C.N. Hostetter, Jr. Fellowship Program
Amanda Hunter

Amanda Hunter grew up in Enola Pennsylvania, and has been perusing her heart for inner city youth. She is balancing a Spanish Major and Christian Ministries Major with a youth concentration. She knows the work will pay off, “A lot of people in the inner city are Latin,” she says. “So I will be able to reach out to more people.”  Amanda spent a semester in Ecuador, which gave her the opportunity to live in a developing country and become fluent in Spanish.

Several people at Messiah have been influential for Amanda, especially professor Gallaher. “He has been very open and encouraging as he teachers,” Amanda says. As she describes the importance Gallaher sharing both the positives and negatives of ministry, she says of him, “he is very involved in student’s lives, as a mentor as well as a professor.”

Besides professors and mentors at Messiah, Amanda’s internship at the Harrisburg First Church of the Brethren has also been incredibly significant for her vocational journey. So much so, she considers it “the best part of the Hostetter program.” For one, she realized the importance of a church family reaching out to their surrounding community. She expresses, “they were very involved in the community.” Every Friday night, members of the Harrisburg First Church hand out grocery bags to the homeless, hold bible studies, and provide peace making, parenting and computer classes to the public.

Working in inner city Harrisburg as an intern proved to be right up Amanda’s alley. She was able to plan services, and even lead a service. She spent time with the elderly, youth, and had many opportunities to use her Spanish to translate. “It was all around a really good experience,” she says.

Amanda does not know exactly what her future may hold, but she says with a confident smile, “I’ll go wherever God calls me.” She adds, “That will probably be in this area right now, possibly in Philadelphia.”