they’re involved in much more.” Their placements include everything from homeless shelters to HIV/AIDS ministries. Prospective volunteers don’t apply for specific placements, Torgerson-Martinez noted. Instead, candidates apply for the program. “We ask them to share with us their hopes with regard to where in the world they’d like to serve and what they feel called to be doing,” she said. “We also understand, however, that the goals of the YAGM program can be accomplished anywhere and in any setting—including, I might add, the U.S. ... We look for candidates who are open to wherever the Spirit might be leading all of us in the shared work of discernment.” Paquin was up for such a journey. “I felt this program could shape a ‘better me’ for the future by allowing me a new experience,” he said. Outside a few trips to Canada and Puerto Rico, the Grand Rapids, Mich., native hadn’t left the U.S. While he had served as a church camp counselor during summers, he wanted to do more. “Being involved in the church all my life, upon my pending graduation I wanted an oppor- tunity to do more with ministry and the church ... for myself as much as for others. I wanted a chance to learn from my experiences and apply what I have learned to my life.”
Paquin was chosen for the program after submitting an application and participating in two phone interviews. He was then among a group selected to move forward in the program at the YAGM discernment, interview and place- ment event, where candidates interview with specific country programs. Paquin’s primary placement is Dar al-Kalima Evangel-
ical Lutheran School in Bethlehem, where he is a teach- er’s assistant for the kindergarten through 10th-grade classes. A typical day has him assisting English-speaking teachers, working with students, and creating worksheets, quizzes or unit exams. He also helps administrators pre- pare PowerPoint presentations and speeches. “The highlight of my day is assisting with the swim- ming lessons … for the students,” said Paquin, a former student-athlete whose secondary placement is as assistant coach with a local swim team.
When his service ends, Paquin will return to the U.S.
and attend dental school. He also plans to continue advo- cating for causes of peace and justice—a direct result of his YAGM experience. “It’s interesting,” he said. “My friends who have done
YAGM have told me this program changed them in ways they never expected, and it was something that I could understand but not really relate to. I’ve come to find that it hasn’t been the places, sites or land that is ‘The Holy
Land.’ [What] I have found to be holy is the people. … I am constantly humbled by the Israeli and Palestinian sto- ries I have the opportunity to hear.” For the program, Torgerson-Martinez seeks young adults committed to the ELCA’s mission model of accom- paniment, or “walking together,” with global ministry partners. The model encourages volunteers to form “honest relationships that practice respect, mutuality and interdependence,” she said. “Our YAGM volunteers ask our global companions to become their teachers and, in so doing, they lift up the wisdom of their host communities as valid, important and critical to the life of the world. “YAGM serve as the hands and feet of Jesus in their host communities, even as they are learning to recognize Jesus in people and places that many in the world would never think to look.” Paquin’s goals are “to grow and learn from the peo- ple who surround me (my neighbors, co-workers and friends) to become more engaged as a global citizen ... to become more educated on the Israeli-Palestinian con- flict, and to be an advocate for peace, reconciliation and understanding.”
And while the teachers and students at Dar al-Kalima
are grateful for Paquin’s assistance, they’re not the big- gest beneficiaries, he said. “I am constantly learning from [the students and faculty] and from being in a culture dif- ferent from my own,” he said. “Ultimately, I think I have benefited the most from this program. I have gotten the opportunity to be engaged in the world and to learn about myself through this year abroad.” M
Become a Young Adult in Global Mission
• Application deadline: March 1, 2012, to start August 2012. • Age range: 19-29 (at least one year post-high school). • Education: College graduates or equivalent life experience (except United Kingdom). • Commitment: 11 to 12 months. • Language requirement: Conversational Spanish for Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico; basic language training is provided elsewhere when applicable. • Finances: The average, direct cost per YAGM vol- unteer is $10,000. YAGMs must each raise at least $4,000 of that support. They receive full room and board, a monthly stipend, health insurance and round- trip travel to and from the country of service. To apply or learn more, go to
www.elca.org/ globalmission.
July 2011 29
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