Translation: Life-Journey: Thoughts and Prayers

(Verena, you can correct me if my Deutsch is bad on the title or anywhere else! :o)

Train to West Virginia, September 24, 2009

Well, friends, the time has come for me to travel and see what I can discover out in this old world. Some of you might be wondering why I am not in school this year, and it’s really a long and drawn-out story that better told in a personal setting. Regardless, I am not attending school this year in order to learn how to live with my words. I have talked too long about my desire—and yes, the Christian command—to live for the purpose of serving others. It’s time to DO something.

The Doing comes in several parts, some planned, some totally unknown. The first leg of my journey (arm? finger? other body part?) leads me to the area of Hillsboro, West Virginia, to experience a month of volunteer work at the Gesundheit! Institute. This dream-child of Patch Adams’ has grown from a mere vision in the late 60’s, to a free clinic, to (currently) a campus of buildings in the mountains—a place where classes of medical students and life-lovers can come to learn. Exactly what they learn can include anything from new perspectives on music and social activism, to the humanism of medicine that focuses on joy and love instead of emotional distance. I went to the weeklong music workshop (composition ± activism?) in July, and the medical “humanism” class comes while I am a volunteer there this October.

The other parts of my Lebenreise (life-journey) include a month in November wandering around Madison and Chicago, with no other aim other than to talk with people and hear their stories. (You can tell this is the one I know nothing about, right?) And finally, from January to May, I go to Georgia to live and work with the Jubilee community. You’ll hear more about these things, as they get closer.

Right now, I sit on the Train, somewhere in Indiana (Ma, should I comment on the vast stretches of nothingness out here? I’ll let Dad tease you about Indiana; he’s better at it than me :o), settling in for the night ride to Gesundheit! Hope you all are well, having your own adventures wherever you are.

Love,

-Caleb-

PS - and now i'm here in WV, able to write and send this to you all. I'll write more later about my first half-day here. Ciao and goodnight!