The Start of the Adventure part 1

I know that the title of this entry is interesting. However, there is a reason for it. At the star of this adventure, all of the YAVs where brought together for a week long orientation. We would later find out that will we have another orientation at our sites. This entry will be about the orientation at Stony Point, NY.

I left Monday morning in August. My mother took me to the train station in DC where I was to catch my train. I ended up a delay that took several hours. With the extra time, we had talked and ate before my train did come. Finally early afternoon, I was on my train. I road the train from DC to Newark.

 When I arrived at Newark, The first YAV that I meet was Alex. Alex was also going to Montana and be one of the two other YAVs who I will be working with. As we went through the proses of getting from Newark to Stoney point, we ended up meeting up with more and more YAVs. Our group just making it to our orientation site before dinner ended. (Don't worry, they would have still taken care of us if we where late, but it would have been a wait before we could eat.) That evening we had some information given to us and worship service. After, I went to my asigned room and went to bed.

The fallowing day was a tough day. I was introduced to Becca, who was also going to Montana. (Meeting Becca was not the tough part of the day, I had just had a chance to meet her on that particular day.) We where introduded to the topic of injustice in our social systems. Right off the bat we where give a lot of information coming all at once of things to think about and wonder. By the end of that day, I was drained but excited. I felt challenged. Even though my college was tough, the descuthions and examples of the problems challenged me in a different way. If anyone asked me how I felt the difference between the two, I would tell them that I felt like a I had taken a hard turn from a road that I felt was forward to a new road going off into a completely different direction. Their was talk that the rest of the week would not be as heavy as that day was. They where right. The rest of the week gradually became more easier.

The rest of the topics did test me at times but most of it was for our preparation and understanding of how thinks can be at our sites. We played a few games to teach us, had talks with our small groups, learned new songs, and asked questions. We were incearaged to meet with everyone. We had a chance to visit with other places of worship. My group went to the Broadway Presbyterian Church and learned more about their urban ministry programs. We went in even smaller groups to local churches. It is nice to see and learn how the Presbyterian churches in New York take are of their communities. There our groups went through a commissioning survice. My church back in DC had done something similar before I left, but it was nice to be able to do it again with other YAVs who were leaving for their sites. We ended our Sunday evening with a worship service that had its own send of with communion.

My Becca, Alex  and I left very early Monday morning for our site out in Montana.

#YAV1516