To me there is no denying that I have been called to serve. To some this may sound cliche but let me back up and explain why I say this.
I'm a huge believer that timing is everything and it's not always about you. What I mean by this is that I find there may be other pieces of the puzzle that need to be set in place before it comes time for something to happen. I have no doubts that this is exactly the case for my service in Zambia.
At the time I applied a lot of things in my life were falling apart. Despite the fact that I had talked about this idea of Peace Corps long before I can't help but feel like it was a bit of a getaway attempt given life at the time. My prayer for the last year has been "I'll go where you lead, even if that is right here." At the time the staying put was the harder part of the prayer. But over time I got back in touch with what was important, reconnected with friends and myself, and even work became something I liked again. There was a marked shift in this prayer and the hard part became "I'll go."
It is obvious to me that this is the time to go. So many things fell into place far beyond sheer coincidence that it became undeniable to me what I was to do.
To list a few:
-Most of the people in my intake got their invite in about half the time I did.
-I finally got a roommate this past winter and signed a sublet through May (I leave early June)
-I took a business trip to India in January. The company reimbursed me for all my travel vaccines. I only had to get 2 additional shots to fulfill the Peace Corps requirements.
-Of all the places Peace Corps serves all over the world I was assigned to Africa, exactly where I wanted.
-This was the kicker. I had no idea until I received my invite. My cousin, Evan, was also accepted into Peace Corps (rare) and placed in Zambia this February just months before my departure (EXTREMELY RARE). The fact that I will have flesh and blood in country with me can be nothing short of divine intervention in my opinion.
While it is quite obvious to me that all signs point toward my departure it will no doubt be quite hard to say goodbye to the wonderful people and life I have established here. But alas, this is not goodbye forever.
At the time I applied a lot of things in my life were falling apart. Despite the fact that I had talked about this idea of Peace Corps long before I can't help but feel like it was a bit of a getaway attempt given life at the time. My prayer for the last year has been "I'll go where you lead, even if that is right here." At the time the staying put was the harder part of the prayer. But over time I got back in touch with what was important, reconnected with friends and myself, and even work became something I liked again. There was a marked shift in this prayer and the hard part became "I'll go."
It is obvious to me that this is the time to go. So many things fell into place far beyond sheer coincidence that it became undeniable to me what I was to do.
To list a few:
-Most of the people in my intake got their invite in about half the time I did.
-I finally got a roommate this past winter and signed a sublet through May (I leave early June)
-I took a business trip to India in January. The company reimbursed me for all my travel vaccines. I only had to get 2 additional shots to fulfill the Peace Corps requirements.
-Of all the places Peace Corps serves all over the world I was assigned to Africa, exactly where I wanted.
-This was the kicker. I had no idea until I received my invite. My cousin, Evan, was also accepted into Peace Corps (rare) and placed in Zambia this February just months before my departure (EXTREMELY RARE). The fact that I will have flesh and blood in country with me can be nothing short of divine intervention in my opinion.
While it is quite obvious to me that all signs point toward my departure it will no doubt be quite hard to say goodbye to the wonderful people and life I have established here. But alas, this is not goodbye forever.
It is really amazing how everything has worked out, Teen! Thank you for sharing this. You are an inspiration.
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