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.