By the time you’re reading this, I’ve been gone for about six weeks. Which is wild to type. It feels both much longer and somehow also like I blinked and it’s October.

I’ve been wanting to write this first dispatch since I landed, but here’s the thing about the first one: it has to do a lot of work. It has to explain where I am, what I’m doing, who I’m with, why any of this is happening—and also tell you about some of the moments that have already stopped me in my tracks. That’s a lot to ask of one newsletter. I’m going to try anyway.

So here’s the plan. Before I get into the stories, I want to give you a map — a quick timeline of where I’ve been and when, so you can follow along as we go deeper. Then we’ll dig in.

Ready? Let’s go.

Introduction

For those of you who don’t know me well, my name is Jack Wilcox, and thanks for being here! I’m from Greenville, SC, and I’ve been working as an Industrial Designer for the last few years in Raleigh, NC. Before that, I graduated from NC State studying the same thing, and I’ve generally been artistic and creative my whole life. I grew up in the Lutheran Church and have really enjoyed staying connected and engaged with it throughout my adulthood: in campus ministry, working at camp, volunteering with Youth programs, and engaging in young adult ministry. I’ve known about the Young Adults in Global Mission program for a while and decided to finally pursue it after feeling ready for a change of pace after 3 years at my job and wanting to do it before having too many responsibilities that would prevent me from being able to do it. I, like many young adults, am still figuring out what the future holds for me, and I’m trying to listen to where God is calling me. I’m excited for this year away from the world that I’m used to, where I’ll have lots of time to reflect, grow, give myself time to just be, and see if I can figure out what’s next! Thanks for checking this out, and please feel welcome to reach out to me at any point this year! WhatsApp or Email work best!

Read Jack’s full blog post.

North Carolina’s Jack Wilcox has begun his year of service with the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) in Montevideo, Uruguay! Follow his journey, sign up for newsletter updates, and consider supporting his ministry with a gift.