July 13, 1999 -- Michael Williams spent the weekend of July 10 with other teenagers planning a children’s program, teaching and reading to younger children, and playing games with them in an economically underdeveloped neighborhood in North Philadelphia. When he left there, he realized that parts of Philadelphia, U.S.A., were just as economically disparaged as parts of his own country, Liberia. But he knew that no one from his own country would believe this.
One-hundred and fifty youth from more than 39 countries were emersed in similar experiences, dialogues and realities of economic disparities, racism, environmental degradation, and struggles of children as they came together July 1-12 at the International Youth Conference for Mission (IYCM) at Geneva Point Center, New Hampshire, then at mission sites along the east coast.
Formally, the teenagers shared their stories and experiences on these global issues in workshops, core groups, and plenary sessions. Informally, they dialogued with youth from different cultural backgrounds and countries around meal tables and in cabins. Yet, what arose from the experience was a realization of the root causes of the issues and the need for mission to address these causes.
The diversity surprised Uiyeon Kim of Bettendorf, Iowa. "I suddenly realized that we were united in one common ground and that was the fact that we were all children of God," said Mr. Kim. "It was an experience of a life time--relating and sharing with people from all over the world."
African youth told about coming together to educate society on the dangers of female genital mutilation. A youth from Sri Lanka told about the war that continued his entire life and working for peace amidst violence. U.S. youth shared about the shock of the Columbine shootings and the need to dialogue with others. All youth had stories of injustices, abuse and neglect of children. Everyone sat in silence over the racist shootings in Indiana.
"Hopefully I will be able to successfully teach the information to my fellow [church] members so that we may all become more aware of the issues we must deal with," said Daniel Won of San Jose, California.
The week was filled with diversity and learning. On international night, kids from outside the U.S. shared their dances, music, and stories. The African "Ticky-Tah" dance, a liturgical tap dance, sign language, and traditional talents was the atmosphere for another night. And each day, worship with music and musicians from around the world reinforced the theme, "We are the seeds."
Armed with the realities of injustice and confident that they were the seeds that could make changes in society through God’s mission, the youth left New Hampshire to do hands-on mission work in urban and rural areas of the East Coast. Youth did a variety of work from urban gardening, to working with children, to painting and building houses, to feeding the homeless. Throughout the weekend, the youth were exposed to work and projects from Bangor, Maine, to West Virginia, to Baltimore, Maryland.
"It was satisfying to know that we were helping people out, and that we were able to get some work done," said Monika Bautista of Union City, California, who spent time at the Neighborhood house in Wilmington, Delaware, painting a day care room.
Monika enjoyed the experience of meeting people from different backgrounds and witnessing how they act and think when presented with questions and challenges on certain issues.
The International Youth Conference on Mission was sponsored by the Women’s Division and the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. The sponsors paid for all expenses except for a $150 application fee.
"It was an accomplishment for the youth who attended the event," said Joyce Sohl of the event’s planning team and deputy general secretary of the Women’s Division, General Board of Global Ministries. "They went through an application process, wrote essays, got letters of recommendation, then their applications were reviewed to determine how serious they were about mission."
"This is a time in their life where they are deciding to go in to mission as a vocation, to do it as a volunteer, or support it through their prayers and resources," says Ms. Sohl. "This event helped them make that commitment."
To read and see more about the International Youth Conference for Mission, go to the world wide web at http://gbgm-umc.org/iycm/ .
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