Retreat and Local Orientation

Retreat/Orientation:

I departed Portland the evening on August 12. My family and I went through the expected loss of my grandfather just two days prior to my leaving. I unfortunately had to miss the funeral and other festivities that week, but my family was very supportive of me going on with my original plan to get started with the JVC.

Orientation started the morning of August 13, when I met up with several other Jesuit Volunteers who flew into Baltimore airport. From Baltimore we traveled by bus to Blue Ridge, Penn. to Ballarmine Retreat Center. There were a total of 89 Jesuit Volunteers participating in the East region of the JVC this year.

The retreat/orientation lasted five nights. It was an incredible experience being among 88 other recent college graduates who are participating in a year of service. The 89 of us quickly became good friends, sharing meals, some small group time, attending Mass, and learning about the JVC values which we will be experiencing over the next year: Simple living, social justice, community, and spirituality.

At the end of the week at orientation, the 14 different communities packed up our cars and headed to our different cities on the east coast, but not before sharing cell phone numbers and making plans to visit the different communities on the east coast throughout the year.

Local Orientation:

My four community members and I drove from Blue Ridge, Penn. to Washington DC on Tuesday, August 18. It was a quick drive, just over an hour, to DC. We are living in a townhouse in NW DC, about three miles from the National Mall. My communitiy members consist of Laura and Lauren from Scranton, Penn.;Rachel from North Carolina, and Andrew, a second-year JV, from San Diego. We all have very different placements ranging from employment placement to hospice care. Last week, we were able to tour all of our placements and meet our supervisors. This year, there is a second JV community in Washington DC about one mile from our neighborhood.

The great thing about the JVC are the strong ties among former JV's that remain involved with the program. There are several that live in the Washington DC area and met us for some beers at a local neighborhood bar. Because we are JV's living on a small stipend, none of us had to pay for a single drink the entire night!

Every night a different house member takes turns cooking dinner. Once a week we have a spirituality and community night which gives us a chance to spend time together and check in on our experiences at JVs. We are enjoying each other's company and adjusting well to our new city and community. My job at FLOC starts this Wednesday.