'my story'

My Story:

On our recent Re-Orientation/Dis-Orientation Retreat facilitated by JVC staff, the second year volunteers participated in a session on ‘sharing our story.’ I’ve done this before: in community organizing, in interviews, even in my initial JVC application. For some reason, though, this felt different. It felt as if I was to summarize two years of my life that were somehow separate or different from the rest, like I was supposed to explain what I was ‘doing’ this whole time. Two years is a significant amount of time ‘away,’ after all, and no, it wasn’t a trip or a vacation or a marketable, one size fits all, package-able experience; it was and still is simply my life for two years.

What happened in your life in the past two years? Probably a whole lot of ordinary or maybe not so ordinary experiences which have formed you in some way into who you are today. When I started to think of it this way, it all seemed much more manageable. These past two years in Tanzania fit into the natural flow of my life, but they’re also special in a way . . . now, how to communicate this clearly, concisely and thoughtfully? to the neighbor I see for the first time in December? to my grandmother? to my college roommate? my professors? and everyone else who will surely ask, “How was it?”

Well, my 4 year old nephew seems to ask the hardest questions, so if I can explain, ‘why Aunt Katie was in Africa for soo long’ to him, then I can explain it to anyone. Right?Just like, if I can explain the Resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday to my 14 year old students for whom English is a second or maybe third language, then I can explain it to anyone. Right? I can try . . . 

Here’s the ‘John’ explanation: 

(read on if you want more justification, but I think, really, the John explanation might suffice)

The children and the families I lived and learned with are just like you and just like our family. Later on in your life, if you hear someone tell you that they’re not as good or different in a bad way- remember what I am telling you now: they were my friends and family for two years and they still are. We all deserve the same love and the same chances to learn and grow.

. . . extended story.

Extended version . . . 

Image:

Standing at the top of a hill before coming down to sit by the pond to attempt this ‘story’ exercise . . . I could see the big picture, maybe not the details of the yellow birds fluttering across the pond with sticks to build their nests, but I could see how the pond fit in as part of the larger landscape of trees and mountains, valleys and sky. There are also different details to observe around me at the higher vantage point- the flowers right next to me, the Chapel behind me, the tree in front of me . . . and they are important, too, and they all fit together as part of my experience.

I want to share the details of the pond and also how those details fit into the larger landscape of my life. I must appreciate the beauty and the details around me, no matter, what vantage point I’m currently taking.

“Be with us and PROCLAIM the richness of our life which you can share with us.”

Like the Acts of the Apostles and the other books after the Gospels, Jesus is no longer with the Apostles in the same way. The witness portion of their ministry seems distant, their friend is no longer with them, curing the sick, feeding the hungry, multiplying bread and wine, etc. They’re afraid: of telling the right story of Jesus’ ministry, of facing persecution, of missing the everyday miracles and conversations they shared with their companion and savior. But God knows this, and sends them the Holy Spirit to be among them, to journey with them as they struggle to share their story of their time with Him, their time of witness and accompaniment. They even receive certain helpful gifts, like courage, wisdom and discernment. 

What richness should I proclaim? . . . hospitality, faith, presence, community, generosity, people > things

“Be with us and be open to what we can give.”

It is not about the work I did or what I gave of myself, but what I received and who I have become.

“Be with us as a companion who walks with us- neither behind, nor in front- in our search for life and ultimately for God!”

It has been a journey of discovering faith and family.

NOW: “Will you use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around?”

Now, I must share this faith and put it into action, allow it to form me and inform my next steps on this journey and my everyday, whether I am sitting by the pond or standing at the top of the hill observing the landscape as a whole, I must notice the beauty of the details around me wherever I am.

COLOR*BOLDNESS*BEAUTY