Listen, something extraordinary has been going on in my young single adult branch over the past couple of months. I've been part of several conversations marveling over how happy we are with our little group and wondering what caused the change. It has made my experience so far highly rewarding. Feeling especially wonderful and surprised, I sent this last night to about 15 people that I feel close to. You know most of it already.
Subject: I'm not just doing this because it's Thanksgiving
My dear familia Miamiana:
Hi. This email is meant to be serious. Don't laugh too much :)
In Australia, they've invented the second person plural--they often say "yous" when they're talking to more than one person. I'm writing to say, so eloquently, that I <3 yous. A lot. I'm serious!!!
Here's a good story: getting in to Teach for America (the organization that brought me here) is kind of like getting a mission call: you apply and go through this crazy interview process, which includes choosing among 30 different regions that you'd like to move to. If you get in, you either accept the region they assign you to or you reject it. I've always wanted to live in Washington, D.C., so I thought that would be my obvious first choice. I researched each of the regions: whether they had a YSA ward, whether I'd like the local culture, the cost of living, whether there was a temple nearby, and Miami was not on my list of preferred areas. But as I prayed about it and talked to one of my friends about it, I couldn't forget Miami. I decided to look up the institute director and email him to find out more about the YSA network here. As I began the email "Dear Brother C, I am considering a move to Miami...", I experienced a profound sense of "this could be right..." and sat there at my desk at work and cried (for thankfulness). I usually don't get answers to prayers that way--usually I just decide what I want to do and ask whether there will be a stamp of approval. It was remarkable.
So I did something bold: put Miami as my only highly preferred region, removing D.C., Boston, and other areas I'd considered from the list. When I got my assignment a month and a half later and saw that I was assigned to Miami, I felt closer to eternity, that God wanted me here, that I could receive personal revelation, that this was going to be huge. It was really overwhelming for me to leave Boston, the land of my ancestors, to leave my closest friends and go where I had no family or friends and can't speak the language :) to begin an incredibly difficult job. I held my breath, packed my car, and fled New England by night.
Now.
(This is the part where words escape me.) It is so surprising to me how connected I feel to all of you, how comfortable and valued and confident and loved I feel here. I can't believe it. My happiness quotient has multiplied like 5,000 times since getting to know you. Thinking about Sundays and Wednesday nights and anything else where we get together gets me through the week. So, thank you, you're beautiful, I'm adopting you as my family here. Settled.
I luuuuurrrrrrrrve you.
Savanna
No comments:
Post a Comment