Hello!
This is a long overdue post, according to the many people who think I may have fallen off the face of the planet. I promise, I'm still here!
All last week I was at Orientation in Portland, Oregon for JVC Northwest. It was an intense week of learning all about what JVC Northwest entails, the history, paperwork, and lots of getting to know the other JVs (Jesuit Volunteers.) It was full of ups and downs and all the emotions in between. It started to hit me during that week I will not be back in the lower 48 for an entire year. I met so many amazing people and got great contacts for helping each other out throughout this next year. One of the most powerful moments all week was the missioning ceremony. It was a church service to bless all the volunteers before we set off the next day, or for us, that night. You could feel the power of the Spirit and pretty much everyone was full of emotions and tears.
About 2am on August 10th, the Sitka, Juneau, and Bethel (all in Alaska) groups left for the airport; and after a long morning of traveling, we made it to Sitka! When I say "we," I mean me and my 5 other housemates.
This is a long overdue post, according to the many people who think I may have fallen off the face of the planet. I promise, I'm still here!
All last week I was at Orientation in Portland, Oregon for JVC Northwest. It was an intense week of learning all about what JVC Northwest entails, the history, paperwork, and lots of getting to know the other JVs (Jesuit Volunteers.) It was full of ups and downs and all the emotions in between. It started to hit me during that week I will not be back in the lower 48 for an entire year. I met so many amazing people and got great contacts for helping each other out throughout this next year. One of the most powerful moments all week was the missioning ceremony. It was a church service to bless all the volunteers before we set off the next day, or for us, that night. You could feel the power of the Spirit and pretty much everyone was full of emotions and tears.
About 2am on August 10th, the Sitka, Juneau, and Bethel (all in Alaska) groups left for the airport; and after a long morning of traveling, we made it to Sitka! When I say "we," I mean me and my 5 other housemates.
We've been exploring town these past few days along with visiting everyone's service sites. I even climbed (half) of one of the mountains! It has been incredibly beautiful. Today (August 13th) is the first day we are experiencing the clouds and slight drizzle. People have been letting us know it is not usually this nice, so we have been soaking it up!
The town has been incredibly welcoming, it seems people love the JVs and other volunteers on the island and all have been great. I cannot wait to really dive into this community!
I bought my XtraTufs yesterday. They are rubber boots pretty much everyone on the island owns. So I'm pretty much a local now, haha totally kidding. I stick out like a sore thumb, but I'm sure my newbie status will quickly go away.
When you step outside, you can smell the salt water and fish, I kind of love it.
I start my service at Brave Heart Volunteers tomorrow and I'm stoked. It will be an amazing experience to have and I cannot wait to get started!
So not much has happened yet, but thank you for your patience in me getting this out to you. I only get internet at the library and one coffee shop in town. I may not get on everyday, but please feel free to email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can! It will be a new and different change of pace for me, as I am used to instant access to everything. I'm nervous right now, but in the end, I think it will be a good thing for me. Plus, I kind of love that (right now at least) every time I've been able to get on Facebook, I've had over 40 notifications. Thank you so much for the love. <3
I'll leave you with just a few more pictures, I haven't taken many yet, but I'm sure throughout the year, you'll get a good sense of Sitka and my JVC Northwest experience! Thank you for joining me on this new adventure!
xo
Shoshauna
The town has been incredibly welcoming, it seems people love the JVs and other volunteers on the island and all have been great. I cannot wait to really dive into this community!
I bought my XtraTufs yesterday. They are rubber boots pretty much everyone on the island owns. So I'm pretty much a local now, haha totally kidding. I stick out like a sore thumb, but I'm sure my newbie status will quickly go away.
When you step outside, you can smell the salt water and fish, I kind of love it.
I start my service at Brave Heart Volunteers tomorrow and I'm stoked. It will be an amazing experience to have and I cannot wait to get started!
So not much has happened yet, but thank you for your patience in me getting this out to you. I only get internet at the library and one coffee shop in town. I may not get on everyday, but please feel free to email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can! It will be a new and different change of pace for me, as I am used to instant access to everything. I'm nervous right now, but in the end, I think it will be a good thing for me. Plus, I kind of love that (right now at least) every time I've been able to get on Facebook, I've had over 40 notifications. Thank you so much for the love. <3
I'll leave you with just a few more pictures, I haven't taken many yet, but I'm sure throughout the year, you'll get a good sense of Sitka and my JVC Northwest experience! Thank you for joining me on this new adventure!
xo
Shoshauna