Today was Big Announcement Day.

My Peace Corps invitation packet arrived on Tuesday, so the week was a rush of reading assignments. After exchanging a couple acceptance verification and confirmation emails, everything is finally official.

At long last, we announced it after church today. I told my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and a few other relatives, then I emailed what felt like the rest of the planet. Nearly. I’m pretty sure I didn’t email anyone who is actually in the Philippines.

So here is where I am in the process. At church, in the last five minutes before the announcement, I went through about fifty different emotions. It was intense. The most concise way to put this is that I am completely excited, a little sad, and a little terrified at the same time. A friend texted me a few minutes ago with a response of “:) also :(” That pretty much sums it up!

Fortunately, there is plenty to keep me busy for the next two months, so I won’t constantly be a ball of nerves. There is another pile of paperwork to deal with, this time of the logistical sort, shopping to be done, and reading, reading, reading.

I refuse, however, to think about the goodbyes until absolutely necessary.

Monday, April 2, 2012

It was a pretty usual day after a busy weekend. Nothing really special about this Monday. Well, until my phone rang, that is.

Suddenly, I was on a 45 minute whirlwind phone call with a Peace Corps placement guy. Two years after I first started pursuing this, it’s finally happening! Placement Guy had a Good News/Bad News scenario, though.

My request and initial nomination had been for Eastern Europe, and pretty much any country in that region would have been fabulous. I have to admit, though, that for several reasons I was hoping for Bulgaria. Everyone knew it, too, to the point that I regularly had to follow someone else’s “Bulgaria” with, “or Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia…”

But Bulgaria, it seems, was not to be. Eastern Europe, even, is not going to happen. Placement Guy explained the factors that went into placing me in a given region, and he told me that he had a spot for me in Asia in July, or I’d have to wait for January in Sub-Saharan Africa.

I took a deep breath. I’ve been to Asia. I like Asia. Asian friends have told me I’m Asian on the inside. On the other hand, Sub-Saharan Africa has been my dream longer even than Eastern Europe. If I must be disappointed, hey, this is the way to do it! It’s difficult to stay disappointed long with alternatives like that!

There was still the main reason for my regional preference, though. Eastern Europe is predominantly Orthodox Christian, which would be huge for me, being Orthodox myself. Most of the Peace Corps countries under the “Asia” heading have little or no Orthodox presence. I can be flexible, but I don’t think I can be without a church for 27 months. For a couple minutes, then, I was incredibly torn. I thought I was watching the Peace Corps slip through my fingers.

Placement Guy to the rescue! He mentioned this factor and that he knew it was important to me, and he informed me that he had already done some research, and the country he wanted to send me to in Asia has an Orthodox presence! SCORE!

Ok, I’m interested. I’d like to see where this goes. Keep talking.

Well, it’s so different from the others that we can eliminate Mongolia. That leaves China, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. I can’t tell you which, but I will tell you that it is definitely a Roman Catholic country, and there aren’t many, but there are Orthodox Christians.

I took all that in and instantly knew what he wasn’t telling me. China is officially atheist and, in practice, largely Buddhist. Thailand and Cambodia are Buddhist. Indonesia is Muslim. My two years of teaching at a school heavily populated by Filipinos made it pretty clear that the Philippines is primarily Catholic. I immediately googled “Orthodox Philippines” and came up with an OrthodoxWiki article that confirmed his research. It also reminded me that a certain saint of whom I’m rather fond actually lived in that country briefly!

As the call progressed, I grew more interested, fascinated, even excited by the possibility.

When do you need my decision? I’m leaning toward a yes, but I need to talk with my priest.

No problem! I’ll give you a week.

Of course, I texted Fr Patrick immediately, and, it being Lent, there was a service that night. We talked. He gave his blessing. And he suggested that we keep quiet until I had specifics.

I emailed Placement Guy that night with an emphatic yes.

Actually, it was three emphatic yesses.

To be continued…

“When you build in order to build, you are enlarging your tomb. When you write in order to write, you are weaving your shroud. But when you live and breathe seeking always the mercy of God, then an incorruptible garment is woven around you, and you find the sweetness of a heavenly reassurance welling up within you. Whether you build or whether you write, that is something altogether secondary.” –Archimandrite Vasileios, Hymn of Entry, p 120

This just arrived in my inbox, and it seemed worthy of sharing. Enjoy.

We are addicted to noise. We find it impossible go drive our vehicles without the radio on or a CD playing. Our televisions are running from the moment we’ve returned from work. We take our runs with ear phones filling our minds with music. We even walk with our friends while listening to our own music. We live as though we are afraid of silence, as little children who have to sleep with a night light.

Our reasons for filling our hours with noise are varied. Some find silence disturbing and a reminder that they are alone. Others use noise as a way of keeping out the sounds of the city, or the voices of their children. There are those who use noise as a way to keep from having to communicate with others. Some even use noise to avoid themselves.

Whatever the reason, noise keeps us from connecting with our inner self, wherein we have the opportunity for communion with God. Without silence we are unable to hear the voice of God speaking in the stillness of our heart.

It is not just monks who should be seeking out moments throughout the day where solitude and silence allow us to enter into communion with God, for the humble soul and a penitent heart are fed by solitude and silence. The human heart is open to the voice of God when in silence and solitude.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon