Hello! If we have not met before, my name is Marie and I was born and raised in Broomfield, Colorado. Some fun facts about me: I went to college at California Lutheran University, one of my favorite places ever is Sky Ranch Lutheran Camp in Colorado, I have been to 18 countries (my favorite of which so far is Denmark), my favorite food is cheese, I have sprained my ankles more times than I would like to admit, and oh yeah…I am moving to Rwanda for an entire year!!
It has been my greatest joy the past few months to surprise people with the news that I am moving to Rwanda for a year. The reactions usually range from pure excitement, to trepidation, to straight up just not believing me.
“But Marie, WHY are you doing this?”
Glad you asked!
I am completing a year of service through a program called “Young Adults in Global Mission”, or YAGM as we often abbreviate it. YAGM is a program that is run through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the ELCA).
“So…are you just going to evangelize and convert a bunch of people to be Lutheran??”
NOPE
The mission of Young Adults in Global Mission is not to evangelize or convert, but rather be witness to the lives of our sisters and brothers around the world and hopefully be of some service to the communities that graciously host us. A word that YAGM uses a lot to describe our mission is “accompaniment”. We will dive more into what exactly accompaniment is later; but the gist of it is walking alongside people in life, equally helping each other learn and grow in all aspects of life. For more information about Young Adults in Global Mission, you can find their website here: https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Global-Mission/Young-Adults-in-Global-Mission
“So…what are the next steps?”
Well, I am currently gearing up to leave for my year of service on August 13th. On the 13th I will depart from Denver and head to Chicago, where all 70 of the YAGM volunteers for this year will gather for orientation. Then, we will depart for our various countries on August 21st directly from Chicago. There will be 6 volunteers, including myself, that will be in Rwanda for this coming year. We will not be living together, but since Rwanda is a small country (it is about the same size as Maryland!), we will be able to see each other on a semi-ish regular basis.
From now until the 13th I am spending as much time with family and friends as I can, while I frantically prepare all of my things and figure out how to pack for a whole year (yes, I procrastinated until the week before I leave to start packing and yes, I regret that decision). Please keep me and my fellow volunteers in your thoughts/prayers/whatever you do (send positive vibes into the universe? I don’t know your life.), as we prepare for this next year of radical adventure, change, and transformation. Sign up for updates when I post new blog entries so you can keep up with my adventures! Also please feel free to friend me on Facebook (you can find me at Marie Hynek), or follow me on Instagram (@marie_elizabeth11).
Peace,
Marie
Roaming Rwanda 
Marie, I have never met you but I was a roommate of your mother in college. Our son left for Guinea in July with the Peace Corps. It is fun to think that our kids have a passion to experience the world, hopefully spread some good vibes, and to risk not being “comfortable” in the process. I wish you all the best – take every opportunity to live and enjoy your time there. It will be an adventure. Rachel Nelson
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Aww Marie I will miss you so much. I’m super sad I didn’t get to see my all time favorite councilor this year! 😦
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