I am a different person now than I was at the beginning of my Peace Intern summer.
I was constantly challenged to grow, think differently about justice, and always asked to pursue more. Between the flights, campfires, and never-ending loop of camp songs stuck in my head, I found myself stretching in ways I didn’t know I could. I found myself residing in a peacefulness and contentment I didn’t know existed.
Through leading workshops on LGBTQIA+ pronoun inclusion and breaking down gender binaries, I was able to hear a plethora of stories from young people who face these issues in their lives.
This experience taught me that peace is an experience that meets you where you are and that justice is imperative to continuing Jesus’s narrative.
Not only did I gain an immense love for this work, but I also gained two best friends who went through this experience with me and I have been made better through their friendship.