Confessions of a Senior Intern
by Tim Thomas

What’s up! This week has been a great inspiring and learning journey. Walking with my boys has opened up many relationships for us to grow closer together. I have enjoyed the conversations and the fun times we’ve created. I found that the interns love to rap and I love to join in. I rap from time to time, but these teens can go all day. Aaron Williams, the head rapper, will have you rolling and laughing so hard your tears will starting flowing like a stream. Today is the young man’s birthday (June 25). He turns 17 and I have really enjoyed walking with him as a friend and now as a leader I can really grow close to him. God has done amazing things in this young man’s life. He is stepping into a really confusing and hyped point in a teenager’s life. His character brings bring a room full of down people to life at any given moment. This is what the Confession of a Senior Intern has this week. Who knows what next week will bring.

We're Leaving

by Stephen Painter

            We're leaving. Even having just arrived, we are quickly going away. We potentially have only the rest of summer at Mercy Street. We certainly have only a short life before we leave to stand before God accountable for our actions. The former is rapidly approaching and the latter could happen at any moment. With this in mind, I am ecstatic to tell of the amazing work being done in West Dallas right now.

             We are now two weeks into our journey alongside the junior interns. Coming into the internship, I willingly admit that I was skeptical of how effectively we could disciple high school students in only a little over two months time. However, I have been blown away by the picture of discipleship that has begun to develop between the senior interns and the junior interns. I find it an interesting dynamic that each of the junior interns are unique in the spiritual nourishment they need. Some are only infants in their faith while others are surprisingly mature spiritually. Yet in the midst of this dynamic, it is obvious that there are significant relationships developing between many of the senior interns and junior interns. For example, this last week we began to implement a reward system for junior interns out of every huddle group that have displayed zeal in their learning, teaching, and/or serving. These awards are called Troll-phy's because they are certificates with a troll in the background (clever, right?). Within my own huddle group, I have found that rewarding the guys for what they have done right really fosters a stronger relationship between us and inspires in them a desire for deeper growth. Dunta Gaffney received the reward in my huddle group for his great questions last week. By encouraging him when he asks good questions, his curiosity has seemingly skyrocketed, which in turn has created many an opportunity to disciple him. He is one of many students who have already proved that they are willing to be discipled and excited to be transformed by the love of Christ. In light of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20), I am beyond excited about the discipleship I've begun to witness. This has been evident in many of our activities this past week.

            By God's grace, we have been greatly blessed in our work. Super Monday, which is the junior interns primary ministry, was a massive success! This really surprised me. I say this because four of the four apartment sites that we minister to had absolutely no kids there when we arrived. In other words, it was like we went to any typical day at a VBS, but no kids were there. Again, by God's grace, each site was able to adapt by sending people out to gather kids that were in the area.  I truly believe this was a great opportunity for both us and the junior interns to learn how to adapt to unexpected situations. Each site was able to pull off games and a skit, and more importantly, each site was able to establish a great first impression with those living in the community. Following Super Monday, we were able to rest up before our upcoming week of adventures.

            Truly, the rest of the week was filled blessings from our Papa. My personal favorite weekly meeting is the theology session on Tuesday's with Pr. Jerry Wagner from Mercy Street Church. This past Tuesday, he discussed the communicable character of God and made it easy to understand in both a simple and enlightening way. Tuesday's are also our exposure trip days. We visited an urban farm in Bonton, which is in South Dallas. They are ministering to a community, deemed a food desert by the USDA, by providing homegrown food. Never before did I expect to enjoy watching a group of people feeding chickens as much as I did the junior interns! On Wednesday, we went back to our service organizations. This is our opportunity to partner with other organizations in West Dallas who are also here to "do some good in the hood" as Carlton likes to say. This was the highlight of the week for one of the junior interns in my huddle group. He has the opportunity to serve by teaching sports to second graders. Already having a passion for sports himself, this was a perfect fit for him in service. Thursday was a great conclusion to the week. In the afternoon, the junior interns go to electives that they selected when signing up for the internship. These electives consist of business tech, hip hop and rap, dancing, creativity, and the bike shop. As the senior intern monitoring the bike shop, I can legitimately say that I look forward to this time every week now. We have the opportunity to learn the basic mechanics of bicycles from Terell Duncan, a junior intern that has worked in the bike shop for five years now, and follow the lesson up with a beautiful bike ride. After electives, we planned out Super Monday for the next week and finished the day. Entirely satisfied with the outcome of week number two with the junior interns, the only thing to do is thank God for blessing His ministry so immensely.

            Ministering to West Dallas is a process. Discipleship is a process. The Holy Spirit convicting us and sanctifying us is a process. Brittany has wisely observed and noted that as senior interns, "We are a small part of their process" of growth. Carlton recently exhorted the senior interns with Ephesians 5:15-16, which reads:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of time, because the days are evil.

We are not promised tomorrow, or even the next breath. We're leaving very soon. Whether Jesus comes back or the time arrives for us to leave and go elsewhere, time is of the essence. My hope and prayer is that all of us would have a mind set towards eternity in heaven, and that we would reflect that in how we live. I pray that for you, me, the people God has placed in our lives, and those at the ends of the earth. In Jesus' famous high priestly prayer, he prayed, "I have glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do" (John 17:4). Let that be our prayer when our time is up. Thanks be to God, and to Him be the glory forever!

"The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen." - 2 Timothy 4:22

Welfare of the City
by Susanna Carlson

Hi everyone! Honestly I’m not quite sure how to start this off – I’ve never been part of a group-type blog before. But here it goes…

I am amazed that I have already been at Mercy Street for a month. In some ways it feels as if I just started yesterday and in other ways it feels as if I have been here for many months. Already on this journey there have been bumps and wobbles, mistakes and frustrations, laughter, love, and a whole lot of passion for the Kingdom of God. So far this summer has been exhaustingly busy and borderline emotional. I am confident that it will continue to be so and quite frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This past week, my college group at church (Park Cities Presbyterian for you Dallasites) began a series about the Gospel in college based off of Tim Keller’s series called “The Gospel in Life.” As we began to read through Jeremiah 29, one verse in particular jumped out at me:

“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord in its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

 – Jeremiah 29:7

            I am not sure if my jaw literally dropped or not but it felt like it did. Here it was – here was the passion and calling that every day is becoming more near and dear to my heart. At the time this verse was written, the Israelites were living in Babylon, a very powerful and corrupt city. What a command God gives His people! Instead of telling them to keep to themselves and avoid the city and culture at all costs, He commands them to seek the welfare of the city. To love the city and the people within its walls. To live in Babylon and put down roots (Jeremiah 29:6).

            Just like the Israelites in Babylon, I believe I am being called to seek the welfare of Dallas. I believe that I am called to be committed, to put down roots. That can be tricky right now – I will only be here for a summer before I move back to college. To make it even more confusing I have no idea where I will end up after I graduate. It could be Dallas, or it could be pretty much anywhere else. But a few verses down, the Lord gives another great promise:

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

- Jeremiah 29:11-13

            So for this summer, I am here. I am at Mercy Street and desiring to love and pour into some really neat high school students. I am here in Dallas desiring the welfare of this city.

Preparations, Plans, and Prayer
by Drew Salada

The third week of the internship is in the books, and we're now ready for the high school students that we're working with (the junior interns) to start coming!  It was a busy week to say the least, as all of the senior interns were working hard to prepare the programming for this summer.  Here are some of the details about the stuff that we will be doing with the junior interns throughout the summer.

     Every morning we will have the opportunity to spend time with our "huddle groups" - a couple senior interns plus six to ten junior interns, single-gender - so that we can pray for each other, go over Biblical devotionals, and otherwise just connect and fellowship.

     On Monday afternoons, we will participate in what we call "Super Mondays," where the junior interns lead a Sunday school-type lesson for children in local apartment complexes.  This takes the form of games, music, Bible story skits, Scripture memorization, and small group sessions.  What a great way to reach out further into the community, while also giving the junior interns the leadership responsibility!  I'm so excited to get going with Super Mondays.

      Tuesday afternoons will be field trip days . . . I don't know exactly where we will be going each week, but they will be both fun and informational!  Rumor has it a trip to Texas A&M is in the works (WHOOP).

     Wednesday afternoons will be our service days.  We are partnering with eight (!) different ministries in the West Dallas area to serve and bless them however we can.  Part of the mission of Mercy Street is to equip the young people of West Dallas to lead Biblically.  Such a huge component of Biblical leadership is servanthood.  Wednesday service days actively equip the junior interns to humbly serve and lead in the community, following in the example of Christ.  Mark 10:45 says: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  My prayer is that the junior interns would take this lesson to heart through their service on Wednesdays, giving themselves sacrificially to the ministries they serve with.

     Thursdays are dedicated to theology.  Part of raising up a generation of Biblical leaders is heightening their Biblical theology.  We believe that it is so very important that the junior interns experience this time, for if they serve and lead, but do not understand why they are serving and leading, than how can they consciously glorify God?  How can Christ's name be made known?  Colossians 3:23 makes this absolutely transparent: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."  Our time this summer must be for the Lord, not merely service "just because" - and it is of the utmost importance that the junior interns learn this and connect with God.

     On Fridays, the junior interns do not come to Mercy Street.  It is a short day for the senior interns as well, a time for us to fellowship and spend time with the Lord, make plans for the following week, and meet with our supervisors to pray together.

     Whew.  That's a rough idea of what our weeks will look like.  Long days are ahead to be certain, but I couldn't be more excited.  We will be stretched, we will be worn out, and we will be drained, but in everything we will fix our eyes on Christ and run the good race (Isaiah 41:10 is optimistic).

Until next time, God Bless!

Drumroll…. Introducing the 2014 Senior Interns!

(Not pictured: Laura, Rachel, and Tim)

Drew Salada

My name is Drew Salada, and I am a twenty year-old college student at Texas A&M University.  I was born and raised in Michigan, but I loved Texas so much that I had to come for school!  This summer at Mercy Street, I will specifically be the service coordinator, responsible for overseeing the Wednesday service days at various local non-profits and ministries.  I’m so excited for what God has in store for everyone at Mercy Street, and I’m happy that we’re getting going!

Taylor Hatfield

Hi! I'm Taylor Hatfield, a recent graduate of Texas A&M University - Whoop! I studied Marketing and Non-profit management and am hoping to work with young women in discipleship. I am a born and raised Texan and grew up in The Woodlands. So as I enter into this summer in West Dallas I am super excited to be exposed to the community and lifestyle here, which is quite different from the background I grew up in. I will be the administrative assistant this summer and handling all the grimy behind the scene details which I am actually quite excited about! I also cannot wait to dive into the lives of the families and students here in West Dallas and to be so deeply involved in discipleship and in living life with our students. We are all expectant of the Lord to do the immeasurable this summer and come willing to be used in whatever ways He asks of us!

Chelsea Boyd

Hey! My name is Chelsea Boyd. I'm originally from Oklahoma City. I just graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in education. I also recently got engaged and will be getting married next year. My fiancé is a student at OSU, so I'll be moving to Oklahoma in the fall and teaching 6th grade math in Guthrie, OK. I am so excited to be learning and serving at Mercy Street this summer! I want to learn about loving the people where you live and invest my life this summer in some of the students and families of this community. Stay tuned as we keep this blog updated with stories of God's faithfulness!

Noemi Gonzalez

Hello everyone! My name is Noemi Gonzalez and I am from Houston, Texas. I attend the University of Houston and will be a junior in the fall. Go Coogs! I am a Human Development and Family Studies major. I am interning at Mercy Street this summer and am the social media coordinator. I am so happy that God graciously gave me this opportunity and that I am able to serve Him in this way. I am excited to embark on this journey of spiritual growth and serving in the inner city. Hopefully this experience will allow me to see the plans God has for my future.

Brittany Blomstedt

Hey y’all! My name is Brittany Blomstedt. I was born in The Woodlands, TX, but grew up in College Station, TX. I just graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Elementary Education. Starting this August, I will be a 2nd grade teacher at Greens Prairie Elementary School in College Station. I am so thrilled to be at Mercy Street this summer! Here at Mercy Street I will be serving as the Super Monday’s Coordinator. Basically I will be overseeing all 4 of the sites where our outreach children’s ministry will take place. I am so excited to be living in the community of West Dallas this summer as I believe this is a community where the Lord is most definitely at work! I can’t wait to learn from the Mercy Street staff, the other interns, the children, and the families as we dive into life together! I know God has big, big things in store!

Laura Alcantar

Hello! My name is Laura Alcantar and I am a student at El Centro Junior college in Down Town Dallas. I am studying to get my associates in science to later transfer to a four year university and get my bachelors in Biology. I am from West Dallas and this is my third year as an intern at Mercy Street and first as a Senior Intern. I will be a site leader at Lakeview apartments. I am so excited to play a role as a leader this summer for the girls in my community and can't wait to see what The Lord has in store for us!

Susanna Carlson

Hi everyone! My name is Susanna Carlson and I am a junior studying elementary education at Texas A&M University. I am a Dallas native and so excited to be spending my summer here in West Dallas. Specifically within my role as a Sr. Intern, I will be coordinating the Leadership Institute's garage sale (scheduled for August 2nd - mark your calendars!). During this summer I hope to learn more about what urban ministry looks like, lead the Jr. Interns to wholeheartedly pursue Christ, and above all, bring glory to my Lord.  I am looking forward to the coming weeks and cannot wait to see what God has planned!

Rachel Anderson

Hi my name is Rachel Anderson, I am twenty years old and from Northern Ireland where I am completing a theology degree in the Irish Baptist Bible college. This summer I will be a Senior Intern at Mercy Street with the hope to empower and train up young people from the community to become Godly leaders who lovingly serve The Lord in West Dallas. I will also be a site leader at King Bridge, which includes the overseeing of various activities, and programs that will occur in that area.

So far I have learnt a lot in my adventure to Mercy Street. God is using ordinary people to do extraordinary things through simple acts of selfless love. I have been so inspired by the love that Mercy Street has for it's community and to have been given the chance to be apart of their lives has so far been an amazing, refreshing experience. TRULY pumped to see how our wonderful God will use His people, this summer to glorify His name!

Stephen Painter

"You shall love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37b-39 ESV). As a Mercy Street senior intern and, more importantly, an ambassador for Christ, Jesus just gave me, Stephen Painter, my #1  and #2 goals for this summer. Thankfully, by God's grace, I am a 19 year old from Tomball Texas who has been brought up immersed in the Scriptures, given a broken heart to serve God faithfully at the age of 15, given the opportunity to serve God as a Communication major at Texas A&M University, and given the awesome privilege of serving Him here in West Dallas with Mercy Street this summer. Lord willing, my work here will consist of primarily discipling junior interns (high school disciples from the area) and coordinating a summer program for children at Villa Creek Apartments right here at our doorstep. This opportunity is one that I am eternally grateful for and would appreciate prayer over. God's plan is unfolding and I can't thank Him enough for the part He has given us in that! To Him be the glory forever and ever!

Timothy Thomas

Hello! My name is Tim and I am a first year student at CFNI. I am from West Dallas born and raised in the community. This will be my fourth year working with Mercy Street during the summer, but my first year working as a senior intern. I am currently completing my Associate Degree at El Centro while also earning my degree in Inner City Youth Ministry. This summer I am the site coordinator for The Hampton apartment complex. I am super excited to be a leader and to invest in younger adults as Mercy Street has done for me. The Lord is doing great things in our community this summer and  I have front row seats! Until next "Peace on the Middle East!"

A Long Road Rewarded by Estefania Alcantar

My name is Estefania Alcantar, I am 23 years old born in Morelia, Michoacán Mexico and raised in West Dallas. I attended Eladio R. Martinez Elementary School, Thomas A. Edison Middle School, L.G. Pinkston High School and Texas A&M University.  

College was one of the most challenging experiences for me. I thought I was ready for college since I was an “A and B” honor roll student all my life and graduated salutatorian from L.G. Pinkston High School in 2009.

Fall 2009 was my first semester at Texas A&M University. I was enrolled in 18 credit hours and enrolled in the Corps of Cadets, senior military program. The Corps advisor advised me to drop one class, so I took her advice and dropped one class. I started my first day of classes with 15 credit hours, no books and no friends. I did not have books because I did not have money to pay for them and none of my high school friends went to Texas A&M University.

My first year in college was one of the worst years in my college career, but it was also one of the best years. I remember calling my Dad crying because I had made my first “F” something I was not used to. He told me to be strong and to not give up. I learned that I had to work really hard if I wanted to reach my goals and if I wanted to serve as a role model for the younger generation.  

I finished my first semester with a 1.727 GPA, something I was very disappointed about. When I came home that winter break I was told to consider leaving A&M and to attend community college in Dallas. Even though this seemed like the best thing to do, I refused because I like to finish what I start.

Mercy Street hooked me up with ScholarShot who helped me pay for books and who provided me with a laptop. Because of the books, laptop and most importantly the support from Mercy Street, ScholarShot, family and friends I finished my second semester with a 3.333 GPA. After my freshman year there was no stopping me.  I made sure that every time I came home I had good news and that I exceeded peoples expectation of me. I always felt pressured because I was the first person in my entire family to attend a four year University and I did not want to disappoint my family, and all those who supported me during this journey of ups and downs.

I will graduate from Texas A&M University on May 10, 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Development and a minor in Business Administration. Before graduation one of the requirements for my degree was to intern for a company doing something in my career field. Mercy Street helped me find an internship with Austin Bridge & Road were I interned with the Human Resource Department.

There was no hope of them offering me a full-time job because they had recently hired someone and there were no openings. I prayed that I would find a full- time job before my internship was over.

In early April, the Human Resource Director told me about a possible position but nothing was set. On April 22, 2014 I was surprised for lunch at Texas Cattle where I was offered a full-time position from Austin Commercial. I accepted the offer and will start full-time May 12, 2014, the Monday after graduation.

I feel EXTREMELY BLESSED that God has never left my side and that he continues to bless me every single day. Every day, I ask God to guide me in the direction he wants me to go even if that is not what I had in mind. I am excited to start this new journey in my life and I ask everyone to continue to keep me in their prayers.   

The Beginnings of a Future Story

Kevin wants to be a policeman, however like most kids he needs to take school a little more seriously.

My nephew Aaron is a police office at Mesquite Police Department and we joined him at the opening of his shift a few Saturdays ago...

Aaron explained what it takes to become a police officer including school and college requirements.

We started by touring through police headquarters, this included observing the 911 department and meeting some of the 911 and dispatch agents.  They explained the technology of the equipment they use to receive calls and how that ultimately ends up at a police car in the city.  They also showed us how they map all the police cars in the city and can track their whereabouts.  Then we toured the locker rooms and showers, weight rooms and police work stations where reports are prepared.  The inside tour concluded with sitting in on the shift debriefing where the shift commander debriefs the police officers on things to be aware of and suspect profiles.  After that we participated in the pre-checks of the police car and equipment.  This included checking lights and sirens, logging onto the in-car computer and set up, and weapon checks.

It was a lot of fun, and both Kevin and I enjoyed it.  

"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives growth." 1 Corinthians 3:7