After spending about a month and a half at home after graduation, I flew back out to the East Coast for Orientation at the University of Scranton. As I'd guess is the case for most people, I had only heard of Scranton as the location for the TV show, The Office, but it also happens to be home to the University of Scranton, a Jesuit University. Many of the volunteers that flew to Orientation arrived at Newark Airport, from where we took a bus ride into Pennsylvania. It was so great to see familiar faces from the application process. [During JVC's application process, they host four Discernment Weekends across the U.S. in which they bring together applicants who have also been invited for a second interview. This allows the applicant to meet staff and other applicants, as well as gather more information and reflect more on the two-year commitment of serving internationally. There were many applicants, and eventual matriculants, from Boston College!]
It was also really great to see new faces! JVC hosts their Orientation with the Rostro de Cristo (RdC) program, which shares nearly identical values with JVC and sends volunteers to live in two communities in Guayaquil, Ecuador for a year. I also finally got to meet both of my future community mates, Katie and Colleen, in person - they're fun! I was fortunate enough to first meet Katie at our Discernment Weekend back in DC, and had only met Colleen through Facebook. Finally, I also got to meet former volunteers from both programs, who were so insightful, supportive, and fun over the course of the Orientation. So here we were, 42 volunteers who said "yes" to one or two years of international service, with our individual and shared hopes, anxieties, and excitement... in Scranton, the Electric City!
It was so great to finally meet and be with all of the volunteers who were in the same boat as me, especially the late departures: volunteers headed to their countries in late November and early December, usually due to the different academic years abroad. ("Early departures" and the RdC volunteers were off to their countries immediately following Orientation.)
For a brief overview of the Orientation community:
6 JVs off to Micronesia (early departure)
5 JVs off to Belize (early)
6 JVs off to Nicaragua (late)
4 JVs off to Tanzania (late)
2 JVs off to Chile (late)
4 JVs off to Peru (late)
15 RdC volunteers off to Ecuador (early)
I had been reunited with people who played such a large part in drawing me to the program in the first place. After a day of introductions, welcomes, and goodbyes to family who came in with volunteers, we were off to bed to get ready for what would be two of the most fun, challenging, and transformative weeks of my life.
We were a diverse group from across the U.S. (including a disproportionate amount of kindhearted people from Boston College and the state of Wisconsin!) The general outline of a typical Orientation day included: breakfast and morning prayer; morning sessions; lunch and/or Mass; afternoon sessions; some free time; dinner; evening sessions and prayer; and nights in the Community Room. Most of the two weeks' days looked like this, with a silent retreat sandwiched between Week 1 and 2. Although JVC and RdC had shared and internal sessions over the course of the weeks, the sessions and days' events built upon each other regarding the intersectionality of program values (simple living, spirituality, community, social justice) and both the theoretical and practical ways of living them out; they were facilitated by guest presenters as well as JVC/RdC staff and volunteers.
I could probably write an entire blog post for each session, but below I'll share some of the Week 1 session topics, highlights, themes, and questions I remember for further reflection (the quotes were gathered by staff over the course of the Orientation; a recurring theme was the idea of "living the questions" in our lives, from the final paragraph of this reflection):
Week 1
The Essential Call (our call to serve the poor and marginalized)
"Don't wait until you are on your deathbed to give your heart to God. When you give your heart to God, God will give [God's] heart back to you."
JV/JVC Identity (the obvious and hidden identities we carry in a cross-cultural context)
"We must be intentional about calling to mind our mission and our motivations, why we’re here. It will nourish & sustain us for the journey."
JVC Tree of Life (explored our personal/spiritual journeys that root our experience today)
Pastoral Circle (learned about this tool for individual and communal reflection upon experiences in service; include four steps: an Experience, Social Analysis of contributing factors, Theological Reflection in light of faith, and Action or response)
Empathetic Listening, Conflict Resolution, and Emotional/Mental Health (how these contribute to good communication, self-care, and solidarity with the poor and community mates)
"We all carry bags of rocks. Some are heavier or lighter than others. We shouldn’t ask others to put more rocks in their bag."
"I hope you get a lot of practice being dorky, awkward and stupid."
JVC Covenant & Handbook Lived (reflected on our commitment to the program and how dialogue and discernment works with in-country situation, including travel and relationships)
World Cup Final
Mission Spirituality in an Epoch of Change (what does the word "mission" mean to us today; how the Church and world are changing in a post-Vatican II era, including topics of gender, sexuality, religion; the need for new criteria to answer new questions)
"Does church have a mission, or does mission have a church?"
"We’re all from the same source, and all creation is from the same source. We’re all stardust."
"When you squash cultures, you limit experiences of God."
"Spirituality is the right to a profound life."
"We may forget that God was here even before we arrived."
"My purpose is to support and help other people grow within their own culture."
Tech, Communication, and Simple Living (what does simple living with regard to solidarity mean today, in a world where there is more global access to mobile phones than toilets)
"In giving up gadgets and tech devices, I’m saying in a symbolic way that I’m here to serve in whatever way you need."
Prayer as an Authentic Encounter (prayer as an encounter not performance; a relationship that requires time, effort, and trust)
"Prayer isn't magic; it's an encounter."
"Be gentle with yourself."
Introduction to Silence (the role of silence in our lives; preparation for our 2-day silent retreat at the mid-point of Orientation)
"If we remove the dirt and debris from our daily life, we may discover something there that we didn’t realize."
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