hello, dear friends.
about seven months ago i found myself feeling quite burnt out. my freshman year of college had awakened me to the reality of what my college experience as a pre-med was going to be like and i could already tell it was going to be a very difficult four years. if i was going to perservere i needed to keep the passion that led me to medical missions in the first place alive: a passion to serve others and save lives in the name of Jesus Christ.
and thus was born the decision to seek an opportunity to go abroad. i began looking for organizations that took college students abroad and was overwhelmed by what i found. wanting to do something medical narrowed the options a little bit and sometimes too much, considering all i'm currently qualified to do is hand out band aids. eventually, the manna project popped up on my radar.
manna project international (mpi) is a non-profit founded by a group of vanderbilt students that "utilizes the passions and energy of young people to empower developing international communities through hands-on learning and service". they work with and alongside communities in order to empower them while learning from them simultaneously. their mission is "to foster communities of young adults and encourage them to use their passions and education in service to communities in need". to meet their goals they take a holistic approach, offering a wide variety of programs as a realization that the many facets of a community are inextricably linked. their focus is on community and to that end volunteers live together near the areas in which they serve. their work happens in three international locations: nicaragua, ecuador, and guatemala, their newest site.
excited by what i learned about them, i chose to apply to mpi's short-term summer program in nicaragua and ecuador. i chose these sites solely because i knew more about them, having been established for longer, and because it appeared they had more opportunities for medical service. i filled out the application during the super bowl and then waited to see what would happen. after hearing me talk about the program, my roommate, katy, also chose to apply.
almost two weeks ago, while my mom and sister were both visiting me, i received an email notifying me that i had been offered a position at the mpi guatemala site. they said they realized it hadn't been my first choice but they thought i'd be a great fit for the program there. about five minutes after reading the email, katy stuck her head in the room.
"did you get an email today?"
"did you get an email today?"
"it depends. did you get an email today?"
(wanting to end the madness) "yes."
"where are you going?"
"guatemala."
"what?! you didn't even apply there!"
"i know, but who cares?! where are you going?"
"guatemala!"
we then come to find out that not only are we going to the same country, we got into the same session. i can offer no other explanation except that God must have big plans for my friend and i as we serve together in guatemala this summer. yesterday i mailed out my deposit. i'm officially going.
i don't claim to make good decisions all the time. for example, having slept in and used my meal plan to get breakfast, i'm currently enjoying a lunch of microwave popcorn. but i can tell already that my decision to go to guatemala is an important one and that God will use my time there for my edification and His glory.
and thus begins the least fun portion of this experience: fund raising. by my calculations, it will take about $2,000 to get from michigan to guatemala and back. being a college student and a lowly sandwich maker at panera, i am in need of financial assistance to make this happen. if after reading this blog you feel led to give to support me in my guatemalan adventures, i am eternally grateful. here's how you would go about doing that.
1. write a check to "manna project international" and put "katherine turner" in the memo line. i suppose cash would be accepted too. haven't actually read anything about that but i can't imagine they would turn it down. in that case, i think enclosing a slip of paper with my name on it would be the way to go.
2. put the aforementioned check or cash in an envelope. address it to:
Manna Project International
c/o Andrew Preston
P.O. Box 121052
Nashville, TN 37212
3. close the envelope. put a stamp on the upper right hand corner.
4. drop your envelope in the mail and enjoy all the benefits of your tax-deductible donation!
if you completely understandably don't feel led to give or are unable to, i still love and appreciate you all the same and hope that you will continue to support me by reading this blog and giving me an opportunity to share my passion for this project with someone else. also, i hope that you will join me in prayer for both katy and i as we prepare to make this trip and for the community in chaquijyá that we will be serving.
please continue to check back here for updates on my fundraising efforts, more information about mpi, and for interesting little tidbits about my preparation and guatemala itself. if you have any questions about mpi or what i´ll be doing while i´m there, feel free to comment and i´ll try to answer all question i receive in my next post. or if you have a more personal question, feel free to email me at katherine.a.turner@vanderbilt.edu
thanks for reading the first installment. more to come in time.
-kati
