Recently I have realized how blessed that I am to spend another year in Athens - especially at this time of year. Fall is gorgeous everywhere, but there is something unique about Athens when the weather begins to turn colder. Students go to football games, people crowd into coffee shops, and everyone longs for that free weekend when they can go camping or hiking away from the same crowds that they embrace during the rest of school year. Now I have to give myself a reality check: it's still summer, but only one more week until fall is official!
I have kept fairly busy this month between discipling my seven girls, working with international students, fulfilling my responsibilities at Wesley, and holding down a part time job. I know that many who hear that I am interning at Wesley wonder what my day-to-day schedule looks like. Here's a sample of one of my days each week:
7:30-9am : Prayer for Wesley; for our various ministry areas, the students that God has given us, and for continued direction for Wesley as a body. This time also serves as an designated portion of our schedule to thank the Lord for what He is doing and for prayerfully preparing for the service that we have every Wednesday night
9:30-11am : I am discipled by a director for an hour every other week. On the alternating weeks, I meet with a group of intern girls who are discipled by the same director. We spend that time sharing our problems and praises with one another and discussing our discipleships with the girls we mentor.
11-11:30am : My 36 hour prayer time slot. Our 36 hour prayer watch is 30 minutes long and the watch extends until our Wednesday service each week. Each staff person takes a time (or two) to spend interceding for the service.
11:30am-1pm : My fellow International Student Ministry intern and I meet with our coordinator at Athens First United Methodist. This time helps the three of us to gauge where we are in planning events, connecting Friendship Partners with one another, and gives us time to talk about the Friday night Bible study that we host every week.
1-2pm: I meet with one of my girls for one hour. The way that discipleship times (DTs) look depends on the girl - sometimes we discuss a topic that they have come across in the last week, and other times we talk about their lives and the challenges that they face on an everyday basis. Discipleship is integral to the way that Wesley serves the students on the UGA campus. This time helps equip students to learn how to live as Christ taught in a very real way, for their time at UGA and beyond. Being discipled allowed me to understand my identity in Christ, and since becoming a discipler myself, I have grown in ways I never though possible before!
2-3pm : another hour-long DT
3-4:30pm : time to send emails, coordinate activities, do chores to keep up the Wesley building, take meetings with those interested in the Friendship Partner program, assist with mission trip planning, and do whatever else needs to get done that day.
At 4:30, I usually leave Wesley and head straight to my part time job. I come home and prepare for small group, which is held once a week.
I hope that this glimpse into my schedule is helpful in understanding what I do during the time I spend at Wesley each day. Being an intern there is not like any other job, but I am so happy that I get to be a part of all that God is doing both at Wesley and in Athens.
 |
| Our 2010-2011 staff. I'm in the back - extra points if you can find me! |
Speaking of the way God is moving in Athens, our Friday night Bible study has been growing steadily for over a month! This is a new small group that we started in August, and so far our numbers have been climbing, from seven to fifteen to thirty international students participating each week. Right now, we are going through Genesis, which is proving to foster unique and thought-provoking discussion so far. All of the students participating in the study are not Christians and come from countries that are closed to the Gospel. I really enjoy hearing different viewpoints on stories that I have known since childhood, and our discussions have brought me to a new level of understanding when it comes to the character of God. Our students are curious and open to what we discuss, and I know that the Lord is working in big ways in our small group.
Our ISM small group, which we have every week, is for the American student leaders that help with our ministry area. We meet together, share testimonies, discuss friendship partners, have a teaching, and then split up into smaller groups to pray and talk in a more intimate setting. I am thankful for how quickly the Lord has enabled us to unify as a group, and I am glad that I have a whole year to get to know everyone in the group better.
For our next event, ISM will host a photo scavenger hunt on September 30th, and I am so excited to see how many people come and how many interesting pictures I will have to judge in the contest!
 |
| A sample photo from our scavenger hunt last year. This picture is one of the reasons that it is one of our most popular events! |
Thank you very much for your continued support and prayers. I would not be able to do all this without your generosity!
'til next time,
Jessica
