God is Real.

I love pranks. Even when they’re done to me, I can’t help but laugh. Let’s see, this past Friday our co-worker was out on vacation so we interns decided to leave him a little surprise for when he gets back to the office tomorrow. AKA: His entire office is covered in post-it notes- most of them which have lots of great little messages.

Oh, and can’t forget the day where another intern filled up a trashcan full of water and leaned it against my door so that when I opened the door it fell over and covered my carpet with water.

All this to say, I love the people I am working with. I love that we can have fun with each other and I am so thankful for the amazing working environment I am a part of. I truly feel like I am doing work that is useful. My supervisor is wonderful and I feel extremely encouraged by his support in my work and the valuable tasks I am given each day.

If nothing else, I have learned much about thankfulness this week. Being here in Cary, I am very content and happy and I have really tried to take on a grateful attitude and not take this experience for granted. I am thankful that God has given me the opportunity to be able to experience a work environment such as this with people like these. It is not something everyone gets and I feel so blessed to be able to experience it. I am thankful for the encouragement I am given. I am thankful for all the laughter. I am thankful for all the deep conversations that have come so naturally among the interns. I am thankful for the stories that have been shared. I am thankful for good food and fellowship. I am thankful for hard work and for having a purpose here at TWR. I am thankful for spiritual moments and I am thankful for new perspectives.

Seriously, what an amazing organization this is. Every single worker portrays an amazing servant leadership- including the president! He takes the time to serve the interns and learn their names and that is just mind blowing to me. I am actually working on a devotional that the president (Lauren Libby) wrote and my job is to find relatable verses and listener letters. As hard as it is, I love reading these letters and being so encouraged by the hope they were given through the radio programs. It’s so nice to work for an organization that you truly believe in!

All in all, I have been so inspired by the people I have come in contact with. I have been able to see my grandparents, I have been able to meet new people through church and Bible study, I have been able to try new things and get to know people better.

People are seriously just so wonderful. I love getting to know their sense of humors and how they love to be loved. I have loved having conversations that last for hours where we can have fun but also challenge each other and open up to each other and share moments that have happened in our lives to help one another. I have gained so much respect for the people I work with, the other interns included. Seriously, God has worked wonders and these people are evidence that God is real. I absolutely loved just sitting around the fire, laughing and sharing personal stories with each other. I feel like God is using us not only to make an impact at the organization but in each other’s lives as well.

I have never doubted the realness of God. Obviously I’ve had doubts about other things, but the fact that God is real, I have always been sure. And it is moments like these that have affirmed this for me. To hear about the transformation that has happened in these people’s lives and to see the passion they have for the Lord… to hear about miracles and to see pure hope, joy and peace… that just doesn’t come naturally! What we experience through God is proof that he is real! It is just so amazing. I don’t know how else to explain it. And it just makes me even more excited to be God's child and to have the opportunity to love people! What a wonderful day, Father's Day. A day to celebrate the blessing of your earthly father (shout out to my awesome dad here!) and just recognizing the amazing Heavenly Father we have in God. Gosh, that just fills my spirit up. :)

I don’t want to ramble on too long about this, just in case you’ve actually read this far, but I do just want to end with this. God is amazing. Good will always win. It is through Christ that joy is found and I believe with all my heart that I am in God’s will this summer and am doing something valuable. But I also know with all my heart, that when I leave, I will still be given opportunities every single day to share his love. Today and tomorrow, God’s love will be shown and he has given us the privilege of sharing it. He has given us the opportunity to share in his love with him. To feel his love and to be with him and feel real purpose in life and then someday join him in heaven where we will praise him forevermore. What a beautiful thing to think about!

Anyway, we sang a song in church today that I have never heard before and I just thought it was absolutely beautiful. So here, you go.

Abide With Me

By Henry Lyte

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, abide with me.

Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;

And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,

Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,

On to the close Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence, every passing hour.

What but Thy grace, can foil tempter’s power?

Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?

Through cloud and sunshine, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless

Ills have no weight, tears lose their bitterness

Where is thy sting death? Where grave thy victory?

I triumph still, abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross, before my closing eyes;

Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.

Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;

In life, in death, Lord, abide with me.

Frizzy Hair, Awesome People and Love

            Today we have a woman staying at the lodge for a week from Austria. She has curly hair as I do and after talking about her stay in the States she mentions the humidity and how she has never seen her hair act this way before. All I could do was nod my head and say, “I feel ya sister.”

 Needless to say, it has been quite humid, but that’s really nothing new for me as Jersey is probably the same way. 

This past week has nevertheless been wonderful and I have really enjoyed my first week of work. I can already sense how fast the summer is going to go. I know I am going to love these people I am working and interning with.

I have really enjoyed getting to know the other workers at TWR. Benjamin and his wife invited us over one night, and Tyler the videographer invited us over to his family’s house as well. We’ve been able to hear their stories and their dreams about what they want to do with their work. I love just being able to be lighthearted as well as have deep conversations. One thing Benjamin said that was awesome was about faith and obedience. I don’t mean to sound cliché but when people say “Jesus has a plan for you” that’s often the reaction I have. But if you think about what that truly means, God knows where I am right now and I not only need to have faith that He will lead me to the next step, but I need to be obedient to where He has me right now. There is a reason that I’m here no matter what I manage to do or not do. I may never even know the reason, but I need to be obedient to where God has me and trust Him. I can’t just attempt to please Him, that’ll never work. I need to follow. And I need to enjoy this fact! Enjoy that His love is not a burden! In fact, when I choose God every day, when I abandon my life and truly commit every day, His love brings overwhelming joy.

It’s been so much fun going shopping (purchasing my first pair of high heels!) and going to church, out to eat and just talking with the other interns and really getting to know them. Watching them and their passion for what they are doing gives me the confidence boost I need to be able to output valuable work and glorify God through the work I am doing. I want to pour out God’s love through my work and I pray God will use me and work through me and help me to see every possibility. He’s brought me this far, I trust He will keep leading to the end!

One verse that has helped me is Proverbs 16:3 which says “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” If I commit my work to the Lord, He will establish my plans! It’s a very exciting statement to realize. I read a quote that says, “Creativity comes when you stop being afraid of being wrong.” Oh my goodness, that opened my eyes. I am constantly afraid of being wrong. I don’t want to put my ideas out there and every time I finish a project I have to tell them I’m sorry, I hope it’s ok, please let me know what I need to change, before they even get a chance to look at it. I wonder why I have creativity blocks, and the reason is I am so afraid of being wrong. By committing my work to the Lord, I don’t have to be afraid. What He wants to be done, will be done.

I’ve been so blessed to be interning with these people- workers and interns. We’ve been able to go the movies and the pool as well as have great conversations and work hard. I just thank God for His blessings and I pray I can use them to pour out love on others.They have been teaching so much as well. Just through their every day lives and through their stories. It's amazing what a simple conversation can lead to. I love people. I love that every person, every personality, no matter what has their own story and their own future. I can learn something from every person I ever meet.

All this to say, work has been going well. I am learning and being challenged. I have been going through the book of Proverbs and chapter 30 just really spoke to me. It is really humbling yet encouraging. I love that about it. I know I can tend to be so anxious despite my laid back personality and I just need to remember what He has done and the people He worked through and just look at these things pointed out in the verse and just stretch out my hands to Him to water my dried up soul. He will bring perfect peace and take away every anxiety if I let Him. If I trust Him to take care of me. Who else would know better than the creator of my soul?

 I'm going to end with this verse in Ecclesiastes 3. I stumbled upon it and just fell in love with it. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil- this is God’s gift to man.”

Lifetime Learner

            I got home from the beach on Monday night and stared at my room that looked like a natural disaster had hit it. All that stuff had to packed up so that I could leave home for another two months. It was definitely a bittersweet feeling. I had just gotten home a week ago and realized how much I missed it. I missed my family and I missed my friends and I haven’t even gotten a chance to see my two best friends yet. My heart yearned to stay home where it was comfortable. Where I knew I would be wanted. And also where I knew I would be doing pretty much nothing if I stayed. 

            So, I packed up my bags and got ready to leave the following morning. My mom and I hit the road and endured the eight hour drive to North Carolina together. We pulled in down a beautiful road where we found TWR. The Lodge that they provide is very comfortable and looks like a mini hotel room and we are provided with a nice kitchen and living space. Plus, it’s nice being directly across from the office. More time to sleep when work is only one minute away! Of course, there is only one tiny closet and barely any drawers so it was quite difficult managing where to put all of both my and my roommate’s clothing. Luckily, I’m used to throwing my clothes all over the place anyway. 

            I will be living with four other girls and one other guy (I always find myself in extreme majority girl groups… haha) and we will all be interning for different people. There will be one other girl working in my department which is Marketing and Communications (MarCom). She will be working with primarily Social Media and I will be working primarily with Journalism. 

            We all settled in on Tuesday and got to know one another and also got to know two other guys and one other girl who are all interning with TWR but will be in different counties. It is all very exciting! So be sure to include them in your prayers while praying for the team.

            Wednesday started bright and early at 8am for Orientation. Yes, we had to dress in business casual attire. Something that is quite new for me. In fact, Wednesday was the first time I had ever put on makeup by myself on a normal day. I know, crazy, right? I guess I’ll get used to dressing like an adult.

            Orientation was definitely long, but not quite so grueling. In fact, it truly opened my eyes to how amazing this ministry is and how awesome radio can be as a ministry to closed countries. From their history to how they continue to expand and impact more and more people, you can see God’s hand working in each and every part. I also love how they really want to make all the interns feel included in the work and purpose in sharing the Gospel with all peoples.

            One goal of this ministry for their interns is they want each and every one of us to grow in their relationship with Christ. They are excited for the work and skills we will be able to output while here, but if we feel further from Christ then we did in the beginning, then they have failed in their job. I am so encouraged by this and so excited to see how God uses them to work in our lives.  

            So far, they have challenged me to think and grow and I haven’t even started working yet! They talked about how we are ambassadors not only in our outward actions, but in our private lives as well. Our personal relationship with Christ reflects in everything we do. We should be an overflow to what God is pouring into us. We shouldn’t have to strive to have love flow out of us because it should already be so full in us that it is just overflowing onto others.

            We also need to keep our eyes open to everything happening around us and each opportunity that Christ gives us each day to share His love. I know how oblivious I can be and I am trying to be able to be more observant to the world around me and being able to see those in need and acting on it. This also ties in to praying earnestly and never underestimating the power and importance of prayers. Prayer is so easily forgotten and I don’t know why when it is obviously so powerful. I hear so many stories that seem impossible until they pray and then God opens up so many doors. He really does hear us.

            It is also so important not to get distracted. Distractions come in so many ways in things that aren’t bad! Distractions can come in community, worship, expectations, time, ourselves… I know I can get distracted so easily especially by these things and I forget what should be of utmost importance. Of course I need to keep up these things, but I cannot let them replace what I am here for.

            I loved a couple other things that they mentioned such as let yourself be surprised and remember adventure. Go in God’s power and allow Him to use you. Return with joy and continue to be a willing participant in God’s work wherever you are. So many amazing statements that I can go on and on about (but I will save you the trouble to those that are still reading this far… haha). 

            Another thing that was mentioned that really resonated with me was having a kingdom perspective. Jesus will return and we are a part of that process by attempting to reach all peoples. Our goal and final destination where we will spend eternity is heaven or hell and that is a perspective we need not forget.

            I appreciate so much that their primary goal is to help us grow spiritually. This will be a different and challenging summer and I am nervous to begin on Monday, but I am excited and I am so glad I have five other wonderful interns here to share it with. I hope and pray I will serve God and love others to the best of my ability! 

           

            Orientation ended on Thursday which mostly consisted of reading their GPP and getting details all squared away. Lauren Libby is the president of TWR and we had the opportunity to join the staff meeting and a webinar with him and Tripp (the web guru) and I loved the things he had to say about the ministry and life in general. Obviously, I won’t talk to you about everything he said, but one thing he said in the meeting that stuck with me was to be a lifelong learner. It’s not something that ends in school or work or retirement. His mother is 98 years old and she is still learning.

            God created this vast world with so much diversity in nature and culture it is literally impossible to know everything about the world. 

            Never stop asking questions.

            Never stop learning people’s stories.

            Never stop staring at the stars. 

            On a lighter note, a couple of us went with Ben (IT guru) and his wife to play volleyball and we ended up playing with some other guys at the park and it was so much fun! I hit the ball over the net a few times. ;) It’s weird not to have any homework so I have plenty of free time at night if any of you want to contact me through phone, skype, or message me or whatever! I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. Also, if you would like to send me anything in the mail my address is: 

Rachel Pearson
Trans World Radio
300 Gregson Dr. 
Cary, NC 27512

            Speaking of which, the last thing I want to say is thank you. Thank you to all who are supporting me financially as well as through prayer. I literally would not be here without you. God has opened my eyes to the importance of raising support and what a ministry it provides for others. Thank you for partnering with me. I say this with sincerity, you are all my partners. Because of that, you are a huge part of this ministry and you are a part of this internship this summer. I will try and update this blog every week to let you know what’s been going on. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this possible. You have truly made a difference.