One of the greatest connections made in serving with MCC is through relationships. These relationships across cultural, political, and economic divides contribute to building up the global church and fostering cultures of peace. We repost this article from MCC East Coast about a relationship between a participant of SALT in Honduras and a participant of IVEP in Virginia. (Click here to read more about MCC’s one-year young adult service programs.)
Young Adult connections through SALT and IVEP
When signing up for a year of service with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), young adults Christa Hoover and Clivia Avila Molina never envisioned how their paths might cross and that through this cultural exchange their worldviews would expand along with their understandings of family and peacemaking.
Growing up in the Mennonite Church and coming from a dairy farm in rural Greencastle, PA, Christa Hoover recalls always having an appreciation and understanding of MCC as she’d helped knot MCC comforters for persons in need, supported meat canning efforts and attended MCC Relief Sales. As the daughter of parents who’d spent time in Haiti with MCC during their college years, service was always something on the forefront of Christa’s mind and an important stepping stone in her life and faith journey. Upon graduating from college in 2011, Christa eagerly accepted a one year assignment through the MCC Serving and Learning Together [SALT] program working as a Music Teacher & Youth Choir/Orchestra director in Santiago de Chiquitos, Bolivia. Due to challenges with her visa, Christa found herself serving in San Pedro Sula, Honduras that year, working for an after school program in a Mennonite Church. It was through this assignment that she’d met Clivia, the young woman who’d later live with Christa and her family in Harrisonburg, VA.
Born in the small town of San Esteban, Clivia Avila Molina and her family later moved to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Third generation Mennonite, Clivia recalls learning about MCC and the International Volunteer Exchange Program [IVEP] through an aunt who’d participated in the program in 1990. For Clivia, deciding to apply to the program was exciting as it would allow her the ‘‘opportunity to interact with other cultures…promoting peace and reconciliation,’’ by being part of a program that brings 50+ international young adults to the U.S. and Canada each year. Her desire to meet new people, learn about herself and others and grow as an individual led her to Harrisonburg, VA where she currently serves as a Spanish Language Assistant, serving in the Language department at Eastern Mennonite University.
When in touch with her family during the end of her MCC SALT service term, Christa’s parents who’d recently moved to the Harrisonburg, VA area mentioned the idea of hosting incoming IVEP participant Clivia when they learned of the opportunity. While Christa had met Clivia briefly in the MCC office in Honduras, she didn’t really know her. “I got to scope [Clivia] out a bit and ask questions, but I didn’t tell her we hoped to host her. What if she hadn’t liked me?!” says Hoover. Christa completed her MCC SALT assignment in July 2012 and returned home to Harrisonburg, VA. One month later, Clivia began her MCC IVEP assignment and currently resides with the Hoover family.
“I thought things would be more difficult to me, but the people here are nice with me and my host family makes me feel part of the family…” shares Clivia. “ I feel that I’m growing with each experience I have and my skills for connecting with other people are growing also. I feel more comfortable to talk with others thus extending the kingdom of God.”
“The broader lessons of living abroad universally help one’s ability to relate to foreigners, refugees, and travelers in one’s own country. There is an extreme flexibility you learn, to act and react in an environment when you don’t understand why things happen or what is said. In extreme disorientation, you remember with intense gratitude the ways that people made you comfortable,” comments Christa. Given these experiences, Christa has been able to relate to Clivia as a friend, family member and cultural interpreter. “I made a ton of faux pas in Honduras…I hope I help Clivia avoid some of these moments, or at least anticipate them and explain,” she says.
Together, Christa and Clivia enjoying shopping, baking cookies, attending Spanish church services, playing games, watching movies, reading books and cooking both American and Honduran dishes together. “Christa is a really good cooker and I’m not so good doing it,” laughs Clivia. Among these activities, they also serve as one another’s “cultural consultants” which has proven to be a wonderful gift they share.
“I think we are friends, yes, because we share this cultural exchange connection, but also just because we have things in common,” notes Hoover. The two are quite similar with introverted personalities, come from families who highly value education and have a similar church background and upbringing. Both women have fathers who are tradesmen and working professional mothers, lots of siblings to keep life interesting and greatly value their extended family relationships. While Clivia tends to be more impulsive and intuitive, Christa admits to being a bit sillier. Overall, these two women are more alike than they’d ever imagined. “Sometimes I forget that we grew up in very different countries!” says Hoover.
“One of my biggest takeaways from MCC was that God cares for the marginalized (including the foreigner) especially because they need it and that I am called to be God’s hand in doing just that. Also, building bridges of relationships between cultures is peacemaking in an important way, teaching us and others that people are people no matter what they eat or how they worship. Clivia’s presence in my life has taught me that I am blessed…” shares Christa. As for Clivia, she notes, similar comments, “seeing people acting in compassion and peace building makes me want to get more involved in the needs of people.”
Reflecting on her relationship with Christa, Clivia says, “Christa is so sweet. I love her. She is the best! (She also makes pretty good cookies),” though most of all, Clivia sees Christa as her “new sister.” When asked to choose one word that describes their friendship, Clivia chooses the word, “companionship.”
Friends, though more like sisters, through the MCC young adult programs SALT and IVEP, these two young women have learned much about peacemaking, relationships and cross cultural communication, while coming to realize that family extends far beyond familial lines, across boarders and beyond language and culture.
via Young Adult connections through SALT and IVEP | Mennonite Central Committee East Coast.