I’ve arrived safely to where I’ll be spending this year. The first several days were spent in Tucson with my new family for the year– the Tucson YAV family. There are seven others, most from the east coast area, all beautiful and blessed individuals in their own ways. More about them later, however. Tucson was hot– really hot. It felt like the days were packed full, likely because they were– intentional conversations about community life, cooking and sharing meals together, worshiping at Southside Presbyterian (greatest worship experience I’ve had, to date, I’d say), being welcomed into Sitting Tree Community with meals and conversation, Volunteers Exploring Vocation (VEV) sessions with Teresa, Samaritans/No More Deaths training at St. Mark’s Presbyterian, biking everywhere we go, joining Grad Group for a meal (a bunch of Presbyterian students from University of Arizona who meet together for potlucks, movies, studying, etc). The list could really go on. Our time as an entire family ended for a moment as we met with all of our supervisors for a meal (do you sense a trend?, everything revolves around meals!– and my, have they been yummy!) and then headed to our places of work for the year. That meant me leaving with my new supervisors, Aaron and Angel, and Angel’s wife, Maria Elena, with all my things, to head to Agua Prieta, about 2 hours away.
We spent some time in Douglas, AZ first– I got acquainted with the Frontera de Cristo office in Douglas, then experienced my first prayer vigil for migrants who’ve passed away in the desert in Cochise County– something I will be involved with every Tuesday evening here in Douglas. Intense. I spent my first night in my new home, an apartment built with the intention of housing volunteers like me. I had to laugh when I walked in, considering how much I’ve always wanted to live in a random little apartment in Mexico for around a year, and now it’s happening! Aaron, who’s been here a year already, and is just a year older than me, lives in the other apartment, where we share a common living space/kitchen/bathroom. Yes, those things are on my side as well, but the agreement that he and the past YAV who lived there had was that it wasn’t necessary to have double of everything for just two people, so the space would be shared. I respect the decision; it works out well, and that means there’s less to clean (and when you visit the apartment, particularly during summertime or the fall, you’ll understand the dire meaning of that statement…. try sweeping twice, mopping, then sweeping again as a “just barely clean” regime for the floors, if that gives you a better idea 
).
After not much time in AP/Douglas, I headed back to Tucson for a VEV session, by means of the shuttle, which had some rather interesting means of driving in the rain. I got to stay the remainder of the weekend, which was a treat, and spend time with the other YAVs, use the solar shower more (there’s NOTHING like showering outdoors and feeling the breeze right on you from a hot end-of-summer day in Tucson, and knowing what a friendly means of bathing yourself it is, on the environment!), bike a bunch, get to know Tucson a bit better, eat some yummy organic food (food’s not something we’ve really “figured out” yet in AP… it’s a beef-lover’s haven… definitely not for me, so this will provide some neat challenges to healthy eating while trying not to miss out too much on the local cultural cuisine), worship again at Southside, and share an evening with a lovely couple from Southside at their house, utilizing their pool, hot tub, and picking their brains about the husband’s experience as a prisoner of conscience for a time in federal prison, sent there for “crossing the line” at the School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia. Fascinating. Only here have I met so many people so dedicated to their beliefs in justice, that they will willingly make a statement so bold, knowing that such a statement could land them a spot in federal prison. And so many people who’ve spent that time there, and would do it again without a second thought. Dedication.
I know I’ve much to learn from so many people around me this year, at this point I probably have no clue just how much. So, here goes. Stay with me as I log on to share with you my journey from time to time, and leave comments as you’d like!
