By Daniel L. Bamberg
Daniel@Centrevillepress.com
“This has been a rewarding and exciting experience and in many ways fun. I have to go now, there is a child crawling on my back like a monkey,” said Stephanie Bamberg of Centreville. She is a 2009 graduate of Bibb County High School and currently a student at Shelton State Community College. Along with 2009 BCHS Valedictorian and Auburn University student, Brock Horsley, she is spending her summer in Mobile, Alabama helping kids from poverty stricken homes.
Just before the summer break representatives from the 3.0 Missional Internship Program visited college campuses in attempts to recruit students for their summer day camps. When Auburn was visited, Brock showed immediate interest. After one volunteer could not make the trip Brock began contacting some of his classmates. Stephanie volunteered to go in this person’s stead almost immediately. She literally made the decision within a week of her departure. “I wasn’t planning on doing anything with any real purpose for my summer. So when I heard about this it was the perfect opportunity to make myself useful and do something positive and productive,” Stephanie expressed.
3.0 Missional Internship is an extension of the United Methodist Church, and is a mission of spreading the word and message of Christ through action and charity. It is sponsored by the Quad W Foundation, which was established in memory of a 19-year old osteosacrcoma victim. This young man, Willie Tichenor believed in using his short life to make a positive difference in the world around him.
There are three main goals of 3.0. One is to provide a deeply significant, potentially life-changing mission experience for college students. Another is to holistically meet the needs of the poor, and finally to partner with churches in troubled communities, helping them re-connect with the people of their area.
In the Mobile charter mainly, but not exclusively focuses their attention on children of troubled, poverty-stricken, and broken homes. Six sites in the area provide day camps for these children. 3.0 interns feed the children, educate the children, and spend time showing compassion and friendship to these children.
“We have bible study, teach them about hygiene, and provide physical education. Most of the kids here are from extremely low-income homes. Some of them wouldn’t even be eating if it weren’t for this program,” Brock stated. “A lot of these kids are neglected and few of them actually experience love and compassion. It makes a tremendous difference for someone to be there and tell them they are loved and that they have a purpose,” he concluded.
As previously stated the mission of these interns does not target children exclusively. On Fridays, the kids and their college-aged mentors go on field trips inside of the community. According to Stephanie, they have visited a half-way house in order to express forgiveness and kindness to criminals re-entering the system. They have visit soup kitchens to help feed the poor. They have even visited the former criminals of the half way house and extended invitations to help in the feeding of the poor. The halfway residents did not hesitate to throw themselves into a moment of honest social work.
Saint Mark’s United Methodist Church in conjunction with Whistler United Methodist Church have made dorms from Sunday School classes in order to house the interns during their two month stay.
“We all think about what we want in life and think about what we want to do in life. The more we help people the less want and need there is. That is why I believe I decided to do this and it has been a great experience,” said Brock.
“This experience has made me a lot closer to God. It has strengthened my relationship with Him,” concluded Stephanie.
For more information about 3.0 Missional Internship visit: www.3mlt.com
For more information about the Quad W Foundation visit: www.quadw.org
For more information about the United Methodist Church visit: www.umc.org
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