T-Minus Two Weeks!

With the beginning of a year of voluntary service only two weeks away, I am becoming quite pumped about the journey that will soon begin. Right now there are many things I am looking forward to – things I am excited about or hopeful for. I know that I cannot plan how my year will unfold: Some of the things I am looking forward to might not actually happen. On the other hand, some truly amazing things will happen that I could never have foreseen. I hope to remain open to wherever my journey may take me, and dive into the activities, relationships, and settings that I find myself in. In any case, I come into this year of service with much excitement, anticipation, and joy. Here, then, are a few of the things I am looking forward to:

• A new experience: new place, new people, new relationships, new activities…
• Getting to know Anchorage and the surrounding area and its (among other things): people, thrift stores, parks, trails, eateries, disc golf courses, libraries…
• Getting to know the other members of the unit and becoming close friends and family. The best part of this year will probably simply be spending time with this awesome group of people.
• Unit life and the joys (and challenges) it brings with it: cooking regularly, living in community, chilling and talking late into the night…
• Interacting with and becoming part of a new and different church community. I anticipate that Prince of Peace Mennonite Church will be smaller, comprised of younger people, and more informal than my home congregation (Bethel College Mennonite Church).
• Serving others through my job at the Bureau of Land Management
• Biking to work, rain or shine!
• Working in the glorious outdoors!
• A new climate and amount of daylight.
• The mere idea of heading north, of the vast Alaskan wilderness, and of seeing some of the most pristine and untouched land in the United States
• Hiking and backpacking in some raw places with the unit and people from the church
• The chance to do photography amidst a beautiful and rugged landscape.
• A year away from school to reflect, become rejuvenated for future formal education, and learn in a whole new way.
• Living in a city where I can look up and see mountains.
• And finally, being stretched, challenged, and growing personally, spiritually, and physically (all that work outside with the BLM better put on some muscle mass…)

Alaska, here I come!