Welcome! ¡Bienvenidos!

Hello Mayflower friends and welcome to my blog!

When Reverend Sarah Campbell heard that I had committed to a year of faith-based service in Argentina through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's "Young Adults in Global Mission" (YAGM) program, she became excited not only for my sake but also for the sake of our whole congregation.  She hopes that by sharing my experiences with the Mayflower congregation, I will inspire other members (especially youth and young adults) to pursue similar faith-based service opportunities.  So, I have created this blog as a tool for sharing my personal experiences in Argentina as well as for spreading awareness about the faith-based service opportunities available to Mayflower members.  

In the near future, you can expect to read details about the following programs (and more!):

• Young Adults in Global Mission
• Lutheran Volunteer Corps
• St. Joseph Worker’s Program
• Young Adult Service Communities (UCC)
• UCC Summer Communities of Service

I also plan to interview Laura Koch about her work on the Pine Ridge Reservation and Hannah Campbell about her work in UCC service communities.

To provide you with some more background information about what I'll be doing in Argentina, here is the article I wrote for August's "Ship to Shore" :

From August 2012 to August 2013, I will engage in a year of service with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s (ELCA’s) “Young Adults in Global Mission”  (YAGM) program.  The mission of YAGM is to develop globally-formed leaders of the church through international social justice work.  This year, 57 young adults will travel to eight countries and work in a variety of placements including orphanages, human rights organizations, schools, churches, and health care providers.  Although the group of 57 will have diverse experiences, what all placements have in common is that they will advance God’s dream of peace and justice on earth. 

I will be working in an L’Arche community for people with cognitive disabilities in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  I will participate in daily life with the residents, support them in achieving their goals and maximizing their self-sufficiency, and share a spiritual lifestyle with them.  On Sundays, I will lead Sunday school activities for children at a Lutheran church 20 minutes away from the L’Arche home.  I have no doubt that my year in Buenos Aires will be a rich opportunity for learning, spiritual growth and giving. 

In order to make my work in Buenos Aires possible, I need to raise at least $4,000, and thanks to the Mayflower Foundation’s generous grant of $3,000, I have now nearly reached that minimum amount.  Thank you for your support Mayflower!  As my part of the deal in this partnership, I have committed to using my experiences to inspire other Mayflower youth and young adults to engage in similar faith-based service opportunities.  Keep an eye out for my blog and Ship to Shore updates in the near future.  ¡Hasta luego! (See you later!)

Thank you for reading!

You can expect to see my next entry sometime after I arrive in Buenos Aires (August 23rd).  

God's Peace!

Lisa