So it begins! As I sit on the brink of another great adventure, I cannot help but to feel fortunate and thankful that I have the great blessing of being able to travel once again. It seems as if I have truly caught the "travel bug," and in a few months, I will be off to another country that I've never been to before. This time, the language is foreign, the climate is dramatically different from my home climate of Minnesota, and it will be the longest time I've ever been away from home! I'm incredibly excited, and I'll do my best to provide you with the best weekly updates that I can.
On this particular adventure, I will be serving as a member of the Saint John's Benedictine Volunteer Corps in Coban, Guatemala. The Benedictine Volunteer Corps (or, as I will refer to from here on out... the BVC) is a volunteer program exclusive to Saint John's University graduates. The program is sponsored by generous donors who contribute to the monastery at Saint John's Abbey. As such, the locations of the BVC are those of monastic sites around the world. Other sites include Hanga, Tanzania; Newark, New Jersey; The Sea of Galilee, Israel; Moroe, Ireland, and many others. If you wish to find out more about the BVC, please refer to the SJBVC website.
In fact, as I am composing this entry, I am residing in the monastery at Saint John's Abbey. I am participating in a retreat intended to give me a taste of monastic life in preparation for my stay at Resurrection Priory in Coban. While I began my stay with a few minor reservations, I must say this retreat has been a very enjoyable and enlightening experience.
Life in the monastery is rather structured yet relaxed. Prayer occurs three times a day (7:00a.m., 12:00p.m., 7:00p.m.). During the morning, we work for the Abbey in some way. Today, we planted trees in the Arboretum. In the past few days we've weeded the cemetery, cleaned residential halls, and cleaned monastic dormitory rooms. During the afternoons, however, we are left to our own devices. Lots of time is spent in reflection, recreation, and (sometimes a necessity) napping. In the evening after the 5:00p.m. Mass, we enjoy a hearty meal in silence as we listen to an appointed monk read out of some sort of relevant religious reading and/or text. Finally, at 7:45p.m., we gather for BVC "class," where we learn about the Order of Benedict and it's adaptation to the modern world.
While the above description may seem quite busy, it does not feel as such. Nothing is rushed in the monastery, and I've found the downtime to be quite relaxing. On Saturday night, Brother Paul (BVC director) even arranged for a ride into town. I was able to get to know the guys on the retreat really well through this and other experiences, for which I am thankful for.
Friday marks the my last day at the monastery and my first legitimate day of summer. After a summer of work, concerts, friends and family, I will be leaving for Coban, Guatemala around August 17. I may post a couple more updates between that time, but I just wanted to reach out to friends and family now....
Here it is! The future postings of this blog will help you to live my adventure in Guatemala vicariously through these entries. Please feel free to contact me at tmjoyce@csbsju.edu or joycebox789@yahoo.com; I would love to hear from you. Thank you in advance for following my adventure to Coban... it should be one heck of a ride!
