Shannon's Corner

What a week it has been. All 11 of our summer interns arrived safe and sound to the Dominican Republic last Saturday even though they experienced some bumps along the way.  Sunday the interns got to visit some of the homes of our ANIJA school kids to get an idea of the community of at-risk children we serve.  My group was to see a boy who finished second grade but he was enjoying the afternoon at the river with his grandmother so we ended up visiting another child who just graduated from first grade at ANIJA. Graduating first grade is a big thing because the kids are able to read.  All the children write their own "books" that they read during graduation.  This year the theme was on fruits.  The little girl we visited wrote her "book" about grapes.  Later that evening, I shared a small devotion with the interns about how uniquely God has made them (Gen. 1:27; Ps. 139:13-14; Col. 3:12).  Our first session was to learn more about ourselves and how un...

SHANNON’S CORNER May 2018 Beauty from Ashes I recently had a conversation with someone who has gone through a very hard, hurtful and painful time for several years. This person shared with me how God has helped her to process through the hurt and pain.  Not an easy road.  But a necessary one in order to receive healing and restoration.  Yet, as she is sharing with me the various things that God has taught her and had her process and reflect on, I see a beauty.  I see peace.  I see Jesus. This is the part of my ministry that I love.  The part where I see Jesus reflected more boldly and brightly than before.  Jesus makes beauty from the ashes. I got to hear four of our directors share their testimonies at our directors retreat.  It was awesome to hear how God had worked in these four directors’ lives since they were little girls.  Their childhood and upbringing were all d...

It's hard to believe that summer is almost hear, which means that our season of summer interns has almost arrived.  I am excited about this season since I really do enjoy working with interns and hearing how God has called them to serve Him in a cross-cultural experience as well as to see how God will grow them and use them for His kingdom.  I am excited because this year I have been able to put into place a more informative and hands-on training/orientation for our interns who will be serving this summer. Some of you may be wondering why summer interns?  Our purpose for summer interns is because God calls us each to "go and preach the Good News..." and this is one platform to be able to share the Good News to the kids in our ministries, our national staff and those who live in our communities.  We are all one body but made up of different parts, which each part has it's unique purpose for the body as a whole.  Summer interns help by assisting, teaching, a...