Internship #5

Dear Friends and Family

I am now halfway through week 4.

Only 2 and 1/2 more weeks to

go. It is very very exciting stuff.

Camp has been going great.

Our classroom has actually lost

5 girls who were all in the same

girl scout troop together, as for

why, we are still not quite sure.

But after losing them we gained

3 new students.

Class time is a little boring at

times, but what class is fun all

the time? Come on!! But we have

a few fun little things. At the

beginning of every class session

I read to them a chapter from

The Magicians Nephew which

they are enjoying. We also have

a 'thinking chair' which is the

equivalent of timeout and so the

kids all get a verbal warning,

then the thinking chair for a set

time, then they go to the director.

If they are being bad or punished.

And for fun, since every girl in

my class LOOOVES Justin Bieber,

my rule is that if anyone

says that name they are in the

thinking chair! So thats a little fun

thing our class shares together.

Outside of camp has been really

great too. I have camp everyday

from 7:30am-5:30pm so it gets

tiring but nights and weekends

I usually have noooothing to do

which at times, most times, is

lame but God has been

challenging me to dig into His

word and build relationships

with the other interns here. To

learn about them and their

beliefs and such. Iron sharpens

iron.

My time with Dr. Perkins himself

has also been amazing. He has

such a way of taking huge issues

such as poverty and breaking it

down to something so simple as

issues in the family. He says that

if we mend the family, we end

poverty. And the more he explains

it, the more I see, he is 100%

correct. We have had many good

talks, some about pride, some

about how to better the camp and

relationships with the kids, and

a lot about social justice. I am

learning so much while being

here.

One thing, since I have written

last, that I have become so

grateful for, is the mind of a child.

For example a girl named Zoe

was sitting next to me on the

way to lunch and she grabbed

my hand, started bending my

fingers and touching all parts

of it and asked, "Mr. Chris, how

did God make a hand? Did He

draw it? Or did He just know?"

and I almost cried and realized,

wow, God, I question so much

of what You do in my life, and

ask the question 'Why?' too

much. But this little girl

answered it all, God just knows,

and He just does! Nothing else

needs to be worried about.

Another kid named Kristian

today in class, started rubbing

the hair on my legs, kind of

random but I was fine with it,

then he said, "Wow, God made

you so different, yet special"

and again, I realized how right

he was. And it was an amazing

message to relay to the kids,

that even though my skin is a

different color, that God loves

us all the same and He used

that difference to help break

down the social barriers we

are struggling with all over

the world.

Well that is all I have for today.

If you think about it, pray that

I be intentional with everyone

I meet these last 3 weeks. Whether

it be with the campers, the interns,

and anyone I meet or have met.

Special thanks to all those who

have supported me financially,

I wouldn't be here without you.

And special thanks to those who

have been praying for me and

keeping in contact. My amazing

family of missionaries, my darling

Liz, my best friend Nick, and Wal

Mart. I love you all and miss you

so much, except Wal Mart!

God bless

~Christian Cannon

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!

Dear Brother

Dear Brother,

I want to start off this letter by telling you how

much I love you. We, like every good friend-

ship, had our ups and downs, but one thing

always remained true, your loyalty. You were

the most loyal friend I ever had.

I remember day-care! You sneaking me into

the house only to get kicked out by your mom.

Turning that tree on the side of your house

into a space ship with your sister! Racing

cars down the side of your house and never

winning. I remembering killing entire trees

with all the TP'ing we did and never cleaning

up, even if we got caught. Thats for sissies!

I remember you reaching over and telling

your mom to let you steer the wheel. I

remember us thinking we could play

racquetball. Riding our bikes down that huge

hill at Alta Vista. Ding dong ditching that old

grandma with your sister and cousin. All

the late nights staying up playing Halo or

Unreal Tournament.

I remember all the times we spent with

Tubby. All the mornings we surfed, the 3

of us. I remember Tubby leaving us at Joes

and us having to walk to little Kings Harbor

and ask Danny for a ride home. I remember

being surf pirates. I remember you teaching

me to drive stick.

I remember that every girl I had a crush on,

as soon as she met you, she fell in love with

you and yet you were so loyal, you always

would put your feelings for girls aside until

I had lost mine.

I miss you brother. You were one of the best

friends a man could ask for. But what I am

most sad about is the people who didn't

get to know you, never will. I have tons and

tons of stories about our many adventures

(more dumb ones then smart) and I will

never forget them!

I know you struggled! And you know I did

too. We didn't hang out much over the last

2 years but we stayed in contact, as great

friends, great brothers do. I loved knowing

that no matter what crap I dealt with, you

never judged me. And even though we

hadn't seen each other in months, that if

I needed help ever, you had my back.

You challenged me to protect my mother

and sisters so much Punk! Watching how

you treated your mom and sister made me

rethink how I reared my own. Thank you

so much for that. Thank you for the laughs,

the tears, the times we ran from the cops,

the houses we TP'd, the girls we prank

called, the LBJ's we ate, the sleepovers

we had, the mistakes we made, and the

mountains we conquered. I love you

Punk and I will never forget you. I cant

help but wonder why you were taken

from us so early in life. But you never

backed down from anything, once a

fighter, always a fighter. And you, Punk,

went out fighting. I am so proud of you.

Proud to be called your friend and

brother. I cant wait to be with you

again, worshipping our perfect Father!

I miss you!

~Peaches