Life Update: I'm moving to Scotland!
It is with great joy I get to share with you that beginning January 2021, I will be serving with the Presbyterian Church, USA's Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) Program in Dundee, Scotland.
This process began last October when I received an email from my presbytery's Executive Presbyter, Melanie Hancock, sharing that they had been sponsoring an out-of-presbytery YAV for the past two years and were interested in sending a Presbytery of Northern Kansas (PNK) Youth Alum; she thought I might be a great candidate if I was willing.
I was in shock- in a good way! Earlier in the fall, I had been considering what, if anything, my next "thing" might be. After two attempts at pursuing a college degree and feeling like higher education was not a place where I felt called at this point in my life, I began to reconsider the path that I had embarked on nearly three years ago. I have loved teaching preschool so much and have learned a lot, but I can't teach forever without a degree to show for it. I wondered where I could possibly go and what I could do and came up with nothing. I felt kind of lost but thought "well I guess this really is where I'm supposed to be for now." That's when I got Melanie's email.
I debated a lot about whether to even apply to be a YAV, but when I say Frozen 2 encouraged me to finally make the jump, that's not an exaggeration. I had taken Sophia and Isaac to see it in the theater and walked out having cried at least seven times.
If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you, but I highly recommend it . There's an ever-present theme throughout the movie about the challenges and often grief that comes with growing up, while also trying to maintain some sense of self. In the song, "The Next Right Thing", Anna sings of grief and depression, and while I wasn't feeling quite that dark, there are a few lyrics that will forever shape the way I make life decisions:
This grief has a gravity, it pulls me down
But a tiny voice whispers in my mind
You are lost, hope is gone
But you must go on
...
I can't find my direction, I'm all alone
The only star that guided me was you
How to rise from the floor?
But it's not you I'm rising for
Just do the next right thing
Take a step, step again
It is all that I can to do
The next right thing
Step by step, I navigated the application process and through lots of prayer and mutual discernment, I accepted the call to serve as a Young Adult Volunteer in Scotland, the Presbyterian Church's motherland.
As a bit of background, the PC(USA)'s YAV Program is " an ecumenical, faith-based year of service for young people (ages 19–30) in sites across the United States and around the world. YAVs accompany local agencies working to address root causes of poverty and reconciliation. Alongside this work, volunteers explore the meaning of their Christian faith and accountability to their neighbors in community with peers and mentors." One other facet of the YAV program that's exciting for me personally is vocational discernment. Through this process, I will have mentors helping guide me into what the next right thing is after my YAV service is complete.
Volunteers are also invited to "deeply engage in world issues, commit to self-reflection, listen to those who are being marginalized and learn in a new way." Our mantra is, ‘a year of service for a lifetime of change.’
The YAV site in Dundee works directly with the Priority Area Committee of the Church of Scotland. This committee "is responsible for the support, development and co-ordination of the Church’s work within its poorest communities." A Priority Area Parish is a community "where deprivation rates fall within the bottom 5% across all of the social and economic indicators as identified by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. The Church currently designates 64 congregations as Priority Areas."
"Priority for the poorest and the most marginalized is the Gospel imperative facing the whole Church, not just the Church in the poorest places"
As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a huge curveball in many people's plans. I've been hesitant to share any news regarding my decision to accept this call but after months of patiently waiting and praying that it would somehow work, there is finally some clarity. Typically the YAV year runs from August to July of the following year. PC(USA) staff and volunteers are under a travel ban until December 31, but as of now we have been given the green light to run a modified YAV year from January-August 2021. I will also have the opportunity to apply for a second year of service if I choose to.
Until then, I will be moving back to Kansas with my family. I have plans to continue teaching preschool virtually in the fall and will also work at Dröm Sott- Sweet Dreams Inn with my mom. Moving back home, while not an easy decision to make, will allow me to tuck away some decent money for whatever I decide to do after my YAV year.
I am so grateful for the community I have built here in Seattle, and it is very bittersweet to be leaving after a wonderful three years. The Northwest is forever marked on my heart and I look forward to getting back here when the time is right. I miss it already.
God works in really mysterious ways and I know that is exactly what happened here. I sat in the kind of discomfort that can only be transformative and by leaning into that discomfort, I'm embarking on an exciting new chapter in my life journey. I will be keeping this blog updated through my service year but until then, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as this process unfolds.
to my next right thing --
