my time with new beginnings

It was recommended that I write a blog concerning my time as an internship with nbc.  I hereby comply… but confess this won’t be simple [nor short - which short would be peculiarly out of character].  I’ll start with a story called, Coming to NBC:

Once upon a time, Jonathan Platter knew a certain Justin Roach.  Justin invited Jonathan to intern at nbc. Jonathan agreed.

The summer arrived, but Jonathan’s truck was out of commission.  Many tearful nights passed and the lonesome Jonathan remained in OKC, unable to initiate the trek to KC.

Three weeks later, the truck was finished and Jonathan traveled (without AC) to KC.

The End.

So, the summer began depressingly.  I was discouraged with the first few weeks and felt a great deal of anxiety about my belated arrival.  Praise God for the wonderful people at nbc.  I felt immediately welcomed into the community, and I was eager to participate.  The youth group was equally welcoming.  This was really encouraging and I am very thankful to each of the teens for their encouragement, friendship, and willingness to humor me.  For the sake of simplicity, I’ve compiled a list of highlights from the summer:

• Staff: I felt a substantial amount of growth through participating in/observing staff-meetings and the team-like structure of the church staff.  It was both enlightening and encouraging.  Many thanks to Shane and Paul and Justin and Andrew for being a challenge and a blessing to me.
• Ping Pong: We played a lotof ping pong.  Hoorah!  I even came home and beat my Father two out of three games yesterday. Thanks for all the practice!
• Canoe Trip: This was my first extensive involvement with the teens and sponsors.  Mark and I flipped the canoe once or twice (or five or six times, but who’s counting?).  The weather was beautiful and it was an overall great opportunity for me to meet and get to know a number of students and sponsors.
• Mission Trip: Nashville was an amazing experience.  Having the opportunity to observe and serve along with the teens was humbling.  It was very encouraging to see a group of people humble themselves in daily service and then to hear their reflections on it in the evenings.  These teens are smart people.  And they are smart about being smart.  I heard them reflect on the difficulties of service and the injustice in the kids’ lives, and then I heard them challenge themselves to find impacting and Christ-like responses to the same injustices all over the country and world.
• Twitter: Man, these teens can tweet!  haha
• The Roach Family: I’m eternally grateful to Justin and Amy for housing me this summer.  More than having a place to sleep, I was able to participate in a wonderful family and experience balance and integrity in family.  They were a great example for me and challenged me (in ways I’m sure they don’t recognize) to continually and intentionally honor, respect, and love the people one has committed to sharing life and home with.
• The Greater Church Community: I can’t reiterate enough what a blessing the church was for me.  So many individuals took the time to encourage, challenge, and welcome me that it evinces a culture of Love and Servant-hood which is surely instilled in the identity of the nbc community.

There are many things that have come to define my summer experience (pun of Summer Experiment… ha), but alas, too much to blog… at least at once.  Mostly, I hope this is a simple symbol of how grateful I am to all the people I met and to the whole church for a time of growth and learning that is irreplaceable.

ps – and, if it’s okay, maybe Justin and I can follow the Summer Experiment with the Fall Experiment. 

-jonathan

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