Matthew Donohue
My Plans for Next Year
My name is Matthew Donohue, I’m 23 years old from Cynthiana, Kentucky and I have recently graduated College. During my College years I felt God telling me to serve somewhere after I was done with school. I initially thought about the Peace Corps and looked in to that. I was about to start applying for that, but I didn’t feel like that was what God wanted me to do. Than I was like where do you want me to go God? Then I heard of Americorps and thought about that, but then I didn’t feel like God wanted me to do that either. Then when my senior year at College came around I kinda forgot about worring about where God wanted me to serve after College and was just going to get a job. Then like the last month College I was going through some old papers I had just stuffed into a drawer and found this thing about Mission Year and thought huh this looks interesting. To tell you the truth I don’t really remember where I even got the stuff about Mission Year. So my last month of school I looked into it and felt like this is where God wanted me to go, so I applied and got accepted and will be in Camden, NJ in September. I am flooded with emotions, I’m excited, anxious, and nervous and can’t wait to join my housemates in Camden. Peace
About Mission Year
Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of young people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. Learn more about our first year program…
Matthew Donohue's Blog
Last blog / Jul 25, 02:31 PM
Over the last month my schedule has changed a little bit. I still work at the adult literacy program in the morning but in the afternoon I no longer help with the after school program because its summer. Instead I help setup and referee basketball games at Urban Promise. I also help with a computer class for street leaders (high school students who work for Urban Promise).
Since it is the summer I have had more opportunities to be with my neighbors and it has been great. It’s hard to believe that I will be leaving Camden soon. I feel like I will be leaving so much behind. As I think back about my year here I wonder what I will miss the most.
I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated. I got a yearly subscription from my mom for Christmas; something to help me keep up with my sports since I don’t have a TV. Thanks mom. The article was about the sportsman of the year. It was Brett Favre. He was asked what his fondest memories were. He said, “It’s not only about the touchdowns and the big victories. If I were to make a list, I would include the interceptions, the sacks, the really painful losses. Those times when I’ve been down, when I’ve been kicked around, I hold on to those. In a way those are the best times I’ve ever had, because that’s when I’ve found out who I am and what I want to be.”
I think my fondest memories will be the same. The things I will cherish the most are my experiences, the really tough things that I had to deal with; that day I had to watch three friends pick up and move because the cops told them they had to leave, those friends at the adult literacy program that just didn’t come back one day or were kicked out and I never got to say goodbye, those kids at the after school program that I never could quite reach. Sure these memories made me feel like crap, but it was through these tough times that I really learned about myself and what I wanted to be.
There are also a lot of good memories. I loved having one last meal with Bill, Sarge and Tony. It was kind of like a last meal together before we had to say goodbye. I loved all the times I spent with the trainees at the adult literacy program, not just the time I helped them with book work but just being able to talk with them about life. Sure they were hard to deal with sometimes and sometimes they made bad decisions and I just wanted to slap them on the back of the head and force them to make the right decisions. I also loved spending time with the kids at the after school program. I had an absolute blast playing with them when I wasn’t forcing them to do homework. They were a real joy to be around and there were many days when those little kids really just made my day.
Thanks, to all who made all of these experiences possible for me. I greatly appreciate it. I would like to thank all of my supporters, whether you donated money, sent me cards, prayed for me or supported me in any other way. It was very much appreciated. I am glad you have been able to journey with me throughout this year.
Here is a little story I learned while doing Mission Year. I think it really helped me this year and I would like to share it with you all.
Imagine…
You are being pursued by a ferocious tiger. You run as fast as you can but come to the edge of the cliff. Glancing back, you see the tiger about to spring. Fortunately, you also notice a rope hanging over the edge of the cliff. You grab it and scramble down, out of reach of the tiger. A close escape!
But now you look down. Five hundred feet below you see jagged rocks. So you look up. You see the tiger, crouched and waiting…and also two hungry mice, already gnawing on the rope.
What to do?
Nearby, on the face of the cliff, you notice a strawberry. Carefully, you reach out, pluck it, and eat it whole. “Yum!” you exclaim. “That’s the most delicious strawberry I ever tasted in my whole life!”
What does this story tell us? Seize the gift of this moment! If you are preoccupied with the rocks below or the tiger above-with your past or your future-you will miss the strawberry that God wants to give you in the present moment.
Matthew Donohue
June blog / Jun 19, 01:13 PM
well instead of bloggin this month I am just going to copy a poem that I read during one of my quiet hours and shared during one of our morning devo’s hope you enjoy
You are who you are for a reason.
You’re part of an intricate plan.
You’re a precious and perfect unique design,
Called God’s special woman or man.
You look like you look for a reason.
Our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,
You’re just what he wanted to make.
The parents you had were the ones he chose,
And no matter how you may feel,
They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind,
And they bear the Master’s seal.
No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into his likeness you’d grow.
You are who you are for a reason,
You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod.
You are who you are, beloved,
Because there is a God!
By: Russel Kefler
May blog / May 22, 01:10 PM
News from Camden
Another day, another month. Time slips away just like hourglass sand. My time with mission year is slowly slipping away. I just have around two and a half months left. So what’s been going on…?
Ralph is a guy that hangs out around North Camden. He would hang out around a corner store that we go to sometimes. One of my roommates would take him a sandwich sometimes and invite him over. Eventually he started coming over and hanging out with us. Ralph used to be a taxi driver, but got a couple of tickets and had his license taken away. After that he didn’t have a job and he eventually became homeless. That was a couple of years ago. He has been coming over and hanging out at our house for a few months now and he has been trying to get off the streets. At the beginning of this month he got a place to stay at Leavenhouse. They help people get back on their feet and he is trying to get his license back to get a job. I am glad I have been able to get to know him a little bit during this time in his life.
At Hopeworks I have been able to help some of the trainees while they finish their papers and get ready for their finals at college. I am excited to see how all of them will do. I have also been helping some of the new trainees get ready to start college during the summer. They actually start classes this week.
I have been having a blast with the kids at the Urban Promise after school program. School is almost out and it is getting warmer so we are trying to do fun things with the kids. We went to the park one day and just let the kids run around and have fun. We took them to see a play of “Go Dog Go”. We are also having an awards banquet for the kids at the end of the month.
Thanks again for all the support I have been receiving. Keep me in your prayers and may God bless you.
Thanks to you for all you do! “Serve the Lord with gladness.” (Psalm 100:2)
April Blog / Apr 17, 11:49 AM
April Blog
Hello everyone. Hope everyone is well. It is going pretty good here in Camden. It is starting to get warmer and more people are starting to spend time outdoors, which makes it easier to meet new people.
Hopeworks
I had an exciting couple of weeks at the adult literacy program. After spring break I worked with Angel on multiplication for a week. He wasn’t that strong in math so the literacy director wanted him to work on some of his weaknesses and he was going to test him at the end of the week. We had already worked on multiplication before spring break but when he got tested he didn’t do so well, so we were going to give it another try. If he didn’t do good on this next test there were going to be consequences. So I worked with him everyday to make sure that he knew his multiplication and I was nervous by the end of the week but he did very well on the test and got to continue with the program.
Also at Hopeworks the literacy director went on vacation, so he left me in charge for a week. AAAHHH!!! I was real nervous about this, but I was up for the challenge. During this week some of the trainees were going to take a college placement test to see what classes they could test into, which I had to help them prepare for. This was a big challenge and I spent that week going over sample problems with those trainees. I felt like they were well prepared for the test and when I saw the results three of them did extremely well. They tested into four classes and can start college this summer and one of them was Angel, which made me excited. So all in all, I did an ok job while the literacy director put me in charge.
The Rest
So at Urban Promise nothing that exciting happened. The kids were a little crazy after they came back from spring break and have been ever since. I think they are ready for summer to be here and so am I. On community day we had a naked guy run down the street. I really didn’t get to see it; I just got to see the aftermath. Like a million people were out on the street after and a few people were chasing him and throwing bottles I think. I heard some cool stories about growing up in Camden from neighbors around my age. Other than that not much is happening. Later
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord…
plans to give you hope and a future… You will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11, 13)
March update / Mar 24, 10:30 AM
Happy Easter! I hope everyone is having a good Easter Holiday, but let’s not forget what Easter is about. On Palm Sunday our pastor talked about how we need to be more like the donkey that Jesus rode on when he entered Jerusalem found in Matthew 21:1-11. The donkey was obedient and was a tool for God. We need to be like a donkey and let God “ride us.” He said a lot of other good things I just can’t remember them now.
Hopeworks
So this month at the adult literacy program they took a week to do a special project they termed “Digital Storytelling.” All of the trainees wrote a story about their lives. They then recorded their stories digitally and made a slideshow with pictures they had. When they put it all together it looked awesome. It was pretty cool for me to be able to hear the stories of the people’s lives I have been working with and it helped me to get to know them better. Also I have continued to work with Angel and they think that he will be ready for college this summer, which is great.
Urban Promise
I have been working more closely with Shydel over the last month. He still usually puts up a fight about doing his homework. Most days I have to take him out of class and work with him one-on-one. He is getting better though. Usually he gets all of his homework done in time to do the fun activity the kids get to do after homework.
Jesus became what we are so we can become like He is. “…through the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous.” Rom. 5:19
Have a good Easter Holiday
