Next Stop: Croatia

          This morning I received an email letting me know that my placement for Brethren Volunteer Service is official and my plane tickets are being bought! I have been looking forward to sharing about my future plans for months now, but have been waiting until everything was set in place. I will be working for a small non-governmental organization called RAND (Regional Address for Nonviolent Action) in Sesvete, Croatia, which is just outside the capital city of Zagreb. This peace organization promotes nonviolence as a lifestyle and a way of relating through training courses and networking. I am still a little unsure about the specific work I will be doing, but I am so excited to be learning about peace work in a post-conflict zone! My term is for two years, but they do not need me until May.

          In the meanwhile, I have secured two interim placements with Brethren Volunteer Service. In two weeks from today I begin my first interim placement in Elgin, Illinois, working as the Brethren Volunteer Service Volunteer Coordinator. Essentially, I will be helping coordinate the next BVS orientation that begins at the end of September. It will be strange going straight from my own orientation to being staff for the next one, but I am looking forward to working closely with the awesome staff and learning more about this organization I am a part of. I will be living in a volunteer house with three or four other people  (some who are with me now at orientation). I am looking forward living with others and being close by Chicago for a few weeks. I will then end the placement by coming back out here to New Windsor, Maryland to help lead the fall orientation.

          From Maryland, I am going back to Indiana for Jana's wedding (on October 12) before flying to Switzerland on October 15 for three days of getting over jet-lag and getting oriented with the European director of BVS. I will then take an overnight train to Zagreb, then a day train to Osijek, Croatia. In Osijek, I will be working in the library of the Evangelical Theological Seminary for six months. I will live in my own bedroom in seminary dorms and eat my meals in the cafeteria, while meeting several times a week with a tutor to learn Croatian. I am excited to see another part of the country before beginning my official placement and get a six month jump on language before I move where little to no English is spoken.

          I am just so excited about these next three years! I know that it won't be easy, but the adventure is calling my name and I am ready to go!

The Drop Off

          A lot of activities have happened since arriving at orientation, but I really want to share a little of today's experience. We were told that we would be having a service day In the community, but at breakfast we learned of what this would entail....being dropped off in groups of three In the middle of the country, told to find work for the day, then find a ride back in the afternoon with only water bottles and a packed lunch. First, I should say that we are in a good part of Maryland staying in a tiny town. They have doing this for fifty years and have never had a problem. Still, I have to admit that I was nervous as my group began going door to door looking for work. A lot of people were not home and the first people we did meet did not need any help.

         Finally, we came to a little country church. An older lady was cleaning, but was really exited to hear that we were willing to help out at her house. After she finished a couple of things at the church, she drove us to her house where two of us washed all her windows and floors, while the third weed whacked outside. She then insisted on an ice cream break (with 8 different types of ice cream!). We then took a nice walk with the woman and her dog and learned more about her life and the land where we were. Her husband's family had owned the land for he last 200 years! After our walk, we brushed out her dog, an excited border collie. I ended our time there by watering some flowers before she drove us back. Before we exited her car, ahe asked if she could pray for us. 

          It was just a really great feeling being able to feel useful. She was a widow and just really appreciated us, even though I felt like we didn't do anything very strenuous. She was just so appreciative, saying that she was terrible with the weed whacker and had been dreading cleaning the windows. Even though she seemed pretty healthy, she said she has fallen a couple of times before and trul appreciated the help. My favorite part of the experience, though, was to just hear some of her life story and connect with someone that I would never would have met otherwise.

          After dinner, we then got to hear the stories from the rest of the group. All the stories were different, but each one was special and everyone felt really good about how the day had went. It seems just amazing to me that a day starting off so uncertain and scary can end up being a fantastic day. I feel blessed to be having this experience and look forward to sharing more about my BVS experience. 

The following poem was shared in orientation and I really liked it, so I thought I would post it here. I would welcome any thoughts or stories. 

The Invitation

a poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

 

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals, or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine and your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with JOY, mine or your own: if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself: if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty everyday, and if you can source your life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes" !

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Long Overdue Summer Update

          It has been two months since my last update about my summer... My, how time flies! I don't have the time (or space) to write about everything that has occurred (and is occurring), but here is a short synopsis.

Cincy: Once again, the monastery in Cincinnati proved to be a relaxing and much needed time to meet with my spiritual director and reflect on where I am at. Moving on from college has been difficult and I have needed time to process that change. The reds also won the game my parents and I went to! Yay! 

Michigan: My friend Jana and I had such a great time camping in Michigan. With the exception of a storm the first night and a miserable trip to the laundromat to dry all our blankets, we had great weather, good food, and just a really nice time talking and spending serious quality time together. I love her so much and am glad we could make this trip a reality.

GRE's: The test went ok, some sections better than others. At this point I am not planning on retaking them...I think the scores will get me into the schools I want. But the best thing was after my test (in Toledo), I went and picked up Krissy! She had been staying in Michigan and was heading to Texas, but she was able to come for three wonderful days! It was so wonderful to have her around and also to remind me of the beauty of Ohio. We went on a 20 mile bike ride the one day, and it was truly beautiful as we rode past fields and streams. It is not Colorado, but when you stop and truly look, there is much to behold. 

Colorado (week one): After a long drive from Ohio to Kansas, then Kansas to Colorado, my family made it to our cabin. We had a full house with my parents, grandma, two brothers, sister-in-law, and my childhood friend Amy. We hiked, fed the chipmunks, explored the town of Salida, and helped with some fire mitigation outside. I then drove my oldest brother back to the Denver airport, spent the night with my mom's cousin, then flew to Phoenix.

Phoenix: Mennonite Convention ended up to be a really good week. I was staying with Ruth and our good friend, Darian. They were at convention representing Pink Menno (see Darian's story and learn more at http://www.pinkmenno.org/2013/06/four-years-later-and-still-here/ ) 

Being a delegate was a good experience learning about church business and seeing convention from a different viewpoint. (This was my ninth convention, but first time being a delegate). I also really enjoyed seeing different people I know from different parts of my life. I got to have one last one-on-one with Judy, as well as spend time with my cousin Beth and her two kids, Simon and Nadia.

(I didn't take a single picture in Phoenix!)

Colorado (week two): This has been by far the best week of the summer! Ruth and I flew back to Denver, got my car, and met two other friends (James and Jenna) at the Denver art museum. It was so fun to all meet up in a new place. We ate dinner and explored the city a bit before meeting p with the fifth member of our group (Josh) and drove over the mountains to the cabin. Our first full day we made breakfast before heading to Buena Vista's farmer's market. We then drove to the top of cottonwood Pass and hiked a little ways up. We then got groceries before going back to the cabin to make dinner, take another short hike, then watch Mulan. Our second day we went white water rafting in the morning, then fed chipmunks/explore the ghost town of St. Elmo, hike Agnes Vaille (a local hike to a waterfalls) before making a late dinner (veggie burgers and sweet potato fries!) then stargazing. The third day we travelled to Aspen, took a bus to Maroon Bells with a hike to Crater Lake, then walked a little bit around in town. We watched Bride and Prejudice while eating dinner and heading to bed early. The fourth day consisted of leaving the cabin at 4:30 to drive 1.5 hours to the trailhead of Mount Quandary. It took 3.5 hours, but we made it to the top of our first fourteener! For those not familiar with Colorado, fourteeners are mountains with an elevation of over 14,000 feet (of which there are 54 in Colorado). I have always wanted to climb one, but no one in my family has ever wanted Togo with me. It was a fairly intense climb, but we loved it! There were lots of mountain goats and other friendly climbers. That night we just napped and relaxed. The fifth day we drive to Colorado Springs where we visited Garden of the Gods, ate at Which Wich (my new favorite restaurant), toured the Olympic Training Center, and dropped Jenna and Josh at the airport. The next day after cleaning the cabin, Jmes, Ruth, and I began our long journey home. The first stop was in Topeka, Kansas, then had dinner the next day at Ruth's house in Indianapolis before sleeping at my house, then traveling to Harrisonburg (where James is from). I spent two days there visiting some friends.

New Windsor, Maryland: I am currently at orientation for Brethren Volunteer Service. Things are going really well so far, but that is for another post.