Orientation

On August 12, I flew to Houston with basically all my earthly belongs (which isn’t much), excited to begin my year as a JV. On the flight I have to admit I was a little anxious about meeting all the other volunteers and my housemates. What if they were all weirdos and I was stuck with them for a year? All those fears were quickly dispelled once I met up with all the volunteers in the airport. Everyone was so warm and welcoming I instantly felt at ease. There are a total of 49 volunteers in the South, and we all crammed into an un-air-conditioned school bus with all our bags in weather that could rival the temperature of the sun. An hour and a half later, as we pulled up to the Circle Lake retreat Center, we all felt as though we had experienced more than enough of Houston’s hot, humid climate.

The Orientation Retreat was four days of lectures and reflections on each of JVC’s four pillars- simple living, community, social justice, and spirituality. The retreat wasn’t all reflection and seriousness. We also had a pool party, bonfire, and talent show (which seriously lacked talent). On the last day of the retreat we had a commissioning mass and group photos shoot. The whole week was a great way to ease into the JV lifestyle and bond with our community members.

Paz,
Stephanie