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The greatest gift

by Stephanie Breen

Gift giving is an exchange that requires both a giver and a receiver.

When I signed up for BVS, I knew that I would be giving the gift of my time

and volunteer hours to my project. I live on sight at the Hogar de Ninos

Emanuel in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. It is true. I am a giver of long hours, of

English lessons, of early childhood development activities, I give my

time chaperoning, I give advice and I give the gift of fun activities for

the kids. I also have the opportunity to go on TOMS shoe

distributions. We have given thousands of pairs of shoes to children

in need across Honduras. I know that I have given a lot here. What I

didn’t expect at the outset of my volunteer experience was that I

wouldn’t just be a giver.

I am the receiver of bountiful gifts: the gift of family, the gift

friendship, and most importantly, the gift of unconditional love. I did

not anticipate just how much

love I would receive from the

children of the Hogar, the love I receive from the children

of Honduras receiving their shoes, or the friendships I

would make with mission groups and TOMS giving teams. I

am surrounded by the unconditional love of Christ and I

have been moved and changed by this gift. My heart is full.

Now, of all of my various tasks I perform here, I know that

my most important tasks of all is to simply be, to form

relationships, and to love and be loved by the children. It is

the most important gift any of us can give and the most

blessed to receive.

This issue of The

Volunteer focuses on

Gifts. The following

contributions come

from BVSers scattered

across the globe. Come

walk with them on the

journey.

In this issue The greatest gift Stephanie Breen Unexpected gifts Chris Kaake Reflections on my gifts Abel Tewelde Our biggest gifts Denise DeGeorge

Summer 2016

Stephanie and co-worker Stephanie and children

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Unexpected gifts by Chris Kaake

T he idea of gifts is one I’ve always been uncomfortable with.

At different times I’ve felt I don’t have any gifts, or disagreed

with people/tests about what gifts I have, even watched hurt and

confused as people used their ’lack’ of a certain gift as a crutch or

excuse. But I live and work in the church, so I pinpointed my ’gifts’ somewhere along the

way and discovered a new ramification of ’gifts’—the risk of putting yourself in a box.

My box was working with youth, so I worried about being a volunteer here at Enable, a

charity that works with people with learning disabilities in Northern Ireland. How could

it be right for me? Had I become too focused

on living overseas (a life-long dream) and ig-

nored my own limitations? Someone, I knew,

needed to dedicate their time and talents to

this organization. But should it be me? Give me

a group of teenagers trying to puzzle out

sexuality within their spiritual beliefs or a

college student who isn’t sure what to do with

her life—I have those gifts. I wasn’t sure I had

the gifts needed for this work. I had never

connected deeply with someone with a learning disability, and my world revolved

around connections and creating community. I was afraid I couldn’t do within a different

context and with a different group of people. I must have repeated it a thousand times:

I’m just worried I won’t be able to connect.

Luckily, gifts are not so confined as we sometimes think. They are infinitely adaptable,

growing and transforming as our lives

do the same. Others knew and told me

what I had a hard time accepting until

I got here: my ability (gift?) to connect

with people does not depend on who

is sitting next to me. The people I

work with are different, but the

results are the same.

“Luckily, gifts are not so confined as we sometimes think. They are infinitely adaptable, growing and transforming as our lives do the same.”

Chris posing with another BVSer posing for a photo during orientation

Chris working diligently at her desk at Enable

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Upcoming

orientations

Summer Unit 313

Brethren Service Center

New Windsor, MD

July 17– Aug. 5

BRF Unit 314

Brethren Service Center

New Windsor, MD

Aug. 21-30

Fall Unit 315

Camp Eder

Fairfield, PA

Sept. 25– Oct. 14

BVS numbers

54 active volunteers

38 U.S.

2 Latin America

12 Europe

2 Japan

102 active projects

67 U.S.

22 Europe

9 Latin America

2 Africa

2 Japan

Reflections on my gifts by Abel Tewelde

C oming from the south of Germany, a place where I feel

crime and homelessness is low, I entered this new and

unknown city, Baltimore. Baltimore is a city with different faces.

It is a city where homelessness, social inequality, and crime play a

huge role. However, it is also a city facing a lot of progress. Project PLASE is a good

example of this.

PLASE is a non-profit agency offering homeless people transitional housing while

helping to find employment and more permanent housing for them. During my time

here, I have reflected on my personal skills, talents, and gifts. I’ve also reflected on how

they have helped me and others, and how they have affected my life as a volunteer.

The work as a Case Manager can be challenging. My main goal

is to assist residents whenever they need help and with that

comes many responsibilities. One of my responsibilities is to

inspect every room of the residents for food, drinks, weapons,

etc. If I find any of these contraband items, I must report it. I

remember one incident shortly after I arrived. While carrying

out my daily inspections, I found food in an older resident’s

room. After throwing the food away like I’m supposed to, the

resident was upset and tried to intimidate me. I was shocked by

his reaction. I didn’t feel I did anything wrong and decided to talk

to my colleagues. They advised me not to fear him, saying he was

simply testing how far he could push the new intern. The next day I talked to him. I

looked him in the eyes and told him that I respected him and his service for the country,

but I wouldn’t tolerate his behavior. I could see he was surprised and didn’t expect that

from a young volunteer. After the incident, we developed a good relationship.

Looking back, I feel good about how I

handled the incident and I’ve realized

how my interpersonal skills helped me

through this incident. I’ve also realized

my ability to communicate with

colleagues, asking for help, and staying

calm in difficult situations are

wonderful gifts.

Abel during a service day at orientation

Abel with his drop-off day group at orientation

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The Volunteer is edited by Elizabeth Batten, Unit

305. The Volunteer is published by Brethren

Volunteer Service.

1451 Dundee Ave. Elgin, IL 60120 800-323-8039

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Our biggest gifts by Denise DeGeorge

R on and I arrived in San Diego in January 2015, eager to

learn about our project at the San Diego Church of the

Brethren and the Peace Resource Center of San Diego. The first of

many gifts was a warm welcome at the church shortly after our

arrival. In addition to the pot of daffodils at our door, other gifts include invitations to

hike and sightsee and the collegiality with our two bosses, Pastor Sara Haldeman-Scarr

and Mariah Geyler. Sixteen months later, I realize how many gifts we have received and

how our leaders have recognized our own gifts, encouraging us to use them.

Ron’s artistic and technical skills and

expertise with computers have been used in

many capacities; from consulting with the

church secretaries about layouts and work-

arounds to working on various projects for the

PRC. He has also taken on designing and building

a labyrinth next to the sanctuary. It’s wonderful

to know that his work will be a lasting legacy to

the Peace Campus long after we’re gone.

My biggest gift has been the chance to use

some of my church hours to work with children and teachers learning to do Restorative

Circles at a nearby, high poverty elementary school. The children take to the circles so

readily, and the circles build their classroom community. I have also thoroughly enjoyed

putting together a booklet on

working with children

nonviolently, using my skills in

child development, conflict

resolution, and restorative

practices.

We are both very grateful to

BVS for giving us this chance to

start our retirement in a new

place, with new people, and the

opportunity to serve in

different ways.

Ron helping build the labyrinth next to the sanctuary at San Diego CoB

Denise and other BVS volunteers working at SERRV during Unit 307 fall orientation