and listen to others without judgment. I have learned
to try to find Christ in everyone I meet. I have
learned to be true to myself so that I can be true to
others. I believe everyone has a journey with Christ
and I don’t think it takes a year of being a missionary
to realize that. Archbishop Desmond Tutu says, “We
are all missionaries, or we are nothing.” I think if we
can all discover and use the gifts God has given every
one of us,, then we can create the Body of Christ that
Jesus shared with us.
I am currently serving with the
Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) in San José,
Costa Rica, where I teach English at two schools
-- Hogar Escuela Barrio Cuba and Hogar
Escuela Heredia. Both schools are run by
The Episcopal Church, and are located
in impoverished neighborhoods. They offer children
of low-income families a safe place to learn, play and
grow. Not only am I teaching eight different groups
of children ages 4 to12, I am also creating a functional
curriculum for them to learn English in an educational
(but fun!) way. Along with teaching, I am assisting Bishop Hector
Monterroso with translation work
for his grants and sermons.
This year has been a period
of huge personal growth, both
spiritually and emotionally. I feel
that I have matured and gained
more confidence in my abilities.
My jitters regarding public speaking are now gone, and I actually
think my public speaking in Spanish might be better
than in English! This year has given me a lot of confidence that I definitely lacked, and has improved my
ability to be plucky and efficient when it seemed like
the odds were against me – like doing a two-person job
all by myself in a second language!
While The Episcopal Church has always been a
part of my life and has always been important to me, I
have never been particularly “spiritual.” I am very stubborn in general, and I often shy away from asking for
help. This job has required me to not only ask for help,
but also to seek that help from God when I need it. I
have felt so much joy and confidence, but also a great
deal of stress and frustration. Some of my students
come from backgrounds of violence and poverty, and
the emotional toll that comes with that can be very
difficult. There is also a mountain of behavioral issues,
along with a heavy workload of creating a whole
curriculum for multiple ages by myself. All that can
be very draining.
I have relied on my faith to get me through
the tough times, knowing that I have a higher power
looking out for me. Every day I see God in the faces
of my students and at the schools where I work. I
know that without this chance for a better life
and education, these children might never have
the opportunities that could change their lives.
I am looking for job possibilities in the Washington area for when I return home, and
I think that this experience has prepared
me well for anything that could come my
way career-wise back in the States. Not only is my
Spanish better, but this job has given me patience,
perseverance and the confidence that I lacked. I
have learned to take the initiative and to trust myself, even though many times throughout the year
I had no idea what I was doing!
No matter what I end up doing
when I get back home, I have
grown and learned from this
experience and, in the process,
become an adult. Now I’m comfortable with being uncomfortable, and have learned that it’s
OK to ask for help (from God!)
when you need it.
KATE SNOW
14
One of the biggest things they
hammered into us during our two-week-long
YASC training was the importance of relationships
in Christian mission. Without relationships, it was
noted, our interactions with the people around us
often reduce to a benefactor-dependent dynamic.
In our baptismal covenant, we are called upon to
“respect the dignity of every human being.” As
such, creating a benefactor-dependent dynamic is
not only a poor way of approaching development
work, but such a dynamic also runs counter to
SUMMER 2016 / VIRGINIA EPISCOPALIAN