a video entitled "A Photographer's Mission with the Poor" about traveling photographer Paul Jeffrey whose mission is to connect images of global lifestyles with people who have never experienced them.

 

Ideas for Action: Visit www.kairosphotos.com/blog/ to learn more about Paul Jeffrey and see his latest photos and visit www.ministrywith.org to be inspired to work with one another rather than for.

Deportees

On Sunday July 14th, Tori Osler and Omar Cruz had the privilege to be in Tecumseh UMC in Kansas and present their immigration presentation to our family in Christ in Kansas. Little did we know that Tecumseh UMC was going to be host to a guest musician who shared* his music on the same day Micah Corps was giving their presentation. His name is David Boyles, he is from Tecumseh, Kansas and attends a different church but stops by at Tecumseh UMC once in a while to share his lovely music. So after Tori and Omar gave the immigration presentation, David Boyle went up on the stage and shared an amazing song, called Deportees (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos). He started with an article from The New York Times, and it was about a deadly plane crash that happened on January 28, 1948 near Los Gatos Canyon close to Fresno, California. The lyrics explain that this plane crash occurred near Los Gatos Canyon, and they were transporting undocumented immigrants back to Mexico. The sad part of this story is that the media and news reporters identified these victims as deportees, not by their names. So David sang that song for us and it was just heart touching, as I said little did we know that David had chosen such a perfect song to sing to the congregation. After the service we talked to him about how he chose this song. He said he did some research on us and saw that we were giving a presentation of some sort of social issue, but did not know it was about immigration. God had something special for us that Sunday morning and it was a true blessing to hear that amazing song.

Act of Action! Let’s welcome our immigrants friends, documented and undocumented.

*Just a side note, David Boyle did not write this song, he got it from the internet. This song belongs to Woody Guthrie. Woody Guthrie stood up for justice and wrote protest songs like the song Deportees.

 

For more details click the links below:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-deportees-guthrie-20130710-dto,0,2642231.htmlstory
https://www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Deportee.htm

Scavenger Hunt through the Old Market

The Old Market

This morning (Tuesday June 10th) Micah Corps started at Urban Abbey in downtown Omaha. The Micah Corps actually went on a scavenger hunt through the Old Market. This activity is called I-Spy a Neighborhood Community: Exploring the Neighborhood with New Eyes in the Old Market hosted by Lisa Maupin and Jaimee Trobough. Lisa and Jaimee gave us pictures of random things in the Old Market and we had to look for them and, later, discuss their meanings in the community. Let me tell you, we did find a lot of the signs or locations in the pictures, and some were difficult to find.   The main point of this activity is to go out there and see how the Old Market community is friendly and unfriendly to the vulnerable people living there.  For example, we had to look for a handicap parking sign in the Old Market parking area. Unfortunately we did not see handicap parking signs that often through our scavenger hunt. Another example is the Safe Place sign. If you are asking yourself, what is a Safe Place sign, a Safe Place sign means that a business is certified to help if someone, mostly mothers and children, needs a place to stay or a shelter. They can go inside and a staff of that business can help them by giving the more information. We saw Safe Place signs in some business in the Old Market. This is a great activity that we can do in our own communities; it is simple and fun to do with anyone and this is a great opportunity to learn more about our own home communities.

Look Who We Found

The Micah Corps Interns ate at a place called “Table Grace Cafe” in downtown Omaha today (Wednesday July 10, 2013) after we met with some people who work for the United Methodist Ministries. Table Grace Cafe is a Cafe is a place that “everyone regardless of economic status, deserves the chance to eat wonderful food while being treated with respect and dignity.” Table Grace Cafe serves gourmet pizza, salad, and soups on a daly basis. There is no set price for the food and different varieties of pizza, salad, and soup are prepared daily by fresh ingredients. There is a donation box for the food, so you can give as much as you feel led to or can afford. Table Grace Cafe's mission is, “to foster a healthy community by offering great food prepared and served in a graceful manner to anyone who walks through the door.” 

The Micah Corps team outside of the Table Grace Cafe in down town Omaha!

While at Table Grace today, intern Rachel Linch, saw a man walk in the door to have some lunch. She had to take a double look and realized that she recognized that man so she asked interns Cassie and Tori if it was the man she thought it was. It was and they were all three thrilled to see him. They met this guy while working at the Open Door Mission in Omaha a couple weeks ago. They helped conduct mock interviews one day for people who are wanting to get back in the work force. He noticed us sitting across the Cafe and said hello. All of us made some small talk and in the middle of our small talk he slipped in that he has a job now! Praise God! It was so exciting to hear that our work helped him in the process of getting back into the working world! I truly believe that we were all meant to be there at the same time so we could hear the story about how this man that we helped practice interviews just a couple weeks ago has already found a job!

For information about the Table Grace Cafe visit: http://www.tablegracecafe.com/

The Big Garden: A Community Opportunity

The Micah Corps was getting used to being in with fluorescent lighting, but we certainly got some sunshine on Tuesday, as we worked in the Big Garden right next to Sacred Heart Ministries! We tugged at weeds, got a bit muddy, and enjoyed some good conversation with Matt Freeman, the Big Garden coordinator from United Methodist Ministries (UMM). Matt informed us that the Big Garden Project started out with a goal of establishing 12 community gardens, but expanded to much bigger numbers, as there are now 81 community gardens in Nebraska that attribute their start to the Big Garden through UMM. UMM has a program in which a Big Garden must be independent of them in 3 years, so that the community takes ownership of that garden. What fantastic ministry! But, what is this ministry all about? Why do we need community gardens?

                Food deserts, or areas where there is not access to affordable, healthy food items (i.e. places where a convenience store is the only place to get food for the family), are prevalent across Nebraska, especially in rural areas and lower-income urban communities. Many of these communities have high percentages of refugees. Nathan Morgan, director of UMM, filled the Micah Corps in on a specific instance where a community garden impacted a refugee community in a positive way:

 There had been a shooting in the parking lot of an apartment complex housing mostly Bhutanese refugees. The people in the complex were fearful of leaving their homes, until the president of the Bhutanese Refugee Association took the initiative and decided they could not go on living like that, huddled inside their homes. He decided to start a community garden. Soon after the garden was started, the people in the community began to take pride in where they live, and violence and crime dwindled.

 

 It’s amazing what taking pride in one’s community can do, and how a community garden can assist in those feelings of ownership. The vegetables produced in the gardens are great, and they feed hungry people who do not have access to healthy food. But in reality, the  gardens are not about vegetables, they are about people and community.

Interested in volunteering at a Big Garden, starting a Big Garden in your community, or even just learning more about the Big Garden Project? Click on the following link:  http://www.gardenbig.org/

     While Omar and Rachel gallivanted around the Great West District, Tori, Rach, and myself spent time at the Open Door Mission, a campus complete with housing facilities for diverse needs, a bustling thrift store and pantry, and a cafeteria with daily-made meals. Contrary to the expected image of volunteering like serving food, watching kids, and pulling weeds among other things, much of what we did had to do with the behind-the-scenes aspect of their ministry. Whether sorting through tenant files, making room for new curriculum, or combining all of their resources in one, organized list, a lot of our work seemed very mundane at times and it was difficult to see the reaping of any of our good intent.

Tori sorts through present participants in Lydia House!

     However, we came to a sort of peace understanding that there IS a grey area of charity which moves closer to justice. In our quest to distinguish these two concepts throughout the summer, the basic definitions we have come to are that charity is taking care of the immediate need in an act of compassion while justice takes care of the root of injustice over time as a movement of compassion. Organizations such as Open Door Mission  create a blurred area between the two. While they may not challenge the national social structure, they certainly are continuing to grow and adapt within their own structure and that of the state of Nebraska. It was a true pleasure working with such wonderful staff and volunteers and being able to meet face to face with some benefactors of the diverse aid Open Door Mission provides!

Rach calls people interested in Lydia House!

 

Idea for Action: Next time you’re in Omaha, stop by the ODM, sign up for a tour, and witness the true power of mercy.

Poetic Reflections from the Open Door Mission

After spending time at the Open Door Mission (ODM), Cassie, Rachel, and Tori took a moment to reflect through haikus. Here are some of our reflections:

Rachel Linch:

Waving hi and bye

New friends, faces, and people

Shining smiles seen
I wrote this Haiku the day after we did the Mock interviews at the Open Door Mission (we were the interviewers and the guests of the ODM were being interviewed). During lunch that next day we saw one of the men that we helped interview and he was waving at us and smiling and I could tell by the look on his face that he was so grateful that we were there to help with the interviews. On our way out of lunch I saw another one of the men and he said hello to us as we walked by. It was good to be able to touch others' lives by helping them learn how to interview for a job!

Tori Osler

What good does this do?
Frustration surges through me
So much to do here

Appreciation
We have made a difference
Helped more than I thought

While we were filing and filing, it seemed never-ending and pointless at times. I kept thinking "What good am I really doing by filing all these papers?" But, after we had completed our filing, the staff at the ODM were incredibly appreciative of our work, and said that because we had caught them up on their filing, they could spend more time with clients, bettering their ministry. What a great feeling to know that we really DID make a difference!


Cassie Reid

Calling former friends,
 Eager to meet Lydia,
 Or now have a home.

In our time at ODM, one of our tasks was to call people who had expressed interest in Lydia House and confirm I they were still in need of their programs. While we left a lot of voicemails, many who picked up, whether or not they needed Lydia House, were grateful just to be remembered and treated as people and not clients.


 

Environmental Justice: Day 3

Thursday, June 20

Today was the final day of our seminar at the General Board of Church and Society. We spent most of the morning preparing for our congressional visits. Then we headed off to meet with Rep. Adrian Smith. Rep. Smith took time between votes to meet with the group and answer our questions about various social justice issues. Next we met with a staffer from Sen. Deb Fischer’s office. Unfortunately, she was not able to address most of our questions, as they weren’t in her area of expertise. Even so, we learned the importance of voicing our concerns and opinions and how to do so in the most effective manner.

We spent the afternoon debriefing on the week. A poet, Quique Aviles, helped us write our reflections on the week. It was a powerful and moving experience. We ended the seminar with goal setting: How would we take back and continue on with all that we learned this week?

In the evening, we ventured back out to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. As I read the quotes at each memorial, what most stood out to me was that all of these great men stood up for justice. They did not put restrictions on who deserved justice. There is no “IF” – if you are the right religion, if you speak the right language, if you are the right color. They encompassed Micah 6:8. “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
 To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, equality, and freedom for their spirits. – MLK Memorial

In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice… the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man. – FDR Memorial

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. – Jefferson Memorial

<>< Micole Harms-Brazell

Micah Corps Shepherdess

Seminar Day 2: Environmental Justice

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Yesterday, after a long walk and site seeing very late at night, the Micah Corps was out the door by 7 am and headed to the Nebraska breakfast with our senators and congressmen.  Rachel Bauer had the opportunity to present the whole group and show the Micah Corps spirit!

After a good breakfast, we spent the morning learning from John Hill. He is the director of the Economic and Environmental Justice at the General Board of Church and Society. His lesson was outstanding; he taught us how to stay environmentally friendly in our daily lives. For example, instead of driving to work, we should ride a bike. Another great example, instead of buying name brand chocolate bars, we should buy chocolate from the Equal Exchange. Overall, I think his presentation was very meaningful for us.

In the afternoon we to got travel to Earth Conservation Corps where we met Kellie Bolinder. Who would of thought the Micah Corps would end up going on a boat ride through the Anacostia River! Sadly enough, the Anacostia River is one of most polluted rivers in Washington D.C. But with the help of Kellie and the ECC, young adults are trying their best to make it less polluted and bring the Anacostia River back to life!! Way to go!! Saving the environment at one step at a time.

-Omar Cruz 

Seminar Day 1: Environmental Justice

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Today the Micah Corps had the first day of the seminar at the General Board of Church and Society. Monday night, four other United Methodists from Nebraska joined the Micah Corps so they could attend the seminar with us. There are now eleven of us total in D.C for the seminars on environmental justice. We are staying at Trinity Lutheran Church in D.C. in the basement. Not only are we staying in this church basement, but also there are about 40 middle-schoolers from the South.

This morning we had to be at the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) at 9 am. Yay! Not too early! We started the seminar off with learning how the United Methodist Church connects Mercy and Justice. We compiled a list as a group, together with our leaders from the GBCS. What we came up with in a nutshell is that mercy is instantaneous; it gives us as an instant gratification from being able to help the immediate need. On the other hand, justice is looking at the root cause of an injustice; it takes time, and can be controversial. After comparing mercy and justice we looked at why mercy tends to be done more often than justice does in the church. Some of the conclusions that we came up with were that justice takes more time than mercy does, and is more controversial than mercy is. This session was taught by Susan Burton who is the Director of the United Methodist Church Seminar Program discussed poverty for just a short while. Her whole discussion on poverty was to set us up to see how environmental justice and poverty intertwine with each other.

As we continued on after that we looked at “God’s Renewed Creation: Theological Reflection” by Rev. Neal Christie who is the Assistant General Secretary at the GBCS. Rev. Neal Christie really got us thinking about how to connect environment with poverty and with the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. We were put into groups of three to discuss how we felt and what experience we could bring to the different questions Rev. Neal would ask. This was a good way to learn what background and what new ideas the others at the seminar had.

After lunch we had a session on Environmental Racism. This session was taught by Paz Artaza-Regan, who is the Director for Program and Outreach National Religious Campaign Against Torture. This session was very informational and needed lots of processing after hearing some of what we were taught. It’s interesting to see how the environment and racism relate, but if you really take time to connect the dots you will see the connections. Some of these connections may be a stretch, but something that is always good to remember is that there are faces in the destruction that are being hurt just as much as the environment, God’s earthly creation.

Call to action: Get involved in your local church and take small steps to saving the earth! 

Educational Adventures

Today was an educational day for the Micah Corps! The morning was spent at the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), where Drew Price spoke and answered questions about what the NAAEE does. This organization, as the name would suggest, is focused on education about the environment, particularly to young age groups (like elementary school students). They also like to educate people who educate others, for example Head Start and preschool program coordinators, church leaders, and school teachers.

Cecelia Espenoza (who just so happens to be Cassie Reid’s aunt!) spoke to us in the afternoon about her job as Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of General Counsel for the Executive Office from Immigration Review (EOIR), a part of the U.S. Department of Justice.  She told us how her faith has impacted her work in the field of immigration, saying that Jesus told us to welcome the immigrant, and if we don’t do that, we aren’t living up to his mission. Cecelia also told us some of the ins and outs of immigration law, including what types of immigration hearings and reviews there are, and a little about how immigration law has evolved over the years.

Our final stop for the day was at the Supreme Court. We toured the building, then went upstairs to the courtroom for an information session. We learned how the Supreme Court receives cases, and how the Court functions, as well as some history of the Supreme Court Building. Did you know that it was not until President Taft’s term (he became a supreme court justice after serving as president) that the Supreme Court had its own building? Having a Supreme Court building created three truly equal branches of government. 

The Micah Corps at the Supreme Court building, looking out at the Capitol

Washington D.C. Day 2

Happy Father's Day from the city of our nations forefathers!
Today we set out to tackle the massive quest that is the Smithsonian Institute, starting with the American History Museum. Our timing could not have worked out better as, just as we arrived, a young man walked through the lobby of the museum bearing a sign saying "END SEGREGATION NOW" and singing a lovely call-and-response freedom song. He led a demonstration of the first sit-in at a Greensboro Woolworth's in 1960 and truly pushed the audience to define just what was wrong with segregation. In the end, the issue, like all those we are uprising justice for, was the personal impact; the destruction of families and community relationships that defines humanity was threatened, and people like the A&T Four (the first students to do a sit-in) found a non-violent way to change the system. This was a great start to the day as we continued to peruse the AHM, along with the Air & Space Museum, the Sculpture Garden, and the Natural History Museum.

Later, we worshipped at Foundry UMC near Dupont Circle. Upon merely walking in we were greeted by name-tags, a buffet of little goodies, and a very warm group of diverse people covering all of the groups mentioned in the service's motto: "Whoever you are-believer or doubter, gay or straight, republican or democrat-You are welcome here." The theme of the message was to live a life of total truth, a life worth losing some friends or enduring some struggles. Because by enveloping the truth in your soul, you so envelop the Holy Spirit. As an intro to our week at the General Board of Church & Society, this message inspires us on to whatever the rest of the week has in store!

Ideas for Action: Devote a day to being fully honest. Then another. Then a week. And start creating non-violent ways to treat those issues that currently plague our ability to feel God's ever-presence on Earth.

Washington D.C - Day 1

Well, after trials and tribulations of planes being broken and flights being missed, we finally landed in Washington, DC!!!  After getting off the plane, we successfully loaded our Metro cards, found our bus to take us to Trinity Washington University, and ordered some delicious pizza.  Despite the lights not working in "the Rachels'" room, nothing tragic has happened thus far.  Today we woke up and were on the move by 10 am to make our way to the National Zoo!  That is, after a quick stop by Starbucks.  Luckily for us, the zoo was a lot of fun and the weather wasn't too terribly hot.  After our afternoon at the zoo, we walked over a mile to the Washington National Cathedral where we joined another large group for a tour.  By the time we made the trek back to the Metro we were hungry again so we stopped by Union Station and all ate Jonny Rockets burgers and milkshakes, which was the perfect ending to a wonderful day of sight-seeing.  Once we were done eating, we walked around the station for a while then got back on the metro.  Ironically, once we got off the metro to get on our shuttle to go back to Trinity, Micole was sitting there, as if waiting for us.  Now we are about to enjoy a relaxing night of hanging out and watching a movie!

Update: Our First Presentations!

The Micah Corps had our first opportunity this weekend to speak in churches on our social justice issues: Children in Poverty, Immigration, and Environmental Stewardship. We thank our host churches for their wonderful hospitality! Here's a snapshot of what we did:

Rachel Bauer, the Environmental Stewardship intern, presented on Equal Exchange products at Aurora United Methodist Church. Equal Exchange is a fair trade cooperative, endorsed by UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief). It works with small farmers around the world and ensures them a higher standard of living by offering them guaranteed minimum price on their products.

Rachel also had the opportunity after worship to connect with Don Vetter, the founder of The Grain Place in Aurora, an organic, non-GMO, kosher grain company.

Rachel Bauer and Don Vetter pose by the Grain Place Foods vehicle!

Cassie Reid and Rachel Linch, the Children in Poverty interns, didn't have to travel too far for their presentation at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Omaha on Saturday night and Sunday morning. They found a great response from the congregation, which reminded them that our work does not go unappreciated, due to the justice-seeking nature of United Methodists. The entire sermon was based on charity, then Rachel and Cassie spoke on social justice. What a great balance of charity and justice, which is just what we need in our society.


Meanwhile, Omar Cruz and Tori Osler, the Immigration interns, were having a fiesta at Lexington First United Methodist Church! They had the opportunity to speak at both the morning and evening services--the evening service was a Hispanic service, full of singing and dancing in Spanish. A big "thank you" to Rev. Tess Hufford and Rev. Ceasar Duran, as well as their congregations, for being so welcoming to the Micah Corps!

                                            Tori and Omar worship with the Hispanic Congregation   

Nebraska Annual Conference June 2013

The week of June 3rd -7th was a busy one for the Micah Corps interns. The first part of the week was spent getting ready for Annual Conference in Lincoln, NE. Wednesday through Saturday the Micah Corps interns spent time at Annual Conference in Lincoln learning, teaching, and worshiping with other United Methodists throughout the state.

Thursday June 6th the Micah Corps Interns started their day off at 10 am for Annual Conference. We had our own team time meeting and then at noon we went to the Celebration Luncheon to kick start our weekend at Annual Conference. During the Celebration Luncheon the Micah Corps interns introduced themselves to the conference and Andrea Paret, one of our Risk Taking Mission and Justice Ministries leaders, offered a blessing for us while we were onstage.

Andrea Paret and the Micah Corps interns during the Celebration Luncheon on the first day of Annual Conference. 

After the Celebration Luncheon we had some time to work on our presentations for the Youth Annual Conference and the Children Annual Conference. During the break from the conference the Micah Corps worked the Equal Exchange and Risk Taking Mission and Justice Ministries (RTMJ) table. This gave us a chance to talk to many different people throughout the conference that were just passing by.

Micah Corps intern, Rachel Bauer, and Lyn Seiser, the Equal Exchange expert at Annual Conference. 

Later on Thursday the Micah Corps attended the United Methodist Women's dinner. After dinner we went to the Memorial Service to end our day. The Memorial Service was a good way to remember those who have served in our conference. It also gave us a chance to come together to listen to different pastors in our Nebraska Conference and to worship with other United Methodists in Nebraska.

On Friday we started our day pretty early. All of the Micah Corps interns attended a specific districts breakfast at 7 am. After breakfast the Micah Corps interns ran through their presentation for the Youth Annual Conference (YAC). We then traveled to Nebraska Wesleyan University to present to the YAC. We talked about the United Methodist Social Principles by encouraging respectful conversation about controversial issues. We also talked about the Micah Corps in general, and even had some activities and energizers for the youth to participate in. Overall, the YAC was very responsive to our presentation and were engaged in what we had to teach them and tell them about.

The Micah Corps interns introducing ourselves to the Youth Annual Conference before we dive into our presentation.

As Friday continued we attended the Hispanic Ministries luncheon and had a blast meeting the Hispanic Ministries Pastors throughout the Nebraska United Methodist Church Conference. It was a fun lunch full of good food, laughter, and even singing! The day continued and we worked the tables during breaks, kept meeting new people, and continued focusing on our prayer practice for the week, the labyrinth. Friday evening ended with the Nigeria/Nebraska Partnership dinner.

Even in the craziness of Annual Conference the Micah Corps interns take time to talk to God while continuing to learn new prayer practices throughout the summer. 

Another early morning on Saturday for the Micah Corp Interns as it was the last day of Annual Conference. We all had 7 am district breakfasts again and continued throughout the morning with smiles on our faces. It was a long weekend, but a good time was had by all. We learned a lot about the United Methodist Conference, met tons of kind people, and interacted with the youth and children. Our last activity at Annual Conference was working with the Children Annuals Conference (CAC). We spent an hour with CAC on the last morning of Annual Conference. We introduced ourselves, asked the children where they can see, hear, and share God, and we also did a skit for them. For being the last day of Annual Conference and being as young as they are, the CAC children were very engaged in what we were teaching them.

The Micah Corps interns introduce themselves to the Children Annual Conference! 

 All in all Annual Conference was a great experience for the Micah Corps. Being able to see the face of our Mission Share Dollars and people who are praying for us throughout the Nebraska United Methodist Conference was great. Thank you to everyone we met at Annual Conference and for all of the work you do for the Nebraska United Methodist Conference and for God our Creator.

Idea for Action: Find a labyrinth (there is one at First United Methodist Church in Omaha!) and pray or meditate while walking.

Reflections

It was an emotional day for the Micah Corps while in Hastings listening to our immigrant friends, so we will share some of our reflections from the two days:

Rachel Linch: “The immigrants we had the opportunity to hear from yesterday had so much hope in their voices. To me, they are as bold as a lion, as in Psalm 28:1: ‘The wicked flee when no one is pursuing them, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.’ Also, all people are children of God, which makes all people a reward. In today’s society and especially today’s American culture, not all people are treated accordingly. We are supposed to ‘love kindness’, as Micah says, but are we loving kindness when we do not treat strangers as children of God?”

Omar Cruz: “This past couple days I got the honor to listen to some amazing stories of faith and hope. Even though they went through struggles and harsh times, hope and faith keeps them going on with life.”

Cassie Reid: “The brave adults who shared their stories with us inspired me in ways of a pure moment of revelation utterly indescribable. And to be interviewing them the day of the new Immigration Reform Bill making it to the Senate floor simply solidified the moment in history as a step towards God’s Kingdom on Earth. I feel so blessed by my birthright and inspired to encourage those rights to be bestowed on all of the citizens of God’s world.”

Tori Osler: “I was absolutely blown away by the absolute courage all the immigrants, but especially the women, showed today by sharing their stories. They opened up to us a part of their life that is very real and painful for them, and that is a huge honor and speaks highly of the United Methodist Church and what we stand for.”

Wiping Her Mother's Tears

“But our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”

                Philippians 3:20

The Micah Corps spent the last two days at Grace United Methodist Church in Hastings, NE, hearing personal stories from immigrants. It was an emotional, yet much needed experience. We will share a couple of their individual stories here on this blog, but first we need to set the stage for these stories. The Micah Corps interns were sitting in a room in Hastings Grace UMC, and five women, all Latinas, and their children came into the room one by one. There was a fearful hope in their eyes, as they all sat down. A few spoke English, but a couple did not. We immediately introduced ourselves and what the Micah Corps stands for in order to establish trust for these women. We needed them to know that we were not here to hurt them, to exploit them, but rather to share their stories in order to promote understanding across our state in United Methodist Churches. The tension in the room was relieved when the women understood this, and read the Bible verse on the backs of our navy blue t-shirts. (Micah 6:6-8: Of what does the Lord require? To do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.) The women began to tell us their stories.

  Imagine, for a moment, your mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, or any person who is close to your heart. Then, imagine not being able to say goodbye to them before they passed away to God. This happened to one of the immigrant women. She missed her grandfather’s funeral, a man she was very close to, because she could not leave the country for fear of never being able to come back. She has children here. They are in constant fear of their mother and father being deported. “Where will the children go?” our new friend lamented, ”To jail? For what? We are not criminals. We had to flee our country because we could not feed our children. We are just trying to live a normal life without being in fear of being taken away from our children.” Her wide-eyed innocent two-year-old daughter sat on her lap with Kleenex in hand, wiping her mother’s tears.

                There were also stories of hope! Several women in Nebraska, and across the U.S. want to flee domestic violence, but are afraid because if they go to the police they might be deported. However, Sandy Sypherd, Risk-Taking Mission and Justice Ministries District Coordinator, and Aida Olivas, Migrant Educator, told stories of Justice for Our Neighbors, Nebraska (http://www.jfon-ne.org/ ), a non-profit that provides free legal services to struggling immigrants, supported by Mission Shares of the United Methodist Church, helping these women by letting them know about the VAWA, or Violence Against Women’s Act, and helping them get on the track to immigration status without the knowledge of the abuser. They no longer have to fear their husbands or boyfriends, or fear deportation, and can now contribute to society just like you and I.

                As we finished up our emotional time of sharing, we were notified that the Immigration Reform Bill was passed through the Senate Committee. Joy spread across every face in the room, and we immediately took a picture (below) of our happiness to capture the moment.

Micah Corps: Summer 2013 Beginning

It is finally May and we are almost done with our first week of the Micah Corps internship! I'm Rachel Linch, from the First United Methodist Church in Lexington, NE, and I, along with the other interns, am going to be updating everyone throughout the summer on what has been happening with the Micah Corps! This post is mainly going to highlight what we have done these first three days and then we will post a new blog and introduce everyone.

We got started with this internship on Monday, May 20th at 1:00 pm! All six of the interns were told to bring in three team building activities. Pictured below is a picture from one of my favorite games we have done so far! This game was all about thinking on our toes and coming up with different questions for the other interns by going on a specific word that was on one of the cards in the middle of the floor. For example, the card might say, "hilarious," and then I would ask one of the other interns, "What is something hilarious that always makes you laugh?"

Six strangers, ten weeks, one faith.   Cassie leads us in a game to get to know each other!

 

 

 Also during these first three days we got acquainted with our schedule for at least the next two weeks. Four of the six interns will be focusing on Children in Poverty in Nebraska and Immigration.  All six interns got the privilege to meet Jill from Voices for Children and Darcy from Nebraska Appleseed. These two organizations along with four of the Micah Corps interns will be working very closely together this summer.

 Learning from social justice leaders in Nebraska is part of our internship.   Jill Westfall, from Voices for Children in Nebraska, and Darcy Tromanhauser, from Nebraska Appleseed, share with us.  Thanks, Jill and Darcy!

 Cassie Reid, a student from Hastings College and myself will be focusing on Children in Poverty in Nebraska. Tori Osler from Elsie, NE and Omar Cruz, from Omaha, NE will be studying Immigration Reform. Last, but certainly not least, Corinna Mitchell from Lincoln, NE and Rachel Bauer from Ogallala, NE will be studying environmental stewardship. We are so blessed by the Tri-Community United Methodist Church for letting us use their space for our team meetings so we can prepare for our summer.

Micah Corps couldn't happen without the support of local churches!   Pastor Charlotte Abram, of Tri-Community UMC in Omaha greets Omar, Cassie and Corrina.   Thanks, Tri-Community congregation for being our home base this summer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer 2013 is going to bring a lot of exciting things for all of us and the Micah Corps team is thrilled to be supported by so many people. We look forward to updating you through our blog, Facebook page, and Twitter feed throughout the summer. Continual prayers for the team would be greatly appreciated and we look forward to meeting so many Nebraskans as we share and study these issues.

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you. To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." -Micah 6:8