So, on Tuesday, I was hanging out with who I lovingly refer to the "DC ladies," Katy, Rebecca, and Jamie. They are three of my fellow YAMs (Young Adult Missionary) in the US-2 program. (Which means they will be in the US for 2 years-their placements are in DC) I noticed myself saying "you guys" this and "you guys that." I've always used this phrase no matter if I'm talking to males or females. Why is that? Is it a regional thing or is it just me? I cringe inside whenever I say it, I always have. But I don't seem to be able to stop myself from saying it. Not that it's some nasty phrase or curse word, but why would I say "you guys" to three ladies? Hmmm...I guess this is something I'll have to work on. Maybe speaking Spanish for a year will cure me of it.
BTW, technicalities have been worked out and I'm definitely leaving on Tuesday.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
UPDATE!!!
Hello friends,
As most of you know, I have been preparing and waiting for my visa for four months to go to Brazil through the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. It has been a time of frustration, but of intense growth as well. I've been able to spend time with friends and family and I've learned how to live in the present and I've learned a great deal of patience.
Last week, a decision was made that if my visa didn't arrive by Friday, I was going to cancel the process and go to another country. Well, it didn't arrive. Although I felt peace about the decision to cancel while it was just an idea, it was a really emotional ordeal when it actually happened. I'd been preparing mentally and spiritually to go to Brazil, where I have friends and am familiar with the project. I'd been studying Portuguese and buying things according to Brazilian culture and climate. My heart is in Brazil. For those of you who know me well, you know how true this is. All of a sudden, on Friday afternoon, all of that was gone. It was devastating.
But also on Friday, my supervisor at GBGM told me that they were considering putting me in Chile, in a place called Iquique. It's almost directly west of Nova Almeida on the map, on the Pacific coast. Follow the 20 degree latitude line across from Vitoria, Brazil, and you will find Iquique, Chile. A placement was proposed to me on Friday as well, and I was given the weekend for discernment.
Today is Monday and I've decided that yes, I'm going to Iquique, Chile. I will be leaving very soon, as long as a few technicalities are worked out: January 22nd! I will be flying out of National in DC to Miami, then La Paz, Bolivia, then Iquique. I will be going on a tourist visa and going into Peru and back every 90 days to renew the visa. Iquique is very dry, only getting one and a half inches of rain every 12 years. It's next to the Atacama desert and the Pacific Ocean. I'm told that it's a city of 250 to 300,000 people.
I will be working under Becky Harrell. Her Mission Biography is at: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/work/missionaries/biographies/index.cfm?action=details&id=1134
I'll have the option of three programs. I'll be able to spend time with each and decide which I would like to focus on. The first is called "Serenity." It's an after-school tutoring and lunch program. The second is EMANA. I would be a liaison between U.S. medical teams and the communities. And the third one is called CAF and it's a family violence center.
So, although I am heartbroken, I am excited too. I feel a peace but I'm definitely not done with Brazil, so there must be a good reason for me to have this experience in Chile at this point in my life.
Thank you for prayers and support.
As most of you know, I have been preparing and waiting for my visa for four months to go to Brazil through the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. It has been a time of frustration, but of intense growth as well. I've been able to spend time with friends and family and I've learned how to live in the present and I've learned a great deal of patience.
Last week, a decision was made that if my visa didn't arrive by Friday, I was going to cancel the process and go to another country. Well, it didn't arrive. Although I felt peace about the decision to cancel while it was just an idea, it was a really emotional ordeal when it actually happened. I'd been preparing mentally and spiritually to go to Brazil, where I have friends and am familiar with the project. I'd been studying Portuguese and buying things according to Brazilian culture and climate. My heart is in Brazil. For those of you who know me well, you know how true this is. All of a sudden, on Friday afternoon, all of that was gone. It was devastating.
But also on Friday, my supervisor at GBGM told me that they were considering putting me in Chile, in a place called Iquique. It's almost directly west of Nova Almeida on the map, on the Pacific coast. Follow the 20 degree latitude line across from Vitoria, Brazil, and you will find Iquique, Chile. A placement was proposed to me on Friday as well, and I was given the weekend for discernment.
Today is Monday and I've decided that yes, I'm going to Iquique, Chile. I will be leaving very soon, as long as a few technicalities are worked out: January 22nd! I will be flying out of National in DC to Miami, then La Paz, Bolivia, then Iquique. I will be going on a tourist visa and going into Peru and back every 90 days to renew the visa. Iquique is very dry, only getting one and a half inches of rain every 12 years. It's next to the Atacama desert and the Pacific Ocean. I'm told that it's a city of 250 to 300,000 people.
I will be working under Becky Harrell. Her Mission Biography is at: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/work/missionaries/biographies/index.cfm?action=details&id=1134
I'll have the option of three programs. I'll be able to spend time with each and decide which I would like to focus on. The first is called "Serenity." It's an after-school tutoring and lunch program. The second is EMANA. I would be a liaison between U.S. medical teams and the communities. And the third one is called CAF and it's a family violence center.
So, although I am heartbroken, I am excited too. I feel a peace but I'm definitely not done with Brazil, so there must be a good reason for me to have this experience in Chile at this point in my life.
Thank you for prayers and support.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Update
So most of you know that I am still waiting for my visa. I have turned in more papers and they tell me it will be a month more. That will be around Christmas time. Hmmm...will I ever get there? I'll write more on this soon. I've also decided that at the very least, I will post around the 15th of each month b/c that's when I have to send out my updates to my Young Adult Missionary Community.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Modern day slavery
Check out the video below...
"M&M Mars and Hershey Foods Corp. are not alone. Other companies whose chocolate is almost certainly tainted with child slavery include: ADM Cocoa, Ben & Jerry’s, Cadbury Ltd., Chocolates by Bernard Callebaut, Fowler’s Chocolate, Godiva, Guittard Chocolate Company, Kraft, Nestle, See’s Candies, The Chocolate Vault, and Toblerone. While most of these companies have issued condemnations of slavery, and expressed a great deal of moral outrage that it exists in the industry, they each have acknowledged that they use Ivory Coast cocoa and so have no grounds to ensure consumers that their products are slavery-free"
"There are in fact many chocolate companies who only use cocoa that has definitively not been produced with slave labor. Clif Bar, Cloud Nine, Dagoba Organic Chocolate, Denman Island Chocolate, Gardners Candies, Green and Black’s, Kailua Candy Company, Koppers Chocolate, L.A. Burdick Chocolates, Montezuma’s Chocolates, Newman’s Own Organics, Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company, Rapunzel Pure Organics, and The Endangered Species Chocolate Company"
"At present, no organic cocoa beans are coming from Ivory Coast, so organic chocolate is unlikely to be tainted by slavery."
I got the above info from: http://earthsave.org/newsletters/chocolate.htm
I've been doing a lot of reading on this and I've found similar info in many places. I don't think boycotting is the answer, there needs to be pressure put on these companies to do something about the situation. They are the ones with the money, money talks. I have read that due to an increase in public awareness, progress is starting to be made. So...we will see...
My soul moans for those suffering. How can I stop from being a part of that suffering. Everything I buy, eat, wear...it is so hard to avoid being a part of it without even realizing... And then how do I move on and work towards alleviating that suffering?
"M&M Mars and Hershey Foods Corp. are not alone. Other companies whose chocolate is almost certainly tainted with child slavery include: ADM Cocoa, Ben & Jerry’s, Cadbury Ltd., Chocolates by Bernard Callebaut, Fowler’s Chocolate, Godiva, Guittard Chocolate Company, Kraft, Nestle, See’s Candies, The Chocolate Vault, and Toblerone. While most of these companies have issued condemnations of slavery, and expressed a great deal of moral outrage that it exists in the industry, they each have acknowledged that they use Ivory Coast cocoa and so have no grounds to ensure consumers that their products are slavery-free"
"There are in fact many chocolate companies who only use cocoa that has definitively not been produced with slave labor. Clif Bar, Cloud Nine, Dagoba Organic Chocolate, Denman Island Chocolate, Gardners Candies, Green and Black’s, Kailua Candy Company, Koppers Chocolate, L.A. Burdick Chocolates, Montezuma’s Chocolates, Newman’s Own Organics, Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company, Rapunzel Pure Organics, and The Endangered Species Chocolate Company"
"At present, no organic cocoa beans are coming from Ivory Coast, so organic chocolate is unlikely to be tainted by slavery."
I got the above info from: http://earthsave.org/newsletters/chocolate.htm
I've been doing a lot of reading on this and I've found similar info in many places. I don't think boycotting is the answer, there needs to be pressure put on these companies to do something about the situation. They are the ones with the money, money talks. I have read that due to an increase in public awareness, progress is starting to be made. So...we will see...
My soul moans for those suffering. How can I stop from being a part of that suffering. Everything I buy, eat, wear...it is so hard to avoid being a part of it without even realizing... And then how do I move on and work towards alleviating that suffering?
Friday, September 28, 2007
Update
Hey everyone. Below is an update I sent to my fellow Mission Interns and US-2's. It pretty much sums up my current situation(still waiting for my visa). It was written on 9/16/07.
So I don't really feel like I am a Mission Intern yet because I'm living in the same place and working p/t at the same place. What has been WONDERFUL is that I've been able to hang out with others in my program: David (Jerusalem and Nazareth), Lindsey K (Phillipines), Jamie (General Board of Church and Society in DC), Rebecca (Church World Service in DC), and Katy (Foundry UMC in DC). Yesterday, on my birthday :)(9-15-07), Alycia, Dakin and Sara came down from NYC and Jamie, Rebecca, Katy, Roger, a couple of my friends from work, Jamie's friend Jessie, and I went to the Anti-War protest. It was a perfect day for the protest, not too hot, not too chilly. And a perfect way to spend my birthday! I am grateful to be close to the DC ladies, Lindsey K and David, it has helped me to feel a little more like a mission intern and to feel connected to our communty. And it was so good to see Alycia, Dakin, and Sara. (Dakin and Sara are the regional directors for Latin America and the Carribean, for those of you who don't know) (Alycia is my Missionary in Residence of Young Adult Programs, MIRYAP for short)
Something else that I am very grateful for is that I've been able to see many of my high school friends that I've stayed close to over the years. These are the friends that we always say that we should hang out, but never get around to it b/c we get caught up in life. Work, kids, etc. Always excuses. But because I'm leaving...more effort has been made and I've gotten to spend quality time with some very dear friends. I should leave the country more often... In fact, I've had so much fun over the past month, that I don't know if I want to leave. HA. YEAH RIGHT! But it has been a good lesson in priority of relationships and community. For sure.
So, although it has been frustrating with my visa situation, I have been enjoying life and I feel very blessed to be where I am right now.
Something else that I am very grateful for is that I've been able to see many of my high school friends that I've stayed close to over the years. These are the friends that we always say that we should hang out, but never get around to it b/c we get caught up in life. Work, kids, etc. Always excuses. But because I'm leaving...more effort has been made and I've gotten to spend quality time with some very dear friends. I should leave the country more often... In fact, I've had so much fun over the past month, that I don't know if I want to leave. HA. YEAH RIGHT! But it has been a good lesson in priority of relationships and community. For sure.
So, although it has been frustrating with my visa situation, I have been enjoying life and I feel very blessed to be where I am right now.
Here's a picture from the protest. In it are: Rebecca Yount, Alycia Capone, Jamie Michaels, Katy Wheat, and me. Rebecca, Jamie and Katy are US-2's serving in DC and Alycia, my MIRYAP.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Commissioning
So I haven't written in awhile, partially because of laziness and partially because it's hard for me to put things into words.
I got commissioned on July 15, 2007 at St. Paul and St. Andrew's UMC in Manhattan. There were 9 US-2's and 8 Mission Interns (my program). Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar of the Greater New Jersey Conference gave the message and led the commissioning. He said "This is not about success, it is about faithfulness." This is something I've known, but as he said that the reality of the situation hit me hard. I am a missionary. Not the negative stereotype of imposing beliefs and customs onto "poor native savages", but as in living out my faith, putting that faith into action. Amazing. Love. Christ's unconditional love and Ubuntu forgiveness. Community. Connection. Peace and Social Justice. Walking with my neighbors as Christ intended. Being connected to the global community. Humility. I am finally going to be able to do what matters the most to me. And what God has called me to do which is why it matters to me.
One of the songs that we sung during that service is called "The Summons." I first heard that song at the Womens Retreat with Westminster UMC this past year. I was touched by the lyrics then but on this day, it meant even more.
Here is one of the verses. The rest are under the picture if you want to read them. The hymn came from the Iona Community which is an ecumenical community based on an island off of Scotland. So picture a Irish/Scotch type melody.
4. Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
Wow.
I got commissioned on July 15, 2007 at St. Paul and St. Andrew's UMC in Manhattan. There were 9 US-2's and 8 Mission Interns (my program). Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar of the Greater New Jersey Conference gave the message and led the commissioning. He said "This is not about success, it is about faithfulness." This is something I've known, but as he said that the reality of the situation hit me hard. I am a missionary. Not the negative stereotype of imposing beliefs and customs onto "poor native savages", but as in living out my faith, putting that faith into action. Amazing. Love. Christ's unconditional love and Ubuntu forgiveness. Community. Connection. Peace and Social Justice. Walking with my neighbors as Christ intended. Being connected to the global community. Humility. I am finally going to be able to do what matters the most to me. And what God has called me to do which is why it matters to me.
One of the songs that we sung during that service is called "The Summons." I first heard that song at the Womens Retreat with Westminster UMC this past year. I was touched by the lyrics then but on this day, it meant even more.
Here is one of the verses. The rest are under the picture if you want to read them. The hymn came from the Iona Community which is an ecumenical community based on an island off of Scotland. So picture a Irish/Scotch type melody.
4. Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
Wow.
Here's a picture of the commissioning:
Here's the rest of the lyrics:
The Summons by John L. Bell(I think)
1. Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known,will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
2. Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
3. Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
4. Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
5. Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name.Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show.Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
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