Letter for The Vine

Below is a brief letter I wrote for the Presbytery of the James’ newsletter, The Vine.

I first heard about the YAV program in February of 2008, courtesy of Google. I had just gone back to school after taking a year off. The preceding year had featured a great deal of introspection and wrestling with my faith, and I was looking for something to do over the summer. Instead, I found YAV. I knew it was something I wanted to do, but wisely, decided to wait until I graduated in 2009. I waited several months, and, the following December, applied. In March, 2009 I went to the placement event, very excited about the Kenya site. I left the placement event having been selected to serve in Northern Ireland. This was, at the time, honestly, a slight (admittedly very slight) disappointment. As I wrote in a note on my selection request, I would have been happy with Northern Ireland, but I would have been ecstatic with Kenya.

Thankfully, God and the YAV Staff made the right choice for me. My year in Northern Ireland, from 2009-2010 was exactly where I needed to be at that time. My placements, a Presbyterian Church in Lisburn, and a non-sectarian Youth Center, actually located in that church’s basement, stretched and challenged me in all the right ways. I landed in Belfast incredibly nervous about working with youth—and I worked with the full range, from toddlers on Wednesday and Friday mornings to teens on Friday nights. I gave my first sermon, which was very sweetly tolerated, planned worship, made copies, got soundly beaten playing soccer with 16 to 18 year olds, watched as 13-14 year olds ran circles around me on the soccer pitch, and, finally, by the end of the year, managed to hold my own against 11 year olds. I came home at the end of the year excited to make the much shorter move from Charlottesville to Richmond to start classes at Union.

I would not trade that year in Northern Ireland for anything, but I kept feeling called to Kenya. Fortunately, I was blessed with the opportunity to follow that call, and am now back in the YAV program serving in Kenya with CWS Africa. My work is showing me a different aspect of mission and evangelism, as I seek to tell the stories of the communities with whom CWS works. I was asked to write about what this year means, but that is exceptionally difficult to do right now. There are times when I wouldn’t choose to be anywhere else. There are times when it is an enormous struggle, but I came here to grow, and growth is rarely easy. Thus far, this year has been an amazing opportunity to experience a different culture, participate in different ways of worshipping God, to eat the best fruit I have ever had, and to experience life in a way that is simply not possible anywhere else. Thus far, I have sought to say yes to everything I can, which has taken me to beautiful beaches on the Indian Ocean and majestic vistas over the Rift Valley, from rural villages, miles from the nearest paved road to some of the most densely populated urban areas in the world, and through three countries: Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. As for what this year really means for me, it’s too soon to tell, but I suspect that when I look back on it, it will have been exactly where I needed to be.