Dispatch from a Baylor Summer Fellow | Isabel Miles Part 2
This summer has been a deeply transformative experience—one that was far from perfect but exactly what my soul needed. It is hard to fully describe, especially when ideals, in academic spheres, collide with the harsh realities of poverty. The statistical and theoretical understanding of poverty loses its meaning when you start seeing it attached to real faces—neighbors, friends, immigrants, workers—strong, resilient individuals struggling against systemic issues. You can no longer separate the policies that affect them from your own lived experience.
One Sunday this summer, Pastor David from Hill City Church in Richmond spoke a truth that resonated deeply with me: "Our job is to never make our poor friends like projects and our rich friends feel like ATMs." Sometimes, we get caught up in the act of ‘helping’ and end up reducing people to mere projects instead of serving them properly. But true ministry comes from relationship, not patronization. This summer, I came to understand that real service is not about solving problems for people—it is about walking alongside them.
At the clinic where I worked, service took on a new form. It was not about grand ideals or distant leadership; it was about survival. In a world where funding is being cut from essential healthcare services—HIV funding, case management grants, pharmaceutical assistance— helping as many people as possible was the most that could be hoped for. Sometimes, it was hard not to feel overwhelmed by the chaotic environment and the broken systems. But as an intern, you have space to offer something different—something that staff often cannot. You have the time to sit with a patient for two hours, if necessary, and help them work through the issues at hand. That flexibility gave me the opportunity to provide deeper care and presence, something essential in a place where both time and resources are scarce.
However, amid all the frustration and challenges, I learned what Christian leadership truly means. Service for me was replaced by presence and leadership with humility. In medicine, it is easy to idolize the profession itself, to put doctors and treatments on a pedestal. But this summer reminded me of the Ultimate Healer—Jesus. In the midst of tragedy, funding cuts, and overwhelming need, I found my faith. On difficult days, when I was helping an immigrant with epilepsy who could not find transportation, or trying to secure medicine for a patient on hold for hours, I saw God’s love reflected in the faces before me. I did not just see patients—I saw God’s children, each one uniquely crafted, bearing their own burdens but also bearing His image.
Through it all, I learned that real leadership is not about titles or grand missions—it is about showing up in the mess and showing love, even when the system feels broken. The experience was humbling, and though grand ideals felt distant, I saw the power of faith and ministry in action. And with that I am remind of Jesus’ words to his disciples in Matthew “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be last—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:26-28).