‘Lives are changed and leaders are made’

Young Adult Volunteer site coordinator cites program’s ‘transformative’ impact

March 22, 2018

2016–17 YAVs Akilah Hyrams, Andrew Flanigan and Katheryn McGinnis, with Dessa Palm, YAV site coordinator in the Philippines (Photo provided)

As a mission co-worker and cultural worker in the Philippines, sometimes I am utterly exhausted. There are periods that require quite a bit of travel related to meetings and theater-based trainings for children, youth, church workers, teachers, women and others. When I am in Dumaguete, days sometimes stretch into late evenings for rehearsals with our youth theater group or with Silliman University Divinity School students preparing for the annual church workers convocation. So a few years ago, when asked by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program if my husband, Cobbie, and I would consider reopening the Philippines YAV service site, we pondered, could we? Should we? Could we say no?

Other considerations were also swirling in my mind then. How would North American volunteers, mostly coming out of universities, deal with the grinding realities of living in the Philippines? During the program’s mutual-discernment process where I would interview prospective applicants, I sometimes felt like a casting director for the game show series Fear Factor. Can you deal with pesky mosquitoes, humongous cockroaches, armies of ants and other critters? Will you try a taste of exotic fruits like durian or the duck’s egg delicacy called balut? What about prolonged periods of scorching heat and humidity? Bucket baths and spartan toilets? Frequent brownouts and, the potential deal breaker, weak or nil internet connections? The list goes on.

The inclination to say no, however, began to shift to a yes as I got to know individuals who had been nurtured by a year of service in the Philippines — people like Jed Koball, who is now a PC(USA) mission co-worker in Peru, and Richard Williams, coordinator of the PC(USA)’s Young Adult Volunteer program.

Cynthia Rigby and William “Bill” Greenway arrived in Manila in the summer of 1989 as the first yearlong volunteers sent by Princeton Theological Seminary with blessings from the PC(USA) to serve alongside the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). The overall goal of the program, which was called Volunteers in Mission at that time, was for young people to develop a firsthand understanding of the church’s ministry in the Philippines; then, upon returning home, they would be able to clearly and accurately communicate realities in the Philippines with their congregations. After two weeks of orientation, they moved to Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, where the UCCP assigned them as assistant pastors. They also participated in Muslim/Christian dialogues in various parts of Mindanao.

Both Cynthia and Bill are now on the faculty of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. About his experience as a volunteer in the Philippines, Bill shares, “Now, many years later, I can say my year in the Philippines was among the happiest and most profound and formative years of my life. It is fair to say that my experience in the Philippines has and continues to inform every aspect of my teaching, writing and understanding, and that in such a way the goals of those coordinating the UCCP program definitely have been, and continue to be, fulfilled.”

Moments with these special people have given me the opportunity to value how the YAV program can build leaders. I could not turn away from the opportunity to be part of such an important ministry. How can one say no to a program that is proving to be transformative and instrumental in creating a new generation of leaders for the church and our communities?

Thus, here I am now, deeply involved as the Philippines site coordinator of the PC(USA)’s YAV program, fully committed to the knowledge and hope that lives are changed and leaders are made through the experience of international volunteer work.

Dessa Palm, YAV Philippines Site Coordinator and Artistic Director for Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts

Today’s Focus:  Dessa Palm, mission co-worker and cultural worker in the Philippines

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Mission Co-workers

Carlton “Cobbie” Palm, Philippines
Dessa Palm, Philippines
Cathy Chang, Philippines
Juan Lopez, Philippines

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Thomas Hay, OGA
Sara Hayden, PMA

Let us pray:

God of us all, we give thanks that you bridge the gaps of age, language and culture. Guide us as we partner with our brothers and sisters around the world, and give us open hearts and minds to hear your voice. Amen.

Daily Readings

Morning Psalms 27; 147:12-20
First Reading Exodus 7:25-8:19
Second Reading 2 Corinthians 3:7-18
Gospel Reading Mark 10:17-31
Evening Psalms 126; 102