Welcome to Boston!

Welcome to Boston!

What a week its been! We arrived in Boston on Monday and have been on the go ever since. Wednesday was my favorite day we've had so far in our new town. Boston is a very pedestrian friendly city- walking and biking are big here.
Hubway Bikes are the talk around town, for good reason. Hubway Bikes are rent-able bikes that people can take for an hour or all day and everything in between. We rented bikes and traveled all around the city, seeing all the different neighborhoods. It was difficult to get the spacial layout down but I really enjoying seeing the places I've only seen in pictures.

Boston is the history lovers dream, especially a colonial history lovers dream! You know me...

This is my kind of town- history is living, and its everywhere.

"Fellow the red brick trail..."

The site of the Boston Massacre

Old State House- the Declaration was proclaimed from this balcony!

The oldest tavern in America, "The Bell in Hand."

The statue of a soldier at Lexington Common, where the Battle of Lexington was fought.

Spirit, I Have Heard You Calling

Annnnnnd... GO!

The journey has begun.

While I have not started my mission in Boston, I have officially started my term as a YAV with PC(USA).

All of the YAVs serving for the 2013-2014 year have descended upon a Presbyterian conference center in Stony Point, NY. There are 60ish (I don't have the patience to count all the names on the list) of us that will be serving this upcoming year, a handful of YAV alumni, and another handful of YAV staff- all totaling 80+ people at this one place, focused on service, for a week. Its a very powerful thing. 

Days are jam packed with scheduled group time, lectures, worship, meals, and discussions.

*Just as a side note, my introvert core is struggling to just get through these first 24 hours with little me time with just me, myself, and I. I have 5 more days to go. Prayers are welcome. :-)*

I have learned a lot but I'm also very positive that I have missed some golden nuggets due to my weary state of post-lunch haze. By evening worship my eyes are pink and I likely have a glazed look on my face. Said look is not from boredom or any unpleasantness; rather it comes from mental exhaustion thinking about what all of this means in different contexts.

Today's theme was "critical cultural competency" and multi-faith/inter-faith relations. Some discussions felt more like philosophy class rather than mission training. It was heavy, intense, real.

Then there was small group. Small group is a blast. I would venture to say I have the best small group in the whole program. Our fearless leader, Luke, has an odd and borderline obsessive love for manatees. His sign for us to come circle around is this manatee face that can't really be described, only experienced. We get weird looks from the other groups but we take pride in our ability to circle around without verbal cues. We are a tight Herd of Manatees. We seem to all get along and the group dynamic is very open and group time is actually refreshing to me which is somewhat rare for me.

At some point during this week I will post about the Stony Point gardens, pigs, and composting. Yes, there are gardens and pigs. This is my kind of place.

Peace be with you.

Transitions

Whelp, I have finished my time at Broadfork Farm.

5 months almost to the day.
100+ days.
Too many hours to count.
Infinite seeds, plants, drops of water and sweat.

I don't know how to express my feelings of gratitude, sadness, contentedness, exhaustion, ambition, and the list could go on and on.

The folks are Broadfork are TOP NOTCH and operate a responsible, humble farm that provides local, sustainable produce for the area. Farming is an ongoing learning process and they have learned to manage the curve balls as well as one can in a constantly changing environment.

I'm transitioning from working to packing to Boston.
For the next week I will be packing, cleaning, sorting, and trying my best to catch on sleep. There will also be copious amounts of soaking up time with friends, favorite RVA sites and sounds, and reminding myself that Richmond will always be here. It may be home but I have to fly the coop and I can always return.

In the words of a famous country singer:

When your wheelhouse is the land of cotton,
The first time you leave it can be strange, it can be shocking

...
Oh, Dixie Land,
I hope you understand
When I miss my Tennessee Home
And I've been away way too long
I can't see this world unless I go
Outside my Southern Comfort Zone

(just replace Tennessee with Virginia)

Tomorrow as I spend time getting my act together I will think about Broadfork and what they've given to me. If you ever get a chance to know farmers or work on a farm, do not pass it up. You won't regret it.