This week, we are going to be walking through the PT summer through the lens of Joanna Peters. Joanna interned at Hughes Memorial UMC this summer and has graciously share some of her writings with us. 

Hello lovely folks! Wow! It has been a while. Life has been insane here at home and it’s about to get crazier. Over the past few weeks my whole family has gotten sick and we have spent hours on chicken noodle soup, doctor visits and a quite few tears. Ugh what a mess! These last few days have been an absolute wreck and all I seem to crave is sleep. It wasn’t until today that I realized I had only ONE WEEK until I packed up my little life and headed to Washington D.C. for the next three months. What? I told myself the summer had just started, and I was doing great on time, but no Joanna: it’s time to get going. No matter what I tried to prep for, life seemed to be throwing me surprises and I just didn’t understand it. Then I realized something: God takes every bump, every piece, every trial in your life and turns it into a masterpiece of His own creation. Each situation that I have been dealing with is all part of a masterpiece that I have yet to see. Knowing that, I can’t wait to see what He does with the piece labeled Joanna’s internship.

Speaking of internship, many of you may be wondering how in the world I got such a job. Well I have two words: a miracle. Yup that’s right a miracle. Over the winter I had been searching and searching for an opportunity to use my gifts. One day my mom was like “hey I found this really awesome internship in Tennessee that does camps and activities for at-risk youth. You should check this out and apply” Now, my mind heard only one thing: Tennessee. That was way too far! Nope. Not happening. I was really bummed about the distance because I looked at their site and loved the work that they did. But for some reason I just wasn’t ready. So, I continued to search and pray and then search some more. The place I worked at last summer even contacted me, but sadly they didn’t offer an internship like the one I needed for school. After a few months of searching, I was fed up. Why couldn’t I find the right fit? Then my mom (who is amazing and always looks out for me) sends me a link to a website and says “hey they have a D.C. program “. I opened it and it was the exact same site from before except now they had a Washington D.C. Program! This job was exactly what I prayed for. It had everything I needed for school, plus I would be close to family members too. I was so excited and after a few months secured the position of intern on their summer staff. Isn’t God funny sometimes?

So, after months of waiting, praying and hoping, the next step in my life is only 7 days away. Even though life may throw you a curveball, remember that God is always there to pick up the pieces and turn it into something amazing. Life may get rough sometimes but take heart in knowing you are part of something beautiful!

With joy and (very tired) smiles,
Joanna

To help provide students with meaningful internships, please donate to PTDC here!