Anticipating the Incarnate God

Greetings and welcome to my first blog post! I am one of 12 young adults with the Episcopal Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) who will be traveling internationally to engage in global mission work. As you may be able to tell from my blog, I am going to South Africa, Cape Town to be precise. I venture forth to begin the mission work I have been invited to participate in at the end of August. In the meantime I am engaged in fund raising, pursuing a visa, getting my vaccinations, and enjoying time spent with my family and friends.

I am extremely pumped about my upcoming departure! One particular source of motivation and excitement was the orientation I participated in last month to prepare me for my time abroad. This two-week orientation was organized by the Canadian Churches Forum for Global Ministries and was held in Toronto. My fellow YASCers and I gathered and explored our motivations for participating in mission work, how our social locations and backgrounds may affect our ministries, and discussed the ways God reveals God’s self to creation through various cultures and peoples. This was an extremely thought provoking time. To balance out the intensiveness of self-examination, we toured Toronto and took in the vivaciousness of the city. Through deep thought and through play we forged bonds of friendship.


This is a picture of my fellow YASCers and other missionaries from the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church, and the United Church. Please hold them in your prayers even as you continue to hold me.

I try to imagine what awaits them in their mission fields. I try to imagine what awaits me in South Africa. I anticipate that the incarnate God waits to reveal God’s beautiful self through ways I cannot fathom. How will God reveal God’s self in the people who I meet? How will God reveal God’s self in nature? In culture, language, art, music? How will God reveal God’s self in me to those I encounter? The opportunity to learn new dimensions of the Divine awaits and I am eager for further knowledge.

I am already encountering new depths of God’s love through those who have supported me thus far on my journey. It touches the core of my being to know that I am loved and supported by so many individuals, communities, organizations, and institutions. Your love is the love of Christ and I am humbled by your kindness and devotion. May God’s grace bless and keep you all as we continue to learn of God’s love together on this journey.