And the travel begins!

After a week of orientation with about 80 young adults, today we are all about to begin our travels to over 30 countries with all different types of placements.

here is the group photo of all those in my program!

This past week has been a time of incredible learning both within sessions where we talked about a variety of topics to help us as we transition into our placements as well as informally as we went through this training with a number of young adults from all over the world who are coming to the U.S. and Canada for similar types of placements. These young adults came from many of the places that we will be going and were able to give us great insight into the many cultures we are heading into.

As I think about heading to South Africa, one of the things that I hope shapes my interactions is the concept of motives. As our group will be heading to cultures, many so different than our own, we may often encounter cultural differences that may frustrate or upset us. In these situations it is so very easy to think that the way others approach certain situations may be wrong. Instead, a fellow SALT member encouraged us to think about how their motive comes from love. We all try to think and act certain ways because we believe that it is the best way to love- so why would we not consider this to be true of those so different than ourselves.


So now we will be leaving- beginning each of our own journeys. Journeys bound up in the histories, the cultures, and the hearts of the people we will live and work along side of. In this, I want to share a quote that was shared with us that I believe gets at the heart of why we should serve:

"If you want to help me, you're wasting your time. If you come because you're liberation is bound up with mine, then come, let's work together." -Lila Watson

So now my 30 hours of transit begins!

Thanks you all so much for your thoughts and prayers.

Grace & Peace