Bridges For Email August 2008

Volunteer Missionary Movement

Bridges Newsletter August 2008 • Volume 16 Issue 14

Strasser Family News from Zambia By Arden (Susan) Strasser (VMs Zimbabwe 1988-1990) Greetings to you from Zambia! We hope you are well. I am an ELCA missionary, moving here from northern California in April, 2006. Let me introduce my family first. My wife, Susan, works for Catholic Relief Services as an AIDS advisor. She is the technical advisor for The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) in Zambia. EGPAF supports programs to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV as well as HIV related care and treatment for over half of Zambia's populaton. Susan’s work covers a few strategic areas including improving the quality of counseling for HIV positive children, increasing the number of children on lifesaving antiretroviral therapy, and overseeing public health evaluations and operations research. Specifically, Susan is interested in psychosocial support for HIV positive children as well as HIV and nutrition. Our daughter, Chloe, is in 10th grade here in Zambia. Chloe likes making friends, playing piano, and polocrosse, but is most excited when she can practice driving (albeit off road!).

being grateful to God for strengthening our family relationships through talking, praying, working and goofing around. Along with their professional commitment to vulnerable child protection, Susan and Chloe, have begun coordinating the building of a playground at a Christian school & vocation center for 500 orphaned, disabled, and other children with a high vulnerability to extreme poverty. The program is called the “Bauleni Street Kid's Program.” It's a school feeding site for the United Nations World Food Program. Time and space to play Continued on page 4

Alea, 6, is in kindergarten and is learning to tie her shoelaces and identify the alphabet sounds. I still have to keep her firmly in the car and away from those annoying elephants! As with you, birthdays come and go, and we know joys and disappointments, opportunities and dead-ends, along with the future God lays before us. We depend on

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Executive Director’s Report By Julia Pagenkopf What a beautiful summer it has been in Wisconsin! I hope you have all been able to enjoy God’s blessings in nature the past few months. It rained so much this spring, I was reminded of the verse from Isaiah 45:8 - Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just One: let the earth be opened, and bud forth a Saviour. This has been an especially fruitful year for VMM. Our revenue for the year was $269,094, an increase of $67,886 over the previous year. Total expenses were $260,468, an increase of $4,770 over the previous year, primarily due to the costs associated with the increased number of missioners we have in Central America. Our Net Income was $8,618. These are not audited figures yet, so there may be some slight adjustments. Everyone here at VMM wants to give all of you a huge THANK YOU for your very generous help and support to our missioners this past fiscal year. Continued on next page

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We placed seven new missioners in Central America: Alicia in Guatemala; Kelley, Paul, Daemian and Mary Foster (and their three children: Thandiwe, Chesna and Aidan) in El Salvador; and Laura and Christine in Nicaragua. The Fosters returned in July so they could expand their family and adopt three of his sister’s children after her tragic death in December. Keep them in your prayers as they continue their experience of mission here in the U.S. and open their hearts to a new life. VMM will have four new missioners in the coming year, all of whom attended the Mission Personnel Orientation (MPO) training held in May at the Siena Center in Racine, WI. We had the incredible opportunity to have Edwina join us for a day and share with us how she started VMM, its early history, how the Spirit and Lifestyle was created, the value of community, and the special charism of VMM missioners. It was a perfect way to begin our time together! Here is a little bit of information about each of our new missioners: Danielle Mackey graduated from St. Louis University with a double major in International Studies and Political Science. She spent a semester in El Salvador studying at La Casa de la Solidaridad and working for a women’s small artisan cooperative. She will be replacing Danny Burridge in his position as the Grassroots Delegations and Tour Coordinator. Jennifer Wilder just graduated from Furman University in South Carolina with a degree in Psychology. She was recommended to VMM by a professor – David Gandolfo, who is married to former VM, Liz O’Donnell. Jennifer also spent a semester in five countries in Central America. She has been accepted by the Divinity School at Wake Forest University, which she will delay for two years while she is ministering with VMM. Her placement will be in El Salvador, most likely with our project partner, Fundahmer.

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We are pleased to welcome our new missioners: Dave & Nancy Slinde (photo left) and Danielle Mackey, Kelley Burns, and Jennifer Wilder (below L-R).

David and Nancy Slinde come to VMM from the Greater Milwaukee Lutheran Synod through the advice of Mary Campbell, another former VM. Nancy is experienced as a teacher in elementary school, high schools and college. She has volunteered with the ELCA Global Mission for Education and Advocacy, GMS ELCA/Salvadoran Lutheran Synod Companion Encuentro. David has also been very involved with the Greater Milwaukee Synod El Salvador Committee, and the ELCA Global Missions Conference in Costa Rica. He worked at Eaton Corp. for many years in management positions, and was Executive Director of Citizen Advocacy of Washington County from 2002-2003. He is currently working with the West Bend Noon Rotary as Project Manager of an international project in La Granja, Nejapa, El Salvador, for a waste water collection system. They cannot leave for mission until after January 1, but will be placed in El Salvador. Kelley Burns also joined us at the MPO even though she has been serving with the SHARE Foundation in El Salvador as the Grassroots Education Solidarity Coordinator since October. We all enjoyed the benefit of her previous experience in Costa Rica with the Peace Corps, and her great sense of humor! Danny Burridge, who has been the Grassroots Delegation and Tour Coordinator for the SHARE Foundation for two years, will be transitioning to a new role for a year as VMM’s Central American Pastoral Associate. In an upcoming issue, Danny will share more about what his role entails.

The above photo shows new missioners sharing a meal with members. Photo right shows SVD and former VMM Board Member, Roger Schroeder, presenting during one of the MPO training sessions.

I encourage you to help us in our recruitment efforts by recommending possible candidates to us. And we also welcome your suggestions for potential Project Partners, whether in the U.S. or in Central America. Mark your calendars for the Assembly next year. Pray for and celebrate the VMM Community!


Please continue to keep our missioners, and the people they serve, in your daily thoughts & prayers!

Visit our NEW website at www.vmmusa.org!

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Strasser Family News continued from cover is essential for healthy child development and, painfully, such structures are virtually nonexistent in the urban centers of Zambia. We have secured the land, builders, materials, and the trucks! Chloe is responsible for the design, planning, supervision and coordination, under Susan's guidance. The playground is “built-to-last” using local materials and will have a large deck, roof, wheelchair ramp, monkey bars, seesaw, swings, parallel bars, tire tunnel, shaky bridge, slide, etc. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia, with which I work, is committed to building village self-reliance through micro-credit projects. I am pleased to report that a new micro-credit program is underway, with four, 3day, training workshops for 90 community leaders already complete in the northwest and our local field assistant, David Mangenda, hired and working.

Arden (pictured above right) discusses micro-credit with a villager.

Susan and I joined VMM in 1987. VMM has informed our spirituality, values, and passions ever since then. Today, we still run into people around Africa who know VMM and respect it, speaking of the rare qualities VMs have. We have worked with so many different development volunteers and professionals in Africa, but there is often a difference between our motivations. We believe it is the way VMM has infused in us a special view towards the poor, towards power, and towards love. For this we are grateful. What a privilege to be a part of such a special international community.


People travel from far and wide to attend our workshops on micro-credit. One fellow rode two days on bicycle through deep sand from his congregation across the border in Angola. We insist on women's participation, as they have a better track record with micro-loans. So far, more than 20 lending groups of participants have formed and are writing their loan applications for our evaluation, and sending them in! The small businesses include maize farming, rice farming, vegetable gardening, goat selling, caterpillar selling, night spear fishing, plowing fields, and raising pigs. Those groups that are successful will receive $400 each to use as loan capital which they lend internally as a group to each member. After nine months, if all the loan capital has been paid back plus the small interest, their group will be awarded more capital to work with. The people here deserve credit. They are willing to find help in writing down and committing to their ideas to break out of the cycle of seasonal hunger.

In Loving Memory Sister Mhuire McLoughlin September 14, 1931 ~ July 4, 2008 Sister Mhuire McLoughlin, SSND, died at St. Michael Hospital in Stevens Point, WI, on July 4, 2008 at the age of 76. Sister Mhuire has been a wonderful friend to VMM and served two years with VMM in Tanzania as a teacher and LPN. Most recently, Sister Mhuire served on VMM’s Board of Directors until June 2007.

Eternal Rest Grant Unto Her, O Lord, & May Perpetual Light Shine Upon Her

†

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VMM 15 Years Later By Rose Stietz, OP (VM Milwaukee ‘93-’95) As a VM in the mid-1990s, I was one of the first three “home missioners” when I responded to the call of two pastors to come to inner-city Milwaukee to do Outreach in the neighborhoods surrounding their parishes. That was May 1, 1993. Since then, both pastors have moved on to other ministries and most of the neighborhood leaders that I worked with have since passed on to a new form of life. I am in my third living situation — all within five blocks of where I began my two-year commitment as a VM. Sister Rose (right) stencils an angel on the ground near the spot where Marque Rodgers was shot and left to die on June 22, 2008 (Rodgers’ 25th birthday) in Milwaukee’s innercity. “If they (the angels) aren’t washed away,” Rose says, “there are angels all over the city.”

political system and name/face recognition among elected and appointed leaders. When my two-year commitment as a VM was complete, some neighborhood women asked me to stay. I was able to do so due to a grant from my Religious Community. Over the years my involvement in MICAH grew as I realized many of the neighborhood problems arose from decisions made at the city, county, state and national levels. I gradually came to the realization that my presence/living in the community is as important as my work there. Today I find myself working with the police in community policing and against police violence to individuals and groups; working with housing groups to rejuvenate a once nearly destroyed neighborhood and working against landlords and speculators that continue to profit from that very housing; working to expand effective treatment for substance abusers who are uninsured, or under insured, and working against drug dealers. I’ve “integrated” the senior citizen housing building where I live. I continue to have an office at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church and do much of the planting and care of flowers in the courtyard each spring and summer.

My living in, and being available in, the Harambee neighborhood included four areas: 1.) To promote job possibilities; 2.) To assist families/individuals in ownership, or rental, of housing; 3.) To assist residents to utilize skills, develop crime and drug prevention plans, and promote drug abatement; and 4.) To promote and encourage participation in positive youth activities

In addition, I’ve been part of the Call to Action AntiRacism Team for the past four years. For the past 15 years I have coordinated prayer vigils at the sites of homicides in Milwaukee (on average we experience 1-3 or more homicides on a weekly basis). Though this is only a small portion of my activities, it is probably the one that will be my legacy when my life in Milwaukee is completed.


I discovered early that the neighborhood leaders needed a competent secretary. They had squirreled away much valuable information but were unable to utilize it to make the changes they felt were necessary. I had previous experience as an office secretary and access to a parish word processor. We worked together to challenge the neighborhood-funded community organization. Both congregations belonged to MICAH (Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope). I joined the Housing & Economic Development and Crime & Drugs Task Force(s) which gave me entrée into the local

Sister Rose (above center) leads a prayer vigil for Antwone Williams at the site where he was murdered

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What Constitutes a Project? The Importance of Social Acceptance & Training By Dan & Melissa Moran (VMs San Marcos, Guatemala) In October, we will return to the US, after completing two years as volunteers here in San Marcos Guatemala. During this time, our understanding of problems, needs and solutions to improve the living conditions for communities here has gone through a gradual and continual change, with many of our initial perceptions now turned completely upside-down. Upon hearing of the problems related to lack of basic infrastructure in developing countries, the first thought that comes to mind is the need for investment in public works, such as water and sanitation systems, landfills, and roads. In our two years in the highlands of Guatemala, we have learned first hand that the infrastructure investment, which may be desperately needed, is only one small part of the need that must be addressed by a particular project.

Sustainability of the water projects means training community members to operate the system. Melissa (center in photo, left) is providing a workshop on how to read engineering plans.

remains only a “potential” improvement without addressing the corresponding social and cultural issues. We have enjoyed working with the social workers on our project team on these more difficult aspects that directly affect the sustainability of the projects community acceptance, self-governance, and technical training to name a few. It is much more important and results in more tangible long term improvement when the community supports a project, even if this means implementing a project in a different way than our training and life experiences would recommend. Listening to what a community wants and accepts is an important part of developing solutions to community problems. While sometimes what a community wants is impossible (and this needs to be discussed and explained), other times it is equally Continued on next page

Contamination of the rivers from untreated wastewater discharges have health impacts for all, as it is impossible to tell what market crops were grown using the contaminated river water for irrigation. Above Dan talks with the building supervisor for the wastewater treatment plant for the town of San Antonio Sacatepequez.

In our time here, we have implemented family rainwater collection projects for storage of water for use in the dry season to raise chickens or irrigate a garden; we have assisted in projects to bring water from mountain springs to communities that lack piped water or sufficient supply to serve the entire community; and we have planned and constructed initial wastewater treatment facilities in urban areas so that wastewater does not continue to contaminate the rivers that are used by downstream communities. While the investment in infrastructure in each project has the potential to provide both health and economic improvements to the local communities, it

Melissa and co-worker, Osiel, meet with community members to discuss plans for a new water supply for the community of Panconche. Project success is completely dependent on maintaining local community involvement.

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impossible to implement a project that by our western ways is considered developed or improved if the idea is rejected by the community. A key step in improving the likelihood that an infrastructure project will succeed is training the community in administration, operation and maintenance. Supporting long term operation and maintenance of a water or sewage system can be extremely challenging in communities that lack the necessary income. Also, on the part of the com-

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munities, there is little understanding of operational and maintenance needs due to lack of experience with these types of systems. The problem is further compounded by illiteracy in some communities, which makes written instructional materials fairly useless. It is impossible to work toward improved living conditions without respecting the social and cultural realities. Our experiences have led us to further appreciation of the mission of VMM in building person-to-person relationships across cultural divides. Discovering the underlying challenges and needs is necessary to connect and work with those whose opportunities and lifestyles are defined by the location of their birth.


Earn Money for VMM While Online!

Dan shows Rene, one of San Antonio’s two plumbers, how to monitor the wastewater treatment process as a part of the operator training.

Just imagine — what if VMM earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support VMM? GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoopowered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

Two Decades After Mission By Carol Schuck Scheiber So today, in our 40s and putting kids through college, we're more settled, but we still haven't abandoned the idea that faith can be lived authentically in many settings. Our three children are a major focus in our lives. Our job as a teacher (Matt) and editor (me) also consume our days. In addition, all of us in the family have started to help care for Matt's mother. At 78 and in fragile health, she needs extra support. Part of me wishes I had something much Well, 19 years later, I still have the hammock that we made in Vene- Above Carol & Matt Scheiber still live out their more thrilling to report that Matt and I are doing with our lives. Why havezuela; it's a bit frayed, and I have to mission; but in a different way then before. n't we figured by now how to save lives, lift neighboradmit that my edge is in the same condition. I'm at home hoods out of poverty, leap from tall buildings? Yet anin my culture, our wallet is less empty than it was back other part of me is content with the ordinariness. God then, and Matt no longer proposes the kind of wonderful, calls us in different directions at different times in our harebrained ideas that 20-something guys in mission lives, and it seems that faith is lived in a distinct way at dream up. (Maybe in another newsletter, I can share age 27, than it is at age 47. So, with or without our more about his proposal that we travel around on mules as edge, here we are, still believing in Jesus' promise that itinerant preachers, relying on the kindness of campesinos through him we might have life in abundance.
to get by. Maybe I'm a bad missionary, but I never went in for that idea.) In 1989, my husband, Matt, and I returned to the U.S. after spending two years doing pastoral service in rural Venezuela. Re-entering the U.S. after being immersed in life with the poor of Latin America was challenging. We both wanted to never lose our "edge"--the sense of looking at American life through the eyes of the Venezuelans we had come to know.

Visit our NEW website at www.vmmusa.org

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 9 Greendale, WI

Volunteer Missionary Movement 5980 West Loomis Road Greendale Wisconsin 53129

Our Mission VMM recruits lay Christians in an ecumenical spirit to witness to the Catholic social justice tradition. VMM supports their commitment to sharing their lives, resources and skills as they collaborate with domestic and overseas partners to promote equality, empower sustainable human development, and challenge unjust and oppressive social structures. Bridges is published by the U.S. office of the Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM). Phone: 414-423-8660; Email: [email protected]; Website: www.vmmusa.org. VMM is a nonprofit 501(c)3 charitable corporation registered in Illinois. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. Executive Director: Development Director: CAFC: Executive Office Assistant: Office Volunteer:

Julia M. Pagenkopf Kathyrn Ebert Betsy Gonwa Rheanna Meade Tom Kowalski

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www.vmmusa.org

VMM-Europe: All Hallows, Grace Park Road, Dublin 9, Ireland

Spirit and Lifestyle This is a continuing excerpt from “Spirit and Lifestyle” by Edwina Gateley

It is not simply a

This pre-supposes

matter of handing out money, food or equipment. It calls for more than that. Our response is to share who we are as well as what we have.

an openness to the needs of others and the humility to meet them wherever they are at.

We work side-byside with the people sharing our talents, friendship and love.

It calls for a spirit of confidence and poverty which is ever ready to listen and respond to others.

Serving in … Living for ... Mission