Trinity Asheville Sermon

Below is the sermon I presented to my home parish, Trinity Episcopal Church, in Asheville, NC. I give great thanksgiving for the lives of Anyo and Tiyolen, two people who inspire me greatly and who have shaped my life significantly for the better. I love you both.

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Trinity Episcopal Church, Asheville, NC, October 18th, 2015

Gospel Reading: Mark 10:35-45

“For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Amen

Trinity Youth Mission Experience

This past week, I was blessed to travel with the youth of Trinity Episcopal Church Asheville, NC, on their trip to visit Cange and the Central Plateau. I really can't express how inspiring and meaningful this experience was.

Debbie, the youth director at Trinity who has been such a big part of my life, led the group of 8 youth along with the participation of Rev. Scott and his wife Missy, and Greg Hilderbran, a parishioner from Trinity who is involved with Consider Haiti, an organization based in Montrouis, Haiti.

We were able to visit almost everywhere we planned for the week. One highlight was visiting Hermane in Chapoteau to assist in the first produce distribution from his community garden to some of the 25 primary school kids who are in an agriculture-education program he is leading (funded by St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Herndon, VA). I was very excited to be there for this, and I appreciate Hermane inviting the group across the lake. He even sent us back to Cange with a sample of the spinach for the staff in Cange to prepare for us. Delicious and nutritious!

We also were able to tour Cange, CFFL/Zanmi Agrikol, the University Hospital in Mirebalais, and Basin Zim. On Thursday, we stayed at a beach resort called Wahoo Bay Beach, my first time staying at a beach resort in Haiti. It was a special, relaxing treat and even included a bit of snorkeling. Also during this overnight trip, we were able to visit one of the sites for Consider Haiti--glad I finally made it. I'm impressed by their multi-faceted approach to their work in health, nutrition and food security.

The youth also led a couple of English classes for Alix's and Victoria's afternoon English program for young kids in Cange, which all seemed to enjoy. And finally, Scott was able to lead the service at Bon Sauveur Parish, which has been without a permanent priest since August of last year. I was able to translate the sermon for him to the congregation, and he was able to lead Eucharist and a blessing of the children in the church (some adults still have a bit of a child in them too).

Beyond these great learning experiences, I am most impressed with the curiosity and compassion expressed throughout the week and of course all of the Haitian hospitality. The Trinity youth proved to me, once again, that high school groups coming to visit Haiti are some of the best to come through. The work that we were able to see, the people we met doing it, and the interest of those in the group give me great hope for the future. A big thank you to those from Trinity and elsewhere that contributed to making this possible.

Back to the Carolinas

Wow, it has been quite a ride since I last made a post on here at the end of July. I had a crazy push for setting up projects and connections in Haiti to function for my six or so weeks back in the States, then I had to prepare to actually leave for a while. This required some mental fortitude, lots of time for reflection, and patience. Then I actually flew back to Asheville on August 21st.

Metal art

I am so grateful to have spent just over a full year in Cange, Haiti, working under the Young Adult Service Corps in relationship with the Diocese of Upper South Carolina and many others who work in and around Cange. What an amazing year of growing confidence, new relationships, a richer faith, and a different outlook on day-to-day life. God's love is so alive and vibrant in this world.

Pastyme Benefit Concert

Do you love music? Do you love dinner? Of course you do. So get a ticket to the Pastyme Benefit Concert at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville, NC, on May 18th at 5:00pm. The wonderful folks of Pastyme (an awesome group of singers) will be performing to send Trinity youth to the Episcopal Youth Event in Philadelphia in July AND to support myself in my second year with the Young Adult Service Corps and fellow Trinity young adult Megan Cox in her service for the Episcopal Service Corps.

Order your tickets here: http://www.trinityasheville.org/announcements/pastyme-youth-benefit/

We would all greatly appreciate your support--and you'll have your ear drums massaged with beautiful music and tummies satisfied with scrumptious food.

Here's a map to Trinity:

The Journey Continues--YASC Year #2!

Early May will mark nine months since I moved to Cange to work for the Episcopal Church in the Young Adult Service Corps. In that amount of time, I’ve taken on the titles of English teacher, missionary, economist, tour guide, surveyor, waiter, motivational speaker, translator, and more. Work as a missionary for the Episcopal Church requires so much flexibility and availability to do what you are called to do at any given time. The past nine months in Cange have never been dull, and I have been challenged to think about life, death, society and God in radically different ways.

Living long term in Haiti has brought me a radically different understanding of this country, its history (and indeed the history of the U.S.), and the people that live here. Before I came, I knew that it was the poorest country in the western hemisphere and people practiced Vodou. I’m discovering a place of surprising diversity, rich culture, determined and resilient people, scrumptious cuisine and stunning landscapes. Before I came I spoke only English. I now confidently speak Haitian Kreyol—a language that is an absolute joy to learn and speak.

 

Meet the other YASCers: The Diocese of Western North Carolina Contingent

You can check out all of the YASC missionaries' blogs by exploring the links on the right side of my blog. In addition to featuring my fellow Episcopal young adult missionaries there, I want to call your attention to them in a series of blog posts.

I'll begin by introducing you to the two other current YASC volunteers from my home diocese, the Diocese of Western North Carolina. Will Bryant, from All Souls' Cathedral, and Jared Grant, from my home parish Trinity Episcopal, are serving in Hong Kong and Italy, respectively.

Will Bryant is serving with Mission to Seafarers, one of the oldest Anglican Ministries in the world. It was established in 1856 and provides various forms of practical, emotional, and spiritual support to 1.3 million sailors in over 260 ports around the world. You can check out Will's blog here: http://willbryantyasc.blogspot.com/ I'll let Will Bryant tell you more about his experience in this new video about him from the Episcopal News Service:

Jared Grant is in his second year serving with YASC. His first year brought him to Lesotho working with the Anglican Diocese and St. James Mission Hospital. He is currently serving at St. Paul's Within the Walls and the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center in Rome, Italy. The refugee center provides support to political refugees that arrive in Rome from all over the world, especially Northern Africa and the Middle East. You can check out Jared's blog here: http://jaredgrantyasc.blogspot.com/

The Episcopal Church engages in this world in amazing ways. The Young Adult Service Corps is just one example of the far reaching, intimate, and powerful engagements of Episcopalians within the United States and around the world. It's such a privilege to be serving in this program with these guys. Keep checking in for more updates about other YASC missionaries and continued posts about my experiences in Haiti.