Leaving MN...Hello to MI

I have spent the last two months preparing for the next year of my life as a Mercy Volunteer. I was accepted in the the corps at the beginning of June and given my placement and departure date shortly after that. At this point in my life I am a recent graduate from the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University where I spent four of the most formative years of my life. I met the women and men who I will carry with me for the rest of my life. After graduating it was a difficult transition from the chaotic life of a college student to an alumni who would be leaving for the next year to give her time in the name of Mercy.

Besides struggling with the idea of letting go of the security that CSB/SJU provided for me I also was dealing with the fact that I had to leave behind my family, friends, and especially my dog Brewer.

This past summer I continued my work with children that have developmental disablities in South Minneapolis. I became close with the family that I was working for/with extended their hand and home to me by taking on the responsibilities of Brewer for the year. I could not be more thankful for their generosity however, I still had a difficult time accepting the idea that "my man" would not be at my side and part of my team for the next year. However, I knew that this was an opportunity of a life time and needed to leave him behind in order to move forward with my life.

In the last week of MN, I was able to say my proper goodbyes to the people and things that are most important to me. I found myself in Lindbergh terminal boarding my flight and waving goodbye to my mother. Which I found to be one of the hardest things I had to do. I will never forget her face when she began to tear up as her first and oldest daughter boarded a plane to take the next step in her life towards a more well rounded life.

I stepped off the plane in Detroit, MI around 3:00 pm where I met my first fellow MVC member. Brynn from Jersey Shore approached me outside of the airport...from that point on I referred to her and coined her has Jersey (she bleeds Jersey). Soon after I befriended Bonnie Brynn I was thrown into a situation with 24 other strangers that were also in the same volunteer process as I was.

I spent the next week working on the concepts of community, spirituality, sites of service, cross-cultural, and simple living. Then at the end of the day these 25 people would gather into the kitchen and immerse ourselves into each others lives. It was an amazing experience that I am looking forward to developing throughout the year. The part that I most took from the orientation experience is that as an atheist I have started to tap back into my spiritualitly which I look forward to grow in.

Today August 8th I moved into my new place in Corktown, Detroit. It has been the most welcoming experience I have ever seen. The sisters of Mercy have been nothing but giving to the volunteers here and the community of Corktown has opened up their hearts and minds to our presence and mission. I know this is a very summed up blog however I hope to be more specific and detailed in my future blogs.

Thanks for reading...