SMI Student Blog

Browse the SMI Student Blog Posts

The blog entries below were submitted by past participants of the SMI program during their time in Philadelphia. There are also some yearly recaps from our Summer Program Director.

My Grace is Sufficient

Something that I have consistently found when serving on missions trips is that God always uses the experience to mold and shape the Christian almost as much as (and sometimes more than) he uses the experience to benefit the community. I have been on several trips in...

read more

All Brokenness Aside

If you could ask any member of my team what they would remember most about the weather of the first week and a half of SMI, I can almost guarantee that they would reply emphatically with one word: HOT. According to the Weather Channel app today the weather in North...

read more
Grace Flows Down

Grace Flows Down

I could tell endless stories of the names and faces I’ve met this week. I walked into Bethel Temple a week ago, carrying the weight of recent life events with very little idea of what I was getting myself into and the problems plaguing North Philadelphia. This area...

read more

A Day of Door-to-Door

Friday, June 29th. We had a full day of Door-to-Door outreach ahead of us. We trekked along, soon to be covered in sweat. “Hi, would you be interested in a free health screening?" Over the many significant encounters with North Philly residents throughout the day, one...

read more

SMI 2018: The First Three Days

When I arrived at the house on Allegheny St. on Saturday morning, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. As soon as I opened the door, though, I already saw people bustling about the kitchen, organizing food supplies and utensils. This was going to be an industrious...

read more

Urban Hope’s amazing worship

Today was a very busy day at SMI. Many things occurred but my favorite part was the church worship. Worship at Urban Hope, where I was assigned, began around 10:30am. Like the expression “one picture is sometimes better than a thousand words,” I don’t think I can ever...

read more
Beyond the Walls

Beyond the Walls

What do we see when we look at a city like Northern Philadelphia? What do we think when our eyes glaze over the boarded up row homes and graffiti-laced buildings, or the discarded syringes and empty wax-paper packets scattered across the sidewalks?   I think it's...

read more
The Physician as Image Bearer

The Physician as Image Bearer

Evangelism. So there is a lot of thinking I still have to do about how to carry this out in my daily medical practice. One concept which I had not really connected to bearing witness to Christ as a doctor – because we will not always receive a good opportunity to...

read more
Warm and Welcoming!

Warm and Welcoming!

While at SMI, I’ve had the privilege to learn so much about a community which despite numerous tragedies has been welcoming. I am amazed to look into the eyes of someone who doesn’t know me, yet trusts me enough to invite me into their personal space – their home – to...

read more
Usefully Weak

Usefully Weak

Prior coming to SMI, I fearfully wrestled with my inadequacy of medical experiences since I don’t start school until August for occupational therapy. The first week of SMI magnified the intense pride and self-reliance of my own abilities to feel capable for medical...

read more
Glory in Our Suffering

Glory in Our Suffering

Today, I found myself asking God why some people have to deal with so much suffering. I am struggling with reconciling the suffering and pain I have been exposed to in the past week with my own life. The stories, the wounds, the poverty – all too hard to understand....

read more
Two Days In: a Good Report

Two Days In: a Good Report

Five days into SMI, and each day this program amazes me more and more. Each day I feel more comfortable and genuinely happy with these people, and I know it is because God has hand selected every single one of them from his abundant crop of people to work in perfect...

read more
More than Bodies

More than Bodies

"Looking around I see miles of bricks and stones, these are all intricate parts of the city I call home, The streets of North Philadelphia where I’m proud to be, Sharing God’s love, and his message of life so sweet. Hearing stories of illness, loss, fear, and years of...

read more