We have been so antsy to get going on our adventure, but today was the first that I realized that there's sadness, too, in leaving my current work behind.
Some days I get frustrated at my job, but I love it. Tonight it hit me that I'm actually going to be sad to leave it. I work with amazing co-workers and incredible kids. I will miss them. I still have so much to learn from them. Hopefully I can pack all that learning into the next few months.
26 April 2007
24 April 2007
why
A few weeks ago, Jim from work said that he was curious as to why two young people would leave promising careers to be unpaid volunteers. He wanted to know what it was about the organization that convinced us to do this.
That's a really good question.
When I thought about it, I realized that it was less about the organization than it was about something that I've been wanting to do for a long time. I was brought up in a home that was very centered around faith in God. There are a lot of things about faith that I struggle with and a lot of things that don't make sense to me, but one thing that I am absolutely sure of is that service to others is a huge part of honoring God. This is a part of faith that I can do--something that isn't just in my head.
When I was a senior in high school, I wrote a paper for which I interviewed five missionaries (two sets of couples and another woman). It was a chance for me to understand what being a missionary meant. And I liked it. I like the idea of using my abilities to serve other people. It makes sense.
I know that it's possible to do service and still have a career, but I kind of suck at that. For a little while, at least, I want it to be my career to do service.
So. There are people in Appalachia that need help, and I can potentially help them. I want to try.
That's a really good question.
When I thought about it, I realized that it was less about the organization than it was about something that I've been wanting to do for a long time. I was brought up in a home that was very centered around faith in God. There are a lot of things about faith that I struggle with and a lot of things that don't make sense to me, but one thing that I am absolutely sure of is that service to others is a huge part of honoring God. This is a part of faith that I can do--something that isn't just in my head.
When I was a senior in high school, I wrote a paper for which I interviewed five missionaries (two sets of couples and another woman). It was a chance for me to understand what being a missionary meant. And I liked it. I like the idea of using my abilities to serve other people. It makes sense.
I know that it's possible to do service and still have a career, but I kind of suck at that. For a little while, at least, I want it to be my career to do service.
So. There are people in Appalachia that need help, and I can potentially help them. I want to try.
27 March 2007
to help.
My grandfather passed away last night. I write this here because his life--his ideas and his example--are very much related to why we're taking a year to do mission-type work.
Grampsy was a Methodist pastor--both my grandparents were, actually--and, as my dad put it last night, his was a social gospel. I learned from him that to be Christian means to help people, and he did that both by helping directly and by working to make things right at a governmental level.
One of my favorite stories about my grandfather is that when he arrived at the recently-burned home of one of his parishioners, he immediately took his coat off, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work. I'm not sure that those details are one hundred percent accurate, but the point is that my grandfather knew that to live his faith meant to help.
I don't feel called to the ministry like my grandfather was, and I'm not as eloquent as he was when he spoke and wrote, but I can work, and I can help. I am especially glad that we have made the decision to do this year away because I feel as if I am not wasting what I learned from him.
Grampsy was a Methodist pastor--both my grandparents were, actually--and, as my dad put it last night, his was a social gospel. I learned from him that to be Christian means to help people, and he did that both by helping directly and by working to make things right at a governmental level.
One of my favorite stories about my grandfather is that when he arrived at the recently-burned home of one of his parishioners, he immediately took his coat off, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work. I'm not sure that those details are one hundred percent accurate, but the point is that my grandfather knew that to live his faith meant to help.
I don't feel called to the ministry like my grandfather was, and I'm not as eloquent as he was when he spoke and wrote, but I can work, and I can help. I am especially glad that we have made the decision to do this year away because I feel as if I am not wasting what I learned from him.
16 March 2007
the decision has been made.
Well, we've made our decision about our year of adventure. At the end of September, we'll be leaving to go to Frakes, Kentucky, to volunteer for a year at Henderson Settlement. We were really torn between this organization and Heifer Project's Overlook Farm, but working at Henderson will allow us to do direct work with people in need, which is what we had in mind when we first started talking about running away.
This is a view of the valley at Henderson Settlement's main campus.
We'd really like to be able to run away again sometime down the road, so maybe (hopefully!) we'll get to be at Overlook Farm in the future--we really like what the organization does.
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