Moving Forward
This past week saw the conclusion to the comunity centers two month long english courses with a little celebration and plenty of certificates. It's been nice to see the community formed trough the english classes, the other activities taking place at the center and the open community hangout space. It's the encouragement I hold on to as the never ending series of speed bumps comes along. The latest of which is the news that we'll have to find a new place for the community center. We had been having issues with the owner of the apartment building since the beginning but the final… Read more >>
April
The community center has been up and running for a month! Thank you all for praying for a good opening celebration and start to activities. At the opening party on the 1st we had a full house of neighborhood friends coming to see what the new place was all about and aside from having someone from our team speak about what we wanted to do and what we had planned we also had some of our local friends talk about what they hoped to see and accomplish through the center. We took advantage of the festivities and gathering to vote on the name of the center, from a list that we had been working on… Read more >>
Philosophizing
Gazing at my calendar I realize that I've officially passed the six month mark. On the list of "countries in which I have spent the most time" my current country now ranks 4th. This somehow feels significant but I can't quite put my finger on why. If things go according to plan this country will eventually rank 3rd. I'm having one of those moments were I need to remember what I value in life. The word community drifts through my mind. I definitely value community and it's a big reason for why I'm here but there is one thing I value even more and that is the quality of permanence. … Read more >>
February/March Recap
Near the beginning of February the team lead and interns, myself included, went out of town for a retreat of silence. We stayed for a day and between journaling, being well fed and getting sunburned I had quite an enjoyable experience. I do love city life but all the time spent among apartment buildings, smog, honking cars and trash filled streets makes nature, blue skies and a cool breeze that much more enjoyable. It was also nice to come fresh into the next stage of my team's work in the neighborhood. Over the corse of last month and the one before we have found a space for the… Read more >>