The Practice of Justice and Mercy in Daily Life Global Justice Volunteers |
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by Kim Lehmann |
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New World Outlook, November/December 2006 “The Global Justice Volunteers format is designed to be a life-transforming process, not just a program with an ending point,” the Global Justice Volunteers material reads. “The young adult volunteer should carry the Global Justice Volunteer experiences into his or her current and future work.” For many young people who serve as GJVs globally, the expectation to carry the experience with them is not a choice. It is a must. Young adults apply to be part of the Global Justice Volunteers program because they have seen injustice in our world and felt called by God to respond to Micah's challenge to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) By serving as Global Justice Volunteers, these young adults have the opportunity to live and learn alongside people whose lives are shaped by justice in order that they may explore the links between faith and justice. For many young adults, the two- or three-month term of service as a GJV is just the beginning. They continue to take Micah's challenge to heart, serving God, seeking justice in the world, and allowing their experiences as Global Justice Volunteers to shape and inform the way they continue to be in mission throughout their lives. Since the program was piloted in 1999, young adult volunteers have partnered with a variety of Global Ministries' partners in other parts of the world. They experience the global challenges brothers and sisters are facing around the world and learn from the ways GBGM partners are seeking justice at the grassroots level. By partnering with existing organizations, the Global Justice Volunteers Program helps GJVs learn from the ways that persons are, as Glory Dharmaraj describes in her book, Concepts of Mission, amplifying the human cries in situations of injustice, raising awareness of the issues, mobilizing collective efforts, and addressing the root causes of injustice, in order that all of God's children may live in peace, reconciliation, and harmony with God and one another. All of the program’s 99 participants have carried the Global Justice Volunteers experience with them in different ways—working on campus, selecting a career, ministering in the local church. Each young adult who has served in the program has a story. We offer a few of their stories to show the powerful ways that young adults continue to seek global justice in our world today. Terrell Starr, 2001 GJV in Russia Starr developed a strong interest in understanding the history and current reality of Africans and African Americans in Eastern Europe. The GJV experience was the “primary reason” for his joining the Peace Corps. Starr's primary role as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small village in the Republic of Georgia was to teach English to school children, but while there, he also found opportunities to lead discussions on African-American history and culture at universities across Georgia. Starr is now in his first year of a Master of Arts program in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “At this point, all I know is that I love Eastern Europe, and I want to return there to understand how Africans experience life in a Slavic country.” Starr knows that no matter what career path he eventually chooses, he will continue to strive to link faith and justice as a Christian. “I must make all my decisions with justice in mind.” Diana Fernandes dos Santos, 2003 GJV in Nicaragua During her term of service in Nicaragua, Diane worked alongside two American teammates, Mestizo leaders, and Miskito leaders, all from a variety of faith traditions. Five languages were spoken and five cultures were bridged. Their team raised awareness on clean water, HIV/AIDs, and domestic violence. “Even with difficulties like distances, lack of money, and poor conditions, if we work together, God can provide for all the needs.” After her term as a GJV, the young people of Brazil elected her President of the National Young Adult Confederation of the Methodist Church in Brazil 2004 and 2006. Fernandes organizes young adults throughout Brazil, providing training for young leaders, organizing mission gatherings, and encouraging youth representation at local, national, and international levels. “My biggest dream for young people in Brazil is for us to think critically, take action, and be in contact with the real needs of the world.” She has also utilized partnerships to help young adults examine how to engage in activism in university settings. Susan O'Neill Waybright, 2000 GJV in Brazil As a GJV in Nishinasuno, Japan, Jake served at the Asian Rural Institute (ARI), an ecumenical training institute that seeks to “build an environmentally healthy, just, and peaceful world, in which each person can live to his or her fullest potential.” He worked alongside community leaders from throughout Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. They explored organic farming methods, ways to store and preserve food, community-organizing strategies in rural communities, and theology for rural persons today. “The people I have met have become some of my internal dialogue partners as I pastor my church in Pennsylvania....As I remember their faces and their stories, I ask myself, ‘Does the theology I am expressing bend toward the practice of justice and mercy in a way that respects the people I meet? Do the words and thoughts I express have the possibility to influence others in a way that might help them listen to voices of those who are different from them? Does what I am saying point toward the abundant life for all that Jesus came to bring?’” Likewise, Susan O'Neill Waybright has found that her GJV experience is with her as she lives her daily life. In 2000, Susan volunteered with Projeto Meninos e Meninas de Rua, (Street Children's Project) in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil. Susan worked alongside the project's street educators who teach street children about their rights and advocate for laws and policies that protect and empower them, their families, and their communities. In a country where high numbers of children are living or working on the street daily, Susan Waybright found it a powerful experience to work alongside the educators. They are with Susan in spirit as she makes decisions on how to live daily. “I am grateful to my Brazilian friends for helping me remain uncomfortable with a world that is still in need.” As a third-grade teacher, Susan helps her students discover new skills and develop new ideas. “My hope for the world is that we see God in people all over the world and start to really love each other, to protect the earth, and to share nicely—as we learned in elementary school.” Finda Fengai-Kabba,
2005 GJV in Hong Kong When Fengai-Kabba returned home to Sierre Leone following her GJV experience in Hong Kong, she served as the coordinator of the Global Justice Volunteers 2006 West Africa Pilot Program, enabling other young adults to have cross-cultural mission experiences. This pilot, supported by United Methodist Women’s mission giving, enables six West African young adults to become GJVs within West Africa as a way to explore the links between faith and justice by partnering with organizations that seek justice at grassroots levels. It is Fengai-Kabba's hope that her work as Coordinator of the Global Justice Volunteers West Africa Pilot will provide young people in the West Africa Central Conference Youth Committee with further skills and passion for engaging in mission. Cara Newhouse,
2003 GJV in Brazil In 2004, Newhouse returned to Brazil and provided assistance in hosting United Methodist Volunteers-In-Mission teams in Brazil. Newhouse, now a student at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, has continued to find ways to serve in communities around the world and enable others to have similar experiences. In 2005, she led a Mission Discovery trip to Senegal for the North Central Jurisdiction. Newhouse has just returned from Côte d'Ivoire, where she led a group of United Methodist Women to meet United Methodist Women there. “It's hard to see so much need for change, yet it is invigorating when even a small hole is chiseled into the wall of injustice.” The Global Justice Volunteers is a program of the Mission Volunteers Program Area of the General Board of Global Ministries and is supported by United Methodist Women’s “Pledge to Mission” giving. It is open to young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 who are interested in responding to Micah's challenge to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God,” during their volunteer term and throughout their lives, in whatever ways God may lead them. Kim Lehmann is the program coordinator for Mission Volunteers, the General Board of Global Ministries.
Date posted: Nov 06, 2006 |
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The Mission Magazine of the United Methodist Church
