Like A Sponge

How do you sum up the first week of an internship with the Red Bus Project? Here's what I would say:

-Incredible

-Life changing

-A ridiculous amount of fun

-A blessing

-Humbling

My first week with the Red Bus Project was all of those things, and so much more. We spent every morning getting to know each other on the team and then dove into the workings and history of Show Hope/the Red Bus Project, with a few surprises along the way. It's so cool to finally begin to understand how an organization that you have followed for so many years works and to meet the people who make it all happen. 

Let me be the first to tell you, the staff at Show Hope are INCREDIBLE. (I'm not just saying that because I work there, they truly are just that.) The smiling faces you see when you look up the staff on Show Hope's website are exactly the people you see in the office every single day. From the very beginning, this staff made me feel right at home in a place that I didn't know would turn into home. The first day I walked in, I was welcomed with nothing but genuine smiles and warm hugs. Over the past five days, I've been blessed to get to know some of the staff better and they've already invested so much into us, the interns. They're family.

Not only are the Show Hope staff incredible people, but they're also incredible teachers. I literally was a sponge the entire first week, soaking in every little detail I could that the staff told me. I'm usually a quiet person to begin with, but there were days where I probably said no more than fifteen words because I sat there listening. It's not that I was being rude or didn't want to talk, but how can you when all you want to do is listen and learn from these people who have the same passion as you? It's like going to your favorite artist's concert and choosing to talk on your cell phone the entire time. No! You wouldn't want to miss that concert for the world, like how I tried to not miss a single word. I wish so badly that I had recorded everything that was said this week because it was such a learning experience. It's not just our boss who is teaching us, but it's every single staff member there. I've learned so much already, from the orphan crisis itself to the story behind Show Hope to how the Red Bus Project became what is today. It's not only learning these things, but there's also moments where the staff is pouring into us, asking us about who we are and sharing with us different things about their lives. They're not just people who work for Show Hope with huge hearts for orphans, they're teachers and mentors.

So, the first week, in a nutshell, was awesome. It was very sponge-like (which is very appropriate since I'm a blonde) and a huge, continuous learning moment, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't believe week 1 is already over, but I'm so thankful for some team/family bonding in Nashville today and that I get to work with these lovely ladies and gents every day! Here's to great week one and an even better week two! I'm completely surrendering this week to the Lord and can't wait to see what He has in store!

Megan, the lovely summer intern, left us some cute Welcome notes!

You were made for this! -Megan
What an encouragement to read this as soon as we walked into the office!

One of our first of many family pictures!

Found My Way Back to Tennessee

Many people think Disney World is the most magical place on Earth. Me? I think Tennessee is the most magical place on Earth. I joke with my family that I'm a Tennessee girl trapped in Kentucky, and there's nothing wrong with that, except that I just really love Tennessee and will find any/every excuse to go to Tennessee. With that being said, I am so beyond blessed to be able to live in one of my favorite small towns for the semester and intern with one of my most favorite organizations ever (there's a lot of favorites here)!

This semester, I have been blessed beyond words to live in Franklin, TN and intern with the Red Bus Project, the college initiative of Show Hope. Show Hope is a nonprofit, faith based organization that cares for orphans around the world. There are many different ways Show Hope does all of that (ex. through the awarding of adoption aid grants, special care centers in China, orphan care advocacy, etc.), including through student initiatives (aka the Red Bus Project and the Movement Club), which is where you can find me and a lovely group of RBP interns! From the very beginning, Steven Curtis Chapman and Mary Beth Chapman (founders and Vice President/President (respectively) of Show Hope) recognized the heart of students when it came to orphan care. With the spark lit by their eldest biological daughter, Emily, the Chapmans went on to adopt three precious little girls from China. After their first adoption, the Chapmans saw first hand how many orphans were left without forever families because of the financial barrier that comes with adoption. With that in mind, the Chapmans created Shaohannah's Hope, which eventually became Show Hope, to help families overcome that financial barrier that keeps so many prospective adoptive families from actually adopting and to bring awareness to the global orphan crisis.

Now, you may be asking, what's the big deal with caring for the nearly 140 million orphans around the world (they're not just around the world; there's also orphans here in the United States)? You see, as Christians, we are all called to care for orphans. James 1:27 (NLT) specifically states that "pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans...". Caring for orphans can look different for everyone. For some it may be to set aside daily or weekly prayer time for the millions of orphans around the world. For others, it may mean to become orphan care advocates and raise funds on their own to give to organizations like Show Hope. For others, it may mean starting a Movement Club at your high school or shopping on the Red Bus when it sets up on your college campus for the day. Yet, for others, it may mean to actually adopt. God has a different and very specific plan for each and every one of us and I absolutely love that He has orchestrated it all to happen as He wants. Someone may not have the slightest idea as to how they are supposed to care for orphans and you know what? That's okay. We don't always have everything figured out. Praise God that He does and that He reveals things to us in His perfect timing. Not a minute sooner, not a minute later.

I say all of that to say, for me personally, God's plan for me to care for orphans meant not living on my college campus for a semester and moving to Franklin, TN instead, taking a couple of online classes plus the credit hours for my internship to maintain a full-time student status at my college, and to actually work for Show Hope by interning with the Red Bus Project. If someone had told me a year or two ago that I would be here in Franklin, I would've thought that person was crazy. No where on my radar was a semester like this, a semester that I would surrender to the Lord and His calling for me to care for orphans in this way. There was nothing ever in my mind that made me think that I would be spending a semester engaging students in caring for orphans by traveling across the country in a double-decker, mobile-thrift-store-sellin', British bus for over a month with people that I just met when I moved down here. As a planner/borderline OCD kind of person, this was the exact opposite of where I planned to be this semester. In fact, there were a lot of doubts and what if scenarios that went through my (and other people's) minds throughout this whole process. Every time that happened though, the Lord was sovereign in providing me with reassurance that this is exactly where He wanted me to be for this season of my life. 

My prayer is that this semester would open the other interns' and my eyes to the reality of the orphan crisis and to the reality that there is something to be done about it, that we would engage with college (and potentially high school) students to make them aware of what they can do, and most importantly, that God would be glorified in everything that we do. The Bible says that God is the father to the fatherless, and He is our heavenly father. In fact, as Christians, we were all spiritual orphans before being adopted into His family because of His love and the simple fact that that was pleasing to Him. It's so cool to think of how mighty and powerful our God is while at the same time, He knows each and every one of us, has adopted us into His forever family, and has a plan for each of the literal orphans around the world. Please join me as I embark on this journey to care for orphans and engage with students, all while discerning what the Lord would have me do with orphan care after this internship is said and done.

PS If you have any questions, or want more information about Show Hope or the Red Bus Project, please check out their websites: http://www.showhope.org/ and http://www.redbusproject.org/