This is a poem the YAGMs received at orientation in Chicago. Comforting words in times of confusion...
Passover Remembered....
by Alla Bozarth-Campbell
Pack nothing.
Bring only your determination to serve
and your willingness to be free.
Don't wait for the bread to rise.
Take nourishment for the journey, but eat standing.
Be ready to move at a moment's notice.
Do not hesitate to leave your old ways behind-
fear, silence, submission.
Only surrender to the need of the time-
love justice and walk humbly with your God.
Do not take time to explain to the neighbours.
Tell only a few trusted friends and family members.
Then begin quickly, before you have had time
to sink back into old slavery.
Set out in the dark.
I will send fire to warm and encourage you.
I will be with you in the fire, and I will be with you in the cloud.
You will learn to eat new food
and find refuge in new places.
I will give you dreams in the desert
to guide you safely to that place you have not yet seen.
The stories you tell one another around the fires in the dark
will make you strong and wise.
Outsiders will attack you, and some follow you
and at times you will get weary and turn on each other
from fear, fatigue, and blind forgetfulness.
You have been preparing for this
for hundreds of years.
I am sending you into the wilderness to make a new way
and to learn my ways more deeply.
Some of you will be so changed by weathers and wanderings
that even your closest friends will have to learn your features
as though for the first time.
Some of you will not change at all.
Some will be abandoned by your dearest loves
and misunderstood by those who have known you since birth
who feel abandoned by you.
Some will find new friendships in unlikely faces,
and old true friends as faithful and true
as the pillar of God's flame.
Sing songs as you go,
and hold close together.
You may at times grow confused
and lose your way.
Continue to call each other by the names I've given you
to help remember who you are.
Touch each other,
and keep telling the stories.
Make maps as you go,
remembering the way back from before you were born.
So you will be only the first of many waves
of deliverance on the desert seas.
It is the first of many beginnings-
your Paschaltide.
Remain true to the mystery.
Pass on the whole story.
Do not go back.
I am with you now and I am waiting for you.
Friday, September 28, 2012
I Will Follow Him
Lea Road Community Church offers a Mid-Week Prayer Session on Thursday mornings. It is a time during the week when people are encouraged to take half an hour our of their hectic schedules to come to the church, pray, and share in some fellowship. While it is something very simple, and not incredibly exciting, it is one of my favorite things that I get to participate in during the week.
Last Thursday after the opening prayer, there was a reading from Matthew (Matthew 9: 9-13) that really resonated with me.
"Jesus left that place, and as he walked along, he saw a tax collector, named Matthew, sitting in his office. He said to him, 'Follow me.'
Matthew got up and followed him."
I like the last line. With no questions asked Matthew got up and followed Jesus. That is living with complete faith. Matthew had faith that Jesus was going to lead him in the "right" direction.
I have a lot of respect for those who are able to live with such faith and belief. Those who know me best know that I tend to be very rational; I tend to think things through so that I know the probable outcome of a given situation. I think it is safe to say that some were surprised when I decided to apply for a year of mission.
I like to think that my decision to join YAGM and come to Wolverhampton is similar to this passage in Matthew; it wasn't planned (ok, so there was a little planning behind it) but the decision to apply was, for me, a leap of faith. A small hop out of Springfield and across the ocean brought me to an unfamiliar place. Yet even in all of the doubt and confusion I find calm in the knowledge that others have come before me to lead the way.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
9.11.2001- A Prayer for Peace
The memory is all to fresh...
Eleven years ago today, just after 9 a.m., I was sitting in my sixth grade band class. One of the directors came in and said that he had an announcement: The United States was under attack. For some, it meant very little; for others, whose family members, friends, or loved ones were working in the Towers, panic set in. Everything stopped: lessons were cancelled, teachers went silent, and TVs were turned to horrific sites of toppling buildings. As a naive 11 year old I couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt The United States of America.
Now, a 22 year old and still admittedly naive, I struggled with the fact that today in England... nothing stopped. Everyone around me went about their day and the significance of the event that still brings tears to my eyes was never mentioned.
Thousands of miles away, I was having a difficult time determining how to honor those who lost their lives and those who continue to risk their lives to defend our great country. So, I did the only thing I could effectively do...pray.
With my tiny American flag folded in my hands I found a sense of calm. With each prayer raised the uneasiness I had been feeling throughout the day slowly vanished.
My hope is that those affected by this tragedy are able to somehow find similar comfort.
I pray for peace around the world in the hopes that in the future there are far fewer days that need to be remembered for their tragedy. Above all, today my prayers go out to those who lost their lives in the Towers, to those who lost their lives trying to save another, comfort for those who lost someone they love on September 11, 2001, to those who continue to fight to protect us and for the families that have made sacrifices in the name of freedom.
May God Bless America...Land of the Free, Protected and Home to the Brave.
Eleven years ago today, just after 9 a.m., I was sitting in my sixth grade band class. One of the directors came in and said that he had an announcement: The United States was under attack. For some, it meant very little; for others, whose family members, friends, or loved ones were working in the Towers, panic set in. Everything stopped: lessons were cancelled, teachers went silent, and TVs were turned to horrific sites of toppling buildings. As a naive 11 year old I couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt The United States of America.
Now, a 22 year old and still admittedly naive, I struggled with the fact that today in England... nothing stopped. Everyone around me went about their day and the significance of the event that still brings tears to my eyes was never mentioned.
Thousands of miles away, I was having a difficult time determining how to honor those who lost their lives and those who continue to risk their lives to defend our great country. So, I did the only thing I could effectively do...pray.
With my tiny American flag folded in my hands I found a sense of calm. With each prayer raised the uneasiness I had been feeling throughout the day slowly vanished.
My hope is that those affected by this tragedy are able to somehow find similar comfort.
I pray for peace around the world in the hopes that in the future there are far fewer days that need to be remembered for their tragedy. Above all, today my prayers go out to those who lost their lives in the Towers, to those who lost their lives trying to save another, comfort for those who lost someone they love on September 11, 2001, to those who continue to fight to protect us and for the families that have made sacrifices in the name of freedom.
May God Bless America...Land of the Free, Protected and Home to the Brave.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Tea, You Alright, and Living Ubuntu
It is incredible to me that I have already been in Wolverhampton a week. Today has been my first "free" day where I have had a little bit of time to process what I have been doing. So here it goes:
I arrived last Sunday afternoon, via train (which was exciting seeing as we don't have trains in Ohio) and was picked up by one of the church elders, Sara Longman. After a quick tour of the town center she took me to my new home on Duke Street (haha, I know!) and I was finally able to unpack my suitcase after two and a half weeks of traveling! Later that night we headed to the church where I was informally introduced to a good number of the congregation; it was a gathering which consisted of them asking me a lot of questions.
On Monday, Sara and her daughter Emily gave me an official tour of the town center. Before we entered the city center, we passed the library. So, of course, the first order of business was to get me a library card (insert nerd joke here)! The official tour consisted of Emily pointing out all of their favorite places to eat and explaining in detail what I was able to order at the local Subway. It wasn't until later that night that she understood that there are, in fact, Subways in the States. The Longmans were kind enough to have me over for dinner and myself, Emily and her brother James enjoyed a game of Nerf wars before dinner!
Tuesday and Wednesday brought about more house keeping errands, like setting up a bank account and registering with a local doctors office. But Wednesday evening, I was again invited by another family, the Swans, to have dinner and then we went to a Christian comedy club, The Sole. The Sole is featured in a large convention type center called the Public...all my DG sisters would love it because the building is PINK! In fact, everything is pink and neon...IT. WAS. AWESOME!
Thursday was a long day of work in the church office, the Roma Drop-In, and The Cafe (both of which I will explain on a later date).
Friday and Saturday were my days off, and I invited to go to Birmingham (the second largest city in England) for the Arts Festival with Chris and Ian Watson (again, I am not making this stuff up). They showed me around all of the venues and we were able to enjoy various different shows.
Now, after being here for a week, there are a couple things I have noticed:
1) Tea is the answer for everything. If you are sad, upset, excited, or happy...have a cup of tea. It is funny to me because I associate hot drinks with cold weather, and it has been very warm here the last week. Yet, every time I go anywhere, one of the first things they ask is if I would like a drink (which means a cup of tea).
2) Every time I am greeted by someone, they ask "You alright?" At first I thought it was because they were hoping I was okay settling in and getting used to a new place. By Thursday when they kept asking I was almost offended thinking, "Well don't I look alright?" It wasn't until then that I realized it wasn't so much a question as it was a greeting.
3) Finally, I sometimes feel like I should have gone through intensive language training when I arrived in London. I have found that just because we "technically" both speak English does not mean we are speaking the same language. I'll keep you posted on the word of the week!
Overall, I have found my transition into the Lea Road community to be very smooth. I have been overwhelmed by everyone's generosity to open their homes and give their time and energy to making me feel comfortable and included. I will admit that I was nervous (which I like to think is typical) in coming to a new place where there wasn't a familiar face; however, the people of Lea Road have been incredibly hospitable.
For those who know me well, know that because of my time in Lesotho I have a bit of an obsession with the Sesotho concept of "Ubuntu." Part of the "definition" of ubuntu says, "It speaks about humaneness, gentleness, hospitality, putting yourself out on behalf of others." The wonderful people I have met so far have put words into action and are a living example of what it means to be in community with one another.
As always...God is Good and so is Life!!!!
I arrived last Sunday afternoon, via train (which was exciting seeing as we don't have trains in Ohio) and was picked up by one of the church elders, Sara Longman. After a quick tour of the town center she took me to my new home on Duke Street (haha, I know!) and I was finally able to unpack my suitcase after two and a half weeks of traveling! Later that night we headed to the church where I was informally introduced to a good number of the congregation; it was a gathering which consisted of them asking me a lot of questions.
On Monday, Sara and her daughter Emily gave me an official tour of the town center. Before we entered the city center, we passed the library. So, of course, the first order of business was to get me a library card (insert nerd joke here)! The official tour consisted of Emily pointing out all of their favorite places to eat and explaining in detail what I was able to order at the local Subway. It wasn't until later that night that she understood that there are, in fact, Subways in the States. The Longmans were kind enough to have me over for dinner and myself, Emily and her brother James enjoyed a game of Nerf wars before dinner!
Tuesday and Wednesday brought about more house keeping errands, like setting up a bank account and registering with a local doctors office. But Wednesday evening, I was again invited by another family, the Swans, to have dinner and then we went to a Christian comedy club, The Sole. The Sole is featured in a large convention type center called the Public...all my DG sisters would love it because the building is PINK! In fact, everything is pink and neon...IT. WAS. AWESOME!
Thursday was a long day of work in the church office, the Roma Drop-In, and The Cafe (both of which I will explain on a later date).
Friday and Saturday were my days off, and I invited to go to Birmingham (the second largest city in England) for the Arts Festival with Chris and Ian Watson (again, I am not making this stuff up). They showed me around all of the venues and we were able to enjoy various different shows.
Now, after being here for a week, there are a couple things I have noticed:
1) Tea is the answer for everything. If you are sad, upset, excited, or happy...have a cup of tea. It is funny to me because I associate hot drinks with cold weather, and it has been very warm here the last week. Yet, every time I go anywhere, one of the first things they ask is if I would like a drink (which means a cup of tea).
2) Every time I am greeted by someone, they ask "You alright?" At first I thought it was because they were hoping I was okay settling in and getting used to a new place. By Thursday when they kept asking I was almost offended thinking, "Well don't I look alright?" It wasn't until then that I realized it wasn't so much a question as it was a greeting.
3) Finally, I sometimes feel like I should have gone through intensive language training when I arrived in London. I have found that just because we "technically" both speak English does not mean we are speaking the same language. I'll keep you posted on the word of the week!
Overall, I have found my transition into the Lea Road community to be very smooth. I have been overwhelmed by everyone's generosity to open their homes and give their time and energy to making me feel comfortable and included. I will admit that I was nervous (which I like to think is typical) in coming to a new place where there wasn't a familiar face; however, the people of Lea Road have been incredibly hospitable.
For those who know me well, know that because of my time in Lesotho I have a bit of an obsession with the Sesotho concept of "Ubuntu." Part of the "definition" of ubuntu says, "It speaks about humaneness, gentleness, hospitality, putting yourself out on behalf of others." The wonderful people I have met so far have put words into action and are a living example of what it means to be in community with one another.
As always...God is Good and so is Life!!!!
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