Harmony

These first few days of my MCC orientation have been some of the most meaningful and enriching of my life. Sharing the orientation with us, the North American SALTers are the International Voluntary Exchange Program (IVEP) participants. These charismatic young adults come from countries all across the globe, and their presence is adding so much to our week here at MCC headquarters.

It will be a long time before I forget the powerful music we created in an impromptu choir practice during our first night here. There I was, gathered around a piano, played by Renata from Paraguay, with Bridgette from South Africa belting out a strong lead to "What a Friend We have in Jesus". Desi from Indonesia, Janah from Zambia, Amy from the U.S.A, Leonard from Switzerland and myself all harmonizing in our mother tongues. This struck me as peace building in a more concrete way than anything I have studied out of a text book in my peace and conflict studies classes.