“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” Isaiah 43:19a
My name is Justin Rabbach and I am the (very) new Youth Group Organizer for ELCA World Hunger. Though I have found myself dealing with an information overload during my first week on staff, I have also stayed grounded by relecting on the verse above from Isaiah.
I moved to Chicago from Madison, Wisconsin, where I graduated in May from the University of Wisconsin with my Master’s in International Public Affairs, focusing on International Development. In the course of a week I have found myself in a new city, in a new apartment, working a new job. That’s a lot of new things…. While all of those changes were a bit daunting, leaving behind a lot of familiar things (family, friends, favorite restaurants and sports teams), it is also a very exciting time! I am aware that while I am experiencing new things, I am also at point where I am trying hard to focus on the “new thing” that God is looking to do through me and the rest of the staff here at ELCA World Hunger.
I grew up in the Moravian Church, and got involved in missions following a trip to Nicaragua in 2007 that really opened my eyes to the possibilities of building relationships and serving God abroad. Five years later, God has taken me time and again through “new” experiences, I have found myself serving Him for varying lengths of time in Wisconsin, California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Alberta, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Israel/Palestine.
Everytime I allow myself to be taken out of my comfort zone, God places amazing “new” things in my path. I am excited to get started here on staff at ELCA World Hunger, and while I take time to learn a lot of things that are “new” to me here before I really begin to work, it is awesome to know that God has already begun!
