Alumni

I chose MVS because I was excited about serving God in a new city that I get to explore every day.

Psalm 133 is almost an addition to Mary’s Magnificat for me, as I think about the blessing promised when we work together in unity. This is what the churches in Africa are beginning to do very well — to unite across boundaries — transboundary unity and regional unity. And calling upon each other to share gifts across regions and boundaries. Psalm 133 is such a consolidating scripture, calling us to unity and the mystery of God releasing a blessing when the beloved community is united.

After college, some of my friends moved to a new city and had trouble meeting people and building up a sense of community. MVS is really good at creating community, both within your unit, within your house, as well as your place of work, and within the broader community. I would say that I have really found that community in Alamosa.

I was placed in a nonprofit organization that serves refugees, and I found myself falling in love with the work and the people. I also really like San Antonio and all the opportunities that it has to offer young people like me willing to do service. I am very happy to stay with my placement organization and work with them for this amazing cause.

Relationship is the foundation of everything. Wherever I go, visiting workers, I value the one-on-on in-person relationships. In building relationship with partners, I see God at work in various cultures, various contexts. Practicing two-way mission, we listen to our partners and receive invitation to join them in the work they are already doing.

For all the other things we learned and unlearned and remembered and re-membered, reading the Bible in another context just, had the biggest impact on our [Just Peace Pilgrimage] group.

MVS gave me the opportunity to explore a vocation that I probably otherwise wouldn’t have encountered. I was able to really help people in very tangible ways.

I really appreciate how the pilgrimage emphasizes learning and how to apply that to your own stories, your own context, what is happening in your lives, in your countries, and in other places.

I came into MVS because I needed a break between college and the career I was trained to do, which is education. Through MVS, I’ve determined that education is definitely my next step. And I never would have got there so confidently, and probably so excitedly, as I am now.

We need to fight the temptation that we are self-suffiecient and that we have all the answers and we learn everything just by talking to ourselves. Our relationship with Benin Bible Institute reminds us that we are part of something larger. It also helps keep us in a posture of curiosity and learning. Our relationship with Benin Bible Institute gives us a fuller understanding of who God is and what it means to faithfully follow Jesus.