Hello!
My name is Karen and I will be a 2011 summer intern for ELCA World Hunger. That statement is written with both feelings of excitement and anxiety. I hail from a small town in the coal-region of Pennsylvania called Pottsville and this is my first time living in a big city. While I believe I have mastered the train system, the buses are still a mystery to me. However Chicago is a beautiful city and I cannot wait to start exploring and experiencing the culture.
Interning for ELCA World Hunger will also present me with an array of exciting and at some times stressful opportunities to serve God by serving individuals around the world. I have been passionate about this kind of ministry since I was young. In middle school and high school, I loved participating in service projects both locally and throughout the United States with my youth group at Trinity Lutheran Church. At my alma mater, Susquehanna University, I majored in Religion and minored in Women’s Studies. I also took every opportunity to go on mission trips provided by the university and the area. I was blessed to visit individuals living in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Liberia and the Philippines during my four years at SU, and I learned much about global hunger and poverty. I also served as the Deacon of Service for two years in the Chaplain’s office. In this position I served my campus and community by providing opportunities for them to serve locally and around the world through programs such as CROP Walk, Fair-Trade Festivals and 30 Hour Famine. All of these experiences prepared me for this summer and wherever God is calling me next in the world.
This summer I have a full plate helping with many different aspects of ELCA World Hunger. I will be posting weekly blogs here about different issues pertaining to world hunger that I struggle with and I hope you will struggle along with me as we discern how to be followers of Christ. Among other responsibilities, I will be helping out with the Malaria Think Tank and networking with hunger leaders in our congregations. I am excited to be traveling to Washington D.C. for the Bread for the World National Gathering this weekend and for future opportunities to travel and meet people around the country who are just as passionate about ending world hunger and poverty as I am!
Overall I hope this summer will be full of discernment. Perhaps God is calling me to work at a non-profit organization or become a missionary in the future. I am excited to see how this summer shapes my future at Luther Seminary. I will be attending in the fall on an M.Div. track and I am excited to see where those four years lead me.
Please continue to read my future posts and I look forward to hearing from you about your thoughts and passions as well!
God Bless
