Just getting started! Week 1

 I can’t believe the time is here and we are all starting our internships! This past Sunday I moved to Uptown in Chicago into my apartment at Emmaus, which is located above the ministry & offices. I moved into an apartment with three of the nicest roommates who are doing a yearlong internship with Emmaus known as Kaio. I felt nervous moving in and being the new person, but was overwhelmed with how welcoming everyone is including everyone at the ministry.

Emmaus is a pretty small ministry located in Uptown, which I really like because it gives me a chance to get to know everyone faster and more personally. For those who do not know Emmaus Ministries reaches out to men who are involved in survival prostitution on the streets of Chicago. There is an outreach team that goes out into the streets of Chicago in the night to build relationships with the men to get them into the ministry center, and ultimately off the streets to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, Emmaus has their Ministry Center (MC) open 5 days a week for lunch (sometimes dinner). We hang out with the guys, eat food, and offer some resources to the men. This includes: phone calls, mail, shower, laundry, and sometimes clothing. When the men come in the MC for the day they sign up for a chore on the list and write down a goal they want to accomplish for the day. 

My first day starting at Emmaus the ministry had a day of prayer. This is where they close down the ministry every first Monday of the month, and pray for the ministry, staff, and the men they serve. This basically serves as a time for the staff to receive rest from their work and to spend time in prayer. The staff can give out prayer requests, and then everyone prays for each other. We read scripture, meditated on it, and then talked about it. After lunch we then spent time in prayer for the men. There were three categories: Alcohol, Drugs, and Mental illness. We added names of the guys that struggle with these issues, and prayed for all of them. I thought the day of prayer was a cool way to start with my first day at Emmaus. I was doing more observing than participating considering it was only my first day and I was still getting to know people. This was a really neat experience to see how the staff cares so much about all the men that they serve.

My second day at Emmaus I did office training, which involved answering phone calls, and learning how to work the phone system. I then had the opportunity to go downstairs to the ministry and have lunch with the men. The MC at Emmaus serves lunch Monday through Friday, and dinner three Saturdays a month. The men were so welcoming to me considering I was an unfamiliar face. Before every meal one of the guys does devotions and prays. My time was short in the MC, but it was really great to meet some of the guys at Emmaus.

I did my first Outreach later on that night! This is where volunteers go out to Boystown, (which is known as a gay community in Chicago) at 10:30 at night and hang around until 2:30am. Outreach involves walking around or standing at a corner, and just being open to having conversations with people particularly the men who are involved in survival prostitution and Emmaus. Considering this was my first night I wasn’t sure what to expect, but my roommate explained to me what a typical night of Outreach looked in the winter. Usually, there is not too much activity on the streets on a Tuesday night, but in places such as Starbucks, 7-11, and various bars is where a lot of the men hang around. The Outreach teams at Emmaus do not approach the men, but we let the guys approach us. If we are approached we just talk and build relationships with them. If we meet someone for the first time we build a relationship with them in hopes to get them into the ministry, out of a life of prostitution, and into a relationship with Jesus Christ. I met one of the guys during Outreach that night. Hearing a little bit about his background he has a pretty close relationship with Emmaus, and has been involved in the ministry, but has not been at the ministry center recently due to certain issues, and not following ministry rules. The relationship Emmaus has with him will always be there whether he returns to the ministry or if it’s on the streets. I really enjoyed doing Outreach for the first time, and being able to experience and learn more about what it entails. It was snowing pretty bad and was super cold that night so we came in a little earlier. Before we left Boystown my roommate and I were interviewed by a cameraman for ABC 7 news in regards to the weather and ended up on the news the next morning. What a way to end the night!

The following day I worked my first shift in the ministry center. This was a day where I could just hangout and get to know the men. This involved me having lunch, small talk, and playing a whole lot of Yatzee. Having this day of getting to know the men in the MC was a blessing. Having this experience even only on my third day made me so glad that I chose Emmaus for my field placement. The men that I have met so far are so kind and welcoming. I did not walk out of the MC that day without receiving hugs and handshakes from the men. I was given the opportunity to have some guys share some of their pasts with me filled with addiction and prostitution and where they are at now. It was so amazing to hear how far some of the men have come through this ministry and most importantly, God!

I really like it at Emmaus so far. I love the ministry and the mission of the ministry. The staff is the kindest group of people, and it is obvious how much they care about the men they serve. I am so thankful for this opportunity God has given me to be here at Emmaus, to serve these men, and have three really awesome roommates for the next few months. The Lord is working here, and I am excited to see what God will do during my time at Emmaus!

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On the news!!!!


*Names will always be changed for confidentiality.