Blog 1 - Trees

Trees are cool.

Welp - that’s all I’ve got for the review today, thanks for reading. 10/10 for trees.

Not really, but if you were confused about why I said ‘review’ and included a 10/10 for trees, I went over the format of this blog on my first post – I encourage you to check it out!

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I started writing this blog at a coffee/po’ boy sandwich shop on the high street in Canterbury (quite the sentence that I never thought I'd write) – but the words just didn’t want to come. Maybe it was the artificial plant on my table while I’m trying to write about how awesome trees are.

*Cut to: Me sitting underneath the apple tree in the backyard garden of my new home*

I frequently find myself in this space: protected from the rare yet welcomed U.K. sun by branches of new trees; showered by proof of the wind’s existence in the form of seeds that resemble little butterflies (at least I think they’re seeds??); listening to the never-ending orchestra whose musicians include Collared Doves, seagulls, city traffic, and my new co-workers and housemates enjoying each other’s company.

It definitely took me way too long to write that last paragraph, but if I’ve learned anything over the past three weeks, it’s the power of waiting, observing, and listening – so I enjoyed taking my time writing an unnecessarily descriptive attempt at poetic prose.

Anyways, I’m getting ahead of myself talking about this awesome tree in Canterbury when there’s a whole week of my journey I just can’t leave out! In the six days prior to my departure from the States, I joined my fellow YAGMs, ELCA staff, guest speakers, and YAGM alum for Orientation in Woodstock, IL. I read back through my nightly journals from that week and golly, it was quite the week! And don’t worry, there are trees involved.

I started the week in an emotional tug-of-war between ‘Disbelief’ and ‘Excitement’. I had just spent 4 months knowing this journey was the next step, which led to living in this constant ‘transition phase’. A phase that continued during Orientation because I still hadn’t received my visa approval. It was hard to believe I was leaving for England soon when the possibility of spending an unforeseen amount of weeks waiting for that approval was still an option (although the extra time with Mom and Dad would have been nice, I was thankful to have avoided that transition phase of visa limbo after receiving a text from Dad that my visa was approved just 4 days before departure!). Still, ‘Disbelief’ was winning the tug-of-war for sure. Fighting hard on the other side, however, was quite a bit of 'Excitement'! I met strangers who will inevitably become life-long friends in a very ‘Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring’-type gathering. A group of future friends following a call, coming together for a shared mission. Rather than planning on destroying a ring, however, we were setting out to be the hands and feet (and ears) for God’s work with ‘Accompaniment’ as our goal.

Together, we spent the majority of Orientation listening, discussing, and learning how to best live and serve abroad as 21st century missionaries. This included training on Interfaith Relationships, Race/Power/Privilege, Accompaniment, Gender/Sexuality, Engaging Global Issues as People of Faith, an Indigenous Peoples Orientation, and Eco-Justice. Satiated with knowledge, I left these sessions feeling empowered to continue my education on these issues over this next year and proud that the ELCA is taking great steps in supporting inclusivity and justice around the world and in our country. (If you’d like to hear more about these sessions, feel free to email or WhatsApp me and we can chat individually – contact information is in the Contact page).

Sprinkled throughout the week were small group debriefs, lovely times of worship, fun games and fellowship, and many scheduled breaks. And thank goodness for those breaks! Their duration ranged from just a few minutes to over an hour, but I usually found myself outside. Just behind the facility we were staying in was a forest, complete with walking paths and a pond. Over the past few years, I’ve used outdoor recreation as a tool to clear my head and refresh, so during Orientation when I become overwhelmed or tired or just needed some alone time, the trees were my go-to. And golly, would I come back feeling refreshed! Maybe it was because I was trying to be more intentional about clearing my mind, but that forest really reassured me that over this next year that I needed to find some trees.

And Orientation was just great. ‘Excitement’ ended up pulling off the tug-of-war comeback and I left prepared as I’d ever be surrounded by new friends. One of my biggest takeaways comes from a poem read in a session titled, “Passover Remembered.” To me, it encapsulates the Fellowship’s goal of accompaniment – it reads:

Only surrender to the need of the time / love justice and walk humbly with your God.

And well, over the next 24ish hours of travel, I did a lot of walking, some brief running through the Lisbon airport, a little bit of wandering around train stations, and many hours of sitting on planes and trains. And whaddya know – I ended up at my new home, successfully navigating my first experience of international travel (with quite a bit of help).

*Side note* As I’ve been writing this, 6 or so apples have fallen from the tree and it spooks me every time!

I had finally arrived: my new home and new place of work combined into one, 3-story house with a garden in southwestern Canterbury.

As a live-in assistant, I am living alongside other assistants and the individuals living with learning disabilities that we support. This setup provides such a unique opportunity for community and building relationships that I experienced right away.

When I arrived, dinner was being served. I immediately felt the sense of community that the organization I'm volunteering for is built on. As a family, individuals with and without learning disabilities shared the meal filled with conversations, smiles, and maybe a little bit of awkwardness with a new member joining the nightly routine. The awkwardness didn’t last for long. I felt extremely welcomed by the assistants working that evening and even though my tired eyes were telling me to sleep, I accepted an English Tea (milk, no sugar) and chatted for I don’t even know how long. “Only surrender to the need of the time.” At that time, I was needed in that conversation and I was very glad I stayed. That conversation set the precedent of intentionally being present and listening to the need of the time for the rest of my journey here.

The next morning I met with my supervisors and was instructed to take my first two days as rest days from the travels and then take the next five days to start an online training. I spent those first days conflicted about where I belonged or where I was supposed to be. There was no need to be in the house and I was excited to explore the town of Canterbury, so I walked and observed for miles through thin allies and alongside canals. However, there was a desire to be present at the house, as that was my main reason to be here in the first place. I found myself stuck on a puzzle – one in which the only solution was patience.

I formed a little routine during those routine-less days. After making breakfast at the house, I’d venture into town to occupy whichever café appealed to me most that day. I spent my time reading either my novel that I borrowed from the local library or the rules and regulations of my new organization - learning from both. (Also, my novel just so happens to be about trees - no wonder they are on my mind!). Thank you to the cafés where I’m slowly becoming a local at, even though most times I chat with the workers, it’s small talk rather than ordering something. I have had a couple good breakfast teas though!

I made sure to start my 15-minute walk back to home with enough time to guaranteed I’d return before lunch began. Although I didn’t need to be there since I wasn’t working, I looked forward to sitting and being with my housemates and the assistants. Lunch in community will be a cherished habit for the next 10 months.

My first afternoons were out-and-about, but after my need to always explore the town center disappeared and I started to settle in, I looked to the backyard garden as my new go-to spot to occupy. And golly, I’m sure glad I did!

In my first outing, I expected to complete a few hours worth of online training. I guess I didn’t remember much from my first blog that was literally titled “Expectations” because as you can imagine, I didn’t get much work done – silly me. My workstation under the apple tree soon became its own version of a café – a place for both fruitful conversation and refreshments (the refreshments of course coming from the apple tree). Minutes turned effortlessly into hours as a handful a coworkers joined the conversation, some staying longer than others. The world shrunk in that backyard café as stories from around the globe were shared, connecting strangers through an appreciation of both shared experiences and differing beliefs/backgrounds. And we picked a few apples.

This seemingly unique occurrence reoccurred the next day. And the next four days after that. Some conversations were shorter, some longer. Some included the same people as the first day while another had new faces. One day, the only café patrons were myself and the trees – I learned that if you wait and listen long enough, they have a lot to share. I was joined by a couple of housemates one day and we enjoyed a game of ‘tossing fallen apples into the compost bins.’ Another day, a friendship grew through silence while in each other’s presence.

I feel grateful to be here and I am only just beginning to actually work, so I have so much to look forward to! I set out on this journey to experience community, form relationships, and grow in my faith life. So far, those goals seem pretty darn achievable exactly where I'm at. Underneath this apple tree, in something that I called “Arbor Accompaniment,” feels like the perfect place to start. (I know, I know, its silly but I liked the alliteration).

Again, and forever, I give Trees a 10/10.

Until next time,

Ryan

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Bonus Review: The apples from the apple tree receive 8/10. Pretty good taste, nothing special there, but the accessibility and enjoyment of picking one as I walk into town raises the score.