In the first of two articles about Shepherd Community Center\u2019s 2023 interns, we asked the students about their experiences serving at Shepherd. Here are their answers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Josiah Bradbury<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; he attends Indiana Wesleyan University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q. <\/strong>Why did you choose to intern at Shepherd? Josiah:<\/strong> God opened a door to learn in a different space, and I believe he\u2019s called me to this space at this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What were your expectations of interning at Shepherd? Josiah:<\/strong> To learn and grow in different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeffer Ward<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Vancouver, B.C., Canada; he attends Douglas College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> Why did you choose to intern at Shepherd? Jeffer:<\/strong> I chose Shepherd because I wanted to go to a different environment and experience the different ways God works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What were your expectations of interning at Shepherd? Jeffer:<\/strong> I was expecting to experience a lot with work, but also being in a new area and meeting new people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What did you learn as an intern? Jeffer:<\/strong> I learned to be patient with myself and to open up more with others and Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brice Rupert<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Charleston, S.C.; he attends Trevecca Nazarene University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> Why did you choose to intern at Shepherd? Brice:<\/strong> God called so my wife and I listened and followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What were your expectations of interning at Shepherd? Brice:<\/strong> None other than God would move and love others through us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What did you learn as an intern? Brice:<\/strong> How to be strict in love to provide a foundation of growth for students. More fully how to love those who are difficult to love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abigail Taylor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Nashville, Tenn.; she attends Trevecca Nazarene University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> Why did you choose to intern at Shepherd? Abigail:<\/strong> I chose to attend Shepherd for my internship to grow relationally and spiritually in a community that has Christ at the heart of its mission — to break the cycle of generational poverty. I also believe in the compassionate ministry that Shepherd promotes, and truly serving God\u2019s children through the education of children (and the children educating the adults as well).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What were your expectations of interning at Shepherd? Abigail:<\/strong> At first, they were not high expectations. I was afraid I wouldn\u2019t get along with the other interns and that I wasn\u2019t qualified for the position. As I got more involved in the internship, my expectations changed completely. I learned to trust in God and place my faith in Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What did you learn from interning? Abigail:<\/strong> I learned to grow spiritually. I learned to be patient and truly listen to God\u2019s voice – the still quiet voice and the memorable, loud voice. I learned to place my faith in Jesus Christ with the children, expectations, hopes and aspirations. Essentially, I learned to place my life in the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicole Weaver<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Springfield, Ill.; she attends Illinois State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> Why did you choose to intern at Shepherd? Nicole:<\/strong> I chose to intern at Shepherd because I love the mission statement. As a social work major who wants to work with children and families, I thought this would be a great opportunity to serve this community in a Christ-like way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What were your expectations of interning at Shepherd? Nicole:<\/strong> I expected this summer to be challenging but also encouraging. I knew it would be a very eye-opening experience. I also expected to grow and learn a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What did you learn from interning? Nicole:<\/strong> I learned a lot about patience and grace this summer. God really opened my heart and my mind to new perspectives. I learned that we can learn so much from children, especially from their faith in God. I loved seeing their faith and their confidence in God grow, which encouraged me too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roman Schwarz<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Kansas City, Mo.; he attends Olivet Nazarene University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> Why did you choose to intern at Shepherd? Roman:<\/strong> I chose to intern at Shepherd because I am passionate about a lot of what Shepherd works to do: compassionate ministry, sharing the love of Jesus, building relationships, and breaking the cycle of poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What were your expectations of interning at Shepherd? Roman:<\/strong> I expected an environment different from what I was used to. I expected to grow in faith and build skills towards working with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What did you learn as an intern? Roman:<\/strong> Ministry is tough; it needs to be done with a mindset that is fully reliant on God. I learned how to love those who are hard to love. I learned that love can mean being firm and building boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zaira Tovar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Vancouver, Canada; she attends Douglas College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> Why did you choose to intern at Shepherd? Zaira:<\/strong> It was offered to me as an opportunity to come and work with kids and I just liked that idea and said yes. I knew I was coming to serve and God has definitely called me into ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What were your expectations of interning at Shepherd? Zaira:<\/strong> I came here knowing I was going to develop my leadership, and know I was going to learn from the kids and other staff. In the end, I knew God was going to lead my time here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What did you learn as an intern? Zaira:<\/strong> I developed a lot of independence. I also learned that I need to be kind in how I treat others because there is so much background that the outside world does not know the person is going through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Erica Rupert<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Nashville, Tenn.; she attends Trevecca Nazarene University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> Why did you choose to intern at Shepherd? Erica:<\/strong> I wanted a place to do ministry alongside my new husband after we got married, in a place already doing kingdom work. I have a passion for compassionate ministries and love everything Shepherd is doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What were your expectations of interning at Shepherd? Erica:<\/strong> Partnering alongside people also passionate about ushering in the kingdom of God and living alongside people wanting to be Jesus to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q.<\/strong> What did you learn as an intern? Erica:<\/strong> How much this truly is about God and not about me. There were many, many days that I felt like I wasn\u2019t doing anything right and that maybe God didn\u2019t really call us here. And yet, people constantly said that I had great patience, grace, compassion, and love for these kids, and I know it was God working in and through me to love everyone around me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the first of two articles about Shepherd Community Center\u2019s 2023 interns, we asked the students about their experiences serving at Shepherd. Here are their answers: Josiah Bradbury From Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; he attends Indiana Wesleyan University. Q. Why did you choose to intern at Shepherd? Josiah: God opened a door to learn in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-shepherd","category-interns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}