Orientation

My preconceived notions of SALT (Serving and Learning Together) orientation were completely blown after arriving in Akron, PA last Thursday. Following registration and supper we all gathered for giant Dutch Blitz and other mixer activities. I had assumed that the orientation would be serious and extremely formal. However, the excitement of the SALTers, IVEPers (International Volunteer Exchange Program) participants was contagious.

Every morning we gathered for worship, different groups took turns sharing music from their home country. On Tuesday the IVEPers from Africa led us along with some of the SALTers going to Africa. One song they sang translated:

There’s no one, there’s no one like Jesus

There’s no one, there’s no one like him X2

I walked all over, nothing, nothing

I searched all over, nothing, nothing

I turned all over, nothing, nothing

There’s no one, there’s no one like him.

The song reinforced to me much of what our lectures had been discussing with us in the seminars; this next year we will be at the mercy of our host families, new culture,  and new language. We will certainly have feelings of loneliness and frustration sometimes and no matter how far we walk, where we turn to and how hard we search we will be confronted with our human fallibility. However, Jesus will always be journeying with us guiding our lives no matter how abnormal it may feel. Attached is a short clip of this song from our morning worship and the daily prayer group I was a part of.