Rejected, but not dejected

Perfectionist Laura who always wants to be the best, is learning how to deal with rejection; mainly from the federal government. Like a diligent master's student, I have applied to many internships this summer. And one by one, I'm receiving kind emails of rejection. I'm starting to get used to it. Each time they say how competitive it is, blah blah blah. One department, which had maybe 100 openings, had 11,000 applicants. Yes, you read correctly. 11,000. So I certainly don't feel badly about that particular one...

I should continue to hear from other departments in March and April. I'm trying not to feel dejected. I'm sure if they met me in person, they'd really want to hire me. :)

In other related news, I have the opportunity to return to China this summer with the organization I spent the last 2 years with. I would be a team leader of 8 to 10 American college students, who will be teaching middle or high school students in China. I could have gone to Hong Kong or something, but I volunteered to lead a team to mainland China, and hopefully a remote, Muslim area like Ningxia.

There are a lot of reasons why I want to return to China this summer, and I think it would be very challenging. I'd have to be a leader, mentor, mother, and travel guide 24 hours a day. I'd also be the liaison with the host school, observe my team members teaching, and all that sort of stuff. If I go, I will have to raise some support again.

So the bottom line is that I have to commit one way or another to team leading in China by March 10th, which is probably before I'll hear from several other internship opportunities. Will you please keep me in your thoughts about this? I don't think it is an extremely big deal, but I want to honor the Father in my decision on how to spend my summer.