summerofhope

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Sprott is one of the small gems you will find in Perry County. It's not a town but an area just a few miles from Marion. There is a community center there that does a daily adult daycare and during the summer they do things for the children who are out of school for the summer. We had a group from Tuscaloosa come down for the day and do a VBS camp.they had Crafts, Bible studies, and Sports. This is the sports section cooling down after a tough game of capture the flag. Ashley Evans one of my teammates worked with the sports section for the day. (she's the one in the purple Wonka shirt). We had great fun that day and the children were so sweet and excited that people had come to be with them for the day.

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One of the members of First Baptist Huntsville working in Perry County at a private residence. Attempting to take out the sink.

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Frances Ford Executive Director of Sowing Seeds of Hope on her weekly radio program "What's right with Perry County"

#SummerofHope

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Being the girl behind the camera means that there won't be a lot of pictures of me on this blog. I rather like that idea because it keeps me humble and I feel like it puts into perspective what this summer is about. But sometimes I meet the most wonderful people in this small world and we find that we know some of the same people and we like some of the same things. This happened on our visit to the radio station. I love how photography can bring people together.

#summerofhope #thesuperrare

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The second week of our internship was met with the chance to be on the local radio station in Marion. Our Fearless leader Mrs. Frances Ford hosts a weekly radio program called "What's right with Perry County" on 94.3 FM. During the one hour show Mrs. Ford speak about opportunities and events that are held in Perry County. It's her goal to make sure that everyone is informed about things that will help them live better and healthier lives. On this particular week Mrs. Ford had all the interns come and speak on the show. I enjoyed the opportunity (but let's face it I love to talk.) The Student. go interns from Judson College ended the program by singing a step sing song entitled "Marion" part of the lyrics are "Marion, Of all the cities in the USA, you are the best and we're here to say you're on the map to stay"

#summerofhope #Radio

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First Day at office. This was the first day at the Sowing Seeds of Hope Job training Center. This building is where we the Interns are based. On our first day we got acclimated to new surroundings. This was also the day we got to meet our new coworker. He name is Mary Afton and she is interning through the Living Democracy Program at Auburn University.

#Day 1 #summerofhope

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Beautiful nature!

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My Teammates and I went on a walk through the breath taking campground.

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Sowing Seeds of Hope Intern Team meeting during orientation.

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“I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands -- this is not optional -- my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”

-Jimmy Carter

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A Few Hours....

In a few hours my fellow teammates and I will be leaving for our orientation. I feel like I always feel the night before school starts. There are just so many things running through my head. There are the usual thoughts about just being myself and there are new thoughts and pondering about God's plans for the summer. The best part about all of this is, I'm not as afraid as I usually am. I feel like things will work out and we will all the better for it. In following week I will introduce you all to my two teammates and I will talk more about what this summer will entail. Until then I ask that you pray. Please pray that everyone has a safe journey and as we begin our summer of hope.

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Three Days

Three days from now all of the Student.go teams will be meeting up for orientation. I ask that you pray for everyone to have safe travels and God's will is done. I myself am very excited and nervous. It's kind of like that day before you start another school year, I know personally, I can never sleep the night before. No worries, I'll keep you updated on the happenings! Have a great week!

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Me and one of my wonderful teammates for the Summer. We were working at the Easter Egg Extravaganza getting to know the people we will get the opportunity to work with this summer.

#summerofhope #thesuperrare

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The Summer of Hope

What was once a prayer has become my reality, my name is Carli and this blog is about my Summer of Hope.  I’m a sophomore at Judson College and I have been praying for two years that if it was God’s will, that I would work at Sowing Seeds of Hope for as many summers as he intended. I thought that maybe I was ready at the end of my freshman year but I didn’t seem to have a peace about the situation. I felt like that maybe I wasn’t ready for it, that God still had some lessons to teach me.  Then came my sophomore year of college, I call it my year of preparation. I found myself facing some interesting obstacles, not all were good, but they were all necessary. I learned that as much as I wanted to be independent and just take care of everything myself, I needed God like that old cliché of deserts needing the rain.

This year things fell into place, in less than a month I will begin my Summer of Hope, which actually has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with the community of Marion, Alabama. I grew up in a small town not far from Marion. However, in the past two years I’ve begun to see Marion as my home and as a wonderful beautiful place. Just like any place here in America, Marion has its Pros and Cons. It has its characters and some people that you will meet once in a lifetime. The thing is Marion and Perry County as a whole has more needs than resources and that’s where Sowing Seeds of Hope comes in. “Sowing Seeds of Hope is a faith-based non-profit organization in Marion, AL with a mission to serve the people of Perry County.”

“The mission of Sowing Seeds of Hope is to improve the quality of living and working in Perry County through an improved educational system which will develop job training skills consistent with local job needs and further economic and human development through enhanced social and physical infrastructures to meet existing and further needs, while improving agricultural markets, housing, health care, and transportation. Promoting tourism, recreational areas, and attracting retirees are desired economic development tools.” (Information from the Official Sowing Seeds of Hope Facebook)

As an intern my responsibilities will vary and will change from day to day.  This blog is intended to share with you the happenings of the summer. I want to share will you the people I meet and the things being done for the community. This will be done through blog posts, quotes, pictures, websites, and links to articles. This will all be done pray fully and for the glory of God.