“Not only 13 months had passed: Above all a time of intensive experiences, encounters, and personal growth lay behind us”. The six volunteers, who met for the evaluation course after their assignment in Elstal, shared this experience.

Currently, ten young adults sponsored by weltwärts are in South Africa, Malawi, India, and Argentina for 6-12 months and will be able to report life-changing impressions next year as well. Another six (senior) volunteers are at their own expense in different places. From the United Methodist Church, five volunteers took part in our preparation course. A voluntary service is the chance to realign oneself and to experience formative moments. You can apply for an assignment from summer 2020 at any time until the end of November. You can find more information at www.hoffnung-international.de.

“Two speakers and two former volunteers accompanied us. The relaxed and exuberant atmosphere that we had built up during the preparation seminar quickly developed again and soon we again laughed at old jokes and inside jokes. However, of course there was not only fooling around but we also had profound conversations and had a lively exchange about our experiences from the last year. It was good to have some space where the others understood what we had experienced and ‘gone through’. Everyone had a great interest in the work, the circumstances, and the general life of the others during the mission and almost everyone preferred to report it himself or herself.

In guided sessions, we thought about topics like the difficulties of the last year, the traces we left behind, or the meaning our faith had played during that time. This happened through creative works of art, interesting conversations, or simply just by listening and thinking for oneself. Nevertheless, we did not just talk about the past. We also thought about how we could bring our experiences from the foreign country and what it has done to us in our life here in Germany and in the future without ‘clinging’ too much to it.

Best regards from former Malawians, South Africans and Argentinians!”