If you’ve ever hung around me or my family, you would realize we have no problem talking. The conversation at our dinner table runs at a pace fast enough to scare a stenographer away and my friends often ask me to “repeat that” or “sloooow down”. For me, it’s not the act of speaking that is hard, but the work of using just the right words so that my message isn’t hidden in a pile of useless fluff.

​For my first week at RYM, I was very nervous. I was in a completely new state, with completely new people. I did not know anyone and was anxious about the group I would soon be meeting. The first mission immersion site that I went to, with my group, was the Welcome House. This is a Christian led organization that provides home for refugees and supports them throughout their transition of moving from the country they were born in and lived their whole life, to a place where they knew no one and are alone. They feed and care for the refugees until they are able to get on their feet and support themselves. What surprised me about this place was that, although run by Christians, the refugees do not have to be Christian to reside there. They do not try to push Christianity on them but, instead just showed them love and acceptance.

This is one of the core values of one of our worksites called The Lord’s Acre*. At Asheville Youth Mission, we have the pleasure of visiting their extensive and productive garden almost every week. In their mission to fight hunger in western North Carolina, they grow fresh, organic, healthy food that they then distribute to a handful of local agencies in Fairview, Black Mountain, and Asheville, completely free of charge. Our students get to spend the time we have there helping with weeding, harvesting, washing vegetables, and other garden upkeep tasks, in addition to participating in activities and discussion to learn more about hunger.