Orientation - Akron, PA

A long week of sessions, training and new people is coming to an end this evening. The hymn singing (yes, Oma, you read right) has just ended and all 54 of us SALTers are now focused on our impending departure times. Our journey of learning included helpful information on culture shock and cultural adjustment, dos and don'ts while on assignment, spiritual nourishment and personal care. In addition, our SALT Orientation Team introduced us to the ins and outs of MCC - what its purpose is, what functions it serves, where they run programs, etc. We had the pleasure of meeting the new MCC Executive Director Arlie Klassen who spoke at length to us about a revisioning of MCC called "New Wine, New Wineskins" that will be happening over the next year.

There is an air of excitement about this whole place: over 100 young people aged 18 to 27 gathered in Akron, Pennsylvania to prepare for there year of service around the world. We had people from Honduras, Bolivia, Korea, China, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Laos, Cambodia, etc. It was amazing to see and experience the diversity of the global Mennonite church. Everyone made a concerted effort to get to know each other and it was not uncommon to walk into a very loud dining room at meal times and find a good mix of people at every table discussing in broken English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Khmer, Arabic the differences in culture, mannerisms, food, and everything in between. Some of our most interesting and hilarious conversations occurred around these very topics. The facial reactions of the girls heading to Indonesia as they learned about the "specialty foods" was priceless. I can only imagine how strange some of our cultural idiosyncrasies must be for them.

My highlights have been the evenings: you could find people at any time of night playing card games, watching the Olympics, roasting marshmallows, having ice cream, learning new languages in the various houses here. New friendships have been formed and we have all gained new understanding and appreciation for those around us. It will be difficult to leave this all behind but we know that the year ahead will be unforgettable!