Fifty years ago I arrived in Florida to work with the American Friends Service Committee’s Farmworker Housing Program. It was quite a circuitous route to get there, through the Central Valley of California, Wilmington North Carolina, Muleshoe Texas, and finally Apopka Florida. The eight years I spent in Florida taught me about accompaniment, a lesson that has carried me ever since. Regardless of job title, I have always found the way to the “underside” of society, to offer my gifts and to recognize the gifts I found there. Times in silence, especially in community, have provided the essential detachment and resilience. Like the Magi, I have needed guidance and route corrections along the way.
