Grabbing life by the horns...

To some of you the title of this blog may seem a little strange, if you haven't heard what has been happening in my life since January.  January 2-5, I attended the Passion conference in Atlanta.  While there, I encountered the organization of HOPE International.  For those of you that don't know, HOPE's mission is to use the tools of international micro-finance to reach the poorest of the poor, and help them lift themselves out of poverty while showing them the love of Christ.  You can find out more about this organization at www.hopeinternational.org. I found out that HOPE has a strong internship program, and felt led by God to apply.  You see, my major is economics, and I have focused my classes on international economics and development while working in community development for the past two years.  It seemed like all the pieces fell into place.  I applied to HOPE's summer internship program, and after two interviews was offered the Homes for Hope Executive Internship.  Homes for Hope works with builders to build homes that will, when sold, provide income for HOPE International's micro-financing.  Not only will I be working for Homes for Hope, I am starting 10 days early to help with HOPE's golf tournament fundraiser.  Hence, tonight's blog post from the Days Inn in Lancaster, PA. 

We left for PA Friday morning.  The brave crew--in my car, my wonderful boyfriend, Charlie, and myself; in the other, my mom and dad.  The plan was to leave at 7:30 AM, still later than I wanted to leave.  At 7:10, my parents were still snoring... we left at 8:45, shooting in the foot any chance we had to make it to Lancaster in one day. To explain the title of this blog post, we ran into my friend Grant while we were filling up on gas in Fulton.  He described my applying for and taking this internship as "Grabbing life by the horns."  Thanks Grant, for offering some title inspiration. :)

On a sad note, passing through AL, we went through Hackleburg, or what was left of it.  It broke my heart to see a town look like bombs had gone off--complete devastation.  On the one standing wall of a house was written, "We lived. God saves."

The rest of the trip on Friday was pretty uneventful, besides some close calls with a  few people that didn't know how to use a turn signal. Below are a few pictures I took along the way.  We stayed in Roanoke, VA that night.

 the road

 the road and some pretty mountains

 pretty mountains

my brave copilot, who was filling in for me as pilot when I could no longer hold my head up straight :/

On the final leg of my journey, we took a slight detour at the request of my mother, the "history buff."  Hello Gettysburg! But not before a photo op at the Pennsylvania State Line.

By the time we got to Gettysburg, Charlie and I were starving and exhausted, so while Mom took pictures, we sat in the car.  Pictures from Gettysburg will likely be posted to my mom's facebook page.  In Gettysburg, we ate at The Pub.  Charlie and I decided to be different.  I got a burger mixed with Chorizo on a pretzel bun, and Charlie got a burger mixed with chocolate chips, and blue cheese.  In retrospect, this was a terrible decision, but the fries were good, just like Mugshots. :)

Finally, we arrived in Lancaster about 6:30 PM Eastern, just in time to grab some Dairy Queen, and get a room at the Days Inn, where my mom proceeded to squall for 15 minutes about leaving me here tomorrow.  After a pep talk which included making her jump up and down while saying "I'm gonna live,"  I think that the entire family is prepared for their departure without me tomorrow.  

I will miss my family and friends dearly, and I thank them for all of their support when I'm doing something that many of them certainly think is crazy.  In the words of my mother, "Do girls really get internships 17 hours away from their homes?"  Yes, they do, and I did, and will enjoy every minute of learning what God has in store for this summer.

Please keep me, and my family, in your prayers as I "grab life by the horns."