If I were to ask you to introduce yourself, what would you choose to tell me? Name, hometown, occupation? Year in school and concentration of study? A "fun fact" that may or may not be fun?
If I were asked to give an introduction, on, say, a blog post, I would say, and will say, the following:
My name is Sarah Zuniga, and my hometown is Oregon, Illinois. I graduated from Eureka College with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and Philosophy/Religion earlier this month. This fall, I'll be attending the University of Chicago's Divinity School as a Disciples Divinity House Scholar while I pursue a Master of Arts. I love dogs, drag queens, and Kierkegaard's edifying discourses.
Introductions are much more than learning a name and a hometown. As myself and the other DPF Interns have experienced this week, introductions have the unique opportunity of becoming extremely personal. They are narratives into a person's life, slivers of a lived experience that was chosen to be shared to a complete stranger. They help us build connections to one another.
In one training session this week, DPF and Global Ministries interns introduced not only their names, but the story behind our name. How did our given names come to be? In playing icebreaker games that we could utilize for camp, we learned about each other's hobbies, favorite foods, what we looked forward to at camp and what we were nervous for this summer.
The term "break the ice" first originated from Samuel Butler's 17th century poem: "To give himself a first audience, After he had a while look'd wise, At last broken silence, and the ice." For those of us who enjoy ships, I'll humor you for a minute: Ships that found themselves sailing to polar regions were equipped to be able to break the ice, hence the name, ice breaker. In addition, Wikipedia states that ice breakers will sometimes pave the way for other boats to travel safely.
When us DPF interns introduce ourselves to others, we not only have the unique opportunity to share where we are from, but to share what workshops we plan to lead this summer to youth across the United States and Canada. We serve as icebreakers, tearing down barriers that separate others in a group and serving as a guide to help others find common ground, and inviting others to travel the path with us.
Each of us have different narratives to share with our camps. As for myself, I will facilitate workshops on environmental justice, immigrant and refugee rights, indigenous rights, and food justice. However, all of us will be discussing topics that are difficult to talk about. Not everyone will agree on everything I say, and not every person in our discussions will agree with each other; indeed, it would be alarming if every single person agreed 100%. What we can offer, however, is a chance to use our leaderships as DPF Interns to find similarities in thinking and points of agreement, and bring people together instead of dividing them.
To say that we will have a challenging, yet fulfilling road ahead of us is an understatement. I'm fully aware of the blood, sweat, and tears ahead (please let the only blood be grape juice at communion). There will be days requiring 150% energy on two hours of sleep, running to airport gates, constantly adjusting watches to time zones, and only being able to check your email once a day, if you're lucky. But each of us have answered this call to go out and speak out against injustice and advocate for peace. And in this call, there will be moments that we can be thankful for, and look forward to: to meeting new people and forming new friendships, to teaching others about social justice issues that matter to us, to traveling to new places, and to only checking our emails once a day, maybe less.
I'm reminded of the further instructions that we see at the conclusions of Paul's letters, and find the Letter to the Colossians' instructions to be most fitting:
"Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone" (Col. 4:2-6).
May our summer be one filled with devoted prayer, cultivation of silence and stillness, making the most of our time in each place and finding God in each camp we visit. May we speak humbly and answer each inquiry, knowing that we may not always have answers to difficult questions, but that we can give informed answers to the best of our ability. May we speak for peace and against injustice, and encourage others to travel our path as we model the way.
Let us go and break the ice.
There is so much thanks to give, but there are a few people and groups that I want to recognize here. First, to Millersburg Christian Church in Millersburg, Missouri, for so graciously affirming me as a DPF Intern and leading this journey of peace and justice. Second, to everyone at Allisonville Christian Church - those who welcomed us here at the retreat center, provided food and linens, the youth who drew us a sweet picture with chalk, and the congregation for confirming us. I also want to thank Phoebe Spier, our DPF Intern Coordinator, and everyone who has been a part of orientation week - your gifts have inspired us and we hope our own work can be half as good as y'alls. To the other interns: Jasmine, Grace, and Ricky, for creating a space for us to be vulnerable and open with each other in our goals and fears for the summer. And to Matthew Capestro, who not only was my prime motivator in applying for DPF, but who has been someone who has forever altered my life for the better; you're like a brother to me. I love you all.