23 minutes/1.2 miles

One of the parks I walk by daily while the sun was setting

I walk a whole ton here in Manchester.  I walk to and from work (most days), which is about 23 minutes/1.2 miles one way.  Mostly along major roads, by a few parks, university halls, a Turkish Grocery, and several strips of little shops.

It's a beautiful walk in the sunshine, rain, when the leaves were bright and green when I first arrived, and now as they change with the season and fall.

I like my walk but sometimes it gets a little monotonous.  The same road, the same trees, the same pavement.  Even some of the same crazy drivers who whiz by me (Thank goodness there are bike lanes for when I ride the bike the church is letting me borrow for the year!).

Walking around the Parish one day, I found
this gem of a sign that reads:
NO FLY TIPPING RUBBISH DUMPING
Translation: Don't throw your trash on our lawn

Because of this 23 minutes of alone time I have twice a day, I have been trying to find ways to use it ‘productively’.

It was almost funny at first when I realized that I was feeling frustrated with time I thought I was wasting walking.  Why was it wasteful?  Walking is good for your health, and it wasn’t as though I never had enough time to get wherever I needed to go while walking.  So punctuality wasn’t my issue.

Was I bored from watching and listening to the cars whiz by?  I tried walking through the parks while it was light enough out instead of along the road, which was gorgeous, but didn’t address the deeper question.  It served to distract me from it.

Sometimes I listen to music, or a podcast while I walk.  That helps to keep me busy, and is usually pretty enjoyable, but this is only something to do during the daytime, and I still am very vigilant of who is around me.

What I began to do which has become a ritual several times a week now, is to use that time to pray.

The road I live down just after a big rain

Some of us (myself included) might be thinking at this point that this was the obvious answer all along, and I’ll say well of course it was.  In fact, it was something I started doing my second week of service at church.  But it still didn’t detract from the feeling of frustration some days.

It is something I’m working on, though.  Prayer is so important, and sometimes I have a focus of people I am praying for (in my first few weeks here I prayed for each country program, alumni, and other supporters of YAGM), and other times I just talk with whoever in the Holy Trinity is listening about what is weighing on my heart today.

 
I’m getting more comfortable with the idea that I have a 23 minutes/1.2 mile walk to and from church each day.  It means that when I need to, or want to, or am called to, I have time and space to pray.  We can do a lot with 23 minutes, but I think I’ve found a way to make the most of it so far.

Rethinking Our Baptisms and Connecting It With Others

We've had several baptisms at St C's Church recently which has reminded me of the sending worship service we had with YAGM where we relived our baptisms while a YAGM Alumn sang this song.  It was a very moving part of the worship where we all took our shoes off and walked through the 'waters' of the font, then had our feet dried by our other Alumni accompanists for the week.  I don't think anyone put their shoes on afterwards, and we all finished our time together in Chicago barefooted and bare souled.

It was one of the moments before we left for our years of service that stuck out to me as meaningful, and I think the best way to explain it is to refer to Luther's Large Catechism:

“Suppose there were a physician who had so much skill that people would not die, or even though they died would afterward live eternally. Just think how the world would snow and rain money upon such a person! Because of the throng of rich people crowding around, no one else would be able to get access. Now, here in baptism there is brought, free of charge, to each person’s door such a treasure and medicine that swallows up death and keeps all people alive.”

In our baptisms, we are all made equally loved children of God, and in this day where I hear something about the refugee crisis in Europe nearly every day on BBC news this is something important to remember.  Even should they not all be baptized Christians, they are all loved Children of God just as much as I am, and they are my siblings in this love.  The language surrounding my brothers and sisters in news articles and radio reports can be extremely xenophobic as the BBC has pointed out, and we as faithful people need to see past this and remember that there are people behind these reports.  There are children and parents and friends who are struggling to find a safe home and need not only our prayers on a Sunday morning but our encouragement of involvement from our respective Governments and relief agencies.

We waded into the water with Christ, why can't we wade into the water with our fellow man?

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'!