The temperature in Tucson was over 100 degrees this week, reminding me that I still haven't lived through the whole year in Tucson. I've experienced most of the other weather Tucson has to offer but consistently hitting 100-105+ is new. Even as we are packing and saying good-bye, Tucson has more to show us.
When we all arrived in August, we quickly compared when each of us had applied for the program. I was the first to reach out in late July of 2021. It was the end of a week of band camp at Friedenswald and I was sitting in my hammock outside of Sycamore lodge where I could access the good WiFi from the maintenance shed across the upper flat. I knew about Tucson MVS probably because I heard about it at convention and through Mennonite circles. But, more specifically, I knew about Tucson MVS because there was a poster on the third floor of the Wyse building on Goshen College's campus that I passed every Tuesday and Thursday for several semesters. Passive campaigning worked and I started the application process very early.
However, while I was the first one to apply for MVS, I was the last person in the house to have solid plans for what they would be doing next year. Finally, this week on Wednesday afternoon, after two early morning interviews, I was offered a job with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center as a legal assistant for the long-term foster care and unaccompanied refugee minor team. I accepted on Thursday and now know what I'll be doing starting on August 21st. Having this information has been a huge relief for Gretta and me and now we can really start getting excited about our new lives in Ann Arbor, MI.
This week our house has been full of packing and (sometimes) holding back tears. We have said good-bye to some of our friends. While we haven't known these people long, they feel like old friends because of the intentional time we spent together. We have one more week together here in the house and are trying to savor every moment by making our favorite meals, planning some final house activities, and reflecting together as we prepare our seminar for the Mennonite Convention in Kansas City. Once again, as things are changing around us, we're trying our best to be present in this space.
A photo from a hike we did on Monday when we all had the day off from work for Juneteenth.
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