My journeys allowed me to have a window into how churches that are thriving continue to be a support in their local context and how the YAV Program can benefit from their dialogues.
In Colombia, I met with leaders from all three presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia who were wrestling with the hard questions of how they continue to be church together after the pandemic with limited resources and with greater needs for the church to fill. Despite this difficult dialogue that took place, the first lesson I learned from partners is how honest dialogue and the willingness to welcome the Holy Spirit can transform challenging conversations into monumental movements. Even though all of the questions weren’t answered in one day, they committed to continue discerning together the challenges they faced in their individual presbyteries. The Czech Republic Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren also met for a week where they ate, slept, worshiped, prayed and dialogued with each other. This cross-cultural and ecumenical learning experience opened the eyes of members from both countries to dismantle barriers and uplift the kingdom of God. The second lesson from my travels was the importance of connection and true accompaniment work. Being together in an authentic way without any agendas allows us to transcend this earthly space to become the body of Christ together. On my last journey in Cameroon, I met with representatives of a nonprofit and worked with a community organizer named Jaff Bamenjo who has been an International Peacemaker for the PC(USA) and coordinator of the Network for the Fight Against Hunger (RELUFA). During this visit, I was gifted the opportunity to hear the sacred stories of people who have been displaced by the conflict happening in Cameroon. Traveling with Jaff taught me the lesson of how to be joyful when you are uncertain of the outcome. If you met Jaff, you would never know, by the way he cares for others, that he is carrying the weight of his family on his shoulders and has been directly affected by the war.
Even though these three different countries are placed on different continents, with different church partners and different missions on what it means to be in a community, one central common denominator was the youth and young adult involvement within the makeup of each meeting, service or project. The level of thought that went into centering youth and young adults was not seasonal or just for show. Youth and young adults were leading, planning, asking the hard questions and engaging within the work of Christ in a faithful way, and we as the PC(USA) need to ask how we can engage our youth and young adults in the same manner. As we are continuing to be faithful as a program to grow all young adults, I proudly welcome our Mexican, Peruvian and Scottish YAVs into the program this year. And, as we are preparing for orientation, I am eager to learn from the young adults from other countries, and I am excited that this class will be able to hear a non-U.S. perspective even if they are serving within the United States. As we continue to do God’s ministry with young adults, we hope that you continue to support this current class and the upcoming one with your prayers and financial contributions. I also encourage you to read the journeys of our current class by checking out their blogs on our page and let it be spiritual bread for the journey.
We are on this journey together.
Destini Hodges,
Coordinator Young Adult Volunteers
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