This past Wednesday I arrived at
orientation with 88 others (from about 30 countries around the world) came for
a week of learning about Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), preparing for our time
abroad and building community with each other. Each day is full of new
conversations, relationships and sessions on a variety of subjects from living
with host families, to self-care practices, to cross-cultural adjustments.
Each morning there are volunteers from a
region (Africa, Asia, Latin America etc.) that come together to help lead in
3-4 songs to begin our day. It is a great way to learn songs in other languages
and I really enjoy starting the day off with song. We have a speaker give a
small devotional and then we meet in groups of 8-9 to discuss and pray. My
small group consists of Canadians, Americans, and people from Lesotho, Brazil,
China and Columbia. The first picture is of this group.
Another place where a lot of learning has
occurred is during times when people from West Africa and people going to West
Africa meet together. We have discussed stereotypes, challenges, and any
general questions we have. This second picture is of this group in a circle as
we discuss the danger of a single story. Before that discussion we watched the
TED talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian woman who is now an author.
(Feel free to watch it at: http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story)
As the week comes to a close, I’m looking
forward to the new challenges, learning, and adventures that these next 11
months will bring. In the coming days feel free to take a moment to think
about/pray for all the young adults in the SALT, IVEP and YAMEN programs with
MCC who will be travelling and beginning their terms.
