What More Can I say?

Wow.

What more can I say?  I have just had an amazing week with YAGM in Chicago, the amazing love and support that was shared during that week completely amazing me.  It was outstanding to witness so many young adults who are in the program, alums of the program, or fervent supporters come together to share such a profound experience.  

It was a bit  exhausting, too.  We had breakfast at 7:30am, and our last session ended at 8:30pm nearly everyday, with only a few hours to process all the intense sessions and delicious meals throughout the day.  There were so many uplifting people all in the same boat, though, so no one really felt how exhausted we all were due to the excitement each day brought us.

Ryan(L), Rebecca, Haley, Luke, Mycah!, and Nicholas(R)

Some of my fondest memories come from the times when my small group met, comprised of people who were all going to different countries (or in the case of our alum, had served in a different country), so we all brought unique perspectives to discuss with the other.  We also made it a point to have fun, heading down to the Lake Michigan beach on our first day to relax in the windy sun while talking about our journey's to that point (pictured right), or setting up someone's slack line (a wikihow article on what this crazy fun contraption is) to enjoy for some stress relief midway through the week.  We found a quiet space to practice meditation, and wrote each other encouraging notes to read in a few months when we need a taste of home.

Waiting for my flight to take off!

After all of this community building we constructed within seven days, it came to pass that everyone started to leave in their country groups to head off to serve, after having spent a week building us up in faith, spirit, and soul in preparation.  I had the interesting experience to be able to fly directly to my service site, and will head to my in country training in a few days.  It was a bit of a fiasco when I arrived to O'hare, but I suppose that's why YAGM gets us there so early!  I thought I was flying with British Airways, but as I found out an hour or so after I'd arrived while waiting for the ticketing counter to open, I was actually flying American Airlines which was located one terminal over.  So, hauling all of my luggage with me, I caught the tram to the other terminal, finally figured out how to check in, waited through the long security line and had a quick lunch, then waited around two more hours for my flight (as a fun joke, I had McDonalds in the airport for my last meal in America, if anyone was wondering).  My flight was then delayed by about an hour for departure, and we had a delay getting to the gate upon arrival, and then the line for boarder patrol was an even longer painstaking wait to get through than security had been.


The welcome I received upon arrival once I was outside the airport was amazing, everyone here in Manchester has made me feel very at home already, and I've just finished my first full day here in town.  I have already experienced hanging my wash up to dry, and had too many cups of tea to count.  The weather has been sunny both yesterday and today, which is a complete misconception of how it usually acts (so I am told).  Soon I will head to Leeds for in country training, and then back again here to Manchester to really begin my year of accompanying these wonderful people who are apart of Saint Chrysostom's Church.

I would like to invite any of you who are interested in receiving a more formal newsletter that will come out every couple months, please send me your email!

In peace, and with a cheerful smile,
Mycah 

P.S. Clearly I had a lot so say other than 'wow'!

Sometimes You Just Have to Accept the Unexpected Stowaways in Life

I have just finished packing a little before midnight on my eve of departure for Chicago, which is not really unusual in my family before a long trip, and everything seems to have been accounted for.  Tomorrow I unbelievably start this amazing year of Mission work by flying to Chicago to join with all the other YAGMs at Orientation, and then in another week straight to Manchester!!  The pouring in of so many words of encouragement, prayers, and loving support has been utterly humbling; allow me to publicly thank everyone who has made this first big step outside of the academic world possible.

As I have been preparing for my upcoming Mission Trip in the UK, my family has been with me every step of the way up until now (well, tomorrow morning).  Of course, they will still be with me in spirit and through handy technology like skype, but in the morning I am giving my last goodbye hugs to my stepdad, my mom, and most importantly my little brother and sister.  These two squirts are so important in my life, I have no idea what I am going to do without a snuggle from my Miah or a funny face contest with my Noah.



Tonight as I was putting the two of them to bed, Noah informed me that he was going to get up early enough to sneak into my luggage and come with me for the next year!  He also had the foresight to remember to bring some clothes so he "Wouldn't have to spend the entire time in the shower while I did laundry so he wouldn't smell."  What a goober!!  Later as I was reorganizing my bags a bit, my mom and I heard rustling in his room.  She went to check and when she came back informed me that he was picking out the clothes he was going to be bringing with him next year and he would be fine just calling his mommy a few times a week instead of living with her.  If I'm not careful, there might be an unexpected stowaway in my luggage come the morning.

But man, if that did not pull at Mom's and my own hearts this evening on top of all the emotions of saying goodbye to each other, I don't know what will.  It got me thinking about all the different kinds of unexpected stowaways we have in our lives.  I am knowingly bringing several people with me in my heart other than my family already.  Several of my good friends who have been nothing but supportive since I mentioned I was applying to YAGM way back in January are pretty prominently tangled in my heartstrings, and I am sure that as I begin this journey more stowaways will show up in my heart that I will miss as this year goes by.

The powerful thing, though, is that I know already that I will miss these people and that is okay.  I have had some pretty big moves throughout my 22 years of life already that put me in places where I had to build up new support systems.  I only had my mom and stepdad when we first moved to Fairfax, Virginia from Marysville, Washington (A hard move at the tender age of 13), and then only some halfway acquaintances when going off to James Madison University straight out of high school.

My mom gave me a card earlier with this story in it, "The weary wind gave up and spoke 'How can you still be standing, Oak?' The oak tree said, 'I know that you can break each branch of mine in two, carry every leaf away, shake my limbs, and make me sway.  But I have roots stretched in the earth, growing stronger since my birth.  You'll never touch them, for you see, they are the deepest part of me.  Until today, I wasn't sure of just how much I could endure.  But now I've found, with thanks to you, I'm stronger than I ever knew."  All of those big moves for me in the past have been their own individual wind, helping me to test the limits of the roots I've already put down, and to sometimes grow anew in amazing ways.

So here I am, on the eve of the next big wind, and I am completely ready deal with the unexpected growth that will come of it.

In Peace and With Love,
Mycah