An Awesome Start to a Great Summer!

Post written by Jaydah Tinker.

Hello! My name is Jaydah, and this is my first year interning with The Hartford Project. It’s crazy to think that it’s already been an interesting journey, and we’re only past the first week. When I was originally interested in being an intern, I was super excited, not only to work alongside an awesome team of interns, but also to see more of the city of Hartford and encourage others to follow their faith through worksites and interactions with the Hartford community.
​

I crossed off each day on my calendar counting down until I was an official intern. Then BOOM! It was March 13th. Schools were shut down, but that was just the start. From schools it went to entertainment centers, to sporting activities, and even churches. Becoming a THP intern soon seemed far off and unrealistic. When I got the text that THP was still on, I was overcome with joy. It was something to look forward to even in the state of sadness and shock everyone was in from covid and quarantine. 
​

Little by little I got to know the intern team through group chats and zoom calls. The first week of THP came faster than we thought. I spent the week before training to be an intern and working with other interns to update documents for students and leaders to use in the upcoming week. The first THP outreach week consisted of zooming with the churches and praising Jesus through worship and devotionals. It was amazing seeing students and leaders on fire for God and open for new discussions even through a different way of doing things. 
​

Intern Zoom Meeting, Summer 2020

My time of being an intern is far from over and my excitement is unexplainable. This internship may be different from what I expected, but one thing for sure is that I have met an amazing group of people who push me to serve God and think deeper about my relationship with him. They have motivated me when it seems like we've hit a dead end, and I’m happy to call them my friends. This is just the start of our summer, and although I may not know what is going to happen next, I’m excited for the weeks to come and the positive change that will be brought to Hartford not only for this summer but forever.