How MDS Impacted My Life

The following is a brief talk I shared last week at MDS's closing ceremony in Staten Island.  I was asked to share on how serving with MDS impacted my life.  For those who couldn't be there, here it is.  This is the end of a chapter of my life.

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I'm Margaret Neufeld, 22, and from Ontario.  I first found out about Mennonite Disaster Service a year and a half ago, from a radio ad in my town, and since then, I have spent 20 weeks volunteering here in Staten Island.  Most of that time, I have served as the Office Manager here.

The impact that MDS has had on my life is hard to put into words, because it has been so great.  So much so, that it has even compelled me to resign my job in order to come back here and serve.  I remember when  I first went home in April 2013 after being here for one week, how so many things in life seemed so insignificant and I knew I had to come back.  It has been an incredible opportunity for me as a young woman to serve and give myself to something that has been so meaningful.

MDS has allowed me to apply my administrative and leadership skills in a non-profit project.  The way in which MDS has involved me and so often invited my input has made me feel valued and allowed me to grow rich in experience.  I never felt like "just a volunteer:"  In the 20 weeks that I have spent here, I have sanded drywall, painted, cooked, cleaned, learned to identify a lot of different tools, kept the books, crunched a lot of numbers, assigned rooms to volunteers, wrote reports, and a lot of other things I won't mention.

For me, serving with MDS was an avenue to demonstrate my faith.  As it turned out, it also increased my faith many times.  I never would have imagined spending my summers in New York City volunteering in a disaster response project.  I have seen the Lord open doors when things looked impossible and have been able to spend much more time here than I expected.  I praise God for that.  There have been many challenges, many long, tiring days, and much budgeting at home to make it possible for me to go months without an income so I could be here.  Some would call it a sacrifice.  I consider it a blessing.  It has been rewarding beyond anything I could do for myself.  I have stored up memories, made new friends, learned from experience, discovered many of my strengths as well as many of many of my weaknesses, and become a richer person because of it all.

In the past year and a half, Staten Island has become a home, and the people a family.  Within the walls of this seminary and on this island, I have laughed, cried, loved, prayed, succeeded, failed, hurt, and healed.  I have lived life here.  I have met around 400 different volunteers, not to mention all the clients, staff, partners and church family.  I have lived and worked alongside amazing people who have been there to support me, cheer me on, help me recognize my potential and caused me to dream again.  Romans 12:15 says "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."  I have experienced that here time and time again.

MDS has shaped so much of who I am.  I look forward to hopefully one day sitting down with my children and telling them the stories of what I did during this time of my life, the people I met, the memories I made and the way it changed me.  I will miss this place and all the people here, but it will always remain a part of me and I know that many of our paths will cross again.  Thank you, MDS, for letting me be a small part of this project.

How I Spent my Summer

Six months ago I walked out of the office for the last time.  And life changed.  Three months earlier as I turned 21, I wouldn't have thought I would make such a move.  And there I was, feeling free, unsure of where I would go next.  I knew I was going to Staten Island for one week, and later to Haiti for a week, but I didn't know what I would do after that.  I was content to take a break from the workforce for awhile and figure things out.  I had no idea what would all come out of my decision.

I did go to New York for a week, the experiences of which I relate here.  The following week, I applied to return long-term and was soon after accepted.  And I did go to Haiti for a week.  The week after I came home from Haiti, I flew to Calgary to receive some training with International Justice Mission.  A week later, our youth girls had a Set-Apart Girl Simulcast Conference and the following weekend I flew back to New York, where I ended up serving two separate terms with Mennonite Disaster Service.

Three weeks ago I returned home, and again, I didn't know what I would do next.  Although I loved serving away from home and most of my needs had been met, I knew it was time to take on my role as Mobilization Associate with IJM and prepare to re-enter the workforce.  This seems to be no small task, since my lack of education and geographic location alone presents a number of barriers.  But try I must.

What have I learned through all of this?  Much.  You don't come home from months of traveling and serving unchanged.  I've learned a lot about my character, I've learned new skills, and gained a wider perspective for ministry.  I have also learned that God uses every experience for good and for preparation of what He has for me next.  The bookstore prepared me for the office, the office for NY, and they have prepared me for my next role back home, even if that role remains to be seen.  God has a purpose for each experience, even when I can't understand it at the time.

Something I used to wonder about is how young people could leave home and go to another country and serve for so long, only coming back to see family and friends about once a year for a short time.  I don't wonder about that anymore.  When you are where God has called you, you enjoy what you do, you know you're making a difference, and your daily needs are met, it's not hard.  New York became home and the people became a family.  Yes, I was busy, there were challenges and was often very tired.  But I loved living in community with people who were all there for the same purpose.  Coming home and returning to a seemingly self-serving kind of life was actually very frustrating.

I will not forget or regret how I spent this summer.  Nine months ago, I longed to go on a mission trip this year while I was still single.  Little did I know that I would spend months away from home.  I met some amazing people and made some incredible memories.  I was able to touch a few lives in unexpected ways.  I saw a mission field right within North America, where we could minister to those so many have forgotten about.  I have been able to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.  And just to give you a taste, here are a few of the highlights of my travels.

• First trip to NY with my youth group
• The trip up a mountain in Haiti I wasn't sure I'd come back to tell about
• Helping take care of a baby at an orphanage in Haiti
• Going to another province in my country for the first time
• Throwing a spontaneous birthday party for the project director and presenting the best cake ever: a tub of ice cream with candles that relight after you blow them out
• Going grocery shopping for enormous amounts of food at Costco and have people look at us weird
• Laughing with my friends until we cried and growing closer in our friendships
• Worshiping with the local church on Staten Island that we partnered with
• House dedications
• Singing hymns and worship songs on trains, subways and the ferry with an amazing group of people
• Listening to the story of a homeless couple and praying with them in front of Times Square Church
• Meeting up with a friend in Manhattan that I hadn't seen in almost two years
• Visiting a client in the hospital and later taking her home
• Eating New York Pizza, so I could say I had it.  Yes, I even folded it.
• A walk down the boardwalk, enjoying the ocean breeze after a week's work
• Visiting the Brooklyn Tabernacle
• After a long, tiring day, when I finally thought I was finished working, spilling an unseen bowl of grease all over the floor and down the kitchen cabinets.  No, it wasn't fun cleaning it up, but I won't easily forget it.

With all the joys and wonderful memories, it is bittersweet.  For now, this season of traveling and serving is over.  I met some amazing people, many who I may never see again.  There are places I would have loved to visit and didn't have a chance to. 

I embark on a new season, figuring out a new kind of life.  A life of wrestling between desires and meeting necessities.  A life of putting dreams on hold again, wondering if or when they will come to pass.  A life of remembering that my joy must be in the Lord, not in my circumstances, and knowing that my identity is in Him, not where I am or what I'm doing.

Although this year has had its challenges and pain, I will not forget the Summer of 2013.

To Carry Your Compassion

I come back once again briefly to explain my future absence.  As God has called me to various things this spring and summer, writing will be low on my priority list.  I will be traveling to Haiti for a week this month on a mission trip, and then in June I will be returning to Staten Island to serve as a long-term volunteer with MDS.  The next few months will be a time of learning and growing in new ways.  No doubt, there will be lots to be shared, I just don't know when time will allow me to do that.

As I go through different seasons of life, there is usually a song that describes my vision or what it is I'm going through.  One that is fitting to this season of life is "The Power of Your Name" by Lincoln Brewster.  I appreciate the lyrics of this chorus and it's my desire that my life would be a demonstration of that as well.

"And I will live to carry your compassion

To love a world that's broken

To be Your hands and feet

And I will give with the life that I've been given

And go beyond religion

To see the world be changed

By the power of Your Name!"

Serving on Staten Island

Six months ago, Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast.  As with most tragedies and natural disasters, we heard a lot in the news for awhile, we prayed for them, and then slowly many forgot about the people who had lost nearly everything they had.  But on Staten Island, believers from US states and Ontario are volunteering their time to rebuild houses for families that still have not been able to return home.

Last week I had the privilege of traveling to Staten Island with a team from my youth group and serving with Mennonite Disaster Service.  Over the course of five days, we worked with other volunteers in various homes that had been flooded by the hurricane.  Our teams spent time mudding, sanding, painting, trimming windows, installing doors, and doing various other renovations.  Many had the privilege of meeting homeowners and hearing their experiences from the hurricane.  A few young ladies were busy at the seminary we stayed at preparing food and snacks for us and we were fed very well.

I think all of us were blessed to be a part of rebuilding and restoring what was broken six months ago.  We were blessed with great leaders that guided and encouraged us throughout the week as well as for the time we were able to get to know new people and play games in the evening.  We have stored up a lot of memories that we will treasure for a long time.

It's hard to explain what we felt and wondered during our time serving.  The seminary we stayed at for the week was higher up on Staten Island in a neighbourhood of large, beautiful homes hardly affected by the storm.  But only five minutes away, down towards the coast, many families had lost nearly everything they had.  DO NOT ENTER was painted on a door next to a lot where it looked like a house had been leveled.  Inspection notices were posted on many windows and doors.  Debris and garbage was still tangled up in trees and brush.  Many businesses in the city had not reopened yet and many business owners had just left.  Some houses didn't look affected on the outside, but the insides were ruined.  And other neighbourhoods only blocks away looked as if nothing had happened.

We were reminded how nice our part of the rebuilding task was compared to the people who had to come in after the storm, scoop mud out of the houses, and tear everything out of the basements and main floors.  We had the luxury of coming back at the end of the day to a comfortable place to stay, showers, a big, hot dinner prepared for us, and an enjoyable evening to look forward to.  Although we did a lot work, we actually felt pretty spoiled at times.

As I shared in our group devotional on evening, Jesus didn't separate the Gospel from meeting physical needs.  When Jesus sent His disciples out, He told them to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.  But that's not all that He said.  He told them to meet physical needs.  They had received freely and they were to give just as freely.  Jesus spent a great deal of time in His earthly ministry feeding the hungry, healing the sick, casting out demons, cleansing lepers and so forth.  We are called to do the same.  It's a demonstration of our faith.

Meeting physical needs often opens the door for sharing the Gospel.  Seeing a group of people joyfully giving of their time and resources to help complete strangers and receiving nothing in return will cause many to ask "Why?".  We went to restore houses, and through that we can show people the One who restores lives.  Throughout this trip, I frequently thought of the song "Build Us Back".  Although written after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, I think it's very fitting for what we did in Staten Island
and a great reminder that Jesus is our Redeemer and Restorer.

I can't possibly share in one article all I experienced in New York.  Our youth group will be sharing a presentation of our trip in the near future, so you may have to wait until then to hear more.  In one word, it was AMAZING!  We saw prayers answered, grew in love for one another, strengthened friendships, made new ones, and were sad to leave and part with people we had grown to appreciate so much in just a few short days.  In short, I would love to go back and do it all over again, but for longer next time!

If you would like to learn more about what MDS does, how you can volunteer with a project, or give, please visit the Mennonite Disaster Service website.  The work is ongoing and the need is great.  If you have the opportunity to volunteer, I can assure it's an experience you will not regret.  Please continue to pray for their work.

Responsible Single: Meet a Need

In this post, I want to share something I believe is so important for not only young women, but for all singles.  We have great potential when it comes to meeting needs in our world.  We don't have the responsibilities of our own home and family yet, and although we do still face challenges, we are much more available to reach out and help others.

There are many needs that you can meet locally.  Often there are many ways in which you can serve in your church, whether it's helping in the nursery, library, or being part of a cleaning team.  There are ways you can help in your community, whether it's visiting elderly folks in a nursing home, helping at a soup kitchen or other local charity or outreach organization.  If you're part of a youth group or a university campus group, you also have extra support and numbers to do greater things and make it fun.

Although there are often many local opportunities to meet needs, I would encourage you to think globally and focus on issues that are bigger than your community.  Our lives in North America are usually very comfortable, but there are nations in the world that suffer from poverty, hunger, thirst, disease and the list goes on.  Millions of children are orphaned, plagued with AIDS, or trafficked and abused.  You may not believe the amount of people in our world who do not even have access to clean water and sanitation and as a result are plagued with constant illness.  Meanwhile, even in our own nation, children are killed because they're an inconvenient byproduct of their parents' actions. 

The need in our world is great, so much so that it is often quite daunting.  With such big global problems, it's hard to know how to even start making a difference.  But I encourage you to try.  I encourage you to connect with an organization that does something you feel strongly about, that is meeting a need, or connect with a group of other people, and do something to make a difference. Or just surround yourself with a group of like minded people and see what you can do.

Earlier this year, I organized a fundraiser to provide aftercare funds for survivors of human trafficking in India.  I knew that if I wanted to do something like this, now was the time.  Yes, I was busy, but I also knew that I would often have excuses and that I was more available now than I would be when I have a family.  I went to some mentors in my life for counsel, got a support group together, and made it happen.

I won't tell you what kind of cause to get behind.  You don't have to take up a cause per se.  But I do encourage you to do something that makes a positive, lasting difference in the lives of others.  I doesn't have to be thousands of people.  You may change just one life at a time.  It's not over when you get married, but I do believe we have a special opportunity now that we should not allow to pass us by.

"She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy." --Proverbs 31:20

Next Post: Get a Mentor

Living Out Our Faith Here

As a young person, my mind has often been full of dreams. Some of them can get a little wild, crazy and unrealistic and we can be thankful they will likely never happen. But then all of a sudden one day, a dream comes along and grows as the desire grows stronger, and for once it actually seems to be within reach. No, it doesn't necessarily make sense but it appears very possible, and now suddenly I'm filled with fears.

As I've been thinking about what I want to do with my life and the places I want to go, I've been struck with an interesting challenge. I mean, if your dream is to go be a missionary in some third world country and you're willing to go, that's great, right? Isn't it wonderful that many young people want to go out and serve the Lord and other people? It would certainly seem so.

But what if that young person fails to live out their faith on the home front? What if that young person fails to put into practice and apply the knowledge he or she already has? Going to a great Bible school or to the mission field is great, but if you're not living things out right where you are, I can't help but wonder what's the point? I'm speaking of myself.

Now, I don't want to be negative here. Please don't get that impression. But as I've been dreaming, I've come to realize one thing. I've read so many great books on Christian living, heard so much great teaching and learned so much, but it seems that it all remains head knowledge. I'm failing to apply the principles and live out what I'm learning where I am. Until I can do that, would I be effective or would it even be beneficial to shoot for something else?

The truth is, we have a mission field all around us. And truth be told, a lot us, myself on top of the list, are being really lazy missionaries. We take in so much head knowledge and can enthusiastically utter all the Amens! and Preach-it-brothers! but our lives display little of what we so heartily agree with or believe in. We can say "Yes, the world is dying and going to hell. Yes, they need to hear the Gospel. Yes, somebody needs to go tell them about Jesus, etc. Oh, now look at the time. I have so much to do yet at home. See you Sunday!"

We don't need to go anywhere else to share the Gospel. There are people all around us who are hurting and have yet to hear and see a true demonstration of God's love. Even just in our own homes, do we demonstrate the love of Christ, or are we just another person who goes to church?

I must admit that I can be very shy and hate approaching new people, especially to share the Gospel. I'm a fan of my security and I like to stay where it's safe. I can't stand not knowing things and want to be sure that everything is going to work out all right in all circumstances. Now, if I'm like this at home, how am I possibly going to react somewhere else? I have to learn here to put my security in God, not my circumstances.

This is what I'm being convicted of lately. Yes, I have dreams that are absolutely wonderful, but can I first live out my faith right where I am? Can I first be faithful where God has placed me right now? Can I demonstrate God's love and share it with those whom I encounter on a daily basis? Can I trust God with all the details of my life, no matter what happens? Until I can do those things, would I really be ready to take my faith anywhere else?

That last question there is certainly open for reader opinions and comments. I'm not sure if there is a definite yes or no answer to my questions. What do you guys think of the matter? Are you living it out here?

Are You One of the Few?

Over the last few weeks, I read A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot. Amy Carmichael, lovingly known as Amma to those close to her, was a remarkable woman. It took Elisabeth Elliot near 400 pages to put her life into words so this short post will hardly do her justice, but I will try my best.

To describe or write a review on this book, I must describe Amy herself. She was born on December 16, 1867 and grew up in Ireland where she was raised in a Christian home. Even as a child, she was a girl of courage and bravery, qualities that would prove to be very beneficial in her future work. She also possessed the heart of a servant.

Her missionary work began in Ireland, primarily in Belfast, where she devoted herself to helping and ministering to the people around her, especially the lowest members of society. It also took her to Japan, Ceylon, and eventually to India. In India, her initial intention seems to have been to simply spread the Gospel. However, she soon found herself rescuing children from temples where they were raised to live lives of immorality and she established the Dohnavur Fellowship.

In the Fellowship, the children were raised, educated, taught to love and serve the Lord and Amy was, of course, their Amma (Mother). Over the years, the work grew and Dohnavur also came to include a House of Prayer and hospital, or Place of Healing, as it was called. The work of the Fellowship still continues today and is run primarily by the people of India, many of who came to Dohnavur as infants.

If Amma had to be described in one word, it would be love. Love was at the core of all that she did. Next to that there were many qualities that she valued and her life clearly displayed. Among these were loyalty, unity, commitment and service. Indeed, everyone was a servant.

Commitment was very important to her. Commitment to the work, children, workers and above all, to God was absolutely necessary for anyone who wanted to be a part of the work at Dohnavur. They had to be prepared to live for the Lord and pour themselves out in service to Him no matter what the cost.

Amy was a woman who experienced intimate communion with God and embraced the beauty of God's creation. This is best revealed in her poetry, lines filled with the beauty, wonder, and majesty of God. Everything was taken to Him in prayer and every step she made was taken in faith.

In 1931, Amy had an accident which confined her mostly to her bedroom for the rest of her life, years that were marked by much illness and pain. Even so, she kept on working, leading and directing. She maintained a personal relationship with each of the workers and children, always writing notes and letter to individuals and spending time with them. This is also when she wrote many of her books.

After almost 20 years of illness and pain, Amma went to be the Lord on January 18, 1951. Her body was humbly laid to rest in the Garden of God with a simple bird bath to mark the place of her burial. Her desire was that people would see it and look to God instead of her.

Although I'm well aware this brief summary does not do her life justice and I left many details out, I fear that many more words would still fail to adequately describe this woman of faith. I would encourage you to read this book for yourself, or better yet, some of Amy's personal works. I hope that you are also blessed, encouraged, and challenged to a deeper relationship with God and to pour out your life in service to Him.

1 Corinthians 3:12,13
Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw--
each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test which sort of work each one has done.

I like what Elisabth Elliot said in one part of the book:
"The preoccupations of seventeen-year-old girls--their looks, their clothes, their social life--do not change much from generation to generation. But in every generation there seem to be a few who make other choices. Amy was one of the few."

Are you one of the few?

Rejoice!

Yes, it's been a week again since I last posted. Where to start? Last week, God was really pruning, chastising, and refining. I'm learning to rejoice in the Lord, even when my circumstances aren't all that great and just learning what it really means to know God. Not just knowing about God or who He is but really know God. I had the chance to listen to Love With Shoes On and God's really been asking me "Have you counted the cost?" We had Otto Koning at our church this weekend and I was reminded once again that yes, there is a cost to consider. Along the same lines, He's also asking me "Are you willing? If I ask you to do this, will you be obedient?" It's been a time of learning, reflecting, growing, and loving God more. He's just always becoming more real in so many ways; it's amazing!

Something came up today that I really need to seek God's will and direction in. So if God lays it on your heart to pray for me, it would be sincerely appreciated.

Blessings!