Waikato Youth Leader Teresa Curran left NZ in January to begin the 'Training in Mission' programme, a Council for World Mission initiative where 12 young people from around the world live, study and work together in mission for ten months: five in South Africa and five in India. In her latest email, Teresa reported that the team members, who are from Bangladesh, Kiribati, Zambia, South Africa, Samoa, England, Canada and India, have been getting to know each other in a new environment in Cape Town, and have begun their experience with some time doing theological reflection. They are starting their community development projects just after Easter.
Teresa says, ‘I am looking forward to learning more from the study phase, but perhaps even more from those I am working with. TIM is an amazing programme because you get a mix of so many cultures working together as one for ten months.’
You can keep up with what Teresa’s doing on the PYM website
Applications for TIM '06 open soon. If you are interested, contact Mo Mansill at mo.mansill@presbyterian.org.nz
Meet Anna Gray, a nineteen year old, originally from Winton and Timaru. This year she’s taking a year out from studying towards a BA degree at Otago University to spend eight months in South Africa where she’ll be working in an orphanage just south of Johannesburg. The orphanage is called The Love of Christ (TLC) Ministries and its mission is to take in and care for abandoned and neglected babies, to nurture, provide for, educate and especially to love them as they grow.
We asked Anna, what’s your motivation for going? She said, ‘I’ve always had a thing for Africa and for helping the really needy, and this is one first step. Also, it is a dream that God has grown in me and unfolded in a way that has amazed even me.’
By Emily Wotton
Our two weeks in Vanuatu provided daily challenges and a lifetime of unrepeatable memories for our young people. We encountered things we could never experience elsewhere, made dear friends with our extended Presbyterian family members, participated in a completely foreign culture, supported the work of our kiwi missionaries the Pearson family, and enjoyed the experience of learning while giving. Over the coming months we will have many opportunities to share about our experiences with different audiences and those that supported us. Aside from the practical information, beautiful photos, and funny stories, we want to also spend time talking about the deeper things that changed us from this time. These experiences are the things from our trip that our young people are passionate about.
Prior to going, three of our junior leaders attended Andrew Bell’s workshop at Connect. They came away from the session extremely fired up about mission. I gathered from their continuing ideas and comment, the main concept they took away from Andrew, was the goal of ‘doing mission responsibly’. This became our focus during preparation. We were aware that many of the outcomes form our trip would be to our own benefit, so we wanted to make sure that we were also a blessing to our hosts during our short stay.
Being involved in the development of the mission resource packs with the Global Mission Office and PYM focus group, was hugely helpful. Our group enjoyed the material and loved the idea that our ‘guinea pig’ experience would be helpful to the wider church for future groups going on short term mission. The material is full of practical ideas, as well as some great cultural overviews on both mission and more specifically for Vanuatu. Requesting a pack should be your first step in planning a trip for your group, enjoy! Emily Wotton As well as being a youth leader at St Helier’s, Emily is a member of the PYM national youth min focus group and one of four Emilys in the PYM database.