Discernment Weekend, Jacksonvile, Florida – February 04–09, 2010
The young adult service corps is an Episcopal service mission that focuses on sending young adults ages 21 to 30 around the globe to work in partnership with the Protestant Anglican Church in various provinces and dioceses. Mission work, as I have learned this weekend, means the ability to be flexible and work may include but not limited to: ministry, teaching, tutoring, working with young adults and children, working with disaster victims, assisting refugees, and much, much more. This weekend allowed me the opportunity to meet with and talk with twelve other passionate young adults who feel compelled and called by God to serve selflessly in impoverished, needy nations offering up their gifts and talents to love and serve others in a time of great need. Mission also allows the Anglican Church to work in partnership and collaboration and let the smaller, in need of help dioceses, that they are cared for and make them feel apart of the bigger picture that is the Anglican Church. Joining us this weekend was not only the staff of the Mission Personnel Office of the National Episcopal Church in New York City, which includes: Michelle Jobson, David Copley, and Douglas Fenton, but also two YASC alumna from the program named Cortney Dale and Mary (Last Name Needed) who both served on mission in Africa. Mary was placed in Liberia where she put her gifts of being a registered nurse to use and worked with health care officials. Cortney lived in Grahmstown working with children in an after school program tutoring, and also served as an American representative to a convent of Anglican brothers in Grahmstown. It was incredible to be able to get a full unbiased view from two alumna members of YASC to be with us and provide insight as we prayed, listened, and contemplated God’s calling for all of us to serve in mission. Also in attendance at the weekend was a psychologist by the name of Manny who lead discussions in small groups as we were challenged to answer the difficult questions that would most certainly affect us while abroad on mission. Such questions included our ability to handle stress, what strengths and weaknesses we possess that would help or hinder our ability to minister and serve, even questions about how to live a celibate life and cope with our need for intimacy, whether its just intimacy in regards to your relationship with friends, family, or with a sexual significant partner, while abroad. That question was difficult for me because I have many friends and an incredible family and it will be hard to not have them around all the time. We also were interviewed so that the program can better place us in regards to the gifts we have and will be put to best use. Also during the weekend, the candidates for mission lead worship every morning and evening to constantly remind ourselves the importance of our faith and to keep it strong and foremost as we serve abroad. We will receive our assignments (I’m hoping for Honduras or Columbia, or a Spanish speaking country in Central or South America) and official acceptance to the program in mid-march and will next meet with our training/orientation in June in Toronto. We will leave on our missions for one year, around August/September. I am very excited to take this journey and a little scared. I expect that to be normal and I also expect my fear to grow as it comes nearer and nearer to leaving. But I will put my faith and trust in God who is laying my path, and I will answer his call on me to serve his church abroad. I have many gifts to offer and they far outweigh my weaknesses and my fear and therefore will serve with great humility and to the best of my ability, a faith filled journey!
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