The End of Orientation

For the past week, all of the young adult volunteers who are setting out for our year of service have gathered at Mc Cormick Seminary for orientation. We have heard from former former volunteers, theologians, and mission personnel.

The week is over and tomorrow we will get on planes to head out to 13 different countries. We will each have different amazing experiences. While I'm playing futbol with the boys at my placement, someone else from the young adult volunteer (YAV) program may be writing a report on the World Bank in Nairobi, and another still will be having dinner with a family in the Ukraine. I'm pround to be connected with this program and these people.

I have learned more about my placement, but I'll wait until I can provide more specifics before I say more. I appreciate your prayers and your thoughts.

Vaya con Dios,
Andrew

Preparation

Preparation is a strange state. I am not yet doing my year of service, and yet, I spend much of my day preparing for that service. I study Spanish. I write and send funding letters. I scan headlines for news from Argentina. I pray and think and make promises to myself to ease lingering anxiety.

None of these activities are the service itself, yet they are of the utmost importance. To serve, I must be at peace. To be at peace, I must prepare. And so I go back to writing a letter. Maybe you will get one. Maybe you already have gotten one.

My time at Eagle Rock draws to a close. I leave here on Tuesday to drive back to South Carolina. To those who have supported me through THIS year of service and now support me as I prepare for Argentina, I say, Gracias por todo.