On a personal note...

Currently, I am trying to find answers to many different questions.  I am waiting to hear back on some jobs I've applied for as well as thinking through the decision to do the internship I've mentioned with the Vision of Hope.  The policies set up for the house for the ladies have been prayed over and thought through for some time now.  God has been working with that ministry through the staff, giving them wisdom on how to structure the program.  Girls that enter the house have been living lives of sinful entrapment in the form of : abuse, anorexia, bulimia, self-harm, unplanned pregnancy, etc.  When they agree to live there, they commit to work hard on growing in those areas with the structure, which includes counseling, learning to eat and live in a healthy way, learning responsibility, learning about God's word and how it can apply to every area of life...etc.  I greatly respect the policies and the structure they have set up for the girls. 

My understanding of what my responsibilities/expectations would be as an intern are not lining up with what they are requiring.  Since my arrival here in Lafayette, I have found out more about the position that is making me think through more deeply about my desire to do this.  Some of the things are: be in room by 10pm with lights out; only being able to use my cell phone in the lobby;  having an orderly and tidy room at all times like the girls;  etc.  Alot of those things are required to help set an example to the girls.  Just thinking about to what degree do I come alongside these gals and do the others things I am responsible for: class and a job (to pay loans and bills).  Also I thought it was going to work out that I only commit to the internship for 3 months and live with the Kesslers.  But, because there are more gals interviewing for the position, I would not be as good a candidate compared to someone who can commit to at least 6 months and live on-site.  This is alot for me to think about and pray through.

On Tuesday, my dad was working for a customer doing some pruning and suffered some kind of ceasure/stroke.  He called my mom from his truck and told her he didn't know what he was had been doing and didn't think he was ok. My mom picked him up and took him to the E.R.  There they gave him some aspirin and took some tests (MRI, CAT scan, carotid artery ultra sound) and kept him over nite.  They did not find anything on any of those tests that hinted at a stroke or seizure.  His thinking and memory are significantly slow and delayed, as well as his speech.  He says he feels like he's in a fog.  Today, he says he feels like the fog is gone somewhat.  The neurologist went in to see him today to look into other possibilities of what might have happened.  He suspected it might have been a seizure so he put him on some seizure meds for 5 days and they are going to run an EEG to check his brain waves.  Please pray for full recovery, for wisdom for the doctors, energy for both my mom and dad as my mom helps with business duties, and for God to be praised for His faithfulness and love.  God is a rock in my family and I know everyone is clinging to it right now.   Because of His grace and steadfast love, he is willing to teach us through this.