This upcoming year, I am serving as a Young Adult Volunteer
(YAV) in the exciting city of Washington, D.C.! I am currently living simply in
the city with my fellow D.C. YAVs as I work at Miriam’s Kitchen and the Office
of Public Witness with the Presbyterian Church. The goal at Miriam’s Kitchen is
to end chronic homelessness. Miriam’s provides guests with a meal, an art
program, and access to various services. When I am there, I get to help people
fill out paperwork to get vital records that they may need, help them search
for jobs, and get to sit and listen to their stories. The job can be extremely
challenging, but it is also immensely rewarding. One day, I helped a guest
apply to various jobs on the computer. The next day I saw the same guest at a
bus stop, and he gave me the biggest smile and thanked me yet again for all of
my help. The Office of Public Witness is the public policy information and
advocacy office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Its task is to advocate, and help the church to advocate, the social witness
perspectives and policies of the Presbyterian General Assembly. I recently
attended a strike of low-wage federal contract workers to protest poverty pay.
The entire time I was present at the strike, I felt such a feeling of unity and
strength. Hearing the stories of those striking brought me to tears. It has
been in small moments like these, whether a smile and thank you from a guest or
experiencing the unity of those suffering, where I see God at work.
Mara Sawdy is a Young Adult Volunteer from West Newton,
Pennsylvania. Mara is a recent graduate of Westminster College where she
majored in environmental science with a minor in peace studies. Growing up, she
attended West Newton United Presbyterian Church, where her grandfather served
as a minister for 25 years. While at school she was involved in model United
Nations, served as a member of the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring,
and interned at the Silk Road Fair Trade Market. Mara enjoys reading Agatha
Christie novels, Downton Abbey, and visiting the various museums in D.C.
