No images? Click here Spring 2020 IVEP Welcome: How do we navigate our way forward?2019-20 IVEPers coming together for fun, learning and building friendships during the Mid- Year Conference in Virginia At a time when “physical distancing” is our best way of beating COVID-19, how do we support a program like IVEP whose essence is about connecting the world? How do we navigate our way forward? On the very real work front, we here at MCC are taking seriously the fluid reality of life with COVID-19. Our program is about moving people physically from one place to another. Allowable travel is changing, advisable travel is changing. We monitor and make decisions with input and information from credible sources. Human bodies in movement require caution, and we discern carefully best ways forward. In orientation we talk about self-care and the connections between the well-being of our physical, emotional, spiritual and social selves. When I am sad, I seek solace in company. Physical distancing impacts this. I worry about the vulnerable loved ones in my own life and the vulnerable populations in general who are already living socially isolated lives through no wish of their own. IVEP participants have shared their very real worries for their friends and family back home as well as their communities here in the U.S. and Canada ... Kathryn Deckert, IVEP Canada Coordinator
Greetings to all of you in the IVEP community. As we reflected on the many challenges we have had in the past few years operating IVEP in Canada, and then added to that the new challenges presented by COVID-19, we have decided not to operate the IVEP program in Canada for the 2020-2021 year. For several years we have had significant obstacles around securing visas, travel restrictions are still in place, and the Canadian MCCs are all working to manage with what is expected to be a significant reduction in budget. This decision has meant that the IVEP Coordinator in Canada, Kathryn Deckert, will end her role on July 31 of this year. We want to take this opportunity to extend deep gratitude for Kathryn’s creative and devoted service. This decision is for the 2020-2021 year. We also know it is very difficult to re-start programs once they are interrupted. We don’t know the future of IVEP in Canada, but engagement of young adults remains a priority for all the MCCs in Canada. Thank you to all the MCC staff and the many volunteers and participants who contribute to IVEP programming. Rick Cober Bauman Please note: This change applies to the IVEP program in Canada. The IVEP program in the U.S. continues.
Participant insight: Put the skates on and go IVEPer Jhonas from Brazil (middle), skating with host brother Greydon and friend Easton Today, I can say with all certainty that I am at home. In the last few months I have met amazing people, who made and are making me feel at home. I went through changes that I never imagined before. In one of my favorite Shawn Mendes songs, he says: You can't hold on to the old you Or the old this, or the old that Because you change And not changing in a bad way Just changing because that's what happens in life You grow up … I feel that God speaks to me through people and “things,” like music and movies. I feel much closer to God because of my family. If I'm afraid of falling, I know that God will be there to help me get up. At this moment I feel at home. But I know that when I return to Brazil, I will also feel at home, again. Fear made me feel alone. But God said, "Put the skates on, and go." Jhonas Campos dos Santos (IVEP Participant 2019-2020) Host insight: From hosting a guest to welcoming a daughterIVEPer Abigail (left) with her hosts, the Miller Family: Monica (second from left), Benjamin (middle), Katelyn (second from right), Benjamin (far right) and Lucas (front) Our kids have been begging us to host an IVEPer for a few years. They’ve gotten to know several international volunteers at Central Christian School in Kidron, Ohio. We have the space in our house and our kids thought this would be so fun! My husband and I were a little less enthusiastic, knowing this would be a big commitment. We had so many questions, “Are we too busy, is our home comfortable enough, would the IVEPer have enough space, what if the cultural differences were too great to overcome, what if they don’t speak English, what if they don’t like our food or our rural community?” These questions plagued our minds, despite the children’s persistent interest. In the Spring of 2019, we heard that a host was needed for the young woman who would be coming to Central Christian School in the Fall. We had already discussed that we would want to host a female (this was important to our daughter Katelyn who does not have a sister) Monica Miller (IVEP Host 2019-2020) IVEP partner insight: Somita recognizing her strengths Somita Tamang the IVEPer from Nepal (on the extreme right) sitting with her workmates from Youth for Christ in Winnipeg, Canada Standing in line for lunch at the Brandon, Manitoba, MCC Relief Sale last fall, I began chatting with the couple in line behind me. I told them I worked for Youth for Christ, and they told me their daughter worked for MCC’s IVEP program. It turned out they had already met Somita Tamang, the young woman who was traveling from Nepal to volunteer with YFC. “Somita is not shy,” they said. “You won’t have any trouble getting her to talk!” I knew she’d fit right in. For the past six months, Somita has been working as a life skills coach in YFC’s Uturn ministry. Uturn is for youth ages 18-29 who are homeless or at risk of being homeless, and it provides them with housing and a comprehensive program to help them gain full independence. Somita’s clients are those society might consider ‘outsiders’; they are often vulnerable, at-risk, visible minorities, or struggling with addictions or mental health. The beauty of Somita working in this context is that she can relate to feeling like an ‘outsider.’ She comes from a different culture with different values and different expectations. She has been able to learn alongside the youth she cares for, and this vulnerability allows youth who normally put up barriers to let her in more easily. Becky Buhler, IVEP Supervisor, Westman Youth for Christ IVEP alumni insight: " ... it taught me to always take a breather ..."Tina Nyathi from Livingstone, Zambia lived and served as an IVEPer in 1988. Here she's standing outside the MCC office in Akron, PA with Irene Leaman, her host mother. “Life is a journey” is a cliché commonly used to describe the tides of existence. For most of the Alumni, the IVEP experience is an unforgettable path of the journey that has shaped and changed the trajectory of where most find themselves. The best part of the IVEP Program is when participants retell their experience from years and years ago as if it has just happened. Below are a few snippets from IVEP Alumni of years gone by. My favorite memory of my IVEP year (2003/04) is the worship during mid-year conference. It was just AMAZING having so many people, from so many parts of the globe together, sharing the same faith singing and praying and feeling the spirit. I felt I was having a taste of heaven.- Priscilla De Lima (Brazil) You can read other snippets from some of the IVEP Alumni on the following link … Some of the U.S. IVEPers showing off their national flags Maria Moshan Alvarez from Mexico cheering for the Winnipeg Jets Hockey team with host dad Gerald and host sister Kim A huge Happy Birthday to B.C. IVEPer Sochetra Souen (Cambodia). With her host parents John and Ruth Schmidt Andrea Castro (Colombia) and Kwenele Thembani (Eswatini) sharing a lighter moment The Who's Who of IVEP IVEP U.S. National Coordinator AndreaGeiser@mcc.orgCentral States AbbyEndashaw@mcc.orgEast Coast KimDyer@mcc.orgGreat Lakes BrookeStrayer@mcc.orgWest Coast ThomasAdlard@mcc.org
IVEP Canada National Coordinator KathrynDeckert@mcccanada.caBritish Columbia JessicaFehrenbacher@mccbc.caManitoba JenniferSanerHarvey@mccmb.caOntario CathWoolner@mcco.caSaskatchewan KayteeEdwards@mccsk.caIt 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) |