When I was applying to the Peace Corps in 2009 and 2010, someone asked me something like, "What are you going to do if you don't get into the Peace Corps?" I responded something like, "I don't know." As it turned out, I got into the Peace Corps, and served as a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) in Morocco from 2010 to 2012, so I never ended up considering the question of what else I'd do.
This time around as I again apply to the Peace Corps, I am thinking about what I'll do if I don't become a PCV again. In considering various courses of action, I've been drawn to seek various elements in my life. I've been driven to serve impoverished persons while living simply, and I particularly enjoyed a simple life of service abroad as a PCV. I've craved spiritual community, including while worshipping and celebrating God's many blessings at Mass and otherwise in church. I've also greatly enjoyed solitude, along with the frequently attendant silence and stillness, which, I feel, helps me to try to listen to what God is saying to me. I've sought to live a life in which I practice these and other spiritual disciplines.
Seeking to follow these spiritual practices, I've also applied to Franciscan Mission Service. Through their program, volunteers live abroad for at least two years while serving poor people.
It seems likely I might also apply for service programs in which I would serve poor persons here in the states. I've found some such volunteer programs which interest me through the website www.catholicvolunteernetwork.org.
It's also possible I might again be a Catholic Worker. For a few months in the latter half of last year, I lived and worked at a Catholic Worker House here in California. There we housed, fed and otherwise cared for women and children who probably otherwise would have been homeless.
I don't know what I'll do next. I can say, though, that I am excited about what lies ahead. I am looking forward to returning to active ministry, spending more time serving impoverished people. I am eager to do so, in whatever framework it takes place.
This time around as I again apply to the Peace Corps, I am thinking about what I'll do if I don't become a PCV again. In considering various courses of action, I've been drawn to seek various elements in my life. I've been driven to serve impoverished persons while living simply, and I particularly enjoyed a simple life of service abroad as a PCV. I've craved spiritual community, including while worshipping and celebrating God's many blessings at Mass and otherwise in church. I've also greatly enjoyed solitude, along with the frequently attendant silence and stillness, which, I feel, helps me to try to listen to what God is saying to me. I've sought to live a life in which I practice these and other spiritual disciplines.
Seeking to follow these spiritual practices, I've also applied to Franciscan Mission Service. Through their program, volunteers live abroad for at least two years while serving poor people.
It seems likely I might also apply for service programs in which I would serve poor persons here in the states. I've found some such volunteer programs which interest me through the website www.catholicvolunteernetwork.org.
It's also possible I might again be a Catholic Worker. For a few months in the latter half of last year, I lived and worked at a Catholic Worker House here in California. There we housed, fed and otherwise cared for women and children who probably otherwise would have been homeless.
I don't know what I'll do next. I can say, though, that I am excited about what lies ahead. I am looking forward to returning to active ministry, spending more time serving impoverished people. I am eager to do so, in whatever framework it takes place.
