With winter in full swing and the LVC year approaching its halfway point, it’s easy to get sucked down into a portal of stress and cold. I like to think that what’s kept us afloat through it all has been our ability to smile through it all. This includes smiling through car troubles, below-freezing wind chills, or even just the stress of everyday life. We always seem to lift each other back up. Not long after the holidays had ended, I had a sliding collision with a telephone pole on my way to my LVC Placement. As it all happened all I could think ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: Volunteer Blog
Tagged: , ,

In the past week, I’ve ended up cooking with my housemates, a few friends, and visiting family on most nights. With music on, lively conversation, and everyone taking part in preparing the meal, what might otherwise feel like something to get through becomes a beautiful and joyous occasion. Many times in the course of a week, I find myself uninspired to eat, or more inclined to just reheat the most convenient thing out of the refrigerator. This permits me to eat in 15 minutes and go on with my next task. When I take time to share food with friends, though, there’s a tremendous warmthRead More →

By:
On:
In: Volunteer Blog
Tagged: , , , , ,

Around this time of year, most people find it fairly easy to slip into the so called “January blues.” The holidays are over, vacation time has run out, and all of the excitement of the New Year has subsided by now. For many parts of the country – definitely here in Chicago – the days are cold and darkness comes far too quickly each night. In addition to the settling back into the regular grind, this time can often be a fairly lonely one. I know many of us in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps community likely have made voyages home over the last few monthsRead More →

By:
On:
In: Volunteer Blog
Tagged: , ,

We are in the season of setting New Year’s resolutions. It seems everyone is making a resolution to do something. To eat better/cleaner. To lose weight. To work out more, clear your skin, find a new job, start dating again. These resolutions are fine on their own, but the way our society treats them is not. New Year’s resolutions are prescribed and executed as big, abrupt changes which we expect to be easy and work essentially overnight. But that is rarely how they unfold. Maybe you’re good about your diet or workout routine at first, but once you mess up, you think you’ve lost theRead More →

By:
On:
In: Volunteer Blog
Tagged: , ,
Grey text box with words "Problematically Comfortable" in black

Ahna is a current LVCer in Washington, DC, serving at the Government Accountability Project. This is her story of and reflections on her experiences related to the Kavanaugh hearing and accompanying protests. This is post 3 of 3; her first post is here; second is here. ~~~~~ On October 6th, 2018 I was arrested on the steps of the Capitol. I was protesting the imminent confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. When people found out, they asked what being arrested is like. They asked with a gleam in their eyes, a smile forming on their lips, and a palpable anticipation for the badass protest storyRead More →

By:
On:
In: Volunteer Blog
Tagged: , , , ,