Bluffton

My hometown. The place where I say I “go home to” even when I am thirty-six and have lived elsewhere for 18 years. It is so comforting to go home and sleep in my old bedroom. I tell stories to the kids of how Katie and I would try to go to sleep, the games we would play, and giggles we would get. Since we normally visit this place only during Holidays, there was a much more relaxed feel to this visit. Lydia spent time with her older cousins (including a deluxe Hannah massage), Andy got busy with his Uncle and Namesake Andy building things and going to the dump, and Abby had “craft time” with Aunt Wendy. We walked downtown for the farmer’s market, Whipty-dip. Food Store, coffeeshop, and lunch at the local bar. And of course there were bedtime books and morning and evening conversation with Grandma and Grandpa.

Orientation Part 2

Aaron and I felt encouraged by the time we spent in orientation with MCC. We are very confident in the mission of THIS ORGANIZATION and feel so good about becoming official employees there. While it was a large group of people, we had some good discussions and made connections with folks that will last a very long time. The kids were very patient and flexible, considering that their lives were being changed so dramatically. They really liked the guest speakers, trying some new food, and playing with their new friends. I do appreciate that this is not just a new job, but an opportunity for our whole family to participate in meaningful work together.

What a start

We have been in Bogota for about a week. Looking back it is amazing we made it passed the first weekend. We actually arrived in Bogota on a Wednesday night; made it to our apartment around 10pm and then left for Armenia in the coffee region (by plane) the very next morning. I was so tired the day we arrived in Armenia it was difficult to even have a polite conversation. All of us were tired. In Armenia, a few of us became ill. Andy and Abby got the worst of it and vomitted through one of the nights. Armenia is a lush, beautiful part of Colombia. We went horseback riding to a waterfall in the rainforest while visiting a National Park. The MCC retreat seems long ago now. We met all of the 20 or so MCCers and they are all seem to be great. Although it was a ridiculously hard way to start our time, I look back at how hard it was and actually gain strength to make it through our "normal days" here in Bogota.

New York City

Our family had the special treat of taking an MCC bus into NYC for the day. We traveled with friends from orientation. Because we were dropped off here

we decided to see the show, which was fabulous. Other highlights included the Museum of Natural History (where things come alive in the movies), central park, riding the subway, the M & M store and New York Pizza.

"Bread for the Journey"

Many people during orientation have given us ideas, tidbits, and advice about this endeavor. I am taking the opportunity to record them here, for continued contemplation and hope, as we need it in the days to come.

• Receive grace freely
• Use moderation in all things, including moderation
• Allow yourself to experiment-humbly, thoughtfully, and with regard to your interactive style.
• Practice centering prayer
• Remember, everyone who goes overseas fails at something.
• Learn local sensitivities-find a cultural gatekeeper to help you make interpretations
• Others will be ready to listen after, and only after they have been heard and understood.
• Connect with and delight with people.
• Want less
• Practice gratitude
• Schedule times of listening and learning, and cultivate a disposition of inquiry.
• Integrate yourself in heart, mind, body, and soul.
• Beware of little flowers (perhaps you had to be there)
• If you can do nothing else, take care of your body.
• Put your agenda on hold so there is space for the other person or the larger community to work on their agenda, their attachments, their transitions, their evolving treasured objects.
• Draw on the wisdom of local people.
• Know what you need.
• Listen loosely to words and tightly to meaning.
• Understand that listening is about respect, not agreement.
• Seek out stories of hope and perserverance.
• Be intentional about what it means to be a servant.
• Don’t just go through rituals, let them transform you.
• Be aware of subtle power.
• Write down stories and memories while they are given to you.
• Trust your instincts.
• Engage your heart.
• First, do no harm.
• Understand both the gift of listening and the gift of speaking.
• Remember the voices of blessing that sent you.
• Save away some money for a family get away.
• When you get there, write down all that you hear, see, smell, feel, and taste. Refer to it later.
• It’s OK to laugh in the midst of sorrow.
• Set aside some intentional time for your family to speak Spanish (one meal a day, one day a week, whatever).
• Make sure you get enough language study.
• Help your children stay connected to friends and relatives.
• Immerse yourself in school connections and the families of your children’s friends.
• Snuggle with your kids.
• When you are so overwhelmed it seems to hurt, sleep, be gentle with yourself and with those you love around you.
• Each day, write down three blessings. For each one, think about how you made them happen.
• Gratitude dissolves depression.


So, thank you Urbane, Michelle, Titus, Nancy, Linda, Amy, Kathy, Karl, fellow orientees, and all the others who contributed this wisdom. What advice do the blog readers out there have for us? (Leave a comment)

Prayer for Equity

God, Creator of all things
we come with a broken heart
that has been torn
like Jesus on the cross,
the cross that draws together
your children of many colors.

You know our suffering.
We ask in Jesus'name that
you heal your people.

Where there has been unearned
advantage because of the
color of our skin,
give us courage to repent
and to fight the injustice
and sin of racism.

Holy God, who created all colors
of people, allow us to honor
your light in every soul.

Help us to see you
in one another,
to hear your voice in all people,
and to work to end racism in
our churches and our communities,
and the world.

Amen

Anti-racism Team, 2005. The Episcopal Diocese of Alaska

MCC Welcome Center

For the past week we have been staying at the MCC Welcome Center in Akron, PA. It is a beautiful conglomerate of buildings centered around a very nice green space. We are within a short walk from a terrific park. The weather has been beautifully sunny and mild, reminding us of what Bogota might bring. There is a fantastic cook here, so we are relishing in the luxury of no cooking and very minimal cleaning up, as well as a loaded salad bar daily. The kids are adjusting to their orientation, and we are meeting phenomenal people, all called to service in different and interesting ways. While there is a lot of work still with logistics, we are beginning a phase of contemplation that will (hopefully) sustain us in the coming weeks.