life at the moment. a chance to look back and forward.


After a long school year filled with good friends, hard work, newspaper editing, and wonderful memories I finally find myself with a week to process and rest before the whirlwind begins all over again. I spent the 8 months, my junior year (3rd year), at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA. I worked hard, played some, and enjoyed myself immensely. Along with taking a full course load both semesters, I co-edited the school newspaper with my good friend Joel Nofziger. This meant late Wednesday nights (the paper publishes on Thursdays), directing a staff of near 20 writers, editors, and photographers, and putting out an 8 page tabloid each week. My writing improved a million fold and I won first place from the Virginia Student Press Association for my editorial writing in the fall. You can check out the online version of the paper at http://weathervane.emu.edu/. After spending all that time together, Joel and I began dating in March. 

I spent the school year living with 8 amazing people in an intentional community. We had a girls apartment and a guys apartment that joined together for meals, bible studies, and community support. (Sharing chores meant that each person only had to cook and clean once a week- a dream come true for every college student). The community quickly morphed into a family atmosphere in which we supported each other, cried often, and giggled our hearts out. I will dearly miss  living with Meg Smeltzer, Aly Zimmerman, Jamila Witmer, James Souder, Nels Akerson, Austin Showalter, Tayler Weidman, and David Jantzi. 

But I'm also really excited to look forward.

In four days one of my closest college friends, Grace Engle,  is getting married and I will have my first crack at bridesmaid. Then, this summer I have the amazing opportunity to intern with Fourth Street Community Fellowship, a mission of Action for Peace through Prayer and Aid, in Washington D.C.  From May 6 to July 16 I will be living in the inner-city of the US capital city, working with homeless and impoverished peoples, learning to lead worship services and preach, hosting visiting youth groups and leading them as they explore racial harmony, conflict transformation, and ending homelessness through a faith-based lens. 

In July I am headed to Europe for a few weeks with my parents, brother, sister, and aunt. We will explore Germany, Switzerland, France, and Prague. It will be my first time in Europe and, after much arm twisting in which I had to justify the carbon-foot print of the travel, I am in rapture with anticipation. It will be nice to have the family together again.  Then comes a week in Lancaster County, PA were my parents/sister will debrief their time in Chad with MCC and I will spend time with friends from school. In August we will be back in Winnipeg for a few weeks, spending time with friends and finding my sister's stuff for school in the fall. 

On August 26th, I fly from Winnipeg back to Washington, DC for a fall internship with Shoulder to Shoulder, an interfaith campaign combating anti-Muslim sentiment in the US. After a quick dash to Richmond VA to celebrate the wedding of my long time friend, Tania Bukach (my second crack at bridesmaid), I will work on capital hill, live in an intentional community with other students from EMU also interning in DC, and take a few classes to complete the Washington Community Scholars Center program by mid-December. 

After that there is one semester for me back at EMU and then graduation. A year from now my plans are extremely foggy, but I have no doubt that they will get clearer as the year progresses. 

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