Orientation begins

I'm writing this entry from Akron, Pennsylvania, a small town just outside Lancaster County. The volunteer who drove me from the airport explained that the three vase-shaped columns the plane had taken us past were the reactors of Three-Mile Island.

Since I arrived here Monday afternoon, I've learned about Three-Mile Island and the area's struggle to recover economically. I've learned over fifty names of new MCC staff members and volunteers. I've learned about the Mennonite theology of peacemaking and (this evening) enjoyed a meal with an Amish family.

There's so much I could tell you, but I'll leave you with just one quote from yesterday's morning session that does a pretty good job of capturing what's behind MCC's philosophy of service:

"If you have come to help us, you're wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with ours, then let us work together."

--Lila Watson, Australian aboriginal woman