Summer Internship

Dates: May 20 - August 6, 2020

REFERENCES: We require five references total. One from your current pastor, one from a current church elder, two general references, and one on yourself. To receive these reference forms, email sacredroadministries@hotmail.com

NOTE: THIS ONLINE FORM IS VERY INTENSIVE, SO WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU SET ASIDE SIGNIFICANT TIME TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION.

This application cannot be saved online nor will answers be saved if the tab is opened for a prolonged period of time.

If you would like the full list of application questions in advance, you can email sacredroadministries@hotmail.com

Deadline: March 1, 2020

Why be an intern?

The summer intern program is more than just "a good experience" that will give you more life experience. It is a chance to be a part of the growing Church in Native America. The twelve week program is an opportunity to expand your view of the kingdom of God by interacting with a number of different cultures including; Native culture, poverty culture, and the culture of churches from all across the United States.

One of the greatest strengths of the internship is the community that you are a part of while serving at Sacred Road. The intern team and Sacred Road staff live and serve each other like family. We eat, cook, clean, work, serve, play, worship, cry, and laugh together. The main job of an intern is to help Sacred Road host the one week mission teams on the Yakama Reservation in Washington and the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. These jobs include roofing, painting, hauling trash on the work sites, preparing food for meals, and helping run backyard Bible clubs.

Opportunities to Serve and Grow:

• Cross-Cultural Church Planting (no language barrier!)
• Children's Ministry in a poverty stricken area
• Youth Ministry with at risk teens
• Mercy Ministry
• Evangelism

The following are testimonies from former summer interns.

I was blessed to intern with Sacred Road for three summers. Those three summers were the most important 9 months of my life. I was confronted with great suffering and pain, but also great love, dignity, and courage. I was blessed by the Yakama people far more often than I deserved; they freely shared their food, their language, and their sorrows because of the love SRM has shown. Finally, my time at Sacred Road was a privilege because I was able to tangibly labor for the Kingdom of God, and there is nothing more worth spending our lives on.

- Wesley Durgin, Intern '13, '14, '15

I have been an intern with Sacred Road for the past two summers, and I am, God-willing, planning on going back once again this summer. There is such amazing work going on in the Yakama Nation as the Sacred Road church family spreads God's love to such a needy and broken community. It is incredible to be used by God in touching the lives of kids and adults in such tangible ways, but most importantly, it is wonderful to watch and see God work in ways that I may never have expected. In a place that so urgently needs hope, the hope of Christ is evident as He uses full time staff, interns, and spring and summer team members to shine a light in the darkness. It is an awesome blessing to be a part of that!

- Evan Shaw, Intern '14, '15

"I could tell you the things I did this summer, but I don't think that would be as significant as telling you what I learned. I've been asked, 'Was this summer better/worse, and easier/harder than last summer?' My response? Better, harder. The best and worst thing about this summer was being able to go back to the rez. That doesn't make much sense on the surface, but let me try and explain.

Each time I go back, God continues to reveal the brokenness of this world and the brokenness of the people in it. We're all hurting; it doesn't matter if you live in a 4th world country or a 1st world country. And we're all looking for some way to dull the pain. This awareness makes it much harder especially as my relationships with the people on the reservation deepen each time.

But each time I go back, God also continues to reveal His greatness, how merciful He is and how dependent I am on His infinite grace. In seeing the darkness, it's easier for me to see how His Light trumps the darkness-every time.

The scars I saw on a teenager's arm from her cutting herself, the bruises on a four-year-old girl's face, or hearing a teenager say he wasn't important enough to have his writings put in a book are the things I don't quite know what to do with. But I do know that God sent his Son to overcome the things of this world. And so after spending some time with the apostle Paul I've decided to "cling to what is good" (Romans 12:9).

At the beginning of the summer on my birthday, I saw a girl named Alexsia at a pow wow; she was my little friend from last year. She told me she had moved which meant I wouldn't get to play with her at kids club this summer. Getting to see her again was one of my birthday presents. She showed up at kids club randomly twice throughout this summer, but I don't actually think it was random. I remember those two days clearly because those were the days I was close to having complete breakdowns. God gave me those gifts as a way to politely nudge me and say, "Listen, I'm the one in charge. I love you and I love these kids. Trust me."

It was the last day of kids club, the last five minutes really. We were at the monkey bars. I'd help her get started and then I'd try the old "dad lets go and the kid can ride the bike on their own" trick. She could do it, but then she'd panic. Kicking her legs as she dangled, she asked, "Why do you keep letting go?"

I've been carrying that little question around with me for the past few weeks trying to figure out why I remember it so clearly. I think it's because I feel like that six-year-old on the monkey bars. Yes, I let go, but that doesn't mean I walked away. I was there to catch her if she fell. My heavenly Father is there in that way for all of us too. He doesn't leave us even in those moments when we feel like we're alone.

I've left part of my heart at a government housing project on an Indian Reservation. It sounds a bit strange, but that's a fact."

- Molly Dawkins, Intern '11 and '12

"I have chosen the internship because God is moving on the rez, and I want to be there to see what happens, and how. There is nothing like seeing lives changed for good, and seeing hard hearts made soft."

-Scott Burnett, Intern '09 and'10

"As an intern, I was challenged to work, serve, and love beyond my normal comfort level, which was really rough, but drove me to rely on Christ and my fellow interns/staff. During the summer, I experienced lots of fun, growth, and new friendships. As followers of Christ, it is imperative that we love others, remembering that to humble ourselves, enter into the sufferings of others, sometimes get dirty, and share God's love is the example and call of Christ."

-Joshua Tsavatewa, Intern '09, joined full-time staff in 2010

"I did the Sacred Road Intership for two summers and they were both the best summers of my life. Living in deep community with the other team members and learning about the beauty in the Yakama people were two of the best parts of the internship. I learned through experience how we need to depend on God for EVERYTHING, and how he is always faithful. And it was awesome to be a small part of sharing this hope with the Yakama people."

-Sadie Corbett, Intern '08 and '09

"It's impossible to put into words what is the impact of being an intern. If you want to learn about a different people group and have your ideas of what the world is like stretched and changed, it's a
great place to be. If you want your heart broken and your energy spent for people whom Jesus loves dearly, it's a great place to be."

-Ruth Lynch, Intern '10

The Lord is on the move and we are looking for helpers! We need interns to come for 12 weeks in the summer, and full time team members.

Details:

• SRM matches what summer interns raise up to $2500 (that's $5000 total) for the 12 week program.

• Please contact Veronica Vasquez to request an intern application.