Blogophobia

This year I will be venturing into the formerly unexplored world of blogging to bring you, the reader, insight into my year of service as a Young Adult Volunteer in Nashville, TN.

The Program: For the next 11 months I will be serving as a Young Adult Volunteer with the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Nashville, TN. The Young Adult Volunteer program, under the Missions branch of the PC(USA), is designed to give young people the opportunity serve God and their communities, live in intentional Christian community with one another, and focus on spiritual formation and vocational discernment. For more information visit the program website at http://www.pcusa.org/yav .

The Location: I have relocated to the fantastic city of Nashville, TN. There are 7 other incredible young women in the program with me and I am living with two others in a small house affectionately nicknamed the "toolshed" for its smallish size and dark green exterior paint job. I am also forming a new church home at Hillsboro Presbyterian Church where I will be worshiping and getting involved throughout the year.

The Job: My service placement for the year is at Siloam Family Health Center which is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing high quality, whole-person, health care to the uninsured of Middle Tennessee. I will be working in many areas at Siloam including patient support, refugee assistance, patient education and community outreach. I am very excited about the opportunity this work will give me to gain insight and experience with refugee programs, poverty and ill health.

The Reason: Throughout my education (earning a Bachelor's degree at Clemson University in Economics and Health Sciences), volunteer experiences, and faith development I have become increasing passionate about social justice issues. I am confident God is calling me to work with impoverished populations, possibly addressing the barriers they face to recieving health care, but am unsure how to pursue this call. This year I am hoping to explore and grow in my faith and learn more about how God wishes to use me while serving God's people.

I am so grateful for all of your support and invite you to keep in touch during this year of service which will surely bring me a lifetime of change. I hope that you will enjoy reading about my experiences, and what I am doing can resonate in your life in some way.