ReO/DisO

Last week was Re-Orientation/Dis-Orientation, the big retreat run by JVC staff that is supposed to help JVs in the field reflect on their past year of service and prepare for the coming transitions (either transitioning to a new community and being a 2^nd year, or transitioning out of JVC and probably to life back in the US). ReO/DisO brings together the 3 JVC communities in South America: Santiago in Chile, Tacna in Peru, and Andahuaylillas in Peru. There are currently 10 JVs, 6 2^nd years and 4 1^st years. We held our retreat at the Jesuit retreat house in the beach town of Mejía, on the the southern coast of Peru.

For me the most exciting aspect of ReO/DisO is seeing the other JVs. We have very little contact with each other during most of the experience. Email, Facebook, Skype, and other connection technologies all exist, but life keeps you busy and it's not like these are my closest childhood friends. It's a lot of fun to just spend time together.

Seeing the other JVs also reminds me of the breadth of the mission we are serving. There are JVs in 7 countries, and there are Jesuits all over the world. Like workers in the vineyard we're each trying to tend to one small portion, but because we are many the whole vineyard receives the care it needs.

As is always the case with retreats, I won't discuss the content on this blog. But here are some photos from the week.

Breaking Silence on the beach

2nd years

1st years