Name: Elizabeth Lumpkin
Age: 20
Hometown: Galveston, IN
School: Olivet Nazarene University
Major/Minor: Ministerial Missions/ Spanish
Site/s where you have served: Casa Linda
Q: Why did you want to serve full-time as a PT intern?
When I heard about Project Transformation I felt like it was a perfect fit for what I sensed God was leading me to do with my time, gifts, and passions for the summer. I loved that PT was a holistic ministry meeting some critical needs of underserved children, youth, and communities. I guess I wanted to work with PT because I felt compelled by God to be a part of it!
Q: What is the most important lesson you have learned from working with underserved children/youth?
Coming into my summer with PT I was really expecting working with underserved youth to be a lot different than working with youth from other communities. In some ways it was a lot different, but most of the time it didn’t seem that different at all. I learned that we can’t assume that we know what these youth need in their lives. I was reminded that relationships really are the most important part of ministry and that the best relationships are built more on listening than talking.
Q: How has PT affected your faith journey?
I sound pretty enthusiastic and excited when I talk about my experience with Project Transformation now, but to be honest there were a lot of times during the summer that I really struggled. It was a good struggle, though, a holy one where I wrestled with God and myself about the tough questions in life—about why some are blessed and others are not, why suffering sometimes has victory over peace, and why there are so many broken, lost, and lonely in this world. PT affected my faith journey because it reminded me in a really powerful way that what we do as the children of God really does matter. We have the chance to bring the Kingdom of God to this Earth each and every day through everything we do. That’s incredible because the gospel is definitely Good News for this broken world! In His Kingdom all are blessed, peace is always victorious over suffering, and the broken, lost, and lonely are comforted. I learned last summer, and am still learning still, about what it means to pray for His Kingdom to come and then make myself available to be used by God as an answer to my own prayer.
Q: How has your experience with PT helped you to better understand your gifts and your calling?
I started my internship with Project Transformation with a pretty strong conviction about being called into ministry, but I also did not sense that God was leading me to be a minister in the traditional sense as a pastor, youth pastor, children’s pastor, etc. in a church setting. PT was a great experience for me because I was able to continue to explore different kinds of ministries and what God might be calling me to do with my gifts. Most of all I learned that God is calling me first to Himself and second to ministry. I cannot let the ministry I am called to distract me from the One who is calling me to it.
Q: What is your favorite part of the Project Transformation experience?
There are a lot of really awesome parts about the summer internship with Project Transformation—so many that it’s really hard to pick one! But, if I had to pick, the most incredible part of my summer was the chance to meet so many incredible people—other interns, PT staff, church members and pastors, and most of all the children, youth, and families that we served. I’ve made some great relationships that will last a lifetime.
Q: What are your future vocational plans and how has PT helped to shape or clarify those plans?
After graduation in May I’ll be joining Teach for America, a national non-profit organization that is working to help end educational inequality in underserved rural and urban areas of our country. Through TFA I’ll be teaching Special Education to Native Americans near Gallup, New Mexico. Serving with Project Transformation definitely helped shape those plans; without my experience last summer I would have never applied for TFA. Working with the youth at Casa Linda showed me how teaching could fit really well with my passion for youth, for their holistic development, and for incarnational ministry.
Q: What have you learned from living with other young adults in such a diverse Christian community?
I learned that living in community is sometimes difficult, but at the same time it is always worth it. The other interns, who served at Casa Linda with me and at other sites, were a huge support system, and it was awesome that we all brought so many different experiences and perspectives on life to our work with Project Transformation.
Q: What is the most important thing you will take away from serving through Project Transformation?
I’ve always thought of myself as a pretty independent person, and I’ve even usually thought that was a pretty good thing. One of the most important things I’ve taken away from serving with Project Transformation was learning how to be dependent. I learned that an “I can do this” attitude isn’t really very Christian; in fact, it kind of goes against the Good News of the gospel. It is in our weaknesses that God is able to step in and move. Through serving with PT I learned that while I can’t do much by myself to change the world, God can do a whole lot. It’s both crazy and exciting that He has chosen to use the Church, his people, to do it. I’m thrilled to be a part of that and I am depending on the Holy Spirit within me and the body of believers around me to make it happen.
Q: What advice would you give to a young adult who is interested in serving as a PT intern?
PT isn’t necessarily perfect for anyone, but if you want to grow in your faith, build lasting relationships, and learn about how God wants to use you for his Kingdom, all while working with others to make a difference in the lives of underserved children and youth, then its perfect for you. Go for it!
If you could tell one story from your experience at PT – what story would you tell?
Casa Linda was a unique site because our youth program was mostly boys. So many Jr. High boys made for some interesting dynamics at times, and sometimes I wondered if I was really successful at doing anything I wanted to do during the summer. Were any real relationships formed, or was I just another person that walked through the revolving doors of their lives, soon to disappear in just a few short months? At the end of the summer during Urban Camp, that question lingering in my mind was answered. With the guys and girls separate at camp for most activities, I didn’t get to see my boys that much. But I knew they missed me. How did I know? Because they told me— with their words, occasional hugs, high-fives, and fist bumps. And the last day I really knew when one of the guys refused to take his sunglasses off for a picture. I kept giving him a hard time about it, until I looked a little closer and saw why he wouldn’t budge about the sunglasses. A couple tears had welled up in his eyes—tears showing me that joys and struggles, frustrations and laughter were worth it.