My internship with World Relief ended on Friday. It was a lot harder to leave than I expected. I got to know the families so well- they trusted me with their very lives [ at times ] and depended on me for everything from food to doctors' appointments to learning American cultural practices. The series of pictures from Aug. 2 are from dinners and outings of the past week that I had with 3-4 of the families that I became closest to. I invited my friend Anne and my friend Amanda to eat dinner with myself and the [ Nepali ] Poudels and the [ Iraqi ] Hamas, respectively. A volunteer, Amy, and I took the Somali family to downtown Atlanta and taught them how to use the MARTA bus and rail system.
I'm really struggling that I didn't get to see Esther before my internship ended. I went to visit her in the hospital on Tuesday, but she was in surgery. I couldn't do Wednesday night because I was already working overtime for Kristine and didn't finish until about 8PM. Thursday and Friday were dinners with families and other goodbyes. Though my internship has officially ended, I am still praying for her. I want her to get better. I pray for her heart to literally, physically heal. Hearing her testimony and the boldness of her faith in Christ is absolutely humbling. Her strength is contagious- ironic considering she weighs in at maybe 85 lbs after a Thanksgiving feast with all her clothes and a pair of boots on. I feel like there is still a lot for me to learn from her and her family. I miss the Monger's already, and I don't ever want the relationships with families in Clarkston and Stone Mountain and Decatur that I have so graciously had the opportunity to become a part of to fade away into memories of one of my college summers of interning. Friday was just official. Inshallah, the sharing and the relationships will never end.
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