Name: Angela Heesacker
Age: 20
Hometown: Hay Springs, Nebraska
School: Chadron State College
Major/Minor: Education (7-12)
Site/s where you have served: St. Marks UMC
Q: Why did you want to serve full-time as a PT intern?
I served as a summer intern because I am called into the ministry and working with youth is a great joy to me. I heard about PT on the internet and knew after reading about the organization that I wanted to be a part of making a difference in children’s lives.
Q: What is the most important lesson you have learned from working with underserved children/youth?
The most important lesson that I learned is that all children/youth in the world are the same in the sense that they are all in need of love, they are striving to learn more, they want to experience life and have fun. Children/youth may be put in different situations in life such as being in poverty or living on a farm or living in an inner-city but kids just want to be kids and that is the most important thing, no matter their situation, let them enjoy their childhood. They deserve that much!
Q: How has PT affected your faith journey?
PT not only strengthened my faith journey but it gave me the sense of belonging in a Christian fellowship. Living a summer with other Christians my age gave me hope that I am not the only one striving to become better connected to God. It made me reevaluate my journey and gave me hope that sometimes when I feel alone, I am really not.
Q: How has your experience with PT helped you to better understand your gifts and your calling?
PT helped me to better understand my calling as I was considering going into the ministry and now after working with PT I know that my consideration was correct. I am going into the ministry and plan on attending Seminary after undergrad. I am just unsure of which direction in the ministry. I also realized how much I love leading worship, playing guitar, as I was able to do a few jam sessions this summer.
Q: What is your favorite part of the Project Transformation experience?
My favorite part of my PT experience was seeing my youth grow and their faith strengthen throughout the summer. At the beginning of the summer my youth did not know the Lord’s Prayer and by the end of the summer they were praying the Lord’s Prayer without looking at the words!
Q: What are your future vocational plans and how has PT helped to shape or clarify those plans?
After I graduate from Chadron State I plan on attending Seminary, not sure where yet. I also am not sure where at in the ministry I will end up but PT helped clarify that I was on the right path of going into the ministry.
Q: What have you learned from living with other young adults in such a diverse Christian community?
I have learned, from my fellow interns that it is okay to be different. They taught me that you do not have to live through the world and by others standards. And most importantly they taught me to live out your faith no matter what because we all come from different background, different worlds, but we are all worshipping one God and that’s all that truly matters.
Q: What is the most important thing you will take away from serving through Project Transformation?
The most important thing I will take away from serving PT is not taking the little things for granted. My kids touched my heart in so many ways, and I do not ever want to let go of that. They accepted me with my mid-western accent and my small town mentality for who I was. We needed each other this summer and it truly was by the grace of God.
Q: What advice would you give to a young adult who is interested in serving as a PT intern?
DO IT! If you are even slightly considering it, give it a shot. PT will change your life for the better! You will get to hang out all summer with other Christians like yourself and work with amazing, although sometimes challenging, kids. As John Wesley would put it, “Your heart will be strangely warmed!”
If you could tell one story from your experience at PT – what story would you tell?
I already mentioned this above, but it really touched and stuck with me. My youth did not know the Lord’s Prayer, some had never even heard of it. So, we decided that we would make it a point to say the Lord’s Prayer everyday after TAG (Talk About God). We made a poster with the words in English and Spanish so they could read along. By the end of the summer our youth no longer had to look at the poster and prayed the Lord’s Prayer with their eyes closed. I was so pleased to see that they knew this very important prayer.