DC Internship Weeks 2&3

Hello Everyone!

I apologize for not writing earlier. SO much has happened since I last posted.

The remainder of my first week in the office was a lot of the same - projects and whatnot. But, I love what I do! Over the weekend we went to Rosslyn to watch The Breakfast Club on the lawn which was a lot of fun. Then on Saturday I was able to visit Mt. Vernon with the other interns and staff - which was incredible! I had so much fun walking around the plantation and visiting Washington's Mansion. We had an interesting encounter with one of the actors on the plantation. He was an intriguing fellow from Scotland. :) After our visit on Saturday we took a walk in Old Town Alexandria.

On Sunday most of us interns went to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It was Corpus Christi Sunday and they had a gorgeous procession. I loved Mass... after Mass we went to have lunch/dinner at the Capitol Brewery outside which concluded our weekend... so much fun!

My second week was very hectic (which is the reason I was unable to write to you all....). Monday and Tuesday I was in the office doing the same old same old :). Then Wednesday was.... fun... haha. I got to drive to work in the morning which is always interesting. DC traffic... I don't know how I would describe it. Let's just say - it's always an adventure. I stayed at work for half the day, then I drove to Winchester, VA to meet up with Kristan (my boss) in order to leave for NC to attend the National Right to Life Conference. Once I met up with Kristan we drove with her baby, Gunner and her mom for 6-7ish hours to Charlotte. The drive seemed to go by quicker than expected. We arrived at the Blake hotel around 9:30pm or so. The conference was excellent. I got to work the booth for Students for Life of America - and meet LOTS of new people from all over the US! I had the privilidge of having dinner with Fr. Frank Pavone and Wesley Smith the second night we were there. It was great... so wonderful to meet all these people that are making such an influence in the pro-life movement! For those of you who don't know - Fr. Frank Pavone is the Director of Priests for Life and Wesley Smith is big into Bioethics, Eugenics and Euthanasia. Two very prominent people in the pro-life movement. Throughout the conference I got to introduce some to SFLA, explain the organization and what we could offer students. We successfully found 10+ groups that needed help... which was very exciting! The third night we were there we had dinner with 20+ students from all over the US to discuss and network. It was a good time. Saturday we stayed for half the day and left around noon to head back to VA. The whole trip was incredible and an experience that I will fondly remember.

For the remainder of the weekend (aka - Sunday) I went with several of the interns to the International Spy Museum... I LOVED it! We did the brief tour and are considering going back for the interactive tour. After the Spy Museum we went to the Nationals Baseball game which was thuroughly enjoyable... I think the highlight for me was when Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt raced around the field. The game itself was moderately disappointing as the Nats lost to Toledo 9-4. However - the company of the staff and interns was great! I am loving the people here... we have all bonded so much and I truly enjoy spending time with all of them. After the Nats game, some of us went to Mass at St. Mary's in Chinatown. It was a very solumn Mass with no singing. It was peaceful and a good end to the day.

Yesterday was my first day back in the office since the NRL conference in NC. I did a lot of catching up and trying to do as much as possible. Then... as some of you may have heard - there was a very horrific, deadly metro crash. Praise God I was still at work when it happened. The crash was on the red line - the line I take every day to and from work. The crash happened at approximately 5 p.m. We found out in our office between 5:05 and 5:10. This crash is said to be the deadliest in DC metro history. You can read about it here. So, please, if you would - pray for all those involved and affected by the crash. The death toll is up to 7. The injured number is continually rising. I had a 2.5 hour commute this morning, as opposed to my normal 1 hour commute. I have never seen the metro so overloaded... It is such a sad day in DC. But, thank goodness for all the very dedicated metro workers. They have been working so hard and have made traveling go as smoothly as possible. I have also noticed that those commuting have seemed to embrace a more caring and sympathetic attitude during this tragic time. It will be a rough week in DC. Once again, please pray for the injured and all those involved.

I will try to keep on a weekly update - I hope all is well. Thank you for all your continued support. This internship is truly one of the best experiences of my life thus far. Take care.

For Life,

Sheri

Week 1 in D.C.

It has been quite hectic ever since I arrived in D.C. a week ago today. So, here is my first update!

I first arrived in Wheaton, MD to my host family’s house last Wednesday night. It was a very long drive, but the hours seemed shorter than expected. Fortunately, I didn’t run into any serious traffic issues, though a great deal of construction. As I was stuck in a traffic jam at one point, I was listening to Family Life Radio. It was a morning program and they were talking about some positive pro-life efforts. I was happy to hear so many good things about the pro-life movement on air. So, I decided to call in. I wasn’t expecting to be put on air; I merely wanted to thank them. However, after speaking with them, I heard the interview aired about 10 minutes after I hung up the phone. I was pretty excited.

Once I arrived in MD I had a good amount of time to settle in and get to know my host mom, Doris Gordon. She started Libertarians for Life and has quite a story! I recommend you visit her website at: www.L4L.org. There are many interesting articles on there that would be very beneficial to read.

I had a nice opportunity to visit with an old friend Thursday night and we watched the Red Wings game. Hopefully it won’t be a one time thing in the coming weeks!

My roommate, Kate, arrived Saturday night. It had rained the first few days I was there, so I was anxious to get out of the house. So, I ventured out with Kate and her friend, John who lives right off of Capitol Hill. It was a fun night on the town.

Sunday truly began the craziness of the week. Kate and I went to noon Mass at one of the local parishes: St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. To our surprise, it was a graduation Mass for the parish school 8th grade class. So, that was an interesting experience… J Later that evening we went to the SFLA (Students for Life of America) BBQ in Arlington at the SFLA office courtyard. We had the privilege of meeting many of the people we would be working with: the SFLA staff, the other interns and some of the staffers from Feminists for Life and some other organizations.

Monday was our first day “on the job.” We did not venture out to our respective offices, but instead met up at the SFLA office for training. We had some very… rigorous… training for the first half of the day. In the afternoon we went to Capitol Hill for the Conservative Leadership Seminar at the Capitol Building. There were some very interesting speakers such as Bay Buchanan, Congressman John Shadegg and Liz Cheney. While the final speech was being given, a Capitol police officer entered the room. He began looking around for the person in charge and told us all to evacuate the building immediately. He gave us no reason, just that we all had to leave right then. We later found out that there was a suspicious package in the entrance of the building. After our evacuation we went out to dinner at an Italian Bistro several blocks from Capitol Hill. It was a quaint, privately owned restaurant. It was a fun, but exhausting first day.

Tuesday began our internship rotations. I start out with SFLA for the first three weeks. Two other interns start at that office with me while the other interns are at places such as the Susan B. Anthony List, Feminists for Life, and Congressional Offices on Capitol Hill. My first day I worked on several different projects, learned a lot and felt very productive! We then went to dinner at a pizzeria in the Ballston Mall. It was a lot of fun.

Today was my second day working in the SFLA office. I continued some of my projects from yesterday and had a great opportunity to be interviewed on National Pro-Life Radio. I also got to go to another speaker event from noon until 1pm. Professor Mike Novak spoke about Social Justice – its roots and how society has skewed the meaning to conform it to a liberal society. He referenced the encyclical “Rerum Novarum” by Pope Leo XIII. He also referenced Pope John Paul II on Social Justice. It was overall a great talk and I’m very glad I took my lunch break (and then some) to go listen to him. The rest of the day at the office went smoothly and I went out for dinner with the two other interns that work with me in the SFLA office, Rachana and Billy.

Overall it has been a good first week in Washington. I have not gotten lost on the metro. I have accidentally gotten off early on the bus… but I learned from that right away. I have gotten lost walking through D.C. twice, but quickly found my way – either by asking a random stranger or calling a friend… once again, I learned very quickly from that and won’t be making the same mistake twice. I am learning my way around D.C. and am starting to truly settle in. I now have the confidence that if God ever ends up calling me to live here, I wouldn’t be too upset about it. J I am really looking forward to all that D.C. has to offer this summer. Intern seminars, speaker events and dinners pop up all the time. My weeks are steadily becoming very busy, but I certainly don’t mind! This weekend I may be a bit of a tourist and visit Mount Vernon, the Spy Museum and the Basilica. That is my agenda so far… which is of course always subject to change – as is life in D.C.! One thing I find quite humorous though is that I have acquired the ability to decipher the tourist from the resident. It seems that if you are wearing a t-shirt and jeans on any weekday – most times you are deemed a tourist… I have never seen so many people in business clothes in one city – myself included, haha.

Now, with that, I think I should probably head off to bed. It will be another long day at the office tomorrow! Tomorrow night is our SFLA volunteer night, so we’ll be there until at least 9 p.m. I will try to send out updates at least once a week. I hope all is well back home!

For LIFE!

Sheri

Epiphany

So, last night I prayed the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary. Immediately thereafter I fell asleep. I then had this crazy dream... I don't remember all of it - but the main thing I do remember is that I was being chased by wolves. This morning I was sitting down at breakfast sipping my coffee and this thought just popped into my head. I, of course, am no dream-interpreter... however, it is almost as if this dream was a sort of metaphor, if you will, for where I am currently at in my life. I am in Washington D.C.... not the "safest" place for most people... especially if you are pro-life and actively working for the movement. The imagery came across to me as "I am being fed to the wolves" or "I am fighting the wolves of abortion." It was an interesting thought... This is one of the greatest wars of our time. Yet, some don't even recognize it as a battle. I am here to stand, to fight and to show that many people DO care. I am here to demonstrate the ideals and moral values that I believe this country was built. Every human life deserves a chance to live. How is it possible that some people still do not understand that it is bluntly obvious when life begins? It begins at conception - the reason being, alongside many others, is that a new, growing, developing life starts at the moment of conception. A sperm cannot grow into a human being on its own. An egg cannot grow into a human being on its own. However, once the egg is fertilized by the sperm, it becomes a zygote and develops - oh so rapidly - into a living, breathing human being. I believe the debate circles around "when does life begin" way too much. Science can show when life begins. The real question should be - when does the life deserve to live?

If you look at our Declaration of Independence, it says a great deal:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Unalienable rights? What does this mean? This simply means that these rights cannot be given OR taken away. They are simply regarded as rights that any and every human being is endowed... not by man, no... but by their Creator. In many cases this means God. This is not necessarily to bring about a discussion of whether or not God exists - but to explain that every human being has these rights, whether or not they are stated by another. Now, to explain further, there is a difference between having these rights and having a "right to" these rights. A man who chooses to murder another, for example, has given up his rights to liberty. He chose to inflict on another person's right to life, therefore he shall be put in jail. Choices we make in life will certainly have an effect on what rights you will have a "right to have." As I have said in the past... not all freedoms are awarded to those who bear ignorance. If you do something stupid, there will be a consequence. I must credit a lot of this reflection to Doris Gordon, Founder of Libertarians for Life. I had a good conversation with her the other day about this... you should read some of her writings. Her website can be found here: www.L4L.org.