Why I Love My Job
Jul 03, 2010
I have the greatest job in the world. It is frustrating, exhausting, and life-consuming, but maybe that is why I love it so much.
Singing Class at Tolerance Summer Camp, Kosovo, 2001
This job has completely taken over my life. And a lot of it is pretty fun. I love writing original arrangements to fit our strange assortment of available instruments in each country. I love working with the amazing teenagers who choose to dedicate so much time to teaching children peace through music.
Singing Class at Pabo IDP Camp, Uganda, 2007
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And when I get to teach the children myself, whether in Kosovo, Uganda, or Northern Ireland, a part of me comes alive that lives only for this. This job—this life—is awesome, and a responsibility that I never, ever take lightly.
Another part of my job that I love is speaking to various college, church, school, and community groups about the affects of war on children and how our program is helping these children, and the teenagers who teach them, to heal.
Devotional Address at BYU Hawaii, 2010
Although it is emotionally draining to talk about these things and sometimes hurts to discuss the people I love who are still suffering so much, I know that this is an important part of the mission of the Shropshire Music Foundation. We have to keep talking about how war affects children. And we need to keep talking about how—and why–we must save them.
I also do a lot of paperwork and record-keeping, but that isn’t interesting enough to even write about, except that it is a tribute to our accountant that he puts up with me and my accurate but usually delayed records.
My Nieces and Nephew Helping with Last Week's Mailing
The only part of my job that I really don’t like is the fundraising. It is always difficult for me. But I do it, even though I am not very good at it. Hopefully I am getting better with time, but I’m not sure–our finances are worse now than they have ever been. Last week I mailed out our annual June fundraising letter, and was lucky in that my nieces and nephew were visiting Arizona and helped me address and stuff envelopes. They always want to help and I don’t think I could have gotten this year’s mailing out without them.
But the best part of my job–the reason that I don’t mind working 100+ hour weeks, living with near-constant jet-lag in places
Being Swallowed By Hugging Children After Singing Class at Kosovo IDP Camp, 2006
with sporatic electricity and water that is shut off for days at a time, where I sleep under mosquito nets in temperatures that soar well over 100º, all the while earning less than a college intern–is thatwhat I have gained by doing all of these things is an amazing life. A life of service and a life of love. That is the best part
of my job. Loving, and loving, and then loving some more. The amazing, beautiful children. The brilliant, self-sacrificing teenagers. The families, broken and bruised but finding their way back to wholeness. I love them all so much. And their love has changed me forever.