Yesterday marked the 2 month period before I leave for Mozambique. On that note, I can actually start thinking forward in terms of leaving the country and my countdown to departure for the Peace Corps can officially begin... again!
Things are shaping up pretty well for the departure too. This past week, Bryan was able to sell his car and now he has my car, so that's one thing less for me to worry about. This week I'm moving back into my Dad's house from the apartment downtown so things are sure to get pretty cramped with everyone living under 1 roof now... That said, it was a huge blessing to be given 2 months of free rent in Otto's room so I didn't have to be sleeping in such cramped conditions for the entire summer and it was really fun to be able to spend more time with Ricky and Serge. Thank you sooooo much Otto! I really appreciate it! We miss you here in Gainesville!
As I type this Ricky, Ronak, Carmen are all out of town so I'm pretty much just chilling around Gainesville working for Streetlight in the evenings without much else to do during the days. I just got back from spending the past week at ASP so the empty feeling of doing "nothing" is heightened because of how busy I stayed for the past week. I have been filling my mornings with guitar playing, reading news and I've even gone and done stadiums twice already since I got back from ASP.
Speaking of ASP, I'm going to spend the next few paragraphs talking about my experience this year... so hold on tight!
Like I mentioned above, I just got back from serving a week with the Appalachia Service Project through Trinity UMC in Dickenson County, Virginia. The trip was pretty sweet! This year Trinity sent about 55 volunteers and the group was then divided into works crews of 7 individuals with a few "floaters" who helped out where needed. My work crew was filled out by our team captain Charlotte, a recent high school graduate, the adults Allan and Anne (aka Mama Koon), and three youth, Jonathan, Ilan, and Chloe. This ASP trip was the first for Ilan, Chloe and Allan and I hope it was memorable for them. They did a great job and I hope that they were able to see and experience some things that will help them grow spiritually and emotionally like ASP has done with me.
The ASP staff in Dickenson County was really fun and cool to meet/get to know over the week while volunteering. I hope they enjoyed our presence as much as we enjoyed theirs (they honestly were some of the friendliest staff members we'd had the privilege of interacting with in the past several years). I believe that a lot of that comes back to the leadership of Mitch who was the center director in Dickenson. I have known Mitch for 2 years now dating back to his first summer on staff in 2007 and it was great to see him again! He is someone who has a very warm, welcoming, and yet calming personality and reaches out to others with God's love constantly. A great person to know and love for sure.
Going on ASP this summer was a very different experience for me because of the important distinction between Spring and Summer ASP, with youth leadership being a centerpiece during the Summer program. I was surprised to see some youth (not the youth on my team) complaining about others not having a good attitude, yet my team must have been very blessed because under the leadership of Charlotte everyone was able to stay positive, upbeat, and work hard for the whole week. Each one of us were able to contribute our personalities to balance out the group and make the week relatively stress free for everyone.
That said, I think that as the week was ending we were feeling the pinch of time because we knew there was plenty more to get done and at times we were getting caught up in construction too much. I know several times I lost focus on talking with Ms. Betty or her son Robert (the family members whose house we were working on) so I could focus solely on the construction. Likewise, we had to coach up Allan, a professional contractor, about the differences between the ASP construction site and a professional construction site back at home (markedly different with volunteer labor).
Coming back home from ASP is always tough. For a week you are surrounded by motivated, passionate individuals who are dedicated to making a difference in the world. Driving home and falling asleep in a comfortable bed on Saturday night far removed from the persisting needs of Appalachia is hard to reason. Looking ahead to my experience with the Peace Corps I know I will witness many more inequities and when I come home for medical school the feeling I have now will likely only be magnified.
In the meantime though, I've been thinking about my purpose for the next two months - what I hope to accomplish, what I need to get done. Thinking about this it seemed like a godsend that during Sunday's church service David Allen borrowed from a MLK speech and preached about "The Urgency of Now." Even though I have plans of service for the next two years starting in September and ultimately for the rest of my life, maybe it's time to get back involved with the here and now and try to eliminate that empty feeling I'm having right now.
So what am I going to do in the upcoming months? It's always a battle for me and I don't know exactly. Spending enough time learning and being a student so I can be well prepared for the future seems almost always in conflict with spending enough time being a doer so I am not constantly living in the future without accomplishing anything now. I reason that I need to spend a good chunk of time studying Portuguese and learning about Mozambique... but I want to do something more in the next two months. Any thoughts you guys?
I'll keep you all posted about my plans as I make them :-)
One Love,
Michael
Monday, July 27, 2009
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