Individual Volunteer Training Reflection

Our most recent Individual Volunteer training event occurred at the Storm Mountain Retreat Center in Rapid City, South Dakota. There were 14 participants. The placement sites where the volunteers will be serving include Fiji, Rwanda, The United States, Guatemala, Tanzania, Nicaragua, Zimbabwe, and Costa Rica. One of the volunteer candidates, Nicholas Gibbons, who plans on serving in Guatemala, offered the following reflection:

As we all prepare to travel the road that God has put before us, it is easy to become distracted by the multitude of obstacles and challenges that we will face. It is at these times when it is most important to step back, pray, and reflect on the mission that the Lord has given to us. I feel that one of the most important aspects and challenges of our work as individual volunteers is to maintain our personal relationship with God. The individual volunteer training, sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries, did just that. While covering the logistical aspect of being an individual volunteer, I was constantly reminded of the importance of my personal relationship with Jesus. In lessons about health and safety, boundaries, child protection, and cultural adjustments, I was reminded that through the strength of my own faith I could serve in His name. The individual volunteer training gave me the logistical tools to serve in mission, but more importantly it gave me the confidence of faith to share the love that Jesus has taught us.

Individual Volunteers