lovin' it up in NYC

So I am currently in NYC and loving everything about the beginning of this experience. I am here in the city for 3 weeks for my training to become a Mission Intern with the United Methodist Church. Last night I was overjoyed after I had almost a 2 hour conversation with Belinda, the Methodist missionary I will be working with in Nicaragua when I start my job at the end of August. We spoke all about the organization I will be working with, which is called Accion Medica Cristiana (AMC) and means Christian Medical Action in English. The organization is an NGO started in the 1980s in Nicaragua by Nicaraguans and focuses on serving communities by providing public health services, leadership development, health education/prevention, and overall working with very remote communities on the Caribbean coast and in communities in Managua to promote community development. I am excited about all of the opportunities I will have there to expand my worldview, improve my Spanish, and learn and grow as an individual.

I arrived in NYC on Sunday and will be spending my time here with all of the other Mission Intern candidates (who will be placed in communities all over the world in places such as South Africa, Hong Kong, Palestine, the Phillipines, Brazil, Germany, and Grenada) and all of the US-2 candidates (who will be working for 2 years of service in cities around the U.S. (including in Hawaii and Puerto Rico), and our two trainers/program coordinators, Lauren and Alycia. I am so fortunate to be in an environment with such inspiring and incredible people. I am much more at home than I thought I would be and have so much to learn and experience here. Monday and today were days of sharing our life stories with one another. We each used artistic visuals and had 20 minutes to talk about ourselves and our life. I could not do it in 20 minutes and neither could most. But hearing everyone's stories was so inspiring, uplifting, and eye-opening as we all began to bond and hold up each other's background as an essential piece of who they have become today. I can't wait to continue to learn from all of these amazing individuals. We also spent the later part of today exploring different street blocks close to the dorm we are staying in at Columbia University. We were able to get out in the community and speak to locals and see how people spent their lives in the West end of Manhattan. Fun stuff. The really nitty-gritty of training starts tomorrow as we will be spending all day at the General Board of Global Ministries' (GBGM) headquarters in NYC. By the end of tomorrow I will know more than I ever wanted to about the United Methodist Church. Alright. Hasta mas pronto, con mucho carino.