Focus: Mission Education

​It's always a blessing to gather with fellow missionaries. It's extra-special when they all have the same job as you. 

Last week marked my 6th Volunteer Coordinators conference with colleagues around the world who also help facilitate the sending of short-term volunteers. The 2025 iteration was on my home turf, an intentional choice so as to zero on on this thing we do so well called Mission Education. I can't even articulate how or when it came about, but it's proven successful to the point that regional leadership is advocating that at least half our volunteer teams moving forward experience it in all its glory (if you ask me, ALL teams are Mission Education teams). While I'm not the "owner" of the conference by any stretch, Dana & I found ourselves doing quite a bit of the heavy lifting, for obvious reasons. 

Everyone - seven people in all, representing four continents - arrived by Monday evening. We braved a deluge to go get brick-oven pizza, but skipped an outdoor jazz concert. 

Tuesday was a long day of sessions that began in one of our mission-owned apartments...

...but transitioned to the regional office to use the projector. A sampling of our topics: 

• How Mission Education teams contribute to long-term work, specifically in the area of recruitment;
• The role of a Volunteer Coordinator in FOROs and how FORO differ from region to region;
• Analyzing a Standards of Excellence self-assessment and choosing one to intentionally work on in the coming year;
• A walk-through of Eurasia's new volunteer hosting portal;
• A comprehensive overview - with infographic! - of the short-term volunteer preparation process;
• Sharing the challenges that come with our role, no matter the region

Over Brazilian BBQ that night, my fellow coordinators & I learned about solid Lutheran missiology from LAC Regional Director Ted Krey. 

Wednesday, Dana & I were really in charge; we put the group through the paces as a makeshift Mission Education team. Watch for a separate post detailing our activities, since it was also my birthday (hence the tiara)! For now, know that we spent much of our day in Palmar "Arriba" with a brief hiatus in the middle and "Game Night Shenanigans" on the docket for what would normally be past my bedtime. 

Erin A. (left): " I taught preschoolers English for three years. Let's make the letters with our bodies!"

CMSCR rooftop group pic L to R: Ashley (Puerto Rico), Chelsea (Czechia), me, Dana, Shara (Kenya), Matt (South Korea), and Erin A. (St. Louis). 

Cable car!

My recurring thought throughout the day was that while it was a fun day with fun people, I wasn't even going to see the one person I would have most wanted to spend it with until at least 10 pm. Psych! He's a keeper.  

We concluded our time together by lunchtime Thursday; morning and noontime devotions bookended a debrief of the previous day's experiences. Takeaways included some specific pieces of my usual MO to tighten up - LAC isn't always the trendsetter - and the simple fact that these people make me feel heard. They're the only ones who can legitimately claim they, too, have the best job in the world ;) 

Until next time, blessings in Christ!