The ELCA's Young Adults in Global Mission Program (YAGM) has been on my To Do list ever since I stumbled upon it perusing the ELCA website more than a year ago. So many things sounded appealing:
living in a new place, growing in my faith, learning from others, serving a new community, and discerning God's will for my life. Applicants were encouraged to be flexible, mature, open to adventure, and curious. Sign me up!!
It was made very clear from the beginning that applicants apply to the program, not to a specific country. So although there are programs this year in the UK, Mexico, Argentina/Uruguay, Jerusalem/West Bank, Slovakia/Hungary, and South Africa, Global Mission staff determined from my application that I would be best suited for a placement in Slovakia/Hungary or South Africa.
I suppose it should be noted here that in my application I spoke a lot about sharing my faith through song, my increasing involvement in my local church (thanks for roping me in, St. James!), my decreasing satisfaction with my professional work as an interior designer, and my heightened awareness of communities in need, thanks to my participation with Architects Without Borders-Oregon. All of these things together made me realize that I genuinely want to help those in need, but that I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to do that. Should I continue working as a designer and volunteer with other organizations on the side? What if I could combine all my interests into one vocation?
The ELCA-YAGM program will allow me the freedom to explore my other interests outside the world of design, such as experiencing how the global church helps combat such social ills as poverty, homelessness, and HIV/AIDS. But alas, I am getting ahead of myself.
After making it through the first round of application fun, I traveled to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in mid-April for a Discernment, Interview, and Placement event weekend. I met 54 other young hopefuls who had traveled from all over the country, as well as country coordinators who had flown in from all over the world. Over the course of the weekend we got to know each other, learn more about our country programs, and interview with Global Mission staff. At the end of the weekend I walked away with a placement in offer in South Africa, a head full of big ideas, and a surprisingly calm spirit!
The YAGM program typically finds placements for volunteers in one of three areas: working in a church, a school, or another social service type ministry. My preference is for something hands-on in the local community; I know I want to be challenged, but teaching math to 10 year olds may be more than I bargained for! I will know soon just where I will be placed and what I will be doing, but I have long ago accepted my placement offer. I recognize that the biggest challenge at this stage in the game is to let go and trust someone else to make decisions for me. It's been tough. :)
On August 18 I travel to Chicago for a week of orientation, then all participants will depart en masse to the airport and to our country of service. Please keep me in your prayers- the journey is just beginning!
No comments:
Post a Comment