I am currently sitting in the airport, waiting for yet
another departure from the United States.
This time I will be headed for the town of La Plata, Argentina for a
different kind of adventure. For
the next 11 months or so, I will be working as part of the ELCA’s Young Adults
on Global Mission program. I will
be working on three different assignments: (1) Helping with young adult
programs at a local Lutheran church (2) An after-school program for children
living in poverty situations and (3)Helping plan the Lutheran Church’s annual assembly
for the region.
As I prepare to arrive, I find myself swamped by a craziest
range of emotions I’ve ever experienced. I am of course extremely excited by
what this next year will bring and the relationships I will form. However, I am also nervous, anxious,
and surprisingly sad.
Why am I sad? I am of course sad to say goodbye to my family, friends,
and the home I feel like I just returned to. I am sad to leave the comfort of this place I know so well
and the people who so well know me.
I am sad for the times of celebrations I will miss: the weddings, the
birthdays, the births. But these are just small sadnesses. Most of
all I am sad to say goodbye to the people I fear will not be here to welcome me
back. I am sad to say goodbye to
the grandfather and other role models who have been such a huge part of my life
since before I can remember who are now entering a time in their lives where
they are preparing to meet their Father in heaven. I am sad to think I will not be home to both mourn and
celebrate the lives of these individuals who God as blessed my life so richly
through. It breaks my heart to know
that when I walked away from my grandfather last week, it is quite surely the
last time I will see him until we meet in heaven.
These thoughts are very difficult for me as I leave, but
then I remember that it is because of my grandparents and the others that I am
where I am. They raised me with a
faith in the Lord and with prayers in my heart to be led where He calls. He has called me to this year of
service and that’s where I must go.
I praise Him for the time I have had with those I love and the love he
poured into me through them and through all of you, friends and family, who
have enriched my life so greatly. Thank
you!
It was also sad to leave the new relationships formed
through the YAGM orientation this past week in Chicago. There are 60 amazing young adults
partaking in this program, and it was such a joy to get to know them the past
seven days. Six of that 60 will be
traveling to Argentina/Uruguay along with me and I am so grateful to be
spending another week with them in Buenos Aires before continuing on to our
site placements. I look forward to
the ways that God will use each of us throughout this next year. To find out more about the YAGM
program, you can visit www.elca.org/yagm.
We had many great discussions throughout orientation. Some of them revolved around with the
way we personally, as well as others viewed our time in the program. Frustrations were shared about our time
being referred to as a “trip” or “a year off”. It will not be a vacation or a break from real life, this is
real life. I am continuing my life
in Argentina. Someone used the
term “season of life”, which I thought was a great way to refer to our time
with this program.
We also wrestled with the idea of thinking of ourselves as
missionaries. I’ve had a hard time
using this word when referring to my year. In my mind, a missionary is someone
with a religious education, like a pastor. How can I be a missionary? It made a lot more sense to me when someone brought up the
point that we are in fact answering God’s call to carryout His mission in our
lives. But with that, all
Christians are called to be missionaries.
One does not have to be a missionary halfway around the world in an
undeveloped country. We are all
called to a mission of our own, even (or maybe especially) in our everyday
lives. One should be a missionary
in their home, in their office, within their community. I think this is something that I can so
easily lose focus of throughout my daily living and something I am excited to
refocus on throughout this next year.
As I wrap up this post, I ask that you keep the YAGM(ers?)
in your prayers as we venture around the world. We carry such a range of emotions with us, so we could use
both safety and the Lord’s peace as we journey to our placement sites. I will use this blog to share stories
and lessons that I learn throughout my year. I look forward to continuing to update you on this “season
of my life” as it unfolds!
Peace,
KZ
Team Argentina/Uruguay waiting to depart!
