It's About Time...

So, since it's my first blog post, I think I'll start it with a quote.  Yes, I believe that's the hip, artsy thing to do.  Here goes;

"I had no idea being shy could translate into a blog, and yet I can't get up the courage to write a blog post. It's not like I don't have anything to say. If y'all haven't noticed, my life's been crazy lately. But once I sit down to write, it's like I've got stage fright. Which is weird, because my only audience is God and my keyboard. And they'll like me no matter what I say.

I'll try again tomorrow. I'm exhausted."

-Sarah Mudge, September 24, 2013

Inspiring, isn't it?  Yeah, that's what happened last time I tried to write my very first blog post; it boiled down to an angsty facebook status. But I'm giving it another go.  *Yay!!*

So let's start with the basics.  My name is Sarah Mudge.  I am twenty-two years old (as of this month), I enjoy long walks on the beach in the woods, spending time with my family, and God is my best friend.  In fact, that last bit is why I'm on this adventure of mine.  For those of you that don't know, I'm serving as a Young Adult Missionary in Seattle, Washington.  *Disclaimer: The rain's not as bad as they say, and I miss the upstate NY snow already.

First, the living arrangements:  I live in a three-bedroom parsonage with two other young-adult missionaries.  We all work at the same organization.  Rachel works on the Family Resources Team with me, and Tara is the Volunteer Coordinator.  Our house is nice, though the creepy door in the attic, the even creepier basement and the (extremely friendly) black cat who lives outside has led to us referencing Coraline on a pretty regular basis.  If you haven't seen that movie, you should.  It's stop-motion and Neil Gaiman and I like it.

I work at Mary's Place, which is a day center for homeless women and children.  We also have three family shelters we run in partnership with other faith groups in the area.  It's been pretty incredible so far.  I spend most of my time with the kids, and some of my time in the office.  I also go to our two-parent shelter once a week to run volunteer orientation and house meeting (and as of two weeks ago I do those things all by myself... ta-da!).

If you had told me a year ago that this is what I'd be doing, I probably would have laughed at you.  I definitely wouldn't have believed you.  But here I am, living three time zones away from home, a country girl in a (albeit, pretty tame) city, riding the bus without getting lost and learning new things every day.  It's hard to believe that today was my two-month anniversary.  Three months ago I packed up and headed to NYC for training, where I met and befriended some pretty incredible people.  The experiences I had just in those three weeks were incredible and life-changing.  Two months ago I found myself saying goodbye to my parents at the airport and flying off to Seattle.  There were more than a few tears, and a little boy on my plane asked me why I was sad before his mom scolded him for talking to the strange leaky girl in the back row. 

So much has changed in these last few months.  I'm not exactly overly-confident, but I find myself acting much more like my old, easy-going self.  I find the stress slowly dissolving into something like self-assurance, and the anxiety I felt over the little things when I first arrived has faded.  Mind you, there's still a ton I don't know, but I'm starting to find my way in this chaotic place.  I have heard of friends of mine in this program not having anything to do.  I seem to have the opposite problem; I was thrown right into the mix as soon as I got here, and have been working right along every since.

I find myself being very proud of the little things, like being able to navigate the bus system, knowing where a handful of the many neighborhoods of Seattle are, not getting lost while occasionally driving in the city... I'm even proud of the fact that I can do basic grown-up things like get out of bed on time in the morning, and keep a personal budget.

Mostly, this whole experience is showing me that I can do this.  What is "this?"  Life, I guess.  I feel like I'm moving from being an awkward, self-conscious, scared girl and becoming a strong, capable young woman.  And God has been holding my hand through the whole thing, sending me new friends and unexpected gifts just when I needed them.  I'm excited to see where this journey takes me, and hopefully now that I've broken the ice with my very first blog post, I'll continue to bring y'all along with me.