Critical Experiences

A letter from Sharon Bryant serving in Thailand

November 2015

Dear Friends,

As this year draws to a close I have time to reflect on the years that have passed and all that has been accomplished. Beginning with one Christian Volunteer in Thailand (CVT) in 2012 and going up to 17 CVTs before the coup d’état in Thailand in 2013, we have come back from the “post-coup drought” to 11 CVTs, with the promise of many more coming in 2016.

One of the things that is critical to the success of what we do are the retreats that we hold four times each year for our CVTs all over Thailand. Whether our CVTs are new to their responsibilities or have settled into a routine, the thing they say they look forward to most is our time away together.

CVTs gather on the beach for some team-building activities

The retreats have several objectives:

1. Giving CVTs who are living and working in a culture, climate and setting that is not familiar to them the opportunity to freely share their challenges and their aspirations. Often they cannot do this within the setting where they are working without offending their hosts.
2. Giving CVTs time to renew their spiritual life and examine their own beliefs as they are growing and changing in their journey. There is no attempt to mold a one-size-fits-all faith experience, but to meet CVTs where they are and help them explore how their new life and work is both challenged and supported by Scripture and their faith.
3. Giving CVTs the opportunity to develop relationships with other volunteers from many different lands, cultures and faith traditions, learning how to live and work side by side in a multicultural, ecumenical mission program. Over time they develop friendships and skills that will last a lifetime.
4. Finally, giving CVTs opportunities to develop skills in leadership and expand their abilities in communication, time management, and teamwork within the safety of the CVT Program. They demonstrate their new maturity in the ways they challenge themselves and mentor others.

While the volunteers are well supported by their placement site co-workers, they have lived and worked in a strange land where even the “normal” things in daily life are different and they deal with a language barrier that makes even simple communication challenging. But at these retreats they meet friends who have struggled with the same concerns and mentors who are prepared to listen to them, support them, help them solve problems and encourage them in their efforts. We open each retreat with a time of worship, a time to catch up on what is new with each CVT, and a time to reinforce the team work and collaborative spirit of the larger group.  That is followed by time to relax together and time to eat together, topped with a good night’s sleep, before the real work of the retreat begins.

Each retreat has a different theme and focus, alternating between topics that will help our CVT mission workers grow in their faith and those that will help them rise to the challenges of their ministries in more effective ways. For example, during a time when our CVT mission workers were all working in classroom settings, we spent time learning about how to develop strong lesson plans, classroom discipline, and extracurricular activities that would build scholastic achievement. In another retreat we focused on how to care for others, from the practice of basic listening skills to a ministry of presence, to knowing when to refer troubled persons to professionals for assistance. A recent retreat discussed the importance of ecumenical relations and what it means to be ecumenical in a world with so many different kinds of Christianity.  Another retreat focused on the radical call to discipleship, challenging all of us to leave our comfort zones to actually do some of the things that Jesus did!

CVTs praying together at the end of a day on retreat

CVT volunteers are asked to prepare for each retreat by reading selected articles or a book that will provide a basic understanding of the theme for that retreat. Through speakers who are chosen for their expertise, their mission experience, and their understanding of the role of CVTs, lively discussions take place that often continue in small groups into dinnertime and the evening that follows. As often as possible speakers are invited to join the group for these informal discussions, so the learning continues. Each day closes with a brief devotional that is also centered on the theme of the retreat itself. Different CVT mission workers lead these devotional times and contribute their musical or dramatic talents to the worship experience.

Built into every retreat is time for each CVT mission worker to meet with me privately—a time for them to share any personal concerns they may have.  These private meetings help me set my schedule for sites I need to visit in the weeks after the retreat.  Those visits are opportunities to make adjustments to living conditions, work assignments, or other challenges that contribute to any stress the CVTs might be experiencing.

Thank you, again, for all that you do that sustains me in my work here in Thailand.  Your prayers give me energy and focus for the day. Your cards and letters renew my spirit.  Your hard-earned dollars make my ministry possible and help to change the lives of every volunteer and Thai person that this program touches. You are an integral part of everything that I do!  Thank you so much, and please continue this journey with me.  Enclosed is a letter from Hunter Farrell, the Director of World Mission, which speaks to my need for your support.

Many blessings to you and yours in the coming year,
Sharon Bryant

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 235