From Everywhere to Everywhere vvoolluummee 1111 •• nnuummbbeerr 11 How to be a Missionary departments 5 Postcard 6 Editorial 11 Reflections 30 New Volunteers 32 Volunteer Opportunities features 8 Of Second Chances Volunteering was a last offering of respect to the calling I had thought was mine. 12 An Unlikely Miracle Amazing things happen when we look through God’s eyes instead of our own. c o n t e n t s 14 The Unexpected I had told God that I was going to go; I couldn’t back out now. 18 Won’t You Come? Are you a Jeremiah, saying, “Here I am, send me?” 22 A Volunteer Interview I would heartily encourage other retirees who are still in fairly good health to consider volunteering. 24 An Island Overview We were told that the party would begin around 6pm, but they were still setting up around 8pm. This was our first introduction to “Island time.” Cover: Some of the boys at the Laura Seventh-day Adventist School in Majuro horsing around. Story on page 24. m i s s i o n p o s t | c o n t e n t s 2 a d v e n t i s t v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e missionpost GENERAL CONFERENCE VOLUNTEER STAFF Homer Trecartin | DIRECTOR/EDITOR Donna Rodill | SR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT/LAYOUT & DESIGN Theresa Berry | ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Candace Renk | AVS VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR Joanne Stango | AVS ASSOCIATE COORDINATOR Jill Walker Gonzalez | AVS ASSISTANT COORDINATOR/ EDITORIAL ASSISTANT J John Wycliffe | OFFICE ASSISTANT DIVISION VOLUNTEER COORDINATORS Hudson E Kibuuka | EAST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION Gabriel E Maurer | EURO-AFRICA DIVISION Michael Kaminsky | EURO-ASIA DIVISION Faye Reid | INTER-AMERICAN DIVISION Jose Rojas | NORTH AMERICAN DIVISION Akeri Suzuki | NORTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC DIVISION Marly Timm | SOUTH AMERICAN DIVISION Robert Bolst | SOUTH PACIFIC DIVISION Julian Hibbert | SOUTHERN AFRICA-INDIAN OCEAN DIVISION Rose Christo | SOUTHERN ASIA DIVISION Gary Rustad | SOUTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC DIVISION Paul Tompkins | TRANS-EUROPEAN DIVISION John Enang | WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA DIVISION We welcome unsolicited manuscripts, letters to the editor, volunteer tips, postcards and stories. Send all editorial correspondence to: Adventist Volunteer Center Publications 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600 USA E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 301-680-6635 Website: www.adventistvolunteers.org Mission Post (ISSN 1528-235X) is published four times a year by the Adventist Volunteer Center of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Printed by the Review and Herald Publishing Association, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21741-1119. Copyright © 2001, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. For a free subscription, send your name and address to Adventist Volunteer Center Publications, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600 or send an email to: [email protected] m i s s i o n p o s t | c o n t e n t s 3 a d v e n t i s t v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e m i s s i o n p o s t | p o s t c a r d 4 a d v e n t i s t v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e P o s t c a r d Halli Hallo! Ihave been in Moldova for almost two months already. Everything I see, hear and eat here—the people, the landscape, the cities, the situation of the country— reminds me of my childhood in Kazakhstan, so I feel at home. During my first week in Moldova, I worked with the ADRA Moldova team, helping them to prepare bags of food and toiletries for flood victims. We personally delivered the bags, and all the people were very grateful for our assistance. Now, I serve as a volunteer in the Rainbow Rehabilitation Center for children. There are 18 children here, all of different ages, and each with their own story of tragedy. The goal of the center is, if possible, to integrate the children back into their own families or to find a suitable foster or adoptive home for them. Of course, one of the center’s most important goals is to be able to support and assist more children. My duties here are to attend to the children throughout the day and to help them in their various tasks, and, of course, to have fun with them. It is not easy to work here, but the prayers of my family, my friends and my community give me strength every day as I work with the children. I am very happy that I am able to serve God in Moldova by serving these children. Sincerely, Eva Roon m i s s i o n p o s t | p o s t c a r d 5 a d v e n t i s t v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e Homer Trecartin | Editor, Mission Post | Associate Secretary, General Conference of Seventh-day editorial Adventists | Director, Adventist Volunteer Center How to be a Missionary F or years I read books about lands with the gospel. I was faithful with missionaries like “Nyla and the my tithes and mission offerings to help White Crocodile,” “Diamondola” support missionaries around the world. and “Clever Queen.” Dozens of times I But down deep in my heart there was a listened to stories like “The Big Yellow desperate longing to actually go myself, to Truck,” “Crooked Ears” and “Pip Pip the be a missionary. But how? Naughty Chicken” by Eric B. Hare. These Today I find that many have those same stories inspired me, challenged me and questions – just how does someone go motivated me, but they didn’t tell me about being a missionary anyway? how I could become a missionary. While there is no particular course As I got older and wiser I piously you must take if you want to be a declared, “We are all missionaries, you missionary—among those needed are know—wherever we live!” And that professionals such as pastors, doctors, is true. We are all missionaries in our mechanics, teachers, technicians, nurses, communities, our families, even at work. Bible workers, dentists, farmers, pilots, But my words were really trying to musicians, linguists and more—there are bravely cover up a longing in my heart. some things you can do to help yourself Oh, I tried to be a loving neighbor and be prepared. If you feel that burning friend, a witness to those around me. desire to help carry the Gospel to those I prayed for those who made great of other cultures, here are six steps you sacrifices to leave family and enter difficult should follow: m i s s i o n p o s t | e d i t o r i a l 6 a d v e n t i s t v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e 1) Learn to know Jesus as your an application to be a volunteer. friend. If you don’t know Him and If you have trouble with that, you spend time with Him each day, how can contact your school or division can you share Him with others? volunteer service coordinator for 2) Pray. Pray that God will open help. And don’t just apply once doors, pray that He will give you a and give up if the opening you ask burden for a part of the world where for is already filled. Keep talking He may want you to serve, and then to your coordinator and ask for begin to pray daily for the people of your application to be sent for that part of the world. consideration to another place or 3) See if there is anyone from that assignment. After all, God may have part of the world living, working, something far different in store for studying, or vacationing near you you than ever could have thought. and begin to get to know them. 6) Continue praying for God to Eat in their restaurants, read books send laborers into the harvest and about them, look things up on the watch for Him to send you into the Internet. If possible, become a friend field right where you are or around of some, invite them to your home the world. and go to theirs. May God be with you as you seek His 4) Begin to learn the language will for your future. of the part of the world where you feel called to serve. Buy a language NOTE: If you are interested in reading course book or computer program. more mission stories, log onto www. Even if God sends you somewhere AdventistMission.org. There you will else, the process of learning one find all kinds of current stories, pictures, language will make learning another videos, blogs, and ways to be involved. language easier and quicker. Mission is happening. Be a part of it! 5) Log onto www. AdventistVolunteers.org and fill out m i s s i o n p o s t | e d i t o r i a l 7 a d v e n t i s t v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e KKKKKeeeeennnnnyyyyyaaaaa Of Second s e c n a h C By Karlah Bacomo I’ve realized something. I want to be smelling the stench of hopelessness and a doctor. That’s not a bad ambition, helplessness, feeling the acidity of horrible you might say. To most, my suffering brought on by life’s miseries, statement wouldn’t mean anything out hearing the arrogant mockery of death of the ordinary—except that I already and dying, tasting the vainness of life… am a doctor! I guess it was because of all of this that I Three years ago, I graduated from felt like running away. medical school fresh and ready for life, I didn’t feel anything like this at all with eagerness for the world of medicine during my junior internship. In fact, I had and with zest to serve humanity. I entered told friends and family that if there was a post-graduate internship, but sometime one year of medical school I would like during the middle of the year, I lost it. to repeat, it would be the year I did my I lost my passion for medicine, healing, hospital internship. Now, here I was, in a serving. I lost it. And as much as I was sense, repeating it, but loathing it. I was confused and depressed, I was mostly losing my grip on medicine. I wanted to scared. Being a doctor was my childhood bolt. But that was an inconceivable idea. dream come true—or so I thought. For the If you had known me from childhood, you past twenty years I had even believed that wouldn’t have thought it possible that I being a missionary doctor was my calling. wanted to ditch. Besides, I didn’t know I woke up one day, however, to realize what I would do if I quit, so I stuck to it; that I was dragging myself to work. I was I held on by a frayed thread of reluctant counting duty hours by the second. I was persistence and tolerance, and just willed staring at the clock, urging it to make 60 tthhee yyeeaarr ttoo bbee oovveerr.. minutes into 60 seconds. I was sprinting for the hospital door by 4:59 pm. Thirty- hour duties were caustic nightmares. The bottom line? I wanted out! Maybe it was because I was interning in a government hospital. Everything was damaging to my senses: seeing the dirt-poor patients surrounding me, Karlah with baby Ashley m i s s i o n p o s t | k e n y a 8 a d v e n t i s t v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e And then Papa died. He was brought KENDU BAY, KENYA to the hospital the night of his 60th But things are different now. I’m now birthday because of chest pains. Fourteen an Adventist Volunteer in Kenya at Kendu hours later, he was dead. How cruel Bay Adventist Hospital. A friend wanted can medicine, technology and science an honest answer as to why I’m here. I be? Okay… how cruel can life be?? This answer with brevity: I had a dream that shouldn’t have happened to me! And turned into a nightmare. I had a reality why should it happen to our family when I wanted to escape from. I thought just there were just the three of us? Existing maybe I could find the answers here, and in a dismembered triumvirate was not a maybe, if I got lucky, get a shot at life possibility. How selfish and unfair can life again. be??!! And why did God let him die in the I can’t really point to a day or a specific first place?? From what I knew, my papa something that gave me my ‘reconversion.’ was the archetype of “Eat well, sleep well, I gave myself one year to do volunteer work well, pray well, die anyway.” medical work so that I could try to move Of course, nobody actually heard all forward in any small way. Before I started those words from me. I was brought up in volunteering, I was actually craving a a good, Christian home with God-fearing drastic career change. But I decided on parents. I was supposed to have all-around this one year to be a missionary doctor—a strong faith in God, too. After all, wasn’t last offering of respect to the calling I had that what my very name stood for*? I thought was mine. wasn’t about to destroy my family’s or my I’ve been here for nine months now, but own image, so I kept my feelings to myself I can safely say I have most of my answers and became a hypocrite. already. Maybe the change in environment The deepest prayer I ever prayed was at gave me a different perspective. But I my father’s bedside, as the doctors were guess the best explanation is that God trying to resuscitate him. I struggled there didn’t give up on me, as I did Him. The just as Jacob struggled with God long ago. rest of the questions I have will most likely But when Papa was pronounced dead, I be unanswered until I get to ask God let go of God’s hand and left Him by the Himself. But I’ve been made better by this bedside. That prayer was my last real one. experience. The answers I got were not Ten days after we buried Papa, I went concrete, they were not handed down back to the hospital to resume work. It neatly packaged by God and they did not was January 1. What happened to me come together all at once. I saw them between New Year’s Day and now was a in bits and pieces: in the peaceful smile subsistence filled with apathy, depression, of a dying patient, in the appreciative confusion, desperation, antagonism, kisses of an elderly patient, in the life of indifference, uncertainty, ennui, chaos, another friend, in the hugs of strangers, in regression and disorientation in all the prayer of the hospital chaplain and a aspects—emotional, physical, psychological nurse, in tranquil sunsets, in letters, in old and most importantly, spiritual. memories, in the recent political unrest in m i s s i o n p o s t | k e n y a 9 a d v e n t i s t v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e Kenya Kenya, even in the rebounding quietness I hear when I throw my questions at God. I had let go of God, but He hadn’t let go of my hand after all. My term of service will come to an end soon, and although I have been invited to stay, I plan to go into specialty training and then come back to the mission field to serve as a doctor. I believe it is one of God’s answers for me. Karlah Bacomo has now finished her year of volunteer service in Kenya and has returned to her native Philippines. Currently, she is still working on her residency and on an application for an SDA medical institution. In the future she plans to do medical volunteer work again. *The name Karla means “strong and womanly” (www.name-meanings.com). KKaarrllaahh wwiitthh ttwwiinnss JJoohhnn aanndd JJoosseepphh.. m i s s i o n p o s t | k e n y a 10 a d v e n t i s t v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e