Introduction

I am incredibly grateful to have this opportunity to provide a published copy of my time in the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission program. Included in this are the seven newsletters I wrote while I was in Szarvas, Hungary and greater Europe. This published copy would not have been possible without the incredible support of Dr. Marilyn Flachman and her team at the Publishing House in Westminster, Colorado!

Marilyn is one of my closest friends, role models, and mentors. Our friendship goes back to when I was just 4 years old, when my grandmother, Evelyn (who would babysit me), would take me to Marilyn’s house for their friend groups' brunch dates. She has greatly influenced my path in education and life, bringing me to Wartburg College, where she graduated and now serves on the board, and now I am attending the University of Denver, where she also received her masters degree. She is someone I deeply admire in her convictions with education and her service to others, especially the youth, and I am so lucky to call her my friend and role model!

Lately, I have been reflecting on the previous three years of my life, trying to make sense or ascribe meaning out of it all. These years have been both incredibly challenging and anxiety inducing, but also so beautiful and transformative. Such a statement seems paradoxical at the outset, yet the notion of holding two truths at the same time has been very helpful in explaining what has influenced me and in attempting to discern such experiences. At Wartburg, they constantly stressed discernment and vocation. Yet a younger me was naive and rigid in thinking, coming to college thinking I know what I believe, I know what's true, and I know what I am to do. Specifically, formal schooling was to be systematically conquered. It was a nuisance but a necessary means to an ends that included achieving accreditation and positions of influence that would allow me to achieve what I thought was a healthy way to my ends of service.

This thinking was shattered into pieces, forcing me to re-evaluate everything and begin to rebuild who I am, which was and has been a daunting and often frustrating experience. Recently, though, I have been reading Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer, which was given to me at the end of this YAGM year by my country-coordinator Kelly and her husband Aaron. What struck me immediately was this statement, “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.” This is in essence living into ambiguity, which especially characterized this YAGM year, but also has shed light on the major moments, people, and experiences that have been molding my perspectives and life. Thus, it is something that has been apparent in the unexpected turns and opportunities I have been given thus far, even if it was unaware to me at the moment.

Finally, for one to have such an opportunity to reconstruct oneself, I believe a necessary condition to this is having constructive, caring, passionate and principled people around you, who provide greater exposure to perspectives and critical thought, while also demonstrating their values through their own actions. From specific family members, friends, professors, and role models, I have been so fortunate to have many of these people in my life. They are my pantheon of greats and the ones who give me so much hope for a better tomorrow.

Thank you for all your support and time,