In Transition...

These past five months, I have had a deepened and growing appreciation for the opportunities to slow down and learn the new rhythms of life in my neighborhood. As I continue to be a part of community here in Houston post-service, I've stepped in to fill the National Recruiter and Houston Program Assistant staff role with Mission Year. Transitioning out of the structure of the program and apart from living with people committed to the same vision for the year, I am continuing to weave in reflections from what I have learned these past two and a half years to create -- and continue creating -- a new normal.

In the chaos of transition, I have recognized the need to leave space to grieve what no longer is. What I experienced by investing in Mission Year was a richness that goes beyond: sharing meals with my neighbors weekly, living life with strangers who quickly became the source of motivation for authenticity, sharing resources, challenging one another to live and reflect deeply,  paying attention to what's happening within myself -- and much much more. I deeply cherish and will have a hard time forgetting the values that Mission Year helped me grasp while I served. I've learned that in transition -- whether from short-term or long-term service-learning experiences, it's necessary to name the things that made us come alive and name the things that we deeply long for that are put on hold for a while.

As I travel to engage with students and leaders to share more about our program, I leave Houston often, making me unable to practice community the exact ways I had done for the past two years. It's hard. It's lonely. And that's okay. Instead of getting stuck in the grief or freaking out a bit (which I can now admit, I've done that several times) it has been necessary for my heart to be open and pay attention to what God has been and is doing -- around me and within me.

I enter into the new year very thankful for the ways in which the staff in Mission Year, friends in Houston, alumni, and friends from Seattle have continued to support the commitments I am making. As much as I love recruiting, it is hard and I find that it is all worth it because I get to share the beautiful stories of Mission Year -- stories of God's presence in the neighborhood, stories of alumni doing AMAZING things, and lives transformed by love and service, especially mine.