As I start writing
this post I am leaving New York City after an emotional (in a good way) few
days. I headed down to CMMB headquarters in New York for orientation. On Sunday
night, after texting with Leigh for several days, I opened the door to my hotel
room and she said to me “You’re tiny.” This is how you know things are going to
go well.
For weeks each of us volunteers has seen each other through the computer screens as we met with Marcia and Joel and other CMMB employees. Each one with their own role in preparing us for each of out trips ahead. Now we were finally getting to meet in person. Leigh and I are two of the younger volunteers who are going to Africa. She to Kenya and myself to South Sudan. Both of us had arrived in NYC earlier and explored on our own and then planned to meet before dinner.
Down in the common room on the first floor of the hotel we sat and got to know each other. It is almost like an instant friendship in these cases it seems. We share this common bond. With Leigh I feel another connection, as we are both young people starting our volunteer journey. We do not have the same career experience as others who are going. (I often worry that I will not be able to do enough for my patients since I am so young as a nurse or that somehow the work I am trying to do will do more harm then good).
Leigh and I got to chatting about our respective plans and our hopes for our volunteer experience. We shared stories and got to know each other better. Soon we were joined by two other volunteers, Carol and Pam. We all chatted and got to know each other before heading to dinner. Here we finally got to meet Joel and Marcia (Our fearless leaders), whom we had only seen via zoom calls. We also met with Helene, Bev, and a few others. We all spent time chatting and getting to know each other. It was a very nice evening.
On Monday our time together was mostly orientation meetings and more long conversations with people who worked or volunteered in the field. It was full of information and was very interesting. There were so many people with different information and things to help us. There were many questions I wanted to ask. So much was covered in each of these sessions and through the long day. But it really made me feel as though I was actually prepared for this trip (or more prepared I guess). I also got to meet Debbie, another new volunteer, and Sarah, a return South Sudan volunteer I had been chatting with.
It was amazing to hear so many stories and see so many pictures that people had. I felt like my emotions cycled throughout the day, through excitement, apprehension, a little anxiety, and a few others. However, I think mostly I am excited. Getting to talk with people, the new volunteers, returning volunteers, and other employees was so good. There is a strong sense of connection, family and friendship in this group. We all come from different places and with different backgrounds but the CMMB community created this almost instant bond.
I was impressed with so many things on that first day. People are friendly and actually know who we are and have looked at the bios that are included in part of this program. The CEO came and sat with us and chatted for a while. She invited us to walk Tuesday morning (I overslept but I wish I had gone). People are more down to earth and approachable than I feel many other organizations are. And the fact that they are pushing their faith but create a safe space for us to share as much or as little about our faith as we want, was impressive to me.
After a long and emotionally draining day I needed to stretch my legs. Leigh and I headed to Battery Park, over to the World Trade Center Memorial, into the underground mall there, and then (after running into Marcia and following her suggestion) down to pier 17 to check out the city sky line and the bridges. We managed to get in lots of walking. By the time we got back to the hotel it was late and I was tired.
The next morning I ended up dragging myself out of bed. I packed my bag (with goodies CMMB gave me) and headed to breakfast. It was nice to sit and chat again with other volunteers and CMMB employees that were in town for their conference. After breakfast I wandered around more of the city and back to Pier 17 to stretch my legs before heading back to headquarters.
Tuesday was a shorter day but no less emotional. We met with more people from CMMB. We also discussed what our intentions were for our time as volunteers. I struggle to put things into words. One would thing that since I have a degree in writing and love to write I would be good at speaking what I think and writing but it is something I struggle to do. I cannot eloquently say what my intentions are. I suppose at the end of the day God knows what is in my heart and why I am doing what I am doing so that is the most important part.
We had our volunteer commitment ceremony. Leigh had to leave early and Sarah was not here today but the other volunteers were with us. I hate public speaking but we stood in the front of the room and discussed why we were there and I tried not to shake or cry. There were several points through the morning where it was emotional. Thankfully this week my emotions are better under control and therefore I was not in tears.
The ceremony was short but meaningful. After we socialized with others from CMMB and enjoyed a yummy lunch. Then it was time to say goodbye. The time together with the other volunteers and Marcia and Joel was short. After exchanging hugs and best wishes and promises to keep in touch and be safe as we all start our adventures it was time to once more step solo back into New York. Thankfully our group chat is already full of photos and people chatting so we are connected even though we are no longer in the same room together.
For weeks each of us volunteers has seen each other through the computer screens as we met with Marcia and Joel and other CMMB employees. Each one with their own role in preparing us for each of out trips ahead. Now we were finally getting to meet in person. Leigh and I are two of the younger volunteers who are going to Africa. She to Kenya and myself to South Sudan. Both of us had arrived in NYC earlier and explored on our own and then planned to meet before dinner.
Down in the common room on the first floor of the hotel we sat and got to know each other. It is almost like an instant friendship in these cases it seems. We share this common bond. With Leigh I feel another connection, as we are both young people starting our volunteer journey. We do not have the same career experience as others who are going. (I often worry that I will not be able to do enough for my patients since I am so young as a nurse or that somehow the work I am trying to do will do more harm then good).
Leigh and I got to chatting about our respective plans and our hopes for our volunteer experience. We shared stories and got to know each other better. Soon we were joined by two other volunteers, Carol and Pam. We all chatted and got to know each other before heading to dinner. Here we finally got to meet Joel and Marcia (Our fearless leaders), whom we had only seen via zoom calls. We also met with Helene, Bev, and a few others. We all spent time chatting and getting to know each other. It was a very nice evening.
On Monday our time together was mostly orientation meetings and more long conversations with people who worked or volunteered in the field. It was full of information and was very interesting. There were so many people with different information and things to help us. There were many questions I wanted to ask. So much was covered in each of these sessions and through the long day. But it really made me feel as though I was actually prepared for this trip (or more prepared I guess). I also got to meet Debbie, another new volunteer, and Sarah, a return South Sudan volunteer I had been chatting with.
It was amazing to hear so many stories and see so many pictures that people had. I felt like my emotions cycled throughout the day, through excitement, apprehension, a little anxiety, and a few others. However, I think mostly I am excited. Getting to talk with people, the new volunteers, returning volunteers, and other employees was so good. There is a strong sense of connection, family and friendship in this group. We all come from different places and with different backgrounds but the CMMB community created this almost instant bond.
I was impressed with so many things on that first day. People are friendly and actually know who we are and have looked at the bios that are included in part of this program. The CEO came and sat with us and chatted for a while. She invited us to walk Tuesday morning (I overslept but I wish I had gone). People are more down to earth and approachable than I feel many other organizations are. And the fact that they are pushing their faith but create a safe space for us to share as much or as little about our faith as we want, was impressive to me.
After a long and emotionally draining day I needed to stretch my legs. Leigh and I headed to Battery Park, over to the World Trade Center Memorial, into the underground mall there, and then (after running into Marcia and following her suggestion) down to pier 17 to check out the city sky line and the bridges. We managed to get in lots of walking. By the time we got back to the hotel it was late and I was tired.
The next morning I ended up dragging myself out of bed. I packed my bag (with goodies CMMB gave me) and headed to breakfast. It was nice to sit and chat again with other volunteers and CMMB employees that were in town for their conference. After breakfast I wandered around more of the city and back to Pier 17 to stretch my legs before heading back to headquarters.
Tuesday was a shorter day but no less emotional. We met with more people from CMMB. We also discussed what our intentions were for our time as volunteers. I struggle to put things into words. One would thing that since I have a degree in writing and love to write I would be good at speaking what I think and writing but it is something I struggle to do. I cannot eloquently say what my intentions are. I suppose at the end of the day God knows what is in my heart and why I am doing what I am doing so that is the most important part.
We had our volunteer commitment ceremony. Leigh had to leave early and Sarah was not here today but the other volunteers were with us. I hate public speaking but we stood in the front of the room and discussed why we were there and I tried not to shake or cry. There were several points through the morning where it was emotional. Thankfully this week my emotions are better under control and therefore I was not in tears.
The ceremony was short but meaningful. After we socialized with others from CMMB and enjoyed a yummy lunch. Then it was time to say goodbye. The time together with the other volunteers and Marcia and Joel was short. After exchanging hugs and best wishes and promises to keep in touch and be safe as we all start our adventures it was time to once more step solo back into New York. Thankfully our group chat is already full of photos and people chatting so we are connected even though we are no longer in the same room together.
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