To Akron!

Yesterday, the 11th was my first day here in Akron, PA. It started early. My flight was at 7:25am central time, and I couldn't fall asleep all night, so I was awake for a good 36 hours straight. I flew from KCI to Cleaveland, OH, and then to Harrisburg, PA where I met with nine other SALTers and we drove about 45 minutes to Akron. We got settled in in our various houses. I'm in "Africa" with a few other Bolivia girls. The LACA (Latin America/Central America) group got split up because there are so many of us. We had dinner and went through some things, checked in, and got to know one another.

It's interesting for me, because I am the youngest SALTer here, but I really feel like age makes no difference. I have been just as engaged in the political, theological and wonderful conversations as the twenty five year olds. I do think, and humbly, of course, that my maturity helps so much when trying to relate to the older adults. I love that everyone connects on such a deep level because we all share the same core beliefs and are all in this together. We automatically came in with something in common, but as we get to know one another, we start to share stories and I am realizing that I have experienced a lot of the things that others are talking about. There are about 70 SALTers here, and 50 IVEPers. IVEP stands for 'International Volunteer Exchange Progam.' and it is sort of the complimentary program to SALT. In IVEP, young adults from around the world come to serve a year in America. So the IVEPers and the SALTers share houses, and in most cases, share rooms. My roommate was unable to get to America, due to visa problems, and is stuck in Indonesia until she can fly to Canada and have orientation there. She and all the Indonesians are in my prayers.

The MCC campus is absolutely beautiful. I love the way it's laid out. The rooming is split up into a variety of houses; Americas, Africa, Asia, and Middle East/Europe, and that's where we're all staying, according to our placements. But some of the LACA people are split up, like me. So I'm in Africa 103, which is actually proving to be such a huge learning experience, since I am fairly ignorant about African culture. The girls across the hall are both headed to South Africa, and we have SALTers going to Zimbabwe, Egypt, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Lesotho, and Tanzania! That's huge! There are IVEPers here from Zimbabwe, Egypt and Zambia, so we have been talking with them and getting their perspectives. I'm a little sad that I'm not in the Americas house, but I have enough contact with the IVEPers from Brazil, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Chile! None from Bolivia this year, however.

Here are some pictures of the campus!

 This is the outside of the Americas, I believe.

 This is on the walkway to the dining hall!

 This is in the Meeting Place, a community gathering place where we have ping pong, carpet ball, and worship. There are also conference rooms and a small fitness room.

 This is my house on the right, Africa.

Here is one of the community spaces in Africa, and we were just sitting and talking as housemates.

 This is our worship hall, and main meeting place. On the wall are posters of influential peace makers.

This is another section of our 'Africa' house. All the furnishings are either authentic, or have been bought from a fair trade exchange business,Ten Thousand Villages.

The past two days have been packed full of things to do. Today, we set personal and though of the real reasons why we all have taken service terms. Here are examples of a few that I remember:

• Grow and learn
• Be open minded
• Think from a 'global perspective'
• Bridge borders and build relationships
• Accept that we won't always know what is going on, but trust in God through it all
• Because God has called us
• Language study
• Peacebuilding

We also talked about MCC's vision and purpose, and how we can be good representatives of the agency. MCC's official vision is to "envision communities worldwide in right relationship with God, one another, and creation." and their top priorities are "Justice and peacebuilding, disaster relief, and sustainable community development." Today (Friday, August 12) was a day packed full of information, both specific to our countries, and the overall history of MCC. Needless to say, we're pretty exhausted. But as I'm typing this in my bedroom, I can hear laughter and lots of talk from the kitchen. I'm pretty sure there's a Dutch Blitz tournament going, and perhaps a Spoons game.

Today I also went for a run all throughout Akron, and probably ended up going about five or six miles. I ran all around the city, and up through Roland Memorial Park, which actually goes to the top of a huge hill. I could see the sun set from the top and it was beautiful. That was definitely one of the highlights of my day. I'm going to take advantage of the beautiful (and hilly, my legs will be sore tomorrow!) scenery and try to run often, since I'm not sure what the situation will be like in Bolivia as far as running goes. It helped clear my head and sort of compartmentalize everything that has been going on the past two days.

All in all, the week is going fantastically, but I'm pretty ready to get the move on to Bolivia. I can't wait to see Guadaria Moises and the city of Santa Cruz, especially now that I have met and am getting to know the Bolivia Girls, Rachel, Maggie, Christa, and Alyson! Maggie and Alyson will be in Santa Cruz with me, and Maggie and Christa have more rural assignments, but hopefully I will get to see them fairly often. I will update with some more pictures and descriptions in a few days!

Paz y amor,

Grace

"Let Go, Let God"

We have choices. All throughout our lives we have choices. We can choose our faith, we can choose the people who surround us, we can choose how to live our daily lives. I choose to be a peacemaker. This week in Pittsburgh, we chose to be bridges to the cross. The theme of 2 Corinthians 5: 16-20 was appropriate for Pittsburgh, a city connected by bridges necessary for transportation. We choose to build, cross, and burn bridges in our lives. Reconciliation is a bridge. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:18) Jesus gave us the opportunity to be peacemakers. All this is from God. What is the 'this'? Is 'this' the relationships we are blessed with? Is 'this' the world that we are given? Or is 'this' the struggle and the pain that every human encounters? Perhaps 'this' is the bridge we must all cross into God's loving arms. Throughout the week, the Rainbow youth heard an array of speakers. We heard Shane Hipps speak about how we are all "wonderfully, uniquely made." We listened to Calenthia Dowdy give her story of Luke 15, the prodigal son. Her story bridged the cultures between congregations and cultures. We embraced a mother and daughter's tale of reconciliation after struggles with alcohol and drug addictions, and Jeniffer Dake spoke about letting Jesus take our burdens, and what it means to be an ambassador of Christ.

Everyone has a story to tell. Our bridges are all different, our reconciliations different, but we are all ambassadors of Christ. We all have words that others will benefit from. In times of conflict, it is our relationships and diplomatic experiences that will serve us well. That is why we are a peace church. Not only must we be reconciled to each other, but we must also be reconciled to God.

The phrase, "Let Go, Let God" was said after every worship session. It resonated with me strongly. They are only four words, but some of the most meaningful words I have ever heard. It is a struggle to be able to let God take over your life. In order to do so, we must let go: of our burdens, our problems, our struggles, our fears, our relationships, our entire lives, and let God take control, for He will bring us all the happiness and the strength and guidance we could ever need. So, to sum things up: We are working through Jesus, for Jesus, and with Jesus. We are bridging borders globally and inter-personally. We are burning bridges that connect us to sin and dysfunction. We are reconciling relationships between our fellow humans and with God. We are letting go, and letting God take control.


On another note, one of the most interesting things that I experienced in my week at Convention, was the sheer amount of support that I had for my gap year with MCC. I was astounded to find out from my mother on Friday that I am only $200 away from my fundraising goal of $4,600. This is huge! The support I have been given at Rainbow is so immense, and I have no idea how to go about thanking all the people who have given money to help me serve others next year. In Pittsburgh, there were so many Mennonites, young and old, who were/are participants in voluntary service and have done the same things I am on my journey to. It was such a relief to attend the seminar, "Unexpected Revelations" and hear six young adults speak about their experiences with Mennonite Mission Network. Although that is a different agency than what I am going through, it was so beneficial for me to meet other high school graduates doing the same type of gap-year Mennonite service that I am doing and to know that they have the same fears I do. I have come back to Kansas City feeling much more relief and excitement! I will post an official Bolivia update later on, I just wanted to say my piece on here!