Off to the Motherland I flee

After months and weeks of preparation, the time has finally come, I will be leaving on the Zambia Global Partnership on wednesday night!

I am excited to see how God will use me in this experience. I feel that though I am in a similar place, I have grown and transformed immensely since my last Global Partnership trip to Malawi.

The set up of this GP is drastically different, with a much larger group (20 in all) and a focus on manuscript study and discipleship. Also there will be more integrated travels with the partnering students rather than team outings.

In addition, I feel I have a better understanding of how I will be viewed in that society. As well, I have more of a blessing to go forth from my parents as they feel more comfortable travelling to somewhere they've lived and established contacts rather than somewhere they only vaguely know by association.

I am getting more excited as the reality of my departure sets in.

Internship

My Inter-Varsity internship officially began on May 1, 2008 at City/Script 2008, a week-long conference where students and staff study either the Book of Mark or the beginning of Genesis in a manuscript-style study (see left).

In addition to being my first official act as an intern, it was also my first time attending the conference (I avoided it in the past few years by travelling during the month of May). It was an intense week that was full of ups and downs, but was very growthful. I have never studied that much scripture in manuscript form, other than NSLC (which resulted in me deciding to intern with InterVarsity).

After city/script, I decided to partner with one of my students to lead a book study of Rick Richardson's Reimagining Evangelism throughout the summer until I depart on the Zambia GP. I have seen some amazing things come out of our weekly discussions and am excited to hear what happens while I am away.

The remainder of my time as an intern has been spent fundraising, meeting with my supervisor Jess, going to GTA staff meetings and retreats and sorting out my housing situation where I will be living with two IVCF staffworkers.

As things as slowly transitioning and developing, I am excited to see what happens next, and I'll be sure to keep you posted.

The End of An Era + New Beginnings

As much as I try to prolong believing it, I suppose now it is true:

I am a University graduate.

Today, I got my photographs from convocation printed, and the reality sunk in.

My convocation came and went on June 9th, it was followed by an Ontario VCF staff luncheon and an evening spent at an Inter-Varsity staff conference.

In the two months since I have completed university, I have jumped into my next life adventure, namely working for Inter-Varsity for a year as an intern and preparing for my upcoming Zambia GP (more info on both of these to come).

As I spend time away from school and my pace of life begins to slow down, I start to appreciate my time at Ryerson. Though the years had many ups and downs, there were some moments of sweetness amidst the bitterness. For instance, after four long years finally having a piece of work in the Year End Show was a huge accomplishment; especially considering the long and often painful process to complete my final project to meet the show's standards whilst staying true to my vision.

I am sure as more time passes, I will look back at my Ryerson days with more fondness, but for now I am relishing in my freedom as I embark on the next phase of my life.

Updates are coming...

Hey all,

Sorry I have been so slow on updates, I promise I will be more proactive about blogging in the future.

Peace and love,
the Arch