Possibilities: They Are Where You Cannot Even Imagine!

When I arrived in the Republic of Nicaragua I found everything very different from Brazil, but I decided to open myself up to new experiences. Without creating expectations, I tried to accept this new country into my life. I chose to prepare myself for the “non-knowledge” of things. I opened myself to the new culture, the new place, and all the POSSIBILITIES that presented themselves to me while I watched everything carefully.

I came curious to work together with an NGO that works on issues of social justice, community development, and health, so after GMF training and training in the capital of the country, I went to the Caribbean Coast and started a cultural immersion that would change my life!

The Autonomous Region of the North Caribbean of Nicaragua is very interesting and fun. Interesting because it is everything different from what I already knew, and fun because that is how I see my learning process and adaptation! I love meeting people, and my biggest investments have been directed to new relationships I’ve made.

Even though sometimes people look at me as if I’m from another planet, it’s fun! Once I was accompanied by my friend from work and a very humble lady asked my Nicaraguan friend, “What country is she from?” I looked at her and answered in Spanish: “I’m from Brazil!” I smiled, but that lady was very embarrassed because I spoke to her without knowing her. After I said my name, she already gained more confidence and continued asking questions!

In Brazil I have always loved going out for a walk and having coffee outside the house every day; this is something important for me. However, in my place of work it is impractical, so I have reorganized my lifestyle. Now I like to make homemade coffee, wash clothes by hand with a specific soap whose smell I love, do exercises in the workshop room of my work (where I live), and sit on the porch talking to a work friend! I rewrite Bible passages and study my actions together with some friends of my GMF class! This is good!

We are all beings that adapt, and I can say that I am very happy to live as I live and to meet so many nice people. The important thing in all of this is to be well and have fun even in a complex context. I choose to smile every day in the midst of my sadness, and it makes me grow a little stronger.

My gratitude is for being able to do what I learned to enjoy. I continue to learn how to be, how to learn, and how to do. My learning is constant, and in Christ I can say with great confidence: everything is fine!

Ester Antunes

GMF International, Class of 2017-2019

Nicaragua

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Possibilidades, elas estão onde você nem imagina!

Quando cheguei na Republica da Nicarágua achei tudo muito diferente do Brasil, mas decidi me abrir para as novas experiências e sem criar expectativas busquei aceitar esse novo país na minha vida. Escolhi me preparar para o “não conhecimento” das coisas, me abri para a nova cultura, o novo lugar e todas as POSSIBILIDADES que se apresentavam à mim enquanto eu observava tudo atentamente.

Cheguei curiosa para trabalhar junto com uma ONG que atua em questões de justiça social, desenvolvimento comunitário e saúde, então após capacitações e treinamentos na Capital do país, fui a Costa do Caribe e comecei uma imersão cultural que mudaria minha vida!

A Região Autônoma do Caribe Norte da Nicarágua é muito interessante e divertida, interessante porque é tudo diferente do que eu já conhecia e divertida porque é assim que eu enxergo o meu processo de aprendizagem e adaptação! Eu amo conhecer pessoas e meus maiores investimentos foram direcionados a novos relacionamentos que fiz, mesmo que as vezes as pessoas me olhem como se eu fosse de outro planeta, é divertido! Uma vez eu estava acompanhada com minha amiga de trabalho e uma senhora muito humilde perguntou a minha amiga nicaraguense: de que país ela é? Olhei para ela e respondi em espanhol: Sou do Brasil! Eu sorri, mas aquela senhora ficou muito envergonhada por que eu falei com ela mesmo sem a conhecer, após dizer meu nome ela já ganhou mais confiança e seguiu fazendo perguntas!

Sempre amei sair para passear e tomar café fora de casa todos os dias, isso é algo importante para mim, mas no meu local de atuação é inviável então eu readequei meu processo de qualidade de vida e agora gosto de fazer café artesanal em casa, lavar roupas na mão com um sabão específico que eu amo o cheiro, fazer exercícios na sala da oficina do meu trabalho( onde eu moro) e sentar na varanda para conversar com uma amiga de trabalho! Reescrevo passagens bíblicas e estudo minhas ações juntamente com alguns amigos de minha turma GMF! Todos nós somos seres que se adaptam e posso dizer que estou muito contente de viver como vivo e conhecer tantas pessoas legais, o importante em tudo isso é estar bem e se divertir mesmo em um contexto complexo, eu escolhi sorrir para a tristeza todos os dias, e ela me faz crescer um pouco mais forte.

Minha gratidão é por poder fazer o que eu aprendi a gostar, sigo aprendendo a ser, aprender, fazer e ser, minha aprendizagem é constante e em Cristo eu posso afirmar com muito consciência: vai tudo bem!

Ready to be Awakened

Just a week ago in Mexico City, we experienced another series of earthquakes. There was little or no damage here where I am, but it was still scary given my memories of the September earthquakes. In honor of these recent earth-shakings, I’m finally getting around to publishing something I wrote about the ones a few months ago.

*****

On September 19, there was an earthquake of a 7.1 magnitude that struck Mexico, with the epicenter 75 miles/120 km away from where I live. This was the second large-scale earthquake in two weeks. Both caused great destruction, but 19-S’s destruction was closer to where I live, with dozens of buildings collapsed in Mexico City, thousands more condemned, and hundreds of deaths in the whole region.

I was fortunate in many ways: I was at home when it happened, and the minor damages that happened to my building were repaired within a few hours. Everyone I know was safe after the earthquake, although a colleague and his family did lose their home. Despite my luck, it was still a very significant experience for me and one I won’t soon forget.

There are many bad ways to respond to a disaster or any tragedy. Among them, is the idea “everything happens for a reason” or “this is God’s will” or even worse, “this is God’s punishment of you for your sins.”

I do not think everything happens for a reason. Most things just happen—whether as direct effects of the choices of human beings or because of biological and scientific processes—and we have to deal with those events and decide what the meaning will be. I do not think suffering is God’s will. I do not believe God wishes suffering upon us. I do not think that God punishes sin through destruction. Events like earthquakes and hurricanes are naturally-occurring phenomenon that are a part of how the Earth works.

While I do not think that tragedy is something that God wills, I do think that these sorts of events can be important moments for us. They shake us awake. They make us realize things we didn’t realize before. They show us things we may not have noticed otherwise. These are often moments of great pain, trauma, and loss. And sometimes, they can also be moments of learning.

I can’t prescribe what this event’s wake up calls were for other people; I can only mention what I myself have realized through this experience:

1. The Earth inspires awe, and we should be concerned about how we treat it. After the earthquake, while I sat alone in my house without cell phone battery or electricity waiting for someone to get there to inform me of what had happened, my thoughts immediately turned to the Earth. With all the hurricanes and earthquakes of the recent days, I was impacted by the destructive (creative) power of the Earth and I was humbled and ashamed how humans contributed to destroying our benevolent place of residence.
2. Sometimes I can’t be there. My body’s reaction to the earthquake was to get sick straightaway. The stress was too much for it, and it shut down via a cold. Once the power came back on at 9 pm and I actually learned about the magnitude of what had happened and what there was to be done, my body said, “No. You can’t go out there.” It was hard for me to stay inside while the rest of the city was coming together to rescue people trapped and to support those who had lost their homes, but I knew my sick body would just be in the way. Staying inside felt similar to the feeling I get when I see people in the U.S. taking to the streets (literally or figuratively) to protest the injustices happening: I want to join, but I’m not able to be there. Sometimes I can’t be there physically, and I have to find other ways of getting involved.
3. I am grateful for my life and for the lives of my friends and family. A few days after the earthquake, I started crying out of the blue. I cried because of the gravity of what I had lived through—the death and the destruction that was so close to me yet that I had somehow evaded. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for my own life and for the lives of my friends, and I felt led to tell them so. In some ways, it seems hard to have fun after such a tragedy, but it has also been important to celebrate the life and friendship that we’ve all been given.
4. Human beings are capable of so much when we work together for good. Without a doubt, people in Mexico really came together to help their communities (and beyond). Immediately, regular people went to work moving debris and helping get survivors out of collapsed buildings. With the power out, young people began directing traffic. Professionals from different fields (doctors, nurses, psychologists, engineers, architects, lawyers) offered their services for free. Churches, schools, and other organizations set up donation centers to collect food and hygiene items for those affected. Local hardware stores and pharmacies sold their products at cost for relief efforts. There were many reports of there being too many volunteers in some places. The power of the people is inspiring.
5. You can’t always be prepared. Being prepared is exhausting. The day of the earthquake, a lot of information came out about how we could prepare ourselves for future aftershocks or other earthquakes. Make an emergency backpack with a first aid kit, water, canned food, a blanket, and important documents. Leave a pan on the edge of a table so it will fall and wake you up during an aftershock. Keep a jacket and shoes handy. Always have your phone charged and have a back up battery charger. For a few days after the earthquake, I was obsessed with being prepared. I followed the above advice. I started to worry if I couldn’t find my shoes in any given moment. I was obsessive about keeping my phone charged (my phone had lost charge shortly after the earthquake, so I had learned my lesson). Even now, as I walk down the street or go to a new place, I think, “What would I do if an earthquake happened right now?” and I take note of any cables or tall buildings and look for the familiar earthquake gathering place symbols. In all my efforts to be prepared, I quickly realized that being constantly alert and prepared was exhausting. Life fights to get back to some sense of normalcy. My feet have to go barefoot at some point. My phone will lose its charge.
6. I can channel my gifts and my training. Back in March I went to a training by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). I went because I work with ministries related to migrants, and I learned a bit about how we could partner on migration-related projects, but I also learned a ton more about disasters, disaster relief, and disaster prevention. At the time, I did not know that all that information about disasters and relief would prove as helpful as it has to me and my community after the earthquake. It has been nice to share my knowledge and written resources with the team from la Comunidad Teológica de México as we develop and implement a disaster response program. Being bilingual has also been very helpful in this work, since many disaster relief funding organizations speak primarily English and I have been able to translate important documents to send to those organizations.

This tragedy calls to mind the passage in Mark 13 in which Jesus warns listeners to “Beware, keep alert.” At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus says that the temple will be destroyed. When some disciples ask more about this destruction, he also warns of wars, famines, and even earthquakes (!). He says that his disciples will be put on trial and beaten and will have to bear witness to the gospel. Their family members will die, and they will be hated. During these and many more tribulations, they should always be “on guard” and wary of those who claim to know the truth. After these difficulties, “they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” Jesus finishes saying,

“Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come… or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.”

In this passage, Jesus warns us of the suffering that is a part of life. Wars, famine, earthquakes, people who are against us, family members that die… and much more. In the past several months, this hemisphere alone has seen great tragedy—hurricanes, earthquakes, mass shootings, and more. In the midst of the difficulties of life, we have to be “on guard.” We have to beware, be alert. Many people will try to claim they know the truth about God and the world, but we have to be cautious about who we trust and believe. Do we believe those who claim our suffering as punishment for the sins they impose on us? Or do we make our own meaning and draw our own realizations from our experiences?

Jesus cautions us to be awake and alert and even to leave space for hope (leave open the possibility of Jesus coming in on the clouds). As I discovered after the earthquake, it’s extremely difficult to always be prepared for the next thing coming our way. We can’t always be alert or awake or “woke.” The doorkeeper for the man’s house cannot stay awake all night every night until the man comes home.

It’s hard to maintain a state of constant awareness, especially during this time of social media and a 24-hour news cycle. Sometimes we need to take a break and re-center and de-stress. But I think being prepared isn’t that you always know where your shoes are, but rather that you’re always open to being shaken awake when you fall asleep.

We can’t always be alert, but we must always be willing to be awakened by our own experiences and by the world around us. We must always let our experiences move and shape us. But we must also take care of ourselves in the midst of our alertness.

What will you learn from tragedy? How will you take care of yourself in your times of tribulation? How will you see the hope that appears even during these difficult times?

Amanda Cherry

GMF International, Class of 2016-2018

Mexico

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What’s next?

It might seem too early to have this question but less than four months from now, I will go back to the Philippines, I will do two months of integration service, and then my GMF term will end. After our midterm event last November, there are days that I am already looking forward to the end of my international placement and being back in my home context, but most of the days, I am anxiously thinking, “What’s next?”

When I decided enter the program, I didn’t plan anything afterwards. Not having a long-term plan is totally out of my personality, but I courageously heed to a calling that has been long overdue and journey to the uncertainty. I want to be transformed — to strengthen my trust in God, to serve God, to align my priorities in life, and to adhere to the mandates of our Christian faith of living in peace, justice, and abundant life for all.

During my 18 months in the program, I was able to diversely expand my network, be exposed to different programs and ways to serve and ‘be with’ communities, have different lenses that allowed me to see the injustices that have long existed and do not get much attention (not only in Zambia but also in the Philippines and around the world), have a transformed perspective of social justice, and grow a deeper desire to break from the systems that dictate that we compete with one another rather than be together.

Along with this transforming experience come different ideas, visions, and challenges that mingle with opportunities (or options) both from my current and previous journeys. Not having a long-term plan have both good and not so good aspects. Some of the good aspects are that it made me being more present and focused on the experience, being amazed by the revelations and transforming experience without being spoiled by unmet expectations, and being open to various learnings that are not limited by a roadmap or timelines. One not so good aspect of not having a long-term plan is that it is harder to discern the options that I have.

Not knowing what to do despite having many things to do can be worrying-–it’s like listening to many songs playing at once and you don’t know which one to focus on or to sing along with. Identifying which options are of God or which are of myself can then be confusing.

It is in times like this that I am reminded to take a pause and look back. To stop all the songs and tune myself to the voice of God, the voice that has brought me to this journey. As I read back from the GMF purpose statement I submitted during my application, I found a cue of what’s next.

“After the program I hope to finally walk on the path of mission that God has planted in my heart since childhood. I hope to be exposed and build new connections in the mission environment and be able to continue working in other organizations or institutions focusing on sustainability of life and alleviation of injustices.”

Adrian Mendoza

GMF International, Class of 2016-2018

Zambia

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Simple, Faithful, Mundane Moments

We as human beings love powerful images. We love dramatic stories.

They inspire us. They spark our emotions. We love a story with a beginning, middle, and end. A story told in an image of suffering or of overcoming. These stories and the images they evoke–or from which they are evoked–ignite passion and make us want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

But these stories are not the whole story. A powerful image is beautiful, but it doesn’t capture all of the moments that come before, or after.

Because life isn’t like that. Life is not a single story. It doesn’t have a good “arc,” a clear narrative structure, and a neat and tidy meaning or ending. Life is complex. It can be nonsensical. It can seem dull.

And this is the reality of ministry as well. We post pictures and share stories of the highlights. They tell the story that is true, and that people are interested in hearing, but we tend to gloss over the other parts of the story. The parts that don’t seem like a big deal. The everyday parts. The cleaning of community spaces. The going to the senior center to volunteer and only one senior showing up that day. The spending an hour with that senior, talking at times and sitting in silence at times.

This isn’t glamorous, and hardly even seems significant. Not worth mentioning really. This story doesn’t make it to the newsletter. But my God yes does it matter. These choices, these small insignificant moments are what make up a lifetime. They are what makes a community. They are what build and shape our character, our sense of connection and responsibility to one another and to the people, places, and things that surround us.

The young man in this photo spending time with this senior has come to know her. He knows much about her story and he cares for her. When he dreams of what he might do to improve his community, he thinks of ways to create educational opportunities for this woman and her friends. He knows that she has much to give, that she has not only a rich past but a rich present worth investing in, and that she is not a charity case. And he knows this because of the hour he spent that day, along with the other hours on the other days that he faithfully shows up to meet her and her neighbors.

This is the real story behind an image. This is the reality of the way our stories as individuals and communities are made, even if it is not the way that we tell them. It might not be flashy or sexy, but it is the real power of missional living: The power only found in simple, faithful, mundane moments.

Mary E. Hooke Quashie

GMF International, Class of 2017-2019

South Korea

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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

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Trumpets of Thanksgiving at Matola

Grateful hearts at Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday (Accao de Gracas) at Matola Circuit

Giving thanks to God in the midst of Trials and Tribulations.

Since time immemorial, it has been the culture of United Methodists to meet in celebration of what is commonly known as the Harvest Thanksgiving or “Accao de Gracas” in Portuguese. Hundreds of congregants gather in their respective circuits to give thanks to God and to celebrate and acknowledge God’s favor and kindness to them. Thanksgiving is such a genuine and most valuable event in the history of the United Methodist Church and more importantly in the history of our Christian faith. Harvest Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and be thankful from our innermost souls for all that God has done to us. I had previously experienced Harvest Thanksgiving in my home country Zimbabwe, but this present year 2017 I was honored to witness a vibrant, live, and blessed Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday at Matola Circuit of the Southern Save Conference in Mozambique where I am currently serving as a Global Mission Fellow of the United Methodist Church.

On August 6, 2017, more than a thousand congregants gathered at Matola Circuit as they celebrated and expressed their gratitude to God, where Rev Naftal, a fellow GMF, and Rev Joao Diogo Inguane are currently serving as the pastor in charge and the assistant pastor respectively. The following Sunday, August 13, 2017, was followed by a visitation to one of the local churches–Joaquina Nhanala Local church, named after the resident bishop–where we continued with the Accao de Gracas. This is still a small local church that is slowly growing into an independent big circuit, and the congregants worship in an incomplete building. l was happy to see dedicated congregants, who despite economic hardships are striving to finish up the church. May we remember them in our prayers for God to continue give them strength and resources as they labor in his vineyard.

This has made me to reflect how more often people ask why they should give thanks to God when faced with trials and tribulations. Sometimes I also reflect and ask myself whether amidst all the social challenges people are facing nowadays–from poverty and global diseases such as cancer, H.I.V./ AIDS, and malaria; to violence, terrorist attacks, and civil wars in which people of the same nation wage war against one another; to natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, and hurricanes, which have become the order of the day–are we able to find something to be thankful about? Do these challenges mean that God has turned his back on us during these trying times?

Absolutely not. Job, a man who was blameless and upright before God, who feared God and turned away from evil, was tempted. He was a great man of worth who possessed all the wealth in the world, but when he was tempted he lost everything–his children, wealth, status in the community, and health–and yet he didn’t turn away from God. In the midst of trials and tribulations, give thanks to God for who he is, for the mighty works he has done, and for what he continues to do.

Of all the reasons for giving thanks, we see the gift of salvation as the most important one: “For God so loved the world that he have his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Since we have received such love and mercy, let us thank him for his dear life, “the bread of life,” which has come down from heaven for the salvation and strength of our immortal souls. This becomes the root cause of thanksgiving to every Christian who has received Christ as his/her personal Savior.

Let us be thankful as well for the service of creation–that God created us in his own image and sent us into the world to live for his Glory. Psalms 95:1-6 says:

O come, let us sing joy to the Lord; let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation! Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms! For the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all Gods, in whose hands are the depths of the sea; the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His for it was HE who made it, and his hands formed the dry lands. Come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker!

Let us render thanks, not only with our lips but through our lives as well. As Christians we can show thankfulness to God through a proper enjoyment of his gifts to us. If God blesses us with the good things of this life, we are not going to be selfish where we think of ourselves only. Rather, by all means let us try to be good stewards by showing compassion to others, ministering especially to those who through tiredness, sickness, poverty, violence, and adversity are in need of our help.

Lynnette Hlatywayo

GMF International, Class of 2016-2018

Mozambique

JustaPaz Center of Study and Conflict

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