Alumni

Since being on the board, I have appreciated the ways in which mission is seen as accompaniment — of people across the world and in the United States— and all of the service opportunities. It’s not, “I’m going to serve you because I’m such a good person and you need my help.” But, it’s accompaniment, where we’re going to do this together. We’re going to figure it out. We’re probably gonna mess up sometimes, but that’s the way it works. That’s the way life works. And, that’s the way following Jesus works.

The highlight of the pilgrimage to South Africa for me was the opportunity to vist with local people, both Black and White, who have lived in apartheid and who continue to live in the South African culture. We overlook racism as white people and just go on with our lives not thinking about the privilege that we have. The whole trip struck a chord with me that I’ll have to think a lot about when I get back home.

I love the church community that we’re in. I appreciate them and they have been so warm and welcoming to us. We’re known in the community and they hold us with a lot of care. And that’s special.

We learn as we relate with churches that are diverse. It helps to bring us into a deeper understanding of God and what God calls us to do.

MVS has this built in support. We have a support committe, we have a house, the church. It really allows you to explore while feeling supported and secure in where you are. And it’s fun!

Having grown up in Swaziland, I learned the history of apartheid. I came on this trip thinking I might learn a thing or two, but was very surprised by how much I learned and how much I had to unlearn. It’s not the job of minorities or people of color to identify the racism, the systemic injustices and oppression. That is on us to find creative ways of stopping counteracting those. I’m returning home with a renewed sense that what I do and how I interact in the world make a difference.

Tucson is technically a border town. Our unit went on a border delegation trip with a Presbyterian mission called Frontera de Cristo. We went to Douglas, Arizona’s sister city, Agua Prieta, Sonora. We learned the reasons why people choose, or have to immigrate. It really expanded my knowledge on a complicated issue and I have more empathy for people who, for some of them, immigration isn’t a choice.

I applied to colleges and was accepted into several great opportunities that I don’t think I would have if it wasn’t for Service Adventure. I was able to get scholarships because it’s about offering something different. How do you make your college application stand out? You do a year of voluntary service!

When people are empowered to work in their contexts, that’s a big thing! It means that many people can read the Bible and learn hermeneutics and speak a language that their local communities can understand, and that the gospel can grow and people can develop a relationship with Jesus Christ, within the context that they know.

For all the other things we learned and unlearned and remembered and re-membered, reading the Bible in another context just, had the biggest impact on our [Just Peace Pilgrimage] group.