Training week was an exciting time to meet our fellow interns and those who will be guiding us along the way, most notably including our DPF Mission Director Brian Frederick-Gray and our Peace Intern Chaplain Sarah Zuniga.
Our intern cohort connected with 24 church leaders throughout the week, both via Zoom and in person, and learned more than I thought possible about our denomination and about ourselves as Disciples Peace Interns.
I was thrilled to spend the week in my own city of Indianapolis, where we were graciously hosted by Allisonville Christian Church in their newly renovated guest house. Not only did we enjoy great fellowship with great company, but we even did so at some of my favorite Indianapolis restaurants! Our cohort connected over home cooked meals, oat milk lattes, local pizza, late night ice cream, cooking tv shows, and even a round of Top Golf when we had the time to spare!
Most of all, we grew in our faith and challenged ourselves with difficult conversations and eye opening training sessions. One of my favorite afternoons was spent at former peace intern and current Disciples Overseas Ministries Vice President for Administration and Programs Krista Johnson Weicksel’s home in Franklin, Indiana, where we learned numerous “Singing to the Lions” workshops to share with our camps. Singing to the Lions offers a variety of interactive games, discussion topics, and engaging activities that can be introduced to any age group at any camp. Krista even encouraged us to practice leading workshops for one another in her beautiful backyard, where she shared many insightful tips for our summer as peace interns.
This was an especially special day for me, as my family hosted Krista in our home one summer when I was young, while she traveled in a similar capacity as I will travel in now.
This was just one of the many exciting days in an exhaustingly encouraging week of training. I look forward to seeing how each of our resources plays out in the many camps we will attend, and know that our days of training will be well worth it as our summers unfold.