I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. My home church was Second Evangelical Free Church, one of the site churches involved in BUMP NYC. I was used to "BUMP week" every summer when a bunch of people wearing brightly-colored matching shirts would come in and run a VBS. I remember hanging out with them sometimes and helping lead worship for their rallies. I remember them being confused when some of the VBS kids didn't speak any English, and when they debated which was worse: the smell of cow poop or the smell of the fish markets. I remember their bewilderment over the consumption of duck eggs and chicken feet by the locals.
This was all relatively day-in-the-life for me, but I liked that people could come into the city and serve God and get a taste of living in Chinatown, and it also kept things in perspective for me. The teaching times reminded me of the unique work that is urban ministry and encouraged me that it could have such a big impact on the BUMPers who were coming in.
Fast-forward ten years to being a rising senior at a college in Baltimore. I'd been on BUMPs before with my youth group in New York and had plenty of BUMP experience growing up in a BUMP church, but it had been a few years since I'd done any kind of missions trip. So when Mrs. April asked me if I'd be interested in interning with BUMP over the summer, I eagerly accepted.
I accepted a little too quickly. I started wondering how fit I would be to lead. I wondered if I'd be a godly leader. I wondered if people would respect me; after all, I was a goofy college kid. Why would church leaders respect me? Why would group leaders respect me? Why should BUMPers respect me? Would anyone trust me to bring them through a week in an unfamiliar place while simultaneously keeping all church property intact, leaders happy with what we're learning and doing, keeping kids excited and maintaining energy levels, all while making sure we get enough sleep, stay sane, fed, hydrated, keeping everyone generally happy, and making sure God stays glorified all at once?
These were not things I could do. First of all, I wasn't "good" enough. I was a broken human being who was still figuring out life and how God even fits into that life on a day-to-day basis. I have my issues. How could I be someone who was looked to? How could I be a good example? How could I do all these things?
And then I realized I was basically asking myself whether or not God would be able to use me. Which, ironically, took me back to one of the first lessons I'd learned on a BUMP trip.
My first missions trip was BUMP LA. We were a group of eight or so, including my father, my youth pastor, and my sister. I was thirteen. I don't think I would have been able to verbalize my fears of my first mission trip then, but that's why God gave us hindsight.
I had a similar fear. Was I too young to serve God? In a very practical way, I was probably one more thing to keep track of for my Dad, my youth pastor, and my sister. I don't remember too many details of the trip. I was one of the Bible storytellers. I have faith God was able to use my work in some way beyond my sight. I helped with the skit. I have faith God was able to use that. But what I remember most is not what I did, but what I learned. I learned that life in the city is often very cruel to those living below the poverty level. I learned that the world can be very unjust to the outcasts; kids who live with their entire immigrant family in two room apartments may have larger responsibilities or greater challenges than I was used to, like taking care of siblings, translating for their parents (for everything from grocery shopping to telemarketers to TV), and not having enough privacy or time to do their daily homework.
I learned that God calls us to those who desperately need Him, and that God uses anyone with a servant's heart and a willingness to represent Him for His glory and to further His mission. If we have those things, it is our job to follow where He calls. It doesn't matter how prepared we think we are, because God sees what we do not and calls us to places we know we can't follow without Him.
My inspiration for the summer was Joseph. God turned him from a brat to the leader of a nation, and He took him there on a pretty unconventional path. He broke Joseph a few times, asked for his faith, and He was faithful in return.
And so began my summer as an intern for BUMP. First stop was two weeks of BUMP Philadelphia, and then New York.
Thanks for reading this far, by the way. We finally got to New York.
It was odd being back in NYC, and for the first time I was returning to my friends in a delineated leadership capacity. I was nervous that navigating this new role with old friends and acquaintances would be difficult, but God was good. He provided for me and took care of all the details I wouldn't have dreamed of thinking of.
I worked with two groups at 2EFC. By the end of the week I couldn't keep track of which students were from which group and the leaders were incredibly cooperative and supportive of each other, the church, and myself. We had an awesome week of VBS, serving about fifty neighborhood kids. One of the church leaders even expressed how cool it was that I was able to return and give back to the church, and how my leadership was a blessing to him.
I was greatly encouraged at the end of the week because it was so obvious how God was moving in the church, the VBS kids, and the BUMP group. The BUMPers were sharing their testimonies with each other during the teaching time everyday and it was clear how encouraged and how close-knit everyone was by the end. The VBS kids were really engaged at the end of the week and very sad that the BUMPers were leaving, but the seeds had been sown among them and, the following Monday after BUMP week was over, the church was running another VBS and around forty of the kids who had come to VBS the previous week were coming out again.
As for me, God showed me that in the midst of the stress and the phone calls and the running around that I was part of this larger process of relationships deepening with both God and us as a team, and when I reflect on the week I realize that God did use me in a dramatic way. Of course, I couldn't have handled any of it without Him. Still, it was comforting to know that part of the reason the week went so smoothly was my presence there, and it was a huge encouragement to me that, through God, I had overcome all of my initial fears.
I was also reminded, like on my first BUMP LA, that not only can God use you if you're willing, but He often has something remarkable to show us along the way instead of expecting us to simple go and do. He gives us great rewards through it and I've found that when God calls us to any kind of leadership, He doesn't send us alone and He uses it not only to further His kingdom but also to deepen our relationship with Him and gives us great rewards. Seeing the week go smoothly and people grow and change made me feel as though I had a great impact, and nothing feels better than that. I only pray that the BUMPers and the VBS kids continue to hear God's voice.
Working as a BUMP intern was incredible. Not only did I get to work at the church I grew up in and continue to be part of their ministry, but I was reminded of God's power and presence in my life, and how we are to rely on Him each and every day and I hope that as I transition back into school and my "every day life" that I remember Him providing and protecting. It was awesome to come full circle with BUMP and at the end of the day be taught the same lessons I've always known are true, and grow as a person and in God along the way.
Peace, Love, and Holla,
The Intern
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