Last summer, we organized a two-week experiential service learning opportunity called "Serve.Grow", which focused on service among the disadvantaged, personal and leadership development, adventure and intensive language practice. The program ran from July 7-20, 2014. The first week involved developmental workshops and focused on service in two main venues – a soup kitchen for the homeless downtown and a children’s home for orphans and marginalized kids whose parents are no longer able to care for them. The second week included a five-day adventure trip to the Slovenian Alps. Four Hungarian students (our Julia was one of these 4) and two students from the UK participated in the program (one of them had just graduated and was working as a Nav intern). Local staff couple Mark & Laura Newell led the program with Debbie and myself being active participants.
Amazing things happened in each of the 6 student participants. Each one wrote extensive reflections based on their experiences serving at the two venues, the Slovenia adventure trip and what they learned about themselves, about serving others and about the impact of living closely with others on the team.Our Vision:
We hope to use service learning as a new way of doing student ministry by engaging students in addressing needs in the community. In doing so, we hope to plant the vision of the enduring value of people by creating conditions where people can actually experience the transforming power of love as they learn to serve others. We believe that in this way the Gospel of Christ takes on flesh as it becomes rooted in living out the priorities of Christ as opposed to seeking to convince secular minds about a new system of beliefs to adopt.
We continued to build on this summer program experience by serving at the children’s home over the past semester. Three of the students involved with us last summer continued to serve there with us. We are now seeking to create a weekly “open space dialogue” at the university for the purpose of creating a learning community among students who want to develop further and learn how to contribute to others.
What we’re learning so far...
Spiritual awareness is awakened when you serve others.
Three Hungarian students with little to no previous religious background genuinely opened up spiritually. They had many questions and it was easy and natural to speak of faith in Christ, meaning in life, our personal faith stories, etc. in the context of serving others and then camping for a week in the mountains of Slovenia. This experience confirmed what Al Bussard has often said: "the journey to Christ and discipleship is greatly shortened and enhanced when you engage others in serving the needs of others."
Students get a new vision for their lives when they serve the marginalised
After the experience, one of the Hungarian participants wrote this:
“Life is about serving others. From this comes the feeling of meaningful life that lights up the heart. That's how happiness comes to exist. That's how human relations are founded. That's how lives stay in motion. This is basically what the program meant to me. Also, we had love to give to others. And we did so. Everything starts with love. Love is contribution, passion and relation. We gave lots of love to people who needed it. The last day at the children home clearly proved it. We needed to get closer to the kids and gain trust by giving love in order to make the discussion on the last day happen. Love was that gained trust in the kids. Love was the only stable point in entering the unknown. Love was that built up something that led further than being a team or a group.”
One student said: “So far I thought that personal development is a long process during which a person goes through many stages until the change occurs. But not always. Now I regard personal development as a point when something suddenly changes in your way of thinking due to some experiences that make you disappointed in the ideas you had thought to be true, but not. A discussion with a person is enough. Playing football with a kid is enough. Face painting with a kid is enough. Or just being there is enough many times. For me the Bible reading time by the river (in Slovenia) was a point like this. I started seeing things differently. From one minute to another. The world turned 180 degree.”
We will continue to develop service learning as one of the streams in our ministry that focuses on the whole person: body, mind and soul.
“Life is about serving others. From this comes the feeling of meaningful life that lights up the heart. That's how happiness comes to exist. That's how human relations are founded. That's how lives stay in motion. This is basically what the program meant to me. Also, we had love to give to others. And we did so. Everything starts with love. Love is contribution, passion and relation. We gave lots of love to people who needed it. The last day at the children home clearly proved it. We needed to get closer to the kids and gain trust by giving love in order to make the discussion on the last day happen. Love was that gained trust in the kids. Love was the only stable point in entering the unknown. Love was that built up something that led further than being a team or a group.”
We learned about the value of working as a team, and the about the value of small things
Phil, the young Nav intern from Scotland, wrote:
“Overall in terms of personal learning I would say I’m struck by how well the service learning facilitated us to grow together as a team. I honestly cannot think of another way that we could have all connected together with such a shared vision and build such close relationships that allowed for honest questioning and conversation. Personally I feel I have learnt even more deeply the value of ‘small’ contributions. I really was struck by how in a week we could make a small difference to those children's lives.”
Personal development happens in ways that aren't planned
“Overall in terms of personal learning I would say I’m struck by how well the service learning facilitated us to grow together as a team. I honestly cannot think of another way that we could have all connected together with such a shared vision and build such close relationships that allowed for honest questioning and conversation. Personally I feel I have learnt even more deeply the value of ‘small’ contributions. I really was struck by how in a week we could make a small difference to those children's lives.”
Personal development happens in ways that aren't planned
One student said: “So far I thought that personal development is a long process during which a person goes through many stages until the change occurs. But not always. Now I regard personal development as a point when something suddenly changes in your way of thinking due to some experiences that make you disappointed in the ideas you had thought to be true, but not. A discussion with a person is enough. Playing football with a kid is enough. Face painting with a kid is enough. Or just being there is enough many times. For me the Bible reading time by the river (in Slovenia) was a point like this. I started seeing things differently. From one minute to another. The world turned 180 degree.”
We will continue to develop service learning as one of the streams in our ministry that focuses on the whole person: body, mind and soul.
