Now I'm Ready to Start

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NOTE: This first post contains A LOT of details about my journey, and will probably be the only post as lengthy and descriptive. A few people asked about the specifics of the trip and why I chose to go to Vermont for the summer, so feel free to skip over any boring details, with a voice like Charlie Brown's teacher "waa waa waaa wa waaaa" in your head if you'd like.

genesis

This journey begins with a nudge from my friend, Katy Dietz, encouraging me [strongly] to apply for a summer training program, specifically Green Mountain Summer in Vermont, the program of which she was a part last summer.

After considering and praying about this opportunity, along with some other options, the decision was made: I would be going to Vermont for the summer. I was excited to have set plans and immediately started filling out the application for the program online.

Then there was the wait.

I took a trip to Vermont for spring break with Katy, Vivian Chang, and Hannah Davis to explore the city and love on the community through a few small service projects. We had a Bible study among the four of us, discussing the concept of dikaios, which is Greek for both justice and righteousness. Through the service projects such as serving the homeless in the COTs shelter, serving refugees at the VRRP, and girls from broken homes through Girls' Group, we were able to put into practice the concepts we were studying.

I learned about the culture and picked up a few details to share with fellow Ohioans at home such as:

 • what a "maple creamie" is
 • how big of a deal it is to move from one city to the next (ten minutes away)
 • the environment-friendly practices embedded in the culture
 • the lack of urgency in meeting with people (even professionally)
 • the same area code through the whole state (802)
 • the absolute beauty surrounding us wherever we went (a bit different from Clifton)

Back in Cincinnati after spring break, classes started up again, so my focus shifted from the serenity of Vermont to my regular routines at UC.

Then the waiting was over. I finally received an e-mail from the program director, Karen Pankratz, confirming that I had made it into the program!

The next step was to begin the process of:

fundraising

This process included praying about:

 • to whom to send my letters
 • what to say in the letters
 • what to write as individual notes
 • taking a new picture with Emily Kuhn
 • printing the pictures
 • printing the letters
 • writing the letters
 • buying stamps, envelopes...
 • creeping on people, asking for their addresses
 • distributing the letters
 • solving bounce-back issues with incorrect addresses

Needless to say, it was more difficult, intricate, and lenghty than I thought. But God led me through all of it, and funds were added to my Navs account! Most recently (within the past month) has been the next process of:

job hunting

Prayers about job hunting included:

 • to where to apply
 • filling out applications and plenty of common-sense quizzes
 • how often/quickly to follow up on applications
 • asking God for patience and trust, especially when companies turned me down
 • rejoicing when I received a "yes" from Price Chopper!

Now that these processes are complete, and I'm less than two weeks away from leaving for Vermont, I can relax and gradually gather items to pack for the two-month long stay in the dorms.

prayer requests

I could use prayer for:

 • patience through the rest of my classes and finals
 • gathering everything I need to pack
 • safe trip to and from Vermont
 • for God to provide the funds I need for the program (about $2500) and gas money
 • a few "impossible list" prayers such as getting a mandolin (I'll explain this story later) and learning to play it while in Vermont
 • becoming part of and adding to the community at GMS and with others in Burlington
 • joy and peace about the trip overall

Thanks for all of your support and for reading through this first blog entry! I hope you didn't have to "waa waa waaa" too many parts of it, but I don't blame you if you did.

With Love and Gratitude,

-Meredith

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