At one o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday June 13, 2010, nearly 1,000 undergaduates from the college of letters and science representing numerous disciplines, friends gathered in the UCSB thunderdome, home of the Gauchos!! The scene was intense and loud and stuffy as we all gathered to process to commencement field. What a surreal day. That afternoon, I turned my tassel and joined the many alumni of the University of California at Santa Barbara. I celebrated the day with all my family and great friends! I could not have asked for more! After much hard work, (and a little messing around on my part), I parted ways with the university and graduated with a degree in Classical history and an emphasis in Greek and Roman Culture.
My past four years of college life has trained me to become an academic, a critical thinker, and has supposedly prepared me for a career. What does one do with a degree in the humanities? Especially a degree that says I am qualified to read and translate two dead languages. Go figure. I joke that I will become a Catholic priest for after all Catholic mass is still done in Latin in some places. But alas, that will never be for my faith has never been stronger nor better placed than with the Episcopal Church. Now, upon finishing a college degree, I will be taking that next step of my life. I will be going on mission to the Diocese of Central Ecuador for a minimum of one year as all you readers already know because that is the intent afterall of this blog: to follow my adventure along on mission.
How's fundraising going you ask? Still a weighty task and a long ways to go but its looking more encouraging. I have reached forty percent of my goal and its growing each day! My own diocese cannot be more encouraging. Being from a very small diocese financially, we are mighty in our faith and can not be more proud to send a representative to the global Anglican Communion.
Next week, Thursday July 8th, to be more precise, I begin my two week missionary orientation in Chicago before leaving for Ecuador. Although I will not be with my fellow Episcopal missionaries (they were trained earlier in May while I was still in school), I know they will have prayers for me and they will be there in spirit. In fact, one missionary, Travis, is leaving for his placement in South Africa the day after I arrive in Chicago! He's the first of us to leave! How exciting! Good luck Travis! Keep in touch and my prayers are with you!
My training will be conducted with missionaries from the Lutheran Church. Our churches have shared a friendship spiritually for quite some time now. I will however have a day or two of training with my boss from the National Church's office, the Reverend David Copley. I am looking forward to the next great adventure and it begins in Chicago. Keep reading and I will have more to come and a new post whilst I am in Chicago. Until then, take care and God's peace and blessings be with you!
