Hi! I’m so excited you’re joining me in this journey, from wherever you might be as you read this (feel free to comment below where you’re at)! I look forward to using this blog as a means to share stories from my time on the field, but before I get too far ahead of myself, introductions are in order.
My name is Evelyn. I’m twenty-two, a recent university graduate with degrees in psychology and humanities, and in just four months I’m moving to Central Asia for two years of ministry. I'm gonna share three more random things about me before I dive into why you’re really here.
One, I’m really bad at picking favorites--like food, movies, songs, even colors--I just can’t narrow it down.
Two, I’ve been six inches from a great white shark (and was very thankful for the cage bars between us).
Three, I became a published author this year with a chapter in a book about Jane Austen--shoutout to my Oxbridge 2020 ladies!
So you might be wondering how someone who can’t pick a favorite color found themselves moving to the other side of the world for two years, and honestly I wondered that a couple times too! But though my connection to GoCorps only happened a year ago, God had been moving my heart this direction long before I realized it. Because of experiences in two cities on opposite hemispheres, I finally took a community development/transformation class, and decided then that I would do some sort of community transformation work with my life.
By the time GoCorps came along through a program at my university, I had no post-grad plans and was just asking the Lord to make it evident where He was leading. I was drawn in by the joy of seeing a Community Transformation placement, and in reading further found that this team assesses the needs and assets of communities and cooperatively create plans of action towards meeting needs and resolving problems. And as this opportunity fell into my lap, I was at different times all for it, and at others, sure I wouldn’t go. But at each stage I felt God’s confirmation that He was asking me to go. Whether by learning more about the organization, the team, the work, or having a conversation with a friend or family member, or through my many prayers of ‘Lord don’t let me be accepted unless this is where You are leading,’ I felt in my heart of heart that Jesus was whispering “go.”
Specifically, I will be working with a team who partners with villagers to implement clean drinking water systems that equitably distribute clean water through their villages. In each village, the team starts a Discovery Bible Study and is seeing the Lord bring people to Himself. In my role of Community Development Coordinator, I will help with these projects and help connect our team to village members, while building personal relationships with local people, assessing local assets and resources, helping to identify community goals and find ways for local people to work towards meeting those goals.
I’m so excited for this season and am glad you’re here too! Always feel free to leave comments on the blog because I’d love to hear from you too! Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Evelyn