Thursday, August 29, 2013

WHAT, HOW, and WHY:


“People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.” 

–Simon Sinek


HEADS UP: in order for this post to make the most sense, it will be best to watch the video below! (It’s about six and half minutes, but I’ve found it very meaningful)


In my previous post you met the Who: it’s me! But it’s not just me, it’s 60 other young adults serving all over the world for the next year and the communities they come from and will go to.

I’d like to communicate more about what YAGM is through the framework Simon Sinek talks about in this TED Talk. And, I’ll attempt to speak a little bit about why I am being a servant this year.   Please watch it and then continue reading!  (Thanks to Matt, Geoff, and Elise at Lutherhill Staff Training for introducing me to this video!)





Quick overview of the What, How and Why:

“Every single person, every single organization on the planet knows what they do, 100%.  Some know how they do it...  But very, very few people or organizations know why they do what they do.  And by “why” I don’t mean “to make a profit” That’s a result.  It’s always a result.  By “why” I mean:  What’s your purpose? What’s your cause? What’s your belief? Why does your organization exist? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care?

Here’s the “what” and “how” of YAGM, and my initial understanding of the “why”.

WHAT:

Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) is a program through the Global Missions office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  The program develops servant-leaders through a one year mission of service and learning opportunity in eight different placement sites around the world- Argentina/Uruguay, Central Europe, Jerusalem/West Bank, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.  The volunteers commit to being a servant in their placement for an entire year, to live as simply as the people in their community, and to walk beside every person in accompaniment (more on that word later!)


HOW:

Volunteers apply to YAGM and after acceptance attend a Discernment Interview Placement (DIP) weekend.  The DIP weekend consists of country presentations and country interviews.  YAGM staff and country coordinators, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then match each volunteer’s gifts and interests with the needs of each program to give country placements. This highlights the “call” aspect of YAGM, the notion that God is specifically calling each volunteer to be a servant in a particular place.  Volunteers are required to raise at least $4,000 of the $11,000 cost to the ELCA to send each volunteer and begin service in August.  After a week of orientation in Chicago, volunteers are sent out into the world to their placement site.  Country coordinators oversee country programs and site coordinators oversee the specific sites volunteers serve in, and awesome YAGM staff constantly provide support from the States.

WHY:  

I am serving through YAGM this year because I feel called and equipped to live in a new community completely foreign to me.  I am willing to be uncomfortable, to experience new things, to be lonely, and to wonder in my understanding of God.  But I am mostly doing YAGM to take the “I” out of everything, and instead live in community and relationship with others.  YAGM places volunteers all over the world to think, reflect, and learn how each culture and diverse community can live in relationship with one another.  Together we walk along side new people and new communities to experience the Gospel as they do.  We enter into conversation about what it means to live as people in one common identity, the identity that each person is a Child of God.   This is my current understanding of “why” I’m doing YAGM.

More later.

-Mere



Want to read more about YAGM? Check out this link



Want to support YAGM? Check out this letter:


Friday, August 23, 2013

WHO:


 

Those who know me pretty well call me Mere. It’s short for Meredith, but I like the nickname and the word itself is pretty cool too.  Mere means being nothing more nor better than, simple, and bare. This year I will be a mere servant, a mere volunteer, and a mere Child of God.  Nothing more, nothing less, simply living among the people in Central Europe.



Hello! I am Meredith and I’m a 22 year old who is lucky to have two places to call home.  (Although I’m learning to redefine my understanding of home!) The first is Boone, North Carolina where I was born and shaped as a young adult.  The people there greatly influenced my faith, values, love for football, and appreciation for being outside.  Life in the mountains was beautiful and safe, and quite comfortable.   And so- my family moved to the Big Easy in 2006 in a not so easy time following Hurricane Katrina.

As a sophomore in high school I struggled to call New Orleans home and accept that everything I had ever known would forever be changed.  As the city was being rebuilt and reinventing itself, I too was doing the same thing.  The flavor and culture of the city rubbed off on me and more so than ever I am proud to call New Orleans home.

I loved New Orleans so much that I decided to stay in the city to attend Tulane University.  Living in such an exciting city and cheering for the Green Wave made for an incredible college experience.   Through the summers I stayed connected to my North Carolina roots by working at Lutheridge in Arden, NC.  Outdoor Ministry is extremely important to me, and I am forever grateful for how my time at camp helped me develop and grow in my faith.

This past May I graduated from Tulane with a degree in Business Management and extensive course work in Secondary Education.  The friendships I made at Tulane and the memories made in New Orleans will always hold a special place in my heart.

And, this summer I developed even more friendships at Camp Lutherhill in La Grange, TX.  I helped lead some incredible high schoolers in the Lutheran Youth Leadership Experience (LYLE) and was privileged to work with talented, fun, and faithful young adults.  We focused on what it means to be embraced and graced by God, and our call to be servant leaders in response to God’s amazing love.  I can’t imagine a better summer to prepare me for where I am now.

So where am I now you ask?  I am in a one year mission of service though the ELCA’s program Young Adults in Global Mission in the beautiful country of Hungary!

More later on what exactly that is and what it means, but that’s it for now!