Walking North, Walking Home

At the beginning of December, my students and I participated in a march in solidarity with migrants in transit through Mexico. We walked 20 miles along the train tracks from Huehuetoca to the Methodist church in Apaxco, joining two migrants from Honduras: a father and his 16 year old son.

We started out well, and I naïvely thought it wouldn’t be as difficult as I had imagined. After awhile, though, my backpack started to weigh on me and the sun grew stronger. I slipped on a greasy part of the tracks. I was okay (just covered in grease), but my water got carried off by someone who had stopped to help. My boots felt tight. I was thirsty. I began to wonder if I would make it the rest of the way. We were walking such a small percentage of the journey from Mexico’s southern border to its northern border, yet we were exhausted.

I felt tired and sweaty and thirsty, and as I observed homes and restaurants off in the distance, I felt far from everyday Mexican life. My anger grew. No one should have to live this way, traveling clandestinely and running into thieves, drug cartels, gangs, and exploitative government agents, but U.S. and Mexican immigration policies make it so. I felt in my body a little of what migrants feel every day, and that cemented my frustration with how we treat other people and what our governments have done to do cause this situation. I felt that pain and fatigue in my body, and I won’t soon forget it.

We walked north, towards Mexico’s northern border. The goal is the U.S. for most and Mexico’s industrial northern cities for some (they say there is plenty of work in cities like Monterrey). As we walked, I thought of the U.S. at the end of this 40-day journey—the U.S. on the other side of the border marked by walls and the unforgiving Sonoran Desert. The U.S., my home. I thought of my family waiting for me for Christmas. Some of the people that walk the train tracks towards the north also have family in the U.S. They also think of the U.S. as home. They walk day in and day out to get back there.

Before we began our trek, I had received good news. Isaac, my partner of three years, had gotten approved for a tourist visa to travel to the U.S. After two previous failed attempts and a few years of hoping, this time he had finally been approved. I felt ecstatic—he would finally know my home and my family—and yet on this walk it felt bittersweet. As we walked kilometer after kilometer with our faces towards the U.S., we knew in a few weeks we would fly there together, but we also knew that we couldn’t take along our new friends. Why were we more deserving of a safe travel than them?

When it came time to fly to the U.S., I also thought of my friends from Deportados Unidos en la Lucha. They go to the airport to meet the three planes that arrive every week filled with people getting deported from the U.S.. I was at the airport to fly in the opposite direction. My friends are deportees who call the U.S. home (or a home) and who have family still there who miss them every day. Why am I more deserving of a trip back home than them?

The truth, of course, is that I’m not more deserving. We’re in this situation because of the unequal political and economic power distribution between the Global South and the Global North. We’re in this situation because of xenophobia and racism and racial profiling. Therefore, we can and should give a blanket to a migrant in transit and offer work to a deportee, but we also have to work to dismantle our unjust systems.

Amanda Cherry

GMF International, Class of 2016-2018

Mexico

#3022198

The Art of Getting By

Have you ever felt those days that you do and say things just for time to move forward and that day to end? This was an easy tendency, especially when you are in a new environment with a different culture (and language). It is easier to see the differences which makes our life “harder” than to look at the original purpose why we chose our current path. It is also easier to cover loneliness, fear of the unknown, and our weaknesses with “hard and excellent work” which can be applauded and appreciated by the people who sees it.

As I reflected on the last chapter of Philippians in the New Testament, I saw myself being reluctant to “just get by”. It has been less than three months now since I arrived in my place of assignment: Montevideo, Uruguay in South America (36 hours by flight from my home, Philippines in Asia). It has been a wonderful blessing to be in the Global Mission Fellow program of the United Methodist Church. I always wanted to be a missionary, and now I am finally a cross-culture missionary.

Personally, I think some of us had that one dream job or passion career that we always wanted to have. Then, God being very gracious, grants us this desire of our heart but then after some time we find ourselves either distracted and bored or dragging our bodies to work in order to finish our assigned tasks. After receiving the blessing that we asked for, sometimes we reach a point of boredom and routine. I realized that there is a reason why it was emphasized in this chapter to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4, ESV).

It has been a very exciting journey, seeing how God carries people to places they never thought they would be, doing things they never imagined they CAN do. That is my missionary journey, the actual “art of getting by” is not about the typical “just to get by” kind of definition but instead, wonderful and unbelievable steps of faith and reaching something you never think you CAN. To continue this last chapter of Philippians, it says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) How encouraging it is to be assured that despite the human tendency to worry, wanting to take control our own life and sometimes other people’s life, the Lord is faithful with His promises through Jesus Christ. Peace allows us to live for others rather than for ourselves, a life imitating Jesus needed this kind of peace and so is prayer.

As a new missionary who desires to imitate how Jesus walked, it is a pleasant reminder that prayer is really powerful it can bring peace. It also one of the clearest discipline that Jesus did during His ministry. 

Micah Pascual

GMF International, Class of 2017-2019

Uruguay

#3022332

The Mountaintop Experience

A few days ago, I joined the UMC family on a vacation to Kampot and Kep in Cambodia. We were all set to forget about our daily routines for the next three days. The first day was fine and then the second day was waiting. I recall, it was a hot and humid morning without any promise for an exciting experience. Around mid-morning we left for sightseeing in the mountains.

After visiting the waterfalls, we came across an abandoned Catholic Church literally in the middle of nowhere at the very top of the mountain. We climbed up to see this unique feature. It was an awe-inspiring moment for me. Needless to say, the feeling of the breeze and the cool weather brought me a good feeling. I sat down as I gazed at the gulf of Thailand to the east and all the green flora in the mountains. I saw the beauty and perfection of God’s creation.  I suddenly got excited and overwhelmed.

The gulf of Thailand                                                                   Courtesy of Esther Karimi Gitobu
I can vividly recall telling my fellow missionaries and friends that I felt so good that I didn’t want to leave this place. Obviously, I said it in a joking manner but I tried to express what I really felt inside.  Apparently, everybody laughed it off as mere talk. 30 minutes later we descended the mountain. After all the sightseeing and lunch at this unusual place we left for the hotel. That ‘euphoria’ atop the mountain had already subsided.

The gulf of Thailand                                                                               Courtesy of Helen Camarce
I became so curious. I started asking myself a lot of questions, like I always do. I thought to myself; What inspired the Catholics to build a church in such a secluded place during the French colonial era? Of all places, why on top of the mountain? Was it for luxurious purposes or was it inspired by the spirit of God? These were just unanswered questions. In three days, the vacation was over and we went back to our usual places.

I continued to reflect on my experience and its significance to my life. During that process of reflection, the phrase “mountain-top experience” crossed my mind. I Immediately started researching about it. I was overwhelmed with what I discovered from many stories in the bible when God intentionally made an encounter with his people in the different mountains for a specific reason.

In one story known as the ‘Transfiguration of Jesus’ in Mathew 17, Jesus brought Peter, James and John to a high mountain. The three disciples witnessed Jesus as he was transformed into a figure of perfection, absoluteness, purity and beauty – an experience beyond any kind of explanation or imagination. It was that moment when God revealed himself to them. There are many other instances in the Bible when God revealed himself to his people in the mountains. You may also want to read about what happened in the mountain of Ararat, Mount Moriah, Mount Sinai, Mount Carmel, Mount Horeb, Mount Olive, Mount Zion etc.

Peter’s experience in the high mountain resonates with what I experienced in Boko mountain. Peter felt overwhelmed and dumbfounded by the nature of God. All he could think of was to make a memorial where they could relive this great experience. I believe his wish was to stay a little longer and enjoy what had happened. Instead, Jesus brought them back down the mountain.

The mountain-top experience fostered a new course for the disciples. It prepared them for what was to come in the valleys, not so they could stay on the mountain. When God met his people up in the mountains, he ushered a new kind of thinking or course of action for them. God would bring guidelines and mentorship for his people to overcome or embrace what was to come in the future. One thing for sure, I’d a pleasant feeling in Boko mountains. I would have wanted to stay a little longer just to feel the breeze, see all the green nature and the sea.  It was my “mountaintop” experience. Today I realize that I’ve encountered several of these mountaintop experiences and the idea is for me to draw from them in the valleys.

When was your mountaintop experience?

The UMC family in Cambodia                                                                  Courtesy of Andrew Lee

 

Edmund Melusi Makowa

Global Mission Fellow – International
Advance Number #3022202
GMF – Young Adult Missionary

 

The Look of God on Children in Crisis

“The child will never leave the field of vision of his parents because it is their duty to watch over him …”

Our feelings are often powerful but equally contradictory when we talk about children. We feel great joy when a mother gives birth to a child. We are anguished and angry when we find ourselves in front of a child who takes our bag or wallet out of the street or engages in drugs and juvenile delinquency.

If our feelings can distort our perception of the child, should we still turn to society?

The importance given to children in society depends on their respect for beliefs, tradition, social norms, taboos and good morals. This means that a model child will be better seen than a child in identity crisis.

The situations and circumstances of our lives shape our personality and influence our perception of children in crisis. These are: our education, our cultural background, our personal history, the mass media (social networks, films, magazines, the internet, etc.), our academic and professional training and our country.

But what about God? How does God see children in crisis? Does God have a plan for them? Do they occupy a place of choice in their Father’s heart?

The divine character of the Heavenly Father is revealed in the father’s relationship with his prodigal son in the parable of Luke 15. The father is moved with compassion for his “lost” son and runs to his neck. The stake is neither the obedience of the law nor the name nor the moral but it is the mercy that takes precedence and that goes beyond everything. This is what God requires in our relationships with children in crisis.

God has a project of life and salvation for the child in general and for the child in crisis in particular. In reading Psalms 127 and 128, four key words tell us about the value given to children; the children are:

• An eternal heritage
• An award
• An arrow
• An olive tree

 

 

The child is called to enter into God’s plan for his life and these needs are physical, mental, spiritual, social and emotional. The child also needs warm relationships, protection, to be taught in the way of the Lord in a life environment conducive to his growth and fulfillment.

Our duty is to intercede for children in crisis, to act for their salvation, to pay particular attention to their situation, to provide for their needs…

If we want to see children in crisis as God, we have to get rid of all these negative influences that often distort our vision of things. We must therefore understand the divine character of the Father, God’s plan for the child, the value of the child and its needs.

ALLABAH Franck

GMF International Track, Brazil

AFranck@umcmission.org*

Advance # 3022375

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It is God’s Mission

After being in Zambia for a year, I feel like I’ve already come a long way. After all the adjustments made, after all the uncertainties and discomforts when I first came here, now it’s like my place of assignment is now a comfort zone for me. It seems that I’ve already learned a lot, been through so much, and done so many things that I feel very proud of myself.

Dring Mendoza is commissioned as a Global Mission Fellow of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries during a service at Grace United Methodist Church in Atlanta. Praying over him are, from left: Thomas Kemper, Bishop Woodie White and the Rev. Judy Chung. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS

One recent thing I’m proud of is to get a $40,000.00 grant from UNDP. The project will establish Welfare Hubs capable of real-time service tracking and response for child services at the community level in Zambia. It is aimed to provide basic services focusing on simplified and decentralized birth registration assistance, monitoring of education and nutrition status of children, fostering family bondage and child rights, and enhancing linkages between social welfare service providers and government ministries for children and youths at a community level.

During the entire process of application I felt like I was all by myself for even after consulting my colleagues, I did not receive inputs from them and felt they didn’t even bother to read through my proposal. However, after getting the grant, I’m being pushed to the side on the implementation process. I was hurt that other people are implementing my project, and I am worried that it will not succeed and my reputation with UNDP will be stained with failure.

My anxiety grows seeing how my colleagues aren’t familiarizing themselves with what the whole proposal and work plan entails. Despite the very tight timeline to complete the project, I do not see pro-activeness and a sense of urgency. The goal and implementation is different from the design in the proposal and the discussions I’ve had with UNDP. After attempting to encourage them to review all the documents before proceeding with the implementation, I gave up on trying to make my point. I cautioned myself not to be too aggressive with my ideas. Though I’m trying to hide it, deep inside it’s really concerning me too much and it is affecting my cooperation and mutuality with my placement site.

It is in my prayers that I am reminded how none of this and my whole experience would be possible if not for the grace and guidance of God. I remembered how I used to read the Guiding Principles for Missionary Service every week during my first months here. There, I found a remedy for my anxiety which brought back my openness and humility to work with my colleagues without any heavy feeling. Acknowledging it is God’s Mission, I again asked my colleagues for another meeting where we can all sit together, review the whole proposal and work plan and mutually agree on how we’re going to implement the project ensuring the vital indicators submitted to UNDP will be met.

“It is God’s Mission. We are to acknowledge with humility and gratitude that mission belongs to God and is initiated by God; and we focus our service on being effective witnesses to the revelation of God in Christ through the word and deed.”

Adrian Mendoza

GMF International, Class of 2016-2018

Zambia

Council of Churches in Zambia

#3022197

The ASP Experience

A couple weeks ago I went on the Appalachia Service Project (ASP). It was an amazing and rewarding experience. I had not heard of ASP until I started at my placement site and up until recently I did not know much about it. ASP is a service opportunity across five states, there are various projects but during the summer the primary projects are construction on homes. Metropolitan Memorial’s youth go on an ASP experience once a year and this year I was able to attend.

At the beginning of the week I had no idea what to expect, and after the first couple of days I realized I loved the experience. My love for the experience stemmed from a few things:

1. Every step of ASP felt like fellowship. The youth got to know each other better, the adults learned ways in which to encourage the youth to believe in their abilities, and together we all got to know the families that we were working with.

 

2. Youth empowerment is one of the main goals of Metropolitan Memorial’s ASP experience, and I got to see that in action. There were challenges, and sacrifices; there were achievements, and personal and group victories.

 

3. The ASP experience was, for me, joy-filled. There was a restaurant, Ma and Pa’s at which we spent almost every night. On the second night we went to Ma and Pa’s and was able to dance and sing with persons from the town. Toward the end of the week we went to a park and enjoyed a picnic for the ASP crews and the homeowners, this offered a great opportunity to further connect with people and enjoy the beauty of Virginia.

These three aspects of the ASP experience were beautiful to be a part of and to witness.

I heard many times ASP called, “A relational ministry with construction on the side.” I was struck during the week with how much the tenets of ASP remind me of the tenets of Generation Transformation such as, “‘Engage. Connect. Grow.,’ or,’ ministry with, not to or for.'” I felt engaged by the work we were all doing together. The only way the projects would be done successfully is if we all worked together, with the youth making choices and plans along the way.  I felt connected to the families we were working with during the times when we would stop our work and just chat together for a while, or when a family member would give us freeze pops on our way out at the end of the day. I sensed growth in seeing the youth dynamically ask questions and come to realizations through the entire experience.

The ASP experience was a great way to spend a week during the summer months, I feel grateful for the time there and all that was learned.

Stephanie Quammen

GMF US-2, Class of 2016-2018

Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church

Washington DC

#3022240