Happy New Year Everyone

Let's start the new year with a story from a young adult. Here's her journey...

My Journey
by Miriam Foltz

As a member of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, a former Young Adult Volunteer, and a current seminary student, I want to thank you for supporting, both in your prayers and through your financial contributions, the work of the PC(USA).

I spent a year in Belfast, Northern Ireland, serving as part of the PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer program. Part of the World Missions initiative for the PC(USA), each year, around 60 YAVs gave their time, put forth their energy, and put their ‘regular’ life on hold for 11 months to go and live a simpler, intentional life in a new and challenging context.

During my year of service, I was very grateful for the support of Giddings-Lovejoy through financial contributions, prayerful support, and your kind letters.

I served at the East Belfast Mission, a Methodist congregation and social outreach center, where I worked with people of all ages. My work schedule overall changed from week to week, but I got to regularly plan, participate in, and help facilitate weekly activities for all different generations of the community. Over many cups of tea, I got to here people’s stories and share my own as well.

The urban issues I witnessed might have easily translated from Belfast to St Louis, except for the daily reminders that I was not in the U.S.

The Troubles as a period of time technically ended with a disarmament agreement in 1998. However, the trouble (lower case) continues.
It struck me where the name came from during the month of June.
As riots were happening at night just down the street from my workplace, I kept hearing the BBC report it as ‘the trouble started’ or ‘the trouble continued.’

I have no tangible results to show from my year in Belfast, but that is not the goal of the YAV program.

It takes time to change people’s minds. But there is hope for the youth of Belfast, even as they grow up with the ‘peace walls’ still dividing neighborhoods, and there is hope for the older generations of Belfast, as they carry the memories of three decades of senseless violence, to question and challenge the status quo of prejudice and division within Northern Ireland.

And I hope that that conversation I had, that scone and cup of tea I shared, or even a simple question I asked was a small part of helping the people of Belfast move towards peace – a peace that is not just lack of violence but intentional understanding and cooperation.

Because of your support, I got to be a small part of this change and be changed myself in the process. Many, many thanks for your support.

In the grace and peace of Christ,
Miriam Foltz

For an update of where Miriam is today, go to the upcoming issue of The Harvest, Stewardship Newsletter.