And The Adventure Begins

          Monday morning began at 4:00 am as my mother and I took the shuttle to the Portland Airport and I went on my way, tearful of course. While flying from Denver to Newark the pilot noted when we were flying over Pittsburgh and my heartstrings tugged a little. On a funnier note I almost jumped out of my middle seat with excitement when I saw the Statue of Liberty from the plane. The woman in the window seat next to me was less than amused that I had practically jumped in her lap to get a better view. Especially since she had been doing breathing techniques the whole trip because flying was not her thing. So I calmed myself down and thought about how lucky I have been over the past few years to see so many new places.

         I knew that I was suppose to meet other YAV's in the baggage claim area, but I was unaware of how awkward it was to walk up to people and ask them if they were also a volunteer. I got a few funny looks but I finally found my group, which luckily had one person wearing a Presbyterian Church t-shirt. We then all arrived at Stony Point's retreat center which is beautiful. Very spacious, green, and has the most incredible meditation center I have ever seen. All of the other 70 volunteers are wonderful. Everyone is so welcoming, friendly and excited to start his or her new adventure. It's a breath of fresh air to be around people who are at the same stage in their lives as me. Although I think I am one of the only people considering a career in the medial field. Most people are seriously considering a route in ministry, which I greatly admire but know that I would not be able to do.

         The first day was packed full of getting to know each other more, learn more about our sites, worship, and a very intense seminar on cultural awareness. The seminar was long but important in which we were told we have about a million ways to ruin this mission experience. One example would be acting like we were the strong Americans coming to save the poor and needy. While we all hope to help the community we are about to join, we have to realize that we will most likely fail in more than one occasion and that in the end we will most likely receive much more than we give. As for worship, I love the way we worship! Instead of singing normal camp songs or hymns (which I also love), we have been singing songs that were originated in other countries. My favorite one so far is called “Sanna” which is short for Hosanna, comes from Africa, and is usually accompanied by drums and dancing. The respect for other cultures and religions here is inspirational and gives me so much hope.

         Today was filled with more seminars, these based around sexual misconduct and safety. Each seminar scares me a little more, but they are necessary and very helpful. But I have gotten one very important thing from each seminar and that is that each volunteer has so much support. While I, unlike some of the other volunteers, will be alone in my town, I have many people I can call or email at anytime which can help me through any situation. That in itself gives me a lot of comfort and peace.

         Last thing to mention, my Peru team is AWESOME! I am so excited to get to know them more and be with them throughout the year. We were all talking last night and the only thing that could get me away was the fact that I was falling asleep in the chair. Not only do I get to go to Peru for a year, but I get to go with an incredible group, how lucky can a girl get?