Half Way Though Project Transformation

What an exciting week it has been here at Project Transformation!  Although things haven't been nearly as hectic as last week, busyness was the name of the game as this summer continues to fly by at an incredible pace.

This week's theme was the four elements: Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire.  Monday's theme was Earth and the entire team wore earth tones that included but were not limited to browns, greens, and tans.  Theresa and I rocked the rec rotation for the week and we began the week with a game called Stuck in the Mud that may or may not have been freeze tag with a different name.  For the afternoon enrichment I planned, I channeled my inner liberal hippie and led Recycling Jeopardy. Although I probably should have looked over some of the questions for their content, it went pretty great.  Tuesday's theme was Wind and the whole team wore white because wind is also white, right? For rec, we played Ghostbusters which was a big hit with all of the kids.  Wednesday's theme was Water and everybody on the team wore blue.  In rec, we played a game called Squirt Bottle Tag that Theresa and I made up where the kids ran around squirting water at each other.  I wasn't sure how it would work out, but I am quite happy with how it turned out as it also was a big hit.  Thursday's theme was Fire and although we were supposed to have firemen and a fire truck come out, due to things out of our control, they did not.  Fortunately, our team was flexible and willing to forgive and forget (except for me, of course).  It also was a fiery day on the political scene as the Affordable Care Act was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court and Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of court by Congress.  Obviously, Congress and the Supreme Court knew our day was about fire and planned accordingly.

Outside of PT, I've had an amazing week as well.  The Coldplay concert was absolutely fantastic.  Also, the people at Holy Covenant were super great to me when I spoke to them about Project Transformation this past Sunday.  I'm stoked for another great weekend that includes seeing a midnight showing of Goonies at the Inwood Theatre as well as a day at the lake in Sherman with my fellow interns.  

Three Transforming Weeks of Program

These last few weeks have really flown by!  Although it really does seem like just yesterday that I was moving into SMU, I have now been here for four weeks and have completed three weeks of day camp at Chapel Hill UMC.  The constant tiredness I feel each day has prevented me from writing a blog post as often as I would like, but I will try to sum up each week now.

Week 1:  We're All Famous! was the theme.  The kids made some exciting crafts like cameras as they learned more about each other and realized that they were all special and important to God for who they were and not for being a celebrity.  This was a crazy week as I had to get used to the daily schedule and how the long the work day was.  Getting to know each kid seemed overwhelming at first as I was confronted with 90 elementary kids, but this challenge also got easier with time.  For team bonding, the Chapel Hill team went to BJ's to get a party platter pizooki that was literally humongous, but of course we finished it because we are undefeated.

Week 2: Under the Sea was the theme.  The kids got to experience lots of fun water-themed activities like painting sea shells and I also led them in singing Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid.  It was a shorter week for me as I was lucky enough to take the LSAT that Monday.  For some reason, I kept thinking of (Warning: Full House analogy) when DJ was so stressed out about taking the SAT, her family reassured her by saying that it was only a test.  Although the LSAT does have far-reaching consequences, constantly thinking that it was just a test kept me calm for much of the days and hours before taking the test.  On Friday, we got to have a water day for all of the kids.  With the help of the second coolest Methodist church from Lewisville, Vista Ridge UMC, we put on a water day the kids will never forget (Once again, Chapel Hill = undefeated).

Week 3:  Wild and Wacky was the theme. Every day we had a different wild and wacky theme with Dr. Seuss Monday, Mad Scientist Tuesday, Backwards Wednesday, and Carnival Thursday.  It was literally a wild and wacky week that included a news crew, youth helping lead activities, sick team members, rotten watermelons, and family fun night.  I am very grateful for THE coolest Methodist church in Lewisville, FUMC Lewisville, for coming out and helping cook and serve dinner for over 100 kids and their families.  It was so much fun for all involved and was a great success!

The weeks keep flying by with so much happening!  Life keeping trucking along as I prepare to speak at Holy Covenant UMC on Sunday.  With so much happening, it's hard to take a pause and look back at what was, but as I do, I am once again grateful for this experience and I can't wait to see what comes next this summer.

The Transformation Begins

My first week as an intern at Project Transformation is now finished and I would be lying if I did not say that it was extremely tiring. It all began last Saturday as I packed up and left my house and drove down to Southern Methodist University (SMU) for move-in.  Driving on to campus brought back some memories of my visits to SMU while I was in high school when I thought I would be going here.  I instantly recalled how ridiculously nice the campus was and I realized how fortunate I was that I was going to be able to live here for an entire summer.   So I pull up in front of the Lambda Chi house for check-in, and boy was everybody excited to see me and all of the other new interns.  Although everybody shouting at me in joy was a bit overwhelming at times, I truly felt welcomed.

Once I moved into my room, I met my roommate and suite-mates: Brandon, Josh, and Timmy.  They're all super cool people and I am very lucky to be able to live and share a bedroom/bathroom with them for the entire summer.  Next on the schedule was the first session of training at this little old church right off of campus, Highland Park UMC, where on my way I met even more great people including Erin/Air-n.

Also, I should definitely mention my amazing team at Chapel Hill.  We are also blessed to have THE best site church, Chapel Hill UMC in Farmers Branch.  During the ropes course at Group Dynamix, we won every single game that we played.  This amazing team also just won yesterday a competition on which team had the best presentation and best plans for the first week of camp.  I am truly excited about the prospect of this summer, and although I know it will be tiring at times, it will be a summer that I never forget.

-Jeremy

P.S.  I am really glad I am actually allowed to blog about my internship this summer as opposed to last year when I may or may not have worked for a certain female senator from Texas.