Maybe my five years of Latin did come in handy after all. "Tempus Fugit!" translates to "Time Flies!" even though the ancient Romans did not use punctuation. It might sound cliche (though maybe cliches are used so often because they tend to be true) but it seems like time has absolutely flown in Tucson so far. It has almost been two months already! That means that I will have to start looking into opportunities for next year. My goal is to not let my search for future opportunities get in the way of being present here and now. It's just crazy how early applications for grad schools or seminaries or whatever have to be submitted. One great thing about getting settled is that I now have a routine that I know well. To me this is a good thing, not because it limits spontaneity, but because I can concentrate on the specific tasks at hand and go deeper in the meaning I find during the year. It is now much easier to find time to grow in relationship with coworkers or housemates and it's easier to find the space to develop certain disciplines, which will help in discerning meaning and direction during this year.
One of these disciplines is finding time to read. I am currently reading "The Call," by Os Guinness and a book that describes the twelve marks of the New Monasticism movement in a collection of essays written by people who have lived in and reflected upon these intentional communities. I'm challenged by a lot of the radical ideas presented in these books about what it means to be a disciple of Christ, and I need time to reflect and consider these ideas. No doubt several blog entries in the future will be devoted to considering some of these ideas. It's kind of weird but hearing some of these ideas has made me want to learn more about history. Maybe this is because understanding why things the way they are is more important to me now.
Anyway the point is that time is flying by and I'm feeling like we just got here. In other news I was able to get up to Ohio over the weekend for my cousin, Kirsten's, wedding. It was a wonderful time seeing and celebrating with family that I don't get to see that often. Also a cause for celebration, I found out that Brenna is recovering very well from her car accident and is going to be fine. Today I went around to various jobs with Kristy, a CHRPA worker who started shortly before I started working. This was really the first time when I wasn't just a helper and had to make the decisions on how to make the repairs. As nerve racking as this can be, I feel like it's a necessary step in becoming the T-Rex of repairmen. Only when I have to figure things out on my own will I really grow to the point where I'm confident in my job. This was an exciting step and I hope I'll get the chance to practice more often from now on.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Filler Year
One of the inevitable responsibilities of a YAV, which I like and view as a blessing, is to explain what we're doing during this year to multiple people almost every day. This is a wonderful opportunity because it allows us to share our experiences and to expose people to a different model of Christian life; a model that is becoming more popular and that is probably different from what most people have seen before. I have noticed a common reaction from people when we tell them about this year of volunteering and have thought about it a lot: "Oh, so you're doing this as a filler year before you get a real job."
In one sense, yes, most of us are here to help us in discerning callings and vocations, but isn't that a life-long process? Personally I had options other than doing the YAV year. It could have been very possible for me to stay with my internship at the forensics lab and to move into a full time position eventually, which is a wonderful, coveted job. So maybe the best way to express my thoughts about this common reaction is to say that this is not a filler year, it's a vital part of my career. I'm not putting real life on hold for a year; this is real life. I'm grateful for this reaction to my description of what I'm doing this year, because it has led me to that realization.
In other news, things have been going really well recently. I've been feeling great about the chemistry of our house and of my co-workers at CHRPA. I will soon be a quadzilla from the twenty mile round trip to and from work. We helped a 93 year old woman the other day by setting up an Easy-Lift chair in her living room and her gratitude was priceless. She thought it was such a beautiful chair. This woman is amazing because she is 93 and as she puts it, "I live alone, I cook my own meals, do my own dishes, and I like it!" Last night we went to the Tucson Meet Yourself Festival downtown. I couldn't believe how many food tents from other countries were set up. Never before have I eaten gyros, baklava, fry bread, churros, peach cobbler, and fried rice with egg rolls from Laos in the same meal. As good as it was, it felt like WWIII was happening in my stomach at 3 am this morning. We're going back tonight, but I'll be a bit more conservative about the food selection and will get some pictures for my web album.
On a more serious note please keep Brenna from the track team, InterVarsity and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at William and Mary in your prayers, because she was in a bad car wreck and is in serious to critical condition at the hospital.
In one sense, yes, most of us are here to help us in discerning callings and vocations, but isn't that a life-long process? Personally I had options other than doing the YAV year. It could have been very possible for me to stay with my internship at the forensics lab and to move into a full time position eventually, which is a wonderful, coveted job. So maybe the best way to express my thoughts about this common reaction is to say that this is not a filler year, it's a vital part of my career. I'm not putting real life on hold for a year; this is real life. I'm grateful for this reaction to my description of what I'm doing this year, because it has led me to that realization.
In other news, things have been going really well recently. I've been feeling great about the chemistry of our house and of my co-workers at CHRPA. I will soon be a quadzilla from the twenty mile round trip to and from work. We helped a 93 year old woman the other day by setting up an Easy-Lift chair in her living room and her gratitude was priceless. She thought it was such a beautiful chair. This woman is amazing because she is 93 and as she puts it, "I live alone, I cook my own meals, do my own dishes, and I like it!" Last night we went to the Tucson Meet Yourself Festival downtown. I couldn't believe how many food tents from other countries were set up. Never before have I eaten gyros, baklava, fry bread, churros, peach cobbler, and fried rice with egg rolls from Laos in the same meal. As good as it was, it felt like WWIII was happening in my stomach at 3 am this morning. We're going back tonight, but I'll be a bit more conservative about the food selection and will get some pictures for my web album.
On a more serious note please keep Brenna from the track team, InterVarsity and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at William and Mary in your prayers, because she was in a bad car wreck and is in serious to critical condition at the hospital.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Lessons of Ghost Ranch
A couple weeks ago we left for Ghost Ranch, NM for a national YAV orientation. The Tucson and Hollywood YAVs had just gotten back from the BoderLinks trip to Mexico the night before, so we were all looking forward to some time to retreat into the wilderness of New Mexico. I'd be lying to you if I said we all got a ton of sleep and felt rested at the end of the orientation, but I was fed and refreshed in other ways.
It was great meeting the YAVs from other sites. Going into the trip I had the expectation that different sites around the country would attract different kinds of people in a way that would make the people at a certain site similar to each other but different from people from other sites. Goes to show you how much I know. I'm growing to learn more that whenever I make an assumption or try to group people into classifications I'm always wrong. It is refreshing to see that the YAVs from around the country are very similar to the YAVs in Tucson. That's not to say that everyone's the same; it's more to say that everyone there is a definite individual. What ties us all together is our common passion for following Jesus by serving and getting at the root of injustice in our country. I'm well aware that being faithful does not have to, or even usually, mean going to seminary, but the people at the National Volunteers Office (NVO) told us the slightly frightening statistic that 70% of YAVs end up going to seminary (yikes!).
There was a big focus during the week at finding God in the silence, which was especially appropriate in the setting of the desert mesas. I got the opportunity to hike up to Chimney Rock twice: once before the sun came up and once after the sun had gone down, during which we only used the moon to illuminate the pathway. What a great place to facilitate reflection and prayer! If I just sit in a secluded place outside and notice my surroundings, it's amazing how quickly a sense of peace comes over me. It's kind of like being in a room where five people are trying to talk to me and all of a sudden the one conversation I'm trying to listen to comes through with crystal clarity. It's not that I hear the voice of God during that time, but I do feel like I can be receptive to it at that point. It's also nice to know that in spite of all the chaos and noise going on during the work day there are majestic mesas sitting in silence that have been seen hundreds of generations pass by.
Today is Columbus Day, so I have the day off. This is really the first week in which we'll be in a routine. The past month or so has been exciting, learning the Tucson area and being oriented to our purpose and the people here, but I'm ready to get into a routine to have some consistency in my days. It will be nice to be in a place where I can notice change and progress over time.
It was great meeting the YAVs from other sites. Going into the trip I had the expectation that different sites around the country would attract different kinds of people in a way that would make the people at a certain site similar to each other but different from people from other sites. Goes to show you how much I know. I'm growing to learn more that whenever I make an assumption or try to group people into classifications I'm always wrong. It is refreshing to see that the YAVs from around the country are very similar to the YAVs in Tucson. That's not to say that everyone's the same; it's more to say that everyone there is a definite individual. What ties us all together is our common passion for following Jesus by serving and getting at the root of injustice in our country. I'm well aware that being faithful does not have to, or even usually, mean going to seminary, but the people at the National Volunteers Office (NVO) told us the slightly frightening statistic that 70% of YAVs end up going to seminary (yikes!).
There was a big focus during the week at finding God in the silence, which was especially appropriate in the setting of the desert mesas. I got the opportunity to hike up to Chimney Rock twice: once before the sun came up and once after the sun had gone down, during which we only used the moon to illuminate the pathway. What a great place to facilitate reflection and prayer! If I just sit in a secluded place outside and notice my surroundings, it's amazing how quickly a sense of peace comes over me. It's kind of like being in a room where five people are trying to talk to me and all of a sudden the one conversation I'm trying to listen to comes through with crystal clarity. It's not that I hear the voice of God during that time, but I do feel like I can be receptive to it at that point. It's also nice to know that in spite of all the chaos and noise going on during the work day there are majestic mesas sitting in silence that have been seen hundreds of generations pass by.
Today is Columbus Day, so I have the day off. This is really the first week in which we'll be in a routine. The past month or so has been exciting, learning the Tucson area and being oriented to our purpose and the people here, but I'm ready to get into a routine to have some consistency in my days. It will be nice to be in a place where I can notice change and progress over time.
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