Commissioned To Community

By Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith is a former long-term CAP volunteer and current employee who recently shared these words of encouragement with incoming volunteers at the fall commissioning service.

Koinonia. The Greek word that the Merriam- Webster dictionary defines as “the Christian fellowship or body of believers, and an intimate spiritual communion and participative sharing in a common religious commitment and spiritual community.” Intimate spiritual communion. Community. Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) community is where I broke out of my shell and became my truest, best self. It required intentionality, communication, patience, love, and vulnerability, but these personal investments created memories that will last a lifetime. When I originally came to CAP as a volunteer in August of 2011, I wasn’t yet aware of the impact this decision would have on my life. My first couple weeks, I tried to balance Skyping with friends and family back home with getting to know my fellow volunteers. I wasn’t quite ready to leap out of my comfort zone and fully invest in this new community. Then everything clicked for me at volunteer orientation. I got to know some of my housemates better, as well as volunteers who lived in other houses. I realized that this place was full of amazing people and I wanted to get to know as many of them as I could. It was at this time of orientation that I decided to completely embrace the entire experience. I lived in three different Jackson House communities, give or take a few short-termers throughout. Transitioning between communities took time and patience, as well as a willingness to start fresh each time. There are several lessons I learned in my first volunteer community that helped me in my second and third — most importantly, to be open and vulnerable, which takes time. After a few months, I started to notice that we connected well in small groups but weren’t necessarily meshing well as a whole. During a much needed devotion that focused on each individual and how we were doing, we had the opportunity to share how our CAP volunteering experience was going so far. We shared both our struggles and successes with one another. It was a chance for us meet one another where we were, in all our vulnerability. Understanding that some were struggling allowed others to offer encouragement and a listening ear. This was a great lesson for me in communication. It was an opportunity to share of ourselves in a caring and respectful environment. Community requires open, honest communication. Communication is rarely without its share of conflict. Life in community sometimes comes with a side of minor annoyances, hurts, and disagreements. Some conflicts need to be graciously addressed and others are an opportunity for personal growth, which requires a certain level of discernment. Time in community goes by much too quickly to let a simple annoyance or hurt fester. Community requires communication, but it also requires love. Living in intentional community, I was constantly reminded to search for reflections of Jesus in each of my housemates. Each person with whom I lived exhibited certain characteristics of Christ. My housemates were glimpses into the boldness, gentleness, passion, and hospitality of the Christian faith. Focusing on these qualities in each of my housemates, rather than the insignificant idiosyncrasies and differences that had the potential to divide us, provided me the opportunity to learn from each of them. In hindsight, some of those unique characteristics and idiosyncrasies are the things I miss most about the individuals with whom I lived. Community requires patience and love. Another significant moment in my time as part of the volunteer community was the sharing of our testimonies. This was an opportunity to be as vulnerable as we wanted. We each took a night to share our stories. At first, I was hesitant to share much about my journey, thinking that no one would ever really understand the place from which I was coming. I felt so comfortable that I ended up sharing much more of myself than I expected. I was amazed to discover that one of my housemates was able to completely relate to the portions of my story that I had never before shared. Through this connection, I found unexpected, awesome healing! Community requires vulnerability.

Because my community accepted me as I was and surrounded me with love, I was able to communicate without holding anything back. This opened me up to continue to share in the future. Before community, for the most part, I avoided sharing my moments of sadness, loneliness, or grumpiness with others. After years of seeing people’s reactions to my life story (beginning with the loss of my father to Leukemia when I was three), I taught myself to keep the mood light for the sake of other people’s happiness. I would keep the moments when I felt out of place or sad to myself, hoping not to burden anyone else. In community, the verses found in Paul’s letter to the Galatians came alive for me. Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1-2 (NIV)

This ability to share my burdens really became helpful in my second year. This was one of the hardest years of my life, but also one of the best. During this period, I experienced the passing of both my aunt and my Grandma, who was my favorite person in this world. “Gma,” as I called her, was the person with whom I shared all my stories and she always had a way of making my most mundane stories into epic life tales. She also had a way of turning my embarrassing and awkward life moments into laughable stories. When I lost her, it was as if I also lost a part of myself that I cherished deeply. Life is tough sometimes, but you know what made it better? Community. These random people with whom I was thrown into a house to serve God and the people of Appalachia surrounded me with hugs, prayers, and hot cocoa when my aunt passed. And when I lost my Gma, they were there once again, surrounding me with even more hugs, prayers, joy, notes of encouragement, and hot cocoa. Had I not chosen to volunteer at CAP, I never would have met these people who supported and cared for me in my times of great loss. When I think back on it, I know that God truly does have the best timing, because I don’t know how I would have made it through that year without those people. God works through community. The call to become a long-term volunteer is not an easy one, and living and working alongside strangers in a strange place requires great faith, vulnerability, patience, and love. God uses these aspects of community to grow us, to comfort us, and to ultimately enable us to share Christ’s love through service in Appalachia.