Culture Shock

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Waking up this morning at 2:30 a.m. definitely took a toll on me. I slept on the plane some, but I still haven’t fully recovered.

Well, I am officially in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Indian Missions Annual Conference is taking place right now. Someone picked us up from the airport and took us straight to their Annual Conference in Antlers, Oklahoma. I will finally be journeying to Cookson tomorrow afternoon. I definitely had a serious freak out and a bit of a culture shock today. I was second guessing my decision of being a summer intern and really doubting that I could do this. I think part of it was that I was really tired after getting 2ish hours of sleep, but I called my parents and they helped me get through my troubles.

The Oklahoma Indian Missions Annual Conference is not like the North Carolina Annual Conference or any other conference for that matter. This conference takes place at a local campground and the meetings are all held outside in an open shelter. It’s very informal—shorts and t-shirt.

During dinner, I met a former summer intern and US-2 who is now a pastor in Oklahoma. It was really awesome getting some advice from her and hearing some of her stories. Afterwards, everyone came together for a time of fellowship and fun. I got the opportunity to hear stories from an amazing story teller, Dayton Edmonds. Also, an elder from each tribe led a tribal hymn in his native language. I sang “Amazing Grace” in English, Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, and Kiowa.

While at this Annual Conference, I have definitely felt like a minority--which is awesome because it’s very humbling and I get the chance to take off my “invisible backpack”. I found out today that a lot of the staff at Cookson Hills Center are recovering drug/alcohol addicts or have been incarcerated. This summer will definitely be a learning experience for me. I am up for the challenges it’s going to bring me and I am willing to listen, serve, and minister to the people of the Cookson Hills Center.

Meredith