It has been a year since I left to work at Hope International for what is, at this point, the best summer experience of my life. I never posted a conclusion to my summer all those months ago. I kept writing and re-writing and just could not figure out what to say, so I didn't say anything at all. Now, I realize why I could not write that last blog post... the adventure wasn't over yet. My senior year at Mississippi State came to a close 3 weeks ago. On May 12, I walked into The Hump with my best friends, and walked out a graduate of the best university that I could have ever chosen to attend. This year, looking through the lens of my time at Hope, I have learned to be intentional, not accept things as they are, and step out in great leaps of faith. One of those leaps is the decision to attend Wesley Theological Seminary beginning in the fall. My original intention was to attend as a Master of Theological Studies student, which leads me to another leap. I will attend Wesley for the next three years as a Master of Divinity student and Mission Fellow. God has led me to a path of not only working with the church but working in the church, and I am planning to do just that. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue on this journey.
Below is a slide show of pictures from my trip to the Dominican Republic with Homes for Hope. This was truly a great experience. There, I got to spend quality time with my supervisors, Mike and Kara, who I still miss interacting with on a daily basis, meet many amazing people, and see another country for the first time in my life. The person I met there that made the most impact is Carmen, an Esperanza (Hope's DR partner) loan officer. She started as an Esperanza client. She brought herself out of poverty, and eventually was offered a job as a loan officer. She travels to small communities on a dangerous motorcycle, and there, collects loan payments from the community banks. The people in those banks trust Carmen, and she uses that trust to share Christ with them. Carmen told me that this opportunity to share Christ is what drives her to keep going. She puts her life on the line everyday just for this. We should all take a lesson from her.
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Though this period in my life has come to a close, I am going to continue blogging. This blog will remain active for anyone that wishes to read through my adventures at Hope. My new adventures will be posted on
aakopp.wordpress.com.
