Does this look like a year’s worth of clothes to you?

Believe it or not, as of right now, I’ve managed to fit ALL of my clothes and a good portion of my shoes for both Paraguay and Albuquerque into one large suitcase. I still need to pack a few pairs of shoes and a small stockpile of toiletries into my duffle, but my awesome hiking backpack I got from my boss is filled with mementoes, books, computer stuff and a change of clothes. Who would have ever thought I could pack this light?! I can’t take all of the credit though. I do owe a big thank you to my mom. She went through all of the things I THOUGHT I would need with me and helped me downsize. Because in the end, six fashion scarves might be a little much!

I’ve been getting a little crafty and sucked into Pinterest, so I decided to make my own cloth travel frames (with Mom’s help on the sewing). They hang on the wall and can hold multiple photos in each plastic pocket, so I can rotate my pictures. When I’m on the move, I can fold them up into a nice little pile to travel. I’m pretty proud. Check them out! 

They’re hung a little crooked, but you get the idea.

P.S. I’ll be home for Christmas!

Two Weeks!

Ahhhh two weeks til go time! Even with all of my excitement, I’ll admit that I’m a little bit nervous. Not really about moving to Albuquerque and being away from family and friends, just nervous that I won’t be good at being a volunteer. Currently I know about 15 words in Spanish. This is not an exaggeration! Sadly, it’s the truth, and 10 of those words are numbers. But, I got my Spanish-English dictionary in the mail yesterday. It’s not that I don’t want to learn, it’s just hard to start by myself. I was on the fence on if I should do a program like Rosetta Stone, and after two weeks of doing nothing without it, I think it’s probably a good idea. Intensive self taught course begins now!

I found out that I’ll for sure be working in Encarnación, Paraguay. Like usual, I’m a little confused by what Sr. Angela has told me, but it seems like they are kind of an offshoot of a larger group of nuns in Posadas, Argentina, which is right across the river and border from Encarnación.

It’s now down to possibly one companion volunteer. She’s still deciding if she wants to do it or not, so I hope to hear from her soon. Not that I don’t want it to just be me and the nuns, but please pray she comes!! I should be getting my schedule of what I’ll be doing during training soon, and Sr. Angela said she’s already working on my flight and insurance for Paraguay.

The past month or so has been filled with a lot of goodbyes, but I’ve gotten so much support, that none of them have really been that sad. I got to spend time with friends from St. Louis, friends from home, friends from Church, family, and I even made it to Chicago to see some of my friends from studying in Ireland, who probably understand my travel addiction better than anyone. I still have two weeks to spend time with family, and I’ve kind of started to go into more of a hermit mode than I was already in. Sorry friends!

I know that all of these people will be thinking about me the whole way through, and will be a part of my life regardless of if I take a one year break from seeing them, so goodbyes have been better than expected! I’ve been blessed with great friends and family! Plus, there’s always Skype.

I’ll officially be leaving home on Wednesday, October 26. I’m going to take the scenic route, flying first to Denver for five days with my oldest sister, Nicki, and her husband, Jason, and my nephew, Oliver. I’m pumped for this bonding time since we’ll be coming off of my cousin’s wedding weekend and Oliver might actually remember who I am. I’ll be spending the next five days in Flagstaff for one last visit with the BF, Matt. Then I’m off to the train station for my journey to Albuquerque at 5:41 a.m. on Sunday, November 6. So early, but I guess it’s kind of symbolic of and literally the end of my leisurely life the past few months of getting up at 8 a.m.

And I’m going to……..Paraguay!

 

So this definitely wasn’t what I expected, or kind of even thought I wanted, but I am so excited! Finally, I can answer the seemly simple question that everyone has been asking me.

After researching Brazil and Paraguay three months ago either one sounded like a great destination. But, since I was under the impression that the Canossians only operated a health clinic in Paraguay, I definitely didn’t think I’d be sent there considering I have absolutely no health skills and even watching surgery  on Grey’s Anatomy kind of makes me squirm. I have experience with education and children. I thought Brazil was a shoo-in. I’d started more in depth research on the Brazilian culture, what it’s like to live there in general and for foreigners.

When I finally spoke with Sr. Angela four days ago, she casually slipped in that I should start learning Spanish in my free time. It took a few seconds to process what I’d actually heard—Spanish…this must mean I’m going to Paraguay! And just to make sure what she actually meant wasn’t lost in translation, I asked her again through e-mail, and it’s true.  

After doing some research online, I found out that the Canossians actually do a ton of things in Paraguay. And, from what I can tell, a lot of their work is done in Encarnaciòn, a city of about 70,000 along the border of Argentina. I’m not sure if this is where I’ll be serving, but for now it’s at least giving me something to research. (I’m starting to learn you have to ask a lot of questions and things don’t happen quickly with the Sisters—definitely a slower pace of life.).

In Paraguay, the Canossians run schools for all age groups and hospitals and homes for the elderly. They put a special emphasis on young girls, helping keep them out of prostitution when they move into the city for work. They are involved in the pastoral care of the sick, through professional schools for nurses and family visitation, they take care of catechesis in various parishes, chapels and centers, and help prepare people for the Sacraments. Additionally, they organize missions in the outlying areas, along with neighborhood meetings, prayer and discussion groups.

According to weather.com the average yearly temperatures fall between 65°F and 90°F! Not only does this mean pretty great weather all year, I only have to bring one season worth of clothes. This is definitely going to make packing a lot easier! My goal right now is to bring one large suitcase, a small duffle bag and a backpack for the entire year. If you would have seen my packing for either of my study abroad experiences, which were only 4 months each, you would be impressed and possibly skeptical of this goal. (I brought two large suitcases, one carry on sized rolling suitcase and one stuffed to the brim backpack.) I’m not so sure that I have a great understanding of what living simply actually means, but I’m hoping this is a start.

Things are really starting to fall into place, and I love it! Finding out where I’ll be serving has gotten me so excited that I ALMOST forget the sadness of leaving friends and family for a year that quickly creeped in after receiving an actual departure date. But, no sense in focusing on how much I’m going to miss everyone in a month, it’s time to celebrate. I’m going to Paraguay! 

Thanks for all of your support and please keep me in your prayers!

Hil

One More Month

I've got a departure date!! And, for the first time, I actually spoke with Sr. Angela! Before this, it was strictly e-mail, which is pretty crazy considering she's basically in charge of the next 15 months of my life. After weeks of wondering when I’d actually get to start my training, I finally learned that I can arrive to formation on November 1. So, it looks like I’ll be leaving Concordia around October 23 or 24, stopping in Flagstaff for a few days, flying to Denver to celebrate Halloween with my favorite nephew and then Albuquerque bound! There should be two other volunteers, both women, that will be going through formation with me. Can’t wait to meet my new friends for the next 15 months!

A Little Later than Expected

So, it’s been awhile. I was waiting to post until I got more information (like a departure date) for formation/training, and finally, I heard from Sr. Angela! She arrived in New Mexico on September 2 and is getting things ready for the first formation of VOICA volunteers in the U.S. She told me that they are planning on having volunteers come to formation at the beginning of November. Definitely a bit later than expected! Again, learning patience. Even though I’m a little disappointed because I was so excited to be beginning formation in a few weeks rather than months, there are some positives. I’ll now have more time to fundraise and speak at other churches—I still need a minimum of about $600—and I’ll get to spend more time visiting family and friends. I’ll even be able to make it to my cousin’s wedding in October! 

South America Bound

Just found out from Sr. Angela that I'll be serving in South America! I still don't know exactly where I'll be serving (Brazil or Paraguay) but it's nice to at least know what continent I'll be living on.

Generosity

Two weeks ago, I officially started what I guess you would call my fundraising for VOICA. After running (okay jogging and sometimes walking) a 5K obstacle course covered in mud known as Warrior Dash, I raced back to my church, St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Higginsville, to speak about my mission at Saturday Mass. Even though I was nervous, it was nothing compared to the fear I felt reading at Mass 10 years ago in PSR. I guess I’ve grown since then, and to be honest it was a small crowd. I spoke at Mass again on Sunday, and with one speaking engagement already under my belt my nerves were at ease. It truly was a great experience! I was amazed at the number of people that were interested in what I am doing and told me they were proud of me. To me, donating a year of my life to live in another country doesn’t really seem like a sacrifice, but after speaking with others I was reminded that it is, and it reassured me that this is definitely what I’m supposed to be doing.  

Our Parish Council and the Stewardship Committee were nice enough to designate our monthly loose change collection in August to my mission fund. This money usually goes towards funding a different church maintenance project each month. I found this out while reading the bulletin before Saturday Mass, and it was a great surprise! Between the loose change collection and other donations I received from people at St. Mary’s, I’ve raised nearly half of my minimum donation to VOICA. I’ve never met a group of more giving people. I can’t say thank you enough for all the generosity and support I’ve experienced, but I’m going to try. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

And, because I think this story is really neat…When I was in junior high, our church started a program called Prayer Angels (different parishioners were given a junior high student to pray for). I had great prayer angels. They prayed me through junior high, high school and college. They even sent me birthday cards. But, through all those years I never actually met them face to face. Once I returned to my pew after giving my speech about my mission, the man in the pew in front of me turned around, shook my hand and told me what I was doing was great and to be safe out there. It turns out, it wasn’t just any man. After church, Ralph and his wife Bette made the connection and realized that I was the girl they had been praying for all this time and introduced themselves. It took me a second, but after hearing their name, I made the connection, too. So finally, after more than 15 years, I got to meet my Prayer Angels. It’s the little signs like this that I love that He shares with us.