No images? Click here Summer 2022 Staff insight: To everything there is a seasonMorning sun over wet grasses. Photo/Febri Kristiani Summer season has now arrived in Northern Hemisphere. As someone who grew up in a tropical country, Indonesia, summer is the closest season to what I used to know. I get to spend more time in my backyard here in Akron, Pennsylvania. I tend to my garden where I planted vegetables and flowers. I love watching and listening to birds. I enjoy having meals at our picnic table with my spouse and our friends. On cooler evenings, we like to sit around by the firepit making s'mores and drinking tea. I treasure what seem to be ordinary things in this season knowing that they will change. My IVEP year in 2014–2015 was the first time I lived in a place with four different seasons. I remember how fascinating it was to watch the leaves changing their colors in the fall, snow slowly falling from the skies in the winter and trees and flowers coming back to life in the spring. In that year, I also learned that there are seasons in our lives. There was a season of new beginning. I lived in a new place, met new people, built new relationships, learned a new culture and way of life. There was also the season of ending when I had to say goodbye. There was sadness when I had to say goodbye to my two host families, my friends and the community who were once strangers but had become my family. There was also joy when I was thinking about returning home and reuniting with my family. It was a learning process to seek God and be present in a life that is so complex with both joy and sadness. I finished each season with insights, emotions, and attitudes that were sometimes different from when I started. These seasons changed me. Febri Kristiani, Global Service Learning Administrative Assistant Participant insight: Learning through service and grief Daniel Otoide, an IVEPer from Nigeria working at his desk at Della Lamb Community Services (DLCS) in Kansas City, Missouri. DLCS photo/Ashley Foster The only information I had about being a refugee was basically what I saw on TV. Situations like the Syrian civil conflict and the Rohingya exodus to Bangladesh as examples were all so distant to me. But that changed when Della Lamb Community Service (DLCS) — the resettlement agency I serve with — welcomed over 300 Afghan evacuees. As overwhelming as it is, it presented a big opportunity to really serve, provide hope, help them arrive and thrive and be a guide. Being part of IVEP and working with DLCS has given me the opportunity to serve, add value and work with people from different parts of the world. The experience is unique because each person I meet and serve struggles with individual resettlement experiences, trauma, senses of loss and expectations. All these manifest themselves in challenging ways, but the joy of it all is patiently working with them through it; working to see others happy, thriving, self-sufficient and solving their own problems as they arise and putting smiles on people’s faces. Every morning when I leave the house, I see it as not just work, but a chance to serve. It’s not just an opportunity, it’s a call. I draw strength from the fact that I put a smile on people’s faces, I help make light their burdens in tandem with MCC’s motto “relief, development and peace in the name of Christ” through which I am graced with this dearly appreciated opportunity. Daniel Otoide, IVEP Participant 2021-2022 Host insight: Our adopted family of IVEPersFrom L to R: Christian Berambaye (Chad), Beth Suderman, Rufaro Manyureni (Zimbabwe), Luis Magopeia (Mozambique), and Greg Suderman in Elkhart, Indiana. Photo/Christian Berambaye I grew up in a family that has always been very supportive of MCC and international friendships. My parents met during my dad’s MCC assignment in Germany after the Second World War. My mother was part of a Mennonite summer tour that volunteered at the same work camp. I was with MCC in Toronto, Ontario, from 1976–1978. I visited my sisters in Bangladesh and Mexico and friends in Brazil during their MCC terms. My wife, Beth, and my first involvement with IVEP began when Brooke Strayer, young adult coordinator for MCC Great Lakes, asked us to host IVEPers from other states when they came to Goshen, Indiana, for Great Lakes IVEP gatherings. At first these were one-time interactions, but that all changed when we hosted Hilario Afonso Chivale (Mozambique) in September 2018. He came from Columbus, Ohio, to attend the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale. We talked until late in the night. The next morning Hilario asked us if we could be his “American mom and dad.” He did not have a host family in Columbus because he lived with several younger German volunteers who worked at the same daycare and after-school program he did. He missed having a host family like most IVEPers. That visit led to becoming “long-distance hosts” with nearly weekly phone calls and several weekend visits. Greg Suderman, IVEP Host 2021-2022 Partner insight: Our IVEPer really got in the mix Placido Messelela (Mozambique) and Marisol Santos at The Mix in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Mix photo/Joseph Mobley The Mix was excited to partner with MCC this year to host an IVEPer at the organization, unsure of what the experience was to be like. Steps of faith were taken and Placido Messelela was welcomed into the organization and quickly became part of the team. Being that the organization and county was still working through COVID-19 guidelines, the plans that were in place prior to Placido arriving had to shift and change at times. Being a partner site and being Placido’s immediate supervisor, I learned quickly that communication was going to be a key factor during this IVEP experience. I learned to not just be flexible in our expectations, but also learned to coach and develop him in the areas that he was interested in. Placido not only brought his love of art to our organization through teaching art to our students and leaving pieces of him behind through his artwork in our building, but he also gained knowledge on what it is that The Mix does and even was interested in learning how he can bring something similar back to Mozambique.
Alumnus insight: God's plans to prosperMichael Quezada, an IVEPer from Nicaragua (2019-2020) teaching third grade class. Photo/July Chitiquez My name is Michael Quezada, and I am from Nicaragua. I am currently serving with Educando Para la Vida in Guatemala for young adult ministry. From an early age, I have felt called to serve others. Now, as a teacher, I have the opportunity to impact the lives of children and guide them on the path to Christ every day. I have been living in Guatemala for five months to serve. I have the privilege of meeting people who have dedicated their lives to serving others. During my first weeks, I had the opportunity to visit local organizations that support families living in a context of poverty, and hear about the experiences of migrants and racism against indigenous people. I was surrounded by leaders working for peace, justice, education and service to others. It was very inspiring, and I felt motivated to start this year of service. One of the things I enjoy about my time here is teaching students and watching them discover new things about God’s world. A few weeks ago, I started teaching physical education and I have been enjoying this time with my students. I am thankful that God has called me to Guatemala to teach and guide these students, children of missionaries and future leaders. My experience in IVEP was extraordinary. This program changed my life in so many ways. I worked as a Spanish teaching assistant at Eastern Mennonite University. During my service, I had the opportunity to meet international friends and learn about their cultures. It was a great year of new experiences and challenges. Michael Quezada, IVEP 2019-2020 L to R: Stefanny Sierra Mendoza (Colombia) and Thandeka Ncube (Zimbabwe), with Adelaida Hernandez, IVEP regional coordinator, in Berkeley, California. L to R: Alex Kachkovskyi (Ukraine), Omar Borja Perea (Colombia) and Placido Messelela (Mozambique) in front of Abraham Lincoln Statue at Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Great Lakes IVEPers getting ready to go on ziplining during their retreat in Campton, Kentucky. Juliet Dias (Bangladesh), Hyojae Kwak (Republic of Korea) and Daniel Otoide (Nigeria) posing after horse riding during their retreat in Hutchinson, Kansas. Alex Kachkovskyi from Ukraine celebrating his birthday with supervisor and residents at Fairmount Homes in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Stefanny Sierra Mendoza from Colombia learning how to quilt. The Who's Who of IVEP IVEP U.S. National Coordinator andreageiserleaman@mcc.orgCentral States abbyendashaw@mcc.orgEast Coast caitlinjones@mcc.orgGreat Lakes brookestrayer@mcc.orgWest Coast adelaidahernandez@mcc.orgIt is a peace program that works, not in a big sweep, but one small ripple at a time, each ripple enlarging with every expanding circle. – Doreen Harms (IVEP administrator 1949-51, 1955-58, 1968-91) |