Interview With Eloise Research

For this paper, I choose to interview Jean Proll, Elijah Purnell, Alex Synder, Zach Perry, and Cynthia Bring. Jean Proll has been working with children ministries in her church for many years. I thought that she would be a good choice because she grew up in a completely different American culture than I had, so I thought she would have some good advice on how to deal with things changing, and different types or kids. I then decided to interview Elijah Purnell, because he lives in New Zealand and I thought it would be interesting to see how they lead the ministries and work in groups. I also thought it would be a good idea because I don’t know who God will bring into my path or where he will take me, so I would have some insight into another country’s culture when it comes to leadership in groups. Alex Synder has started a lot of groups around the community to help many people and she has also helped her brothers find Christ. She also has helped out the Christian students in our high school and help them start a before school Bible Study. Zach Perry was one of my choices because he led many small groups in his church and he helps many people get back on track with God. Cynthia Bing has been a devoted Christian from a very young age. She has started a women’s ministry at her church to bring the women of the church together.

Individually, throughout the videos, I developed a closer relationship with Nanavi from Benin than the other six children. A major part of this was because Nanavi reminded me a lot about the struggles my own parents and many family members tackled while growing up in Freetown, Sierra Leone, years ago. Religion and tradition were and continue to be a major part of my parent’s life. Similarly, they both were important to Nanavi. My parents and Nanavi shared the obstacles of losing a father at a very young age, having an uneducated mother who promoted education, walking long distances, and having no textbooks in the classroom

This is the writing of a true, Diarist and illustrator who wrote about her life on the gold fields of Ballarat. Her name is Ellen Clacy. If we didn’t have her books we wouldn’t have known about a lot of the importance of the gold rush as we do nowadays.

She paints readers the vivid picture of children sleeping in piles like dogs on dirt floors, mothers who brewed alcohol to make money feeding their children the mash from which it is made to dull the pain of starvation, and crowds of people who haven’t eaten for days fighting like savages to access a pot of beans. She admits that many times she felt overwhelmed at the work there is to do. This portion of the book reminded me of my mission trip to Guatemala during my freshman year of college. On the day our group went to the local street market, I had dozens of villagers following me around the market, begging me to buy their product. I ended up using all of my money that day because I had such a hard time saying “no” to these people. I remembering collapsing on my bed that afternoon, mentally exhausted and heartbroken because I could not do more for the villagers who really needed the money to feed their families. Connecting this memory with Katie’s experience brings me the understanding that in the social work field, as well throughout life in general, we cannot reach every person who needs our help, no matter how hard we try. What we can control is the love we show the people we interact with and the action we put into making a

“I have learned that something happens when one makes herself available to God: He starts moving in ways no one could imagine” (Davis 43). Such was the case for Katie Davis in her heart-warming novel, Kisses From Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, co-written by Beth Clark. Katie’s nonfiction memoir speaks passionately about her move to Uganda: here she strengthened her relationship with Jesus, adopted thirteen little Ugandan girls, started a nonprofit ministry, and so much more. Katie’s unique journey teaches about sacrifice for the Lord our God and about following Him wholeheartedly with reckless abandonment. Consequently, Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis is a hopeful story that teaches readers about God’s love for us, and

Madeleine L’ Engle was born November 29th, 1918 in New York City, New York. Born to Wadsworth Camp and Madeleine Camp, she was an only child. Madeleine was named after her great grandmother. Her school grades weren’t the best because, instead of schoolwork, she’d write stories, poems, and journals. As a shy, clumsy child, she was labeled as stupid by some of her teachers. At age twelve, L’Engle moved to the French Alps with her parents and attended an English boarding school. Being unable to please her teachers, she retreated back to her own world of writing and books. Madeleine’s parents often disagreed on how to raise her, so in effect she went to many boarding schools. Yet, in 1933 her grandmother became very sick and they moved near Jacksonville, Florida to be

World peace can be achieved by broadening each other’s perspectives through everyday interactions. This idea forms an essential part of NSLI-Y’s mission: that we can improve understanding between our country and others, and this is achievable if each one of us decides to be the change that we hope to see in our communities. This mission aligns with both my personal and future professional missions, and as a NSLI-Y student and alumna, I am able to be ambassador, building connections between communities through everyday interactions, volunteering, and speaking about my study abroad experience. Therefore, as a study abroad participant, perhaps the most simple, but one of the most important ways, to promote intercultural learning is to get involved. As a member of my host community, I was able to open my ears and mind to every opportunity available to me to participate in my community: through everyday traditions and once-a-year celebrations, school activities, volunteer opportunities, and religious and extracurricular activities. I said yes to all of the new opportunities that presented themselves to me, whether it was trying a new, unidentifiable food or running a 5K. I let my passion

The country was foreign, a first for me. Dilapidation and ruin scattered the horizon as far as one could see. Guatemala is a place where poverty has a strong grasp on its people. We traveled tirelessly for hours to reach the poorest of the poor. Upon arrival old, young, and natives of all shapes and sizes formed receiving lines, eager to welcome us with gifts of smiles and gratitude. It was an experience that forever changed me. This was the first time I had stepped outside the boundaries of the American culture into a world where nothing is taken for granted. Each day spent on my mission trip brought a fresh awareness of gratefulness. Any pre-trip reluctance quickly became a vague memory as my emotions welled within bring a fresh change to

It was my first time in the Dominican Republic, away from my parents and traveling alone. It was also my first mission trip and I loved every minute of it. As I sat and looked around the village of slums and shacks, I saw that the people were so giving and friendly. They had next to nothing, and yet they were still volunteering to give more.

The following week, we spent most of our time in the poorest parts of the city. There we went door-to-door sharing the love of God and had Vacation Bible Schools for the kids. This is when I realized how blessed I truly was. For the first time, I got to see the privations and penury environment that the citizens of Third World countries had to endure. The unpaved streets were covered in trash. Many houses, made of tin sheets, had collapsed on themselves. The people had to share wells, where they drew their parasitic water. Men, women, and children sat on the sides of the roads begging for money, because they were sick, hungry, and needed money for food and proper medication. The site of these atrocious states of living broke my heart, and showed me how blessed I really was for not having to face these problems.

Think about the poverty and problems that all countries around the world are facing today and every day. As Americans we have an urge to go into these countries to help as much as possible because of that we have begun a revolution. Americans began going on mission trips around the 1960s but did not really pick up until the 1990s. The trend grew after multiple natural disasters, Americans saw and need and went, since then short term mission trips show no sign stopping anytime soon. As the popularity of leaving our comfort zones, many people have found issues with the way the trips are led to the extent of questioning whether or not these trips are really worth the amount of money and time that they consume. Through periodicals, interviews, narratives, and articles, I will show the issues and improvements that could be made to the living situations, attitude of the Americans, and relationships that are acquired during the short term mission trips.

From an early age, I had the desire to give back to my community. This desire was likely instilled in me by my mother, who as a school teacher, went to great lengths to help her students achieve academically. To better do this, she created at Tupelo Middle School in Mississippi, the Mermaids and Argonauts Program, which allowed students to travel on extended school trips to locations where they were able to have hands-on experiences at zoos, science labs, colleges, museums, and more across the country. As her child, I was able to tag along on many of these trips, which fueled my desire to learn about and interact with my environment. It left me with the great hope that someday I would be able to have such experiences abroad, in order to better learn about the people and cultures with which I interact. For this reason, I hope to study abroad this summer in Pachuca, Mexico.

In spring of 2016, my youth group and I began planning a trip to a neighboring city. This wasn’t just any trip however, we were going on a mission. Each of us there were bound and determined to

“People tell me I am brave. People tell me I am strong, and I am not doing anything spectacular. I am just doing what god has called me to do as a follower of him, Feed his sheep, do unto the least of his people.” Katie Davis was only 18 years old when she decided to make the life-changing step of going to Uganda, to spread the love of god by teaching discipleship and offering food to kids (Amazima Ministries) As simplistic as it may seem, Davis was igniting hope in these children’s hearts. From feeding them to spreading the word of god, Katie Davis is an echo from the sound created centuries before, when a plethora of people decided to become vessels of god and become missionaries in many parts of the world.