I had a feeling. Some call it a gut feeling, some say it's intuition, I know it to be the spirit leading. I had almost forgotten about my application to Peace Corps since it had been so long without hearing anything, but in the weeks before a business trip to India I had a nagging feeling there would be developments in my application process. So needless to say when I got a request for more paperwork a week into my month long India trip I just laughed.
The selection for PC is pretty rigorous and something like 1 in 3 or 1 in 5 that apply make it in. So my hopes for this drastic career move were just that, hopes. But as I sat in my hotel bed trying to figure out my answers to the last piece of the puzzle my heart smiled. What I had not guessed is that mere hours after submitting my questionnaire I would receive my official invite via email. After all everything I had read said that those invites were a big blue packet in the mail.
The email subject read Peace Corps-Invitation. My heart skipped a beat. My palms turned sweaty. After so many mixed emotions the past months on where my life was heading I didn't have a single thought in my head. Now I'm not normally a person with any lack of words or thoughts to share but for a good 30 mins I went empty! Shock! It took me a minute to open the email. I took a deep breath (I think, perhaps I just held my breath) and clicked open the email. The first line read "Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that we invite you to begin training in Zambia for Peace Corps service."
Wide-eyed I stared at the screen in awe. I almost couldn't move. You see when I applied the deal was anywhere in the world they wanted to send me. And while I have had a heart to work in Africa I was prepared for anywhere. I was always raised with the saying that G-d gives you the desires of your heart or he changes your heart. Well the good L-rd did just that. Blessed with the prospect of teaching English in Africa.
I know some volunteers have to think about their acceptance and take time to reply. Not this girl! As soon as I got over the shock and could move I hit that accept button. After all my prayer for the last year had been "I'll go where you send me." Word to the wise: Be careful what you tell G-d you will do, he might just take you up on it!
So I will be serving as a RED Volunteer (Rural Education Development) living in rural Zambia (read: mud and thatch hut with no utilities) starting June 2014. I knew this would be a year of change and a new chapter in my life but I had no idea it would be this exciting!
I know many volunteers leave fresh out of college with a mission to change the world. You know the whole love and peace thing...but I leave with a mission to touch just a few lives. I know I will come and go and there will be other volunteers after me. I know my presence won't end hunger or cure disease BUT I also know I can make an impact in the smallest of ways. And if I leave my 2 years of service with only one person that is a little better off I will know it was all worth it. The seeds we plant today may not be forests overnight but I pray that G-d will use me in the most awesome ways during my time in Africa.
The selection for PC is pretty rigorous and something like 1 in 3 or 1 in 5 that apply make it in. So my hopes for this drastic career move were just that, hopes. But as I sat in my hotel bed trying to figure out my answers to the last piece of the puzzle my heart smiled. What I had not guessed is that mere hours after submitting my questionnaire I would receive my official invite via email. After all everything I had read said that those invites were a big blue packet in the mail.
The email subject read Peace Corps-Invitation. My heart skipped a beat. My palms turned sweaty. After so many mixed emotions the past months on where my life was heading I didn't have a single thought in my head. Now I'm not normally a person with any lack of words or thoughts to share but for a good 30 mins I went empty! Shock! It took me a minute to open the email. I took a deep breath (I think, perhaps I just held my breath) and clicked open the email. The first line read "Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that we invite you to begin training in Zambia for Peace Corps service."
Wide-eyed I stared at the screen in awe. I almost couldn't move. You see when I applied the deal was anywhere in the world they wanted to send me. And while I have had a heart to work in Africa I was prepared for anywhere. I was always raised with the saying that G-d gives you the desires of your heart or he changes your heart. Well the good L-rd did just that. Blessed with the prospect of teaching English in Africa.
I know some volunteers have to think about their acceptance and take time to reply. Not this girl! As soon as I got over the shock and could move I hit that accept button. After all my prayer for the last year had been "I'll go where you send me." Word to the wise: Be careful what you tell G-d you will do, he might just take you up on it!
So I will be serving as a RED Volunteer (Rural Education Development) living in rural Zambia (read: mud and thatch hut with no utilities) starting June 2014. I knew this would be a year of change and a new chapter in my life but I had no idea it would be this exciting!
I know many volunteers leave fresh out of college with a mission to change the world. You know the whole love and peace thing...but I leave with a mission to touch just a few lives. I know I will come and go and there will be other volunteers after me. I know my presence won't end hunger or cure disease BUT I also know I can make an impact in the smallest of ways. And if I leave my 2 years of service with only one person that is a little better off I will know it was all worth it. The seeds we plant today may not be forests overnight but I pray that G-d will use me in the most awesome ways during my time in Africa.
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