A New Perspective

Just a brief update on how my upcoming journey has begun. I know many of you thought I was actually flying out of the country yesterday, but I am still here... in Pennsylvania! I will be spending the rest of the week in Akron, PA with the rest of the volunteers. At this time, we will have a general orientation on leadership and expectations while serving. From here, we will all fly out on the 26th to all of our assignments and go our own ways. Once I arrive in Durban, South Africa I will have another week of country specific orientation. Here I will learn all about South Africa (Safety, Norms, Etc.). Following my orientation in Durban, I will have two weeks of language classes where I will learn how to speak Zulu.

Following all the goodbyes yesterday with my parents and family, we jumped right into our welcoming orientation. Now you might be asking yourself, who "we" is? The unique thing about Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is that they offer several different programs for young adults between the ages of 18-30.

The first program that I am going to tell you about is the SALT program, which is also the program that I am going to South Africa through. SALT stands for Serving And Learning Together. This is a year-long, cross cultural service experience. Through SALT, young adults from the U.S. and Canada serve internationally in a wide variety of positions in fields like education, agriculture, health care, information technology, peace and more. During their assignments SALTers are immersed in another culture, living with host families or communal settings such as dormitories or teacher housing in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin and Central America and the Middle East. 

The second program that I will tell you about is the IVEP program. IVEP stands for International Volunteer Exchange Program. The international Volunteer Exchange Program is a yearlong work and cultural exchange program opportunity for young, Christian adults. Every year, 60 IVEP participants come from more than 25 countries around the world to volunteer in the U.S. or Canada, where they live with a local person or family. Since its beginning in 1950, IVEP has emphasized peacemaking and building understanding across cultures. 

So, with all this being said, this week at orientation, there are 52 SALTers here from all over the United States and Canada, along with 36 IVEPers from countries all around the world. On the 26th of August, all 52 SALTers will be flying out of the States to their assignments all over the world, while the 36 IVEPers will be dispersed to their position in either the States or Canada. 

The neat thing about this is that I am actually able to meet several individuals from Africa, that just recently made their flight to the States (many for the first time ever) and will be serving with the IVEP program. As we are able to share with them things to expect during their time in the States, they are also able to share many stories about life in Africa. 

Even though I have only been around these individuals for about one day, I have already learned an abundance of information from them and also many new things about myself. I think its more often than not that we become so caught up in whats happening in our everyday life, and forget about what else is out there. Just in these past 24 hours, I have been exposed to so much more than I could have ever expected, and I haven't even left the country yet. 

My taking away from today: I know and believe that I am neither inferior or superior to the people around me. 

We are all entering an area of uncertainty within the next week, whether it be in the States or one of the other 60 Countries that MCC serves. We all also have one thing in common, and that is we are all here trying to make some kind of a difference. And even though we know we cannot save a whole country, we can still make some kind of an impact. And thats my goal through this all. 

Peace & Love to all ♡

"Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love"