Internship #4

Greetings friends and family!

Week 3 has officially ended and I am just

under being halfway done. Wow time

has gone by quite fast and yet so much

has been done, which was my prayer.

The past week has been jam packed.

I was able to witness first hand the rain

that Jackson has to offer. One minute

it is bright and sunny and literally 5

minutes later the rain starts, and a minute

after that, you cannot stand outside

without getting drenched. This rain

decided to show up the day we were

going to go on a field trip to a unique

forest so we had to switch it up and go

to an art museum. The art museum was

good for the kids. They were able to

see this art, which the artist meant for

one thing, and the students saw it so

differently (not wrong). In their own eyes

and each interpretation was a testimony

of their own lives. Very powerful.

The fashion class that I am helping teach

is going well. In class week I gave my

testimony about how I have had to deal

with issues regarding my image. I

explained how me being so pale was

hard for me growing up, especially

living by the beach. I start conforming,

dressing like others to fit in where as

when at the beach, people questioned

whether I was from the beach or not

because of my skin tone. Then I was

reminded of some amazing verses.

Isaiah 41:9-10 "I took you from the ends

of the earth, from its farthest corners I

called you. I said, 'You are my servant';

I have chosen you and have not

rejected you"

1 Samuel 16:7 "Do not consider his

appearance or his height, for I have

rejected him. The LORD does not

look at the things man looks at. Man

looks at the outward appearance,

but the LORD looks at the heart"

I explained how my heart and Gods

opinion of me matters more then that

of man. It was Jesus that died for me

to remain exactly as made, not those

who made/make fun of me. I then got

up and said, "is there anyone whiter

here then me?" they said no. I asked,

"is there anyone who wears shorter

shorts, or weirder tank tops, or has a

funkier hair style then a mow hawk,

or dirtier scruff then me?". Laughing

they said no. I said, "the moment I

accepted who God made me and

that it was not by accident, was the

moment I loved who I was, what I

liked to wear, and did not care

what others that.

A girl from my 5th grade class came

to me after class crying because

kids at school make fun of her big

lips. I told her "Brianna, you have

beautiful lips." I told her about how

Angelina Jolie has some of the

biggest lips in Hollywood and she

is known for them at times. I told her

if God wanted her to look like

everyone else, with small lips, He

would have made her that way.

It was not by any mere accident.

He knew what He was doing and

He doesn't regret it. I recommended

learning to laugh with them when

she is made fun of. Say "Ya, they're

big, all the better for kissing" or

"Yes they are, thats how God made

me, if you disagree, take it up with

Him". She laughed and hugged me.

Now daily I kind of make fun of her

lips here and there and she plays

right back with a huuuuuge smile.

This camp has taught me so much

from the most unlikely places.

Through that last encounter I was

reminded of not only what I look like

but also my personality, likes and

dislikes, my location, my future,

none of it is by chance. God chose

this path for me long before I was

born and He will never leave my

side as I live to further His kingdom.

All He asked me to do in return was

trust Him and give Him my heart.

Thank you for all the prayers and

support from all my friends and

family. You are so amazing.

Special thanks to my long

distance lady friend. The texts,

prayers, support, encouragement,

and love you give daily…I can't

even express how much of a

blessing you are darling. Love you

God bless

~Christian Cannon

P.S. Mom, I know you are having

a tough time with one of your

babies across the country and

the other 3 across the world. We

love you and are praying for you.

Your support in all way do has

never and will never go unnoticed.

I love you momma!

Internship #3

So week two has officially ended and boy has

it been a long two weeks. The first week

went well. I have continued and am continuing to

earn these children's trust who are always

trying to earn the respect, trust, and approval

of any and all adults. But it is going good, it is

really neat to see, despite how little this kids

know me, how they respect and accept all I have

to say, whether funny or giving them punishment

for something they've done wrong, its always,

'Yes Sir' or 'Yes Mr. Chris'.

Last weekend was the 50th Anniversary of the

ministry of John and Vera Mae Perkins so the

interns and I spent Thursday night working an

art show/auction to help raise money for the

center. Friday night was spent preparing

for the release of a document made about the

lives of the Perkins. Then Saturday night all

the interns became waiters for this massive

banquet held for John and Vera Mae. It was

quite a long weekend but really amazing to get

to see so much history in only three days.

My classroom has been a complete blessing,

of course there are always some stragglers or

kids who just like being difficult for the sake of

being difficult. In particular these twin boys

Pierre and Patrick, both loooooove pushing

my buttons, but God has thankfully given me

patience with them. I have four girls, Leah,

Makalyn, Jayla, and Marche who are in love

with Justin Bieber so I get to poke fun at him

quite often. There is a really shy girl named

Amber who only talks to me which is really

cool, we get to play basketball everyday.

Then another two girls, Brianne and Malaysia

who are kind of floaters, just follow the crowd.

Then the two twins, Pierre and Patrick,

another boy named Jordan who is a really

cool kid, a little bit on the slower side and

gets distracted easily, but super quite and

shy. And then last week we had a kid named

Dekell but he hasn't come back this week.

Sometimes kids just randomly take vacations

and don't tell the teachers.

The relationships with the interns have

been great. I am learning a lot from their

different lifestyles and cultures and they

from me too. I get made fun of for saying

things like 'Gnarly' or 'Bro' but its cool,

I knew it was coming. I am just excited

to grow in Christ alongside with these

newly found brothers and sisters of mine.

Thanks for all the prayers, keep em

coming though! God bless

~Christian

Internship Pictures 1#

Internship #2

Had my first day yesterday and it went great.

We started off with chapel, we did some

accapella songs to get the kids excited

and make sure they were awake. Then

Dr. Perkins himself came and spoke on

building your house on the solid foundation

and not on the sand. For those who build

their houses on the sand are fools. I can

tell it had an affect on the children and

definitely had an affect on me as an intern

and as a fool.

We then went into academic time where

my fellow teacher of the 5th grade class,

Ms. Rakhua, and I got to be first introduced

to our class. We have 11 5th graders. And

to them I am Mr. Chris, it is weird but cool

to be called by my fathers name in such a

professional manner. We went briefly over

the subjects we were going to teach them

over the summer (math, reading, english

and vocabulary). Then the class was able

to learn more about us, their teachers, and

each other through some fun ice breakers.

Then the entire summer camp took a couple

of vans over to a nearby elementary school

and the kids all got cafeteria lunch. After we

all came back to the center and we went into

'Arts' time. There are 4 arts classes, and each

kid will spend the entire summer in 1 of them.

There is theater, dancing, miming, and fashion.

And of course, I was in fashion haha. But it

turns out that the 2 other teachers in it with me

couldn't be better. There is Mr. J who is an

actual fashion designer, Ms. Emma who has

tought many classes about eating diseases

to high school girls back home, and then me

who has had a lot of trouble growing up and

still to this day accepting being in my own skin

and being satisfied knowing I am in the image

of God. So the 3 of us together have been

working great so far. We ended the day with an

intense game of kickball with the children

which gave me a chance to get to know the

students outside my classroom on a more fun

level. After they had free time as parents were

picking them up.

It was a very hot day and seemed to take a

while for the day to end, but I really enjoyed it.

My only prayer is that the summer does not

'fly by' to the extent that I look back and wish

I did more. So if you could, please pray that I

make the most out of every single opportunity

the Lord provides. The harvest is plenty but

very few workers, so us as workers need to

make the most out of the time we have. Thanks

for the prayers and support!

~Christian

Internship #1

Woke up at 4:00am on the morning of the 29th,

finished packing up my bag and I was off to LAX.

The plane rides were fine, one to Chicago and

the next to Jackson. Planes are meant for tall guys.

I arrived at the airport to be picked up by 2 two

year interns named Rachel and Maria and a

summer intern named Katie.

Once we got to the center I was greeted by JP

(John Perkins) himself. He seems to get shorter

and shorter as the years pass. It could be me.

I then moved into my house, an older 6 room

house occupied by a few two year interns as

well as the other summer interns with me.

That night I was able to get to know the guys

in my house a lot better while watching the

Lakers do work on the Suns, and where was

the game? o ya, Phoenix.

The following day I went to church in Jackson,

Sonic for lunch, then was able to go to another

camp in West Jackson to attend a fun afternoon

community BBQ. I was able to meet a bunch of

new friends and realize how terrible I am at

basketball. Then a home study that night.

John Perkins grandson, Big John, lead the

study on Jesus' prayer from John 17. Then

he challenged us to write a prayer in response

to Jesus' prayer, so here is my response.

Dear King Jesus,

The sacrifice you made on this worlds behalf,

the sacrifice Your Father made when giving

You to us, and knowing of the joy You felt in

the process, is unfathomable. Lord, the unity

that You and your Father have is something

I now see as necessary for Your children here

on earth to obtain. Lord I pray that I, Your

servant, become one, unified with Your

children. Lord please continue to overflow

me with Your joy, Your perfect joy,

especially in times of trials, help us to take

joy in knowing from those trials we will

produce perseverance. Lord give me

confidence when I worry about the troubles

of this world because You King Jesus, have

overcome the world. Lord fill me with Your

spirit to overflowing so that the world may

see you through me. Help me always

remember what You did for me on that

cross. I love you papa

Amen

The past couple of days have been devoted

to orientation. Being that this internship is

going to be a summer camp that I will help

run, the other interns and I have been

getting to know each other as well as

ourselves better for the purpose of furthering

God's Kingdom through working this summer

camp for the next 8 weeks.

Well thats it for now! Thanks for all the

prayers, but keep them coming. Stand

firm for His Kingdom!