Hello
Everyone,
I
want to start off by thanking everyone for their love and support for my year
as a Young Adult Volunteer (YAV). I am so excited to be starting this new
chapter of my life and all of the amazing things that are in store. I am very
fortunate to be able to spend this next year of my life living in Chicago and sharing
my story with you.
The
beginning of my YAV year has definitely started off with a BANG! On Monday most
of the YAVs who will be serving at different site placements all around the
world arrived in New York for orientation. During our orientation, we covered
tons of information spanning from cultural competencies and globalization to
taking care of ourselves while serving in our communities. In the middle of all these glorious
subjects, the YAVs have had time to meet, greet, and form truly wonderful relationships
with each other, YAV Alumni, and staff. We have shared stories, laughed
together, cried together, and had points of exhaustion that only mid-day naps
could cure, but through it all we have created a loving community dedicated to
service for others.
Even
though all of the presentations and discussions offered a lot of information
and extremely thought provoking questions, my most
vivid memory I have of this week was the Chaplin asking, "Where do you see
God?" In
our group, I responded without thinking, because as everyone knows the most genuine
responses are always blurted out into a group of unsuspecting people in the
middle of silent reflection.
“In
the smiles of others,” I blurted out.
After a few moments and some head shakes of approval
I continued, “When I see others smile and I know I helped to put it there,
whether its helping them with a huge project, or simply asking them how their
day went, whenever I see someone smile I know that God is there.”
No matter what trials and errors I may encounter this coming
year, I hope to accomplish this one small thing. I want to continue
make people smile, if only for a moment, and continue to see God in others. I am really excited for this
all the growth that this year will bring and the relationships that will be
formed one smile at a time!!!!
