Anna Strecker
Why Mission Year.
My name is Anna. I just completed my sophomore year of college and have decided to take a break, maybe indefinitely maybe not. I love gym shorts and crunchy peanut butter, my parents are ridiculously cool, I have an affinity for trains and one of my passions is ceramics.
Why Mission Year? Because the longing to live in community and share what I have with others, to share my time, my heart and the love of Jesus has became so overwhelming.
Because I could no longer justify going to school when I knew that God’s heart beats so strong for the poor and oppressed (not crunchy peanut butter) and that he was calling me to do the same.
Because God has been changing my heart and allowing me to see what matters most; relationships, community, His love.
So that is why I am doing Mission Year. Because God cares so much for the inner city and I think that a year spent devoting time and energy to what He deeply cares about is going to be life changing, eye-opening and not to mention difficult.
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 Strecker's Blog
Thankful / Jan 14, 05:52 PM
Saturday night we had my dear friends Barbie and Kenny over for dinner. I met them at Frank’s place, the homeless day shelter that I work at during the week and they quickly became very close friends of mine. They both have been homeless for many years but just in the past month were able to get a hotel and are in the process of getting an apartment! I couldn’t be more excited or thrilled!!!
But at one point during our dinner one of my teammates kind of jokingly said, “How does it feel to not have to sign your name to get a meal?” and as I sat there and thought about it, I became pretty overwhelmed with a lot of emotions and different thoughts.
Me and my teammates usually sit down and eat dinner together every night. I really enjoy that time but I don’t think of it other than a meal that we get to sit down and share. But when he asked that question I wondered how long it really had been since my friends Barbie and Kenny had sat down at a table, in a warm home, where they were able to serve themselves and get seconds, and thirds. How many meals do they eat a week? a month? where they are forced to sign their name, take what they’re given whether they like it or not and are not given seconds even though sometimes there is enough food to do so.
So although it gave me a lot to think about it made me thankful for their presence that night and the friendship I have with them. It made me thankful for the meals I get to share with my teammates every night and that we are able to share our home with others. And it made me thankful that through all of this, through the relationships I’m building and my teammates and this experience, that my mind and eyes and thoughts are being opened.
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Cookies / Sep 27, 08:45 AM
I was working at a homeless shelter yesterday. I was in charge of handing them their fork, napkin and cookies. I was serving lunch as a woman walked up to get her meal. I had noticed that the man behind her was rolling his eyes at her and making frustrated faces. I think he was frustrated because she was under the influence of something. I’m not really sure why that bothered him but the fact that it bothered him, bothered me. But as I handed her the cookies she asked what kind they were. She said, “My dad use to make these exact kind! They were so good, I loved them!”.
I don’t know exactly why but that really hit me. It made me wonder about her parents, her childhood, the fact that when she was a little girl the life she’s living now was probably not the life she dreamed of. I wondered about what happened in the course of her life that stripped those dreams away from her. And I wondered why that man behind her didn’t understand any of this. Why didn’t he understand that the things she’s doing now, the choices she’s making are probably not what she dreamed about when she was a little girl eating those cookies that her dad made.
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Stuffy Nose / Sep 11, 11:23 AM
So I’ve been here in Camden for about two weeks.
I’m sitting here not really knowing at all what to write. It’s been good, it’s been hard, I’ve seen hurt, I’ve seen great joy, I’ve seen kindness in my neighbors eyes, I’ve seen sadness in my friends eyes, I’ve been hesitant, I’ve done uncomfortable things, I’ve been practicing hacky sack, my nose has been runny, my roommates have played guitar and this morning I ate a bowl of honey nut cherrios.
Comment [3]
Camden, NJ / Jul 27, 03:33 PM
I finally got the email I had been waiting for. The email that would tell me where I would be spending the next year of my life.
Camden, New Jersey.
I love how God always knows what He’s doing. It wasn’t the exact city that I requested but I can totally see why God is sending me there. I feel completely at peace about being placed in Camden.
I am excited about what is in store for me and my teammates. I am praying that God is preparing our hearts to go into Camden ready to love with everything we have.
East Coast here I come…
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Follow Suit / Jul 14, 01:13 PM
I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I’ve been thinking about how this next year will be like nothing I could expect. I’ve been thinking about how I like to know all the details, and yet in this situation I simply don’t and am becoming okay with that. I’ve been thinking about how scared I am because I know that this will call me way outside of my comfort zone. And mostly I’ve been thinking about the fact that God is doing big things in all of those cities right now and will continue to in the Fall!
The thing I’ve been thinking about the most though is how I really need to realize that I am not doing anything great. Well I guess I’ve already realized this, but I want to not just know it in my head but in my heart. I want my actions to show it. This next year is going to be God working through me, not me working. I so desperately want to get outside of myself and outside of my desires and wants and connect so deeply with God’s heart that my heart cannot help but follow suit.
So that is my prayer leading up to Mission Year. That God would not only show me what all of this looks like, but show me how to act upon it and live it out.
This is not about me.
