Dwayne Pitts - STUMP 2009

Hi my name is Dwayne and what can I say about STUMP? Maybe I should say what can't I say about STUMP! It was a non stop thrill ride, working with an awesome group of other young Christians, and experiencing the power of God's love and how He works differently through people, but brings them together to serve Him, and to teach them.

We journeyed through the week, and it was an experience that has truly changed my life for the better and I will never forget it. Having the opportunity to share in community with people, and hearing their stories, and just being able to meet different people.

It was so incredible just being able to spend some time every lunchtime, talking and engaging with different members of the community. Sharing in what was happening in their lives, without passing judgement, and seeing the way they warmed to having new people in the community that were willing to talk to them, but not only that and possibly more importantly, listen to what they had to say.

Doing the street walk on Wednesday night would have to be the highlight of my week. Walking through the streets of Sydney and seeing the homeless people and the sex workers of all varieties was something that has altered my opinions of a lot of different people. I thought it was incredible when we were at the Mathew Talbot place and seeing all of the people watching the State of Origin. I had never seen that many disadvantaged and homeless people so close together and getting along before in my life.

Another highlight for me was definitely the visits we did to community members houses. Again being able to meet new people, and hearing their stories was incredible, but in this case it was almost on a more personal level because they were in their own home environment.

The biggest challenge of the week came on the Friday Night, a community member, who we had visited earlier in the week, was having a few problems, and had been admitted to hospital. He owned a dog that he cared for deeply, myself and a fellow STUMPer went to his house to retrieve his dog, but we couldn't get the door open because it was jammed shut. As hard as we tried the door wouldn't budge, I was extremely worried about the dog, as it had limited food and water, but thankfully Paul Moulds was able to get in the next day and the dog was safe. The community member is since out of hospital and seems to be doing a better. Praise God!

Overall it was an experience that  I wish had never ended, but I am determined to make the most of the things that I learned out of it, and the friendships that I am blessed to have developed will last with me and through me forever. I thank God every day since STUMP for the experiences that I had during that week and the incredible experiences that I can see in my future as a result of it.

Tags: christian, community, young