Anna Hampton
Why I'm Doing Mission Year
My name is Anna Hampton, I’m from Canton, OH but escaped to the south for school! I’m about to graduate from Milligan College in TN in May with a B.A. in Public Leadership and Service, and a minor in Psychology. I interned at the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center in Washington D.C. this past year, and it was my first inner city outreach experience. Through my experience in D.C. I realized what a heart I had for the people in the inner city. While I was living there I realized that living amongst them enabled me to build a trust that I may not have otherwise attained. I was able to reach out and help in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Upon my return to Milligan I began to explore post grad options and heard Bart Campolo speak. It just made so much sense; Love God, Love people, nothing else matters. All of my friends are sending out resume’s and heading out to interviews, sometimes I feel like the lone ranger who has taken an alternative post grad path. I don’t know when I’ll get another opportunity in life to do something this incredible, to live amongst people just to love on them, and hope that in the process they could realize that our love is an overflow of the love Jesus has shown to us. I want to give this year to God while I don’t have anything to hold me back. I have nothing to lose but a consumerist mindset, my preconceived notions, and my ignorance of inner city society.
About Mission Year
Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of young people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. Learn more about our first year program…
Anna Hampton's Blog
ATL Beginnings! / Sep 22, 10:23 AM
We answered the door and 8 excited faces eagerly greeted us. “Are you the new missionaries?” They asked. We were we replied. They could not have been more excited to meet us, I immediately felt relieved and encouraged that we wouldn’t be fighting the tide to get to know some of the neighbors around here. You see our apartment complex is intimidating because it seems so nice. There is a security gate and a fitness center, a laundry place and a pool. None of which we expected. Even our apartment with it’s spacious 2 bedrooms and 2 baths has blown away all of our expectations. That’s what I’m learning. To just forget about any of my expectations. We all felt guilty about our apartment, we wondered why we’d been so blessed to have such a nice place when the other teams in the city have places that are more like what we anticipated. But this past week while we were at God’s Farm, I got to thinking about why I think the poor should only live in dumps. Why I think they deserve that or should be there somewhere in my mind. Our complex is unique because it is what is called mixed income, meaning there are people who are living here under Section 8 because the owner has allowed them to do so, and others who are living here paying full price. It’s becoming the trend with old housing projects to tear them down, and rebuild new “mixed income” apartments. There are pros and cons to this approach, some are helped, some are hurt. It seems like that’s the case with most things around here. One of the speakers was talking to someone about the times he lived with the homeless and how he discovered that people would just give their leftover crap, or the worst quality stuff they could find and give it out, thinking that they should just be happy to get whatever. He was like “don’t give poor people your crap they deserve their dignity as a child of God, give them something good.” How humbling.
I’m happy to live here and get to get to know the people here. It’s a bit intimidating because they’re not out as much as people are in other neighborhoods around. Therefore we’ll be doing a lot of door to door greetings. This is extremely intimidating, however, I’m excited to get to know everyone and have already met a few really nice people. That’s another thing, everyone here is just so friendly! I forget that I’m in the south and that that is just the custom! It’s a beautiful thing! Lately I’ve found myself overwhelmed and intimidated by the expectations that seem to be placed on us from our church and the neighborhood since the last team was so awesome. It’s so great that they left such a good legacy for us to step into, and that we are already being welcomed due to their great work. However, it is a bit scary to think of not being able to meet those hopes. I have continually had to place it in God’s hands and remind myself that I myself cannot do this, it’s going to have to be Jesus working through me and my team to give us the strength and perseverance. We are beginning what is my third week of orientation and quite frankly, I’m anxious to just get out there and get in it! It should be good though we’re learning more Atlanta specific things this week. Then the 22nd marks the day we begin our afternoon volunteering at the Atlanta Youth Academy’s after school program. I’m going to be researching other places to volunteer in the mornings. I have missed home and friends greatly but I know this is where I’m supposed to be right now. That’s all for now.
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