Halfway There

Last Monday I began my journey to South Korea. I said goodbye to my parents at the airport and boarded a plane for New York. I have spent the last six days in New York at the Young Adult Volunteer Orientation. It has been a wonderful experience sharing with everyone who will be serving this year both nationally and internationally. We have been listening to lectures on diversity, globalization, and what to expect in the coming year from guest missionaries and former YAVs. While a lot of what we have covered is a nice review of my last four years of education, it has also helped me to accept that I need to expect that there is really no great way to prepare except prayer.

With my departure being less the 36 hours away my fears of learning the Korean language are starting to dominate my thoughts. Today we had lunch with missionaries from Korea, they attempted to teach me how to say hello. I was able to parrot it back to them but the retention was less than ideal. Hopefully when it counts I will do better!

After months of pray and preparation I am ready for this adventure to begin. Listening to former YAVs' experiences have me in a mix of anxiety and excitement. It is also hard because no one is really able to answer our questions with regards to Korea because we are the first to go. Still it is nice to know that we will get to create the program that will use our talents to the fullest and that no one will be able to compare us to YAVs of years past.

It is getting late and I am going to a church tomorrow an hour away. So this is the last post before I am in Korea! Yay 24 hours of travelling in my future!!