A big thanks to Lilli Wallace, one of our summer interns, for giving us permission to adapt today’s blog from the contextualization essay she wrote at the end of her internship with us!
My internship expectations were based on my short-term trip last summer with my university. I expected to see familiar faces and to bond with the clients and the staff at MTES. I expected to serve, and learn and gain deeper understanding for my social work practicum.
Unexpectedly, I saw the “other side” of short-term missions and service. Last year I came as part of a group, and this year I saw the receiving end. It made me think and evaluate the purpose of going to serve in another country when someone really doesn’t know the language. It made me reflect on whether or not service might be a barrier, and caused me to reflect on behaviors that I am sure i myself have been guilty of. Even behaviors that come from a good place can actually hurt a person outside of the context of relationships.Â
Beyond even my expectations, I was impacted by the people I worked with through this social work practicum. I had the honor and opportunity to introduce the support group for families at one of the New Dawn Residential Program Family Day activities. I loved seeing this side of the process, the boys’ interaction with family members, the families receiving education about addictions and the effects on individuals. I also saw the need for father figures and role models for young men.Â
Another support group that impacted me deeply was the women’s group. One of the women lost a child and came almost immediately to the group for support and care. Seeing the way she coped with others around helped me understand the resilience of a collectivist culture. I learned so much.Â
Conversations were my favorite part of this whole experience. I genuinely wondered and processed aloud at times why I was here, I was humbled and I evaluated myself. I learned about the country and I learned from our book study. We read Stronger Together by Maria Garriott and I could not stop thinking about a quote from St. Augustine in the book, “Let every good and true Christian understand that wherever truth may be found, it belongs to his Master.”  This quote explained a lot of feelings I had and helped me to understand that all truth is God’s truth, even when it comes from fallible vessels, which of course includes me!Â
Through the book study and just different conversations, I learned so much about church too and the way we see everything through our cultural lens. The church has not mastered a “right way” to do it and there is a sense of relief in that! The amount we allow our culture to determine our view of proper church can hinder or increase our impact. I can’t discount other’s way of worship because it looks different from mine.Â
One of the big highlights from all of these studies and conversations was the idea of being “unoffendable.” I can get defensive in conversations about culture and I don’t like to think of myself as being prejudiced or racist or anything related! I learned it’s okay to make a mistake but it’s not okay to stay naive. I want to take part in hard conversations but I can only grow if I put myself in them.
As I keep pursuing my degree in social work, I want to remember the kindness shown to me by those who didn’t understand my Spanish. I loved the empowering and dignifying approach I learned here. I developed more empathy for people in the U.S. who do not speak English and have to adapt to the way of life. I have been truly humbled and there were multiple times I felt incompetent, slow and unintelligent. I know I’m not but the circumstances made me feel that way. I now understand what it’s like to step outside of my culture and try to integrate into another. I now want to work in a diverse, cross-cultural setting.Â
The Lord showed me many things strongly related to unity and humility. I have learned and will continue to learn the value of being humble. Being humble culturally and spiritually allows for greater unity within and outside of the church.Â
Letting go of my need to be right has been a great lesson – that I will continue to learn and grow in for the rest of my life. People are more important than my correctness, and being together is more important than who is right.Â
