As each week goes by, I realize that the newest leg of my journey is almost underfoot. I will leave on Aug 17th to fly to Chicago for a week of training and orientation, followed by my flight to Jerusalem (I'm guessing I'll be flying into Tel Aviv?) on the 24th. Then it begins! Can you believe it?!
I still haven't found out my exact placements for work, but I do know a little about what I'll be doing this next year. My primary placement, where I will spend most of my time serving, will be at an Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) or affiliated school. I'm pretty excited for that, although I realize it will be a really new experience for me. I'm sure I'll be challenged (long ago did I toss out my ideas of being in any K-12 school). I don't know what the options are, really, for my secondary placement, and I'm not even sure we get to choose those before we arrive. I'd really enjoy working in something that utilizes oral history, recording people's life stories, maybe something advocacy-related or working with refugees.
Until then, as some of you may be wondering, I will be in Newport News, VA finishing up my Clinical Pastoral Education, which is a requirement for my Master of Divinity degree. I'm serving at Mary Immaculate Hospital, which is part of the Bon Secours Health System, and having my class time at Maryview Hospital in Portsmouth, a sister institution. The work is challenging, but good, and I really appreciate my co-workers. I've learned a lot about chaplaincy, Christian ministry, and, of course, myself. At this point in my life I don't feel particularly called to chaplaincy (although, if there's anything I've learned so far in life, it's to "never say never"), but I highly respect those who are, as well as the nurses and doctors they serve with. There are many ups and downs each day, but I feel that my CPE experience has helped to prepare me for my time in Jerusalem.
One of the most helpful skills I've polised thanks to CPE is that of conversing with strangers. As more of an introvert, I've never been extremely outgoing with people I do not know, especially those whom I have no connection with whatever (not even a mutual friend or known common interest). Each day I am forced to get up the courage to knock on a door (oh, the anxiety I feel when the doors are closed) and introduce myself, trying to start an conversation and build a basic relationship. That's EXACTLY what I need to be able to do in Jerusalem. I hope that I can go there and really talk with people, learn their stories, build relationships (oh, how I want to start sermonizing on trinitarian theology right here, but I shall refrain). I figured I'd learn a bit about myself, perhaps better discern where God is calling me vocationally, but never did I imagine that I would be forced to learn the skill I've always wished to foster, but never had the guts to go for. Talk about God knowing your inmost thoughts and desires!
So there you have it, a small update to satiate your ponderings. I'll be posting shortly with a fundraising update, but this has been for those of you who are eager to hear a little bit more about what's going on inside my head.
I still haven't found out my exact placements for work, but I do know a little about what I'll be doing this next year. My primary placement, where I will spend most of my time serving, will be at an Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) or affiliated school. I'm pretty excited for that, although I realize it will be a really new experience for me. I'm sure I'll be challenged (long ago did I toss out my ideas of being in any K-12 school). I don't know what the options are, really, for my secondary placement, and I'm not even sure we get to choose those before we arrive. I'd really enjoy working in something that utilizes oral history, recording people's life stories, maybe something advocacy-related or working with refugees.
Until then, as some of you may be wondering, I will be in Newport News, VA finishing up my Clinical Pastoral Education, which is a requirement for my Master of Divinity degree. I'm serving at Mary Immaculate Hospital, which is part of the Bon Secours Health System, and having my class time at Maryview Hospital in Portsmouth, a sister institution. The work is challenging, but good, and I really appreciate my co-workers. I've learned a lot about chaplaincy, Christian ministry, and, of course, myself. At this point in my life I don't feel particularly called to chaplaincy (although, if there's anything I've learned so far in life, it's to "never say never"), but I highly respect those who are, as well as the nurses and doctors they serve with. There are many ups and downs each day, but I feel that my CPE experience has helped to prepare me for my time in Jerusalem.
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| This summer I've been able to visit a lot of historical sites and museums. This water lily was in a Japanese Garden at the Nofolk Botanical Garden, VA. |
So there you have it, a small update to satiate your ponderings. I'll be posting shortly with a fundraising update, but this has been for those of you who are eager to hear a little bit more about what's going on inside my head.
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