SRI

Last Tuesday, I had the opportunity to watch the harvesting of the first SRI pilot plot for the Office of Development of EDS (Episcopal Diocese of Santiago). What is SRI? It stands for Systems Rice Intensification. Filipinos first developed it but farmers are reluctant to pick up the process here The developers moved it to India where it has been wildly successful. Basically, SRI allows for more yields with less seeds.

As they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But that is exactly what the Development Office is trying to do in the Diocese of Santiago. They are hoping by planting their own small, pilot plots that they will show congregation members, farmers, that SRI can help them produce more rice at a lesser price. Therefore, it provides higher rewards.

With the harvesting of last Tuesday’s plot, it proved just that. The Development Office’s plot yielded three bags and two cans on 266 square meters. With a comparison of the plot next door, not planting SRI, it calculated to an increase of 54%. And that was with 23% of the palay being empty of grains due to typhoon wind damage during a crucial part of growing.

SRI grows taller than normal rice so Charlotte is almost lost within it.

Sharing Experiences, Viewpoints, and Resources on Mission

Conferences in general are daunting. Walking into a room full of people where you maybe know one or two people, the introvert in me wants to go stand in a corner and chow down on hor’ devours.  Add in traveling to another continent and half the participants speak only Spanish. You could say I was feeling a little nervous (but excited) to attend the Global Episcopal Mission Network (GEMN) Conference in Bogotá, Colombia from May 4 – 10.

Needless to say, it was a wonderful experience and I wouldn’t trade it for the world! I am thankful my office gave me the opportunity to attend to share viewpoints on mission, learn what amazing projects the church is doing, and meet incredible, passionate people from the United States, Central and South America and the Caribbean. 

Me, Elizabeth Boe, Officer of Global Networking for The Episcopal Church, and Ryan Abrams, current YASC-er in Costa Rica at the Sunday Church Service. Photo Courtesy of Lynette Wilson.

GEMN is "an organization open to all individuals, organizations and diocese who have determined to share prayers, ideas, dreams, hopes and strategies about Global Mission." They host an annual conference to bring all of those players together to share their experiences, viewpoints, goals and resources on Global Mission. 

This year's conference was GEMN's 18th annual conference. They hosted it in Bogotá, a part of Province IX of the Episcopal Church, hoping it would encourage members of Province IX to attend, which was a success! There were participants from Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Haiti as well as all over the United States. 

Me on top of a mountain at Mision Santa Marta outside Facatativa where you can slightly see Bogota in the background. Simply a spectacular view!

Sidenote: For those who don't know, The Episcopal Church (TEC), which we think of as the US Episcopal Church, consists of 9 provinces. The Diocese of Virginia is a member of Province III. Province IX consists of the Dioceses of Dominican Republic, Ecuador Litoral, Ecuador Central, Colombia, Honduras, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

The theme of this year's conference was "Companions in Faith and Resources: Participating in God's Mission." It also included a focus on financial sustainability for the diocese of Province IX. There were wonderful plenary sessions ranging on topics from microcredit programs in Honduras to understanding mission in theology to how to operate a successful development group. We broke out into small groups for a Bible Study focused on mission. And they took us on two field trips to sites to see firsthand the wonderful work of the church in Colombia.

A group of past, current and soon to be missionaries with the Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. Photo Courtesy of Ashley Bingaman

Time flew by throughout the week! Highlights included: 

• Watching Elizabeth Boe break a bus window while trying to open it on our two hour long bus ride, 
• Almost having a heart attack while hiking a mountain at 9,000 feet above sea level but being rewarded by a spectacular view of Bogotá and the Colombian countryside,
• Latin Dancing to a Colombian band on the last night,
• Listening to the Presiding Bishop preach on mission and community,
• Meeting current YASC-ers and hearing their insights, 
• Sharing ideas, reflections, and experiences with a compassionate small group,
• Witnessing strong, influential, and driven women working to empower those around them to fight for human rights.

The strongest and most driven women I've ever met who run Mesa de Organizaciones de mujeres de Soacha.

By the end of the week, we were no long a group of strangers, we laughed and celebrated like old friends and family. We were all connected with the burning desire to serve the least of these and get others involved in Global Mission.

And as I shared during the GEMN Board Open Forum, I am going to take a very important lesson with me on journey as a missionary. It is the lesson of listening, sharing and developing relationships. In mission it is not about US and THEM. It is about US as a whole, Christian community. Everyone has something to bring to the table. Instead of us always stepping in offering everything we have, we need to step back to listen first to what they have to offer. It is not about doing, but taking the time to listen and share and develop those relationships.

Me with Current YASC-ers, Nina Boe, Ashley Bingaman, and Ryan Abrams

Having the opportunity to meet current YASC-ers, Ryan Abrams in Costa Rica, Nina Boe in Brazil and Ashley Bingaman in Haiti, and other missionaries of The Episcopal Church gave me such encouragement and excitement for my upcoming year! To see their enthusiasm and hear their insight made me want to get out in the field immediately. After this experience at GEMN, I have no doubt that YASC is what I am suppose to be doing as my next step. 

More resources, reflections, and information on GEMN:

• GEMN Blog with reflections from this past conference
• ENS Article: "Companions in faith and resources"
• ENS Article: "'Participating in God's Mission'; GEMN wraps up in Bogota"
• Presiding Bishop's sermon from Thursday night Eucharist at GEMN

My Story...

Everyone has a journey that leads them to where they are currently. Many wonderful opportunities have impacted me to become a Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) missionary. So here is my story....

My Story

I am twenty-three years old and grew up in Loudoun County, the Northern Virginia area. While a majority of my extended family lives in North Carolina and my family and I could only visit a couple times a year, so we found an extended  family through St. James' Episcopal Church. It became a second home and a wonderful, supporting community to grow up in.

The church gave me numerous opportunities to participate in mission and outreach starting at a young age. From participating in the 30 hour famine at age 12 by standing outside grocery stores hungry and gathering donations to visiting women and children's shelters to cooking meals for the hungry, these experiences gave me a firsthand look at the importance of serving others.

For my first mission trip in 2006, I travelled to New Orleans to assist in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. That was the first time I was faced with the sight of devastating poverty. I didn't realize until after the trip how deeply affected I was by what I saw and did. I couldn't believe that such poverty existed in the United States. It opened me up, as a teenager, to the possibilites of how I could help someone in need.

In the summer of 2008 after I graduated high school, I was given the opportunity to go to Liberia, Africa on a mission trip. Our group partnered with Solar Lights for Africa and installed solar panels onto an Episcopal School called the Bromley School. After 10 days of hard work in the African heat, the solar panels were up and the lights were ready to be turned on. I have never seen so much joy come from a light bulb turning on. This light changed these people’s life as well as mine.

In Liberia with Bromley girls, July 2008

That fall I packed my bags and moved to Fredericksburg, VA to attend the University of Mary Washington. As I worried if I would find a faith community as supportive as St. James', I stumbled upon the Campus Christian Community (CCC). And yet again, another mission opportunity was presented to me. The group goes on an annual mission trip during winter break. That year they were going to Honduras to work with a group called Students Helping Honduras. To sign up I had to put a deposit down in October, only a month after I came to college and met these people. So I signed up, raised the money and in January of 2009, I flew to Honduras and helped build a village.

CCC Group in Villa Soleada, Honduras, January 2009

And I didn’t know at the time that the trip would shape the rest of my college experiences. Originally, I wanted to study International Affairs. In Honduras, I met an economics professor who influenced my choice to major in Economics. And later introduced me to La Ceiba, a student-run microfinance institution at UMW. 

La Ceiba serves about 35 women in the Honduran community where I helped build the village my freshman year.  When I first joined the MFI, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I did not know much about microfinance in general or how La Ceiba worked. This was not just another class in college where I learned a subject and took a test on it. The decisions we made affected the lives of our clients and their families. In the beginning there were some days where I felt like I did not have the knowledge or skills to make these decisions. And I questioned my role in this institution. However, I found my stride eventually.

La Ceiba team in Honduras, December 2011

There were times in La Ceiba, where as students we would question whether we had the skills and knowledge to run this microfinance institution. None of us had degrees, none of us had previously worked for an MFI, and some of the students didn’t even speak Spanish. But in the end, our bottom line was we wanted to help these people who had no other way to access a banking system, formal or informal. La Ceiba taught me that I did not have to wait for that degree or wait to find all the answers before continuing. I was willing to participate and I did not have to wait for someday.

I graduated from the University of Mary Washington in May 2012 with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Spanish. A month later, I moved to Richmond, VA to begin working as an intern for one year for the Office of Mission and Outreach at the Diocese of Virginia. This opportunity has allowed me to assist others throughout the diocese in organizing mission trips, outreach projects, and gather all this information to share. It has been a wonderful experience and first job and I will miss it dearly. But it is thanks to this job that my boss told me about Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) and encouraged me to apply. 

University of Mary Washington graduation, May 2012

Many who know me, know I love to travel and about my passion for mission. YASC is a perfect fit for me. YASC is a ministry for young adults who are interested in exploring their faith in new ways by living and serving in communities around the Anglican Communion. Most importantly as a missionary of the Episcopal Church, I will be developing relationships and connecting the Diocese of Virginia, its parishes, and parishioners with the church in the Northern Philippines. 

We have all been called to share God's love and carry out his work. We are called to serve the least of these. And they don't just live in Richmond or Virginia or the United States. We have brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world who we need to reach out to. As God once asked, "who should I send?" and Isaiah responsed, "Here I am. Send me." 

And so I say to God, "Here I am. Send me."