August 27, 2008

Friends,

Ali, Audrey, Marcia, Sarah and Samantha, celebrating during our Christmas retreat.

What a wonderful gift it is to share in a year of growth and transformation with the Young Adult Volunteers! As they discover such things as the richness of fruits and vegetables at local Guatemalan markets, as they build relationships with God’s people they’d never imagined having as their friends, as they struggle with our role as wealthy people in a world of inequality, as they grow spiritually through these interactions and through our studies, in all these ways through our reflection together I have the blessing of discovering and growing as well. What wonderful work!

I ask you to join me in celebrating the group of Young Adult Volunteers whose lives I had the pleasure of sharing from August 2007 through August 2008. As they themselves have shared, this year was especially about growing and awakening and loving more than about accomplishing, just as Jesus taught in his ministry as well.

Audrey Burnett, with a young student.

Audrey Burnett expressed the idea of growing: “Why leave home for all the reasons that are so necessary and real when you then find yourself longing for that sense of belonging and comfort only found at home? The answer I found is that maybe it is because we want to belong to more of the world and to feel a sense of inclusion and acceptance that isn’t always possible without leaving your comfort zone.” Audrey’s joy and energy this year was dedicated to two tings: accompanying PC(USA) groups that visited the Guatemalan Presbyterian Church and working in a local school in Quetzaltenango that was striving to provide a higher quality education than most schools provide.

Sarah Lunceford was wonderful about reminding us and challenging us in our spiritual reflection. She says, “God has used this time in Guatemala to teach me that his glory is present in all of life. He is the living God, and his presence is real and relevant to our everyday lives, not just the parts of our lives that we might think are more ‘spiritual.’”  Sarah lived in Coban, Alta Verapaz, and accompanied elderly people in difficult situations in a nursing home by providing creative activities and praying. Much of her daily activity was participating in the life of a local Nazarene church.

The year is also about being aware of God and the world around us, as Ali Sutton describes: “I am consciously trying to take in all of the beauty that is Guatemala. While riding the bus, I observe the differences in the intricate fabrics of the women’s traditional dress. I appreciate the squeals of children’s laughter as they play, and I try to notice the softness of a child’s fingers as they intertwine with mine at work. I relish the time spent lingering in conversation around the table long after the meal has finished. I have set aside time each morning to spend with God.”  Ali worked in San Juan Chamelco, Alta Verapez, with disadvantaged children who benefit from Compassion International’s scholarships. She also taught English in a local library (a rare thing in Guatemala!). She also trained for and ran a half marathon with her Guatemalan host mother!

Samantha Sale's host sisters with a puzzle she helped them put together as a family activity.

Samantha Sale comments about our reflections during the year on poverty and inequality: “Poverty, it seems to me, is part of the unjust system of our society, existing within each country but also on a worldwide scale. It seems futile to fight it, and easier just to help individuals. Yet how can I not fight the system? Especially if I call myself Christian, ‘a follower of Christ,’ trying to live Christ’s example.” Samantha worked with Ceipa, an organization born out of the Guatemalan Episcopal Church but now working independently, supporting child laborers and street children in a variety of ways. Samantha used her musical skills and her great way of relating to others to spend a good part of her year giving guitar lessons to teenagers there.

In August, these four women returned to the United States and are using their cross-cultural skills that they learned here to figure out how they fit in now in the United States.  Samantha will begin studying at Princeton Theological Seminary in the fall, Audrey will work with the Girl Scouts, and Ali and Sarah continue to discern what comes next.

Thanks you to all of you for your support of me so that I can support these Young Adult Volunteers.  Please continue to hold in prayer these four who are departing, and also the next group of six who arrive September 2.

Blessings,

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 258