Last week we had the amazing opportunity to help with a delegation of people who came down from the US to learn about Nicaragua and our work here. They were all in some way connected to Volunteer Missionary Movement, and as we heard their stories throughout the week, I became more and more impressed with VMM, the organization with whom we've been here all along.
One of the best parts of the delegation was getting to meet Edwina Gately, the woman who actually founded VMM in 1969. Up until Edwina started VMM, there were plenty of Catholic missions organizations in the world, but none of them were for lay people. At the young age of 24 (a year younger than us!), Edwina felt called to missions, but because she wasn't a nun, she had no outlet for her calling. As a young woman, which put her at a disadvantage right off the bat, she went around to all of the bishops and important Catholics in England, trying to convince them that normal lay people could do missions too.
Thus was Volunteer Missionary Movement begun. Since then, it has grown and separated into a VMM-Europe faction – in which 55-60 Europe-based volunteers serve in Africa, Asia, and Europe – and a VMM-USA faction – in which seven USA-based volunteers (including us) serve in Central America.
What strikes me as being unique about VMM, as mission organizations go, is its strong emphasis on humility and accompaniment. In a VMM position, volunteers live simply. Instead of being provided with a nice house and a car, VMM volunteers live in modest circumstances, just like those around whom they're living. Rather than bringing all of the means and the skills to their relationships with the people who they're serving, they share with the people; the relationship is made of give and take.
Of course, Edwina puts this all much better than I can, in VMM's Spirit and Lifestyle mission statement, so I'll let her demonstrate what VMM stands for:
“We believe that God calls all people to peace, unity and interdependence through justice, and a sharing of the world’s resources and goods. We wish to challenge and dissolve the barriers that divide People and Church and nations. We stand for oneness in the body of Christ. We commit ourselves to the service of our God to work among all people seeking to break down all forms of injustice and oppression and all inequalities of sex, status, color, creed or nationality.”
“We live with the people. We work with the people. We rejoice with the people. We become part of the people. Our sharing becomes a journey we walk together towards liberation, community, and a reaching out together for growth and fulfillment. But we do not impose ourselves or our way of doing things. We are at the service of those to whom we go.”
“We are aware that through our service, we receive far more than we are able to give. We realize that we are enriched by our encounter with people of other cultures and beliefs . . . We see, therefore, that mission is not a one-way process, and the monopoly of one church or religion. But it is a cyclical process, going from one church to another church in continuous, mutual sharing. This is the dynamic of mission.”
Throughout the delegation, we enjoyed sharing with people who have lived out these words in their own lives, in many different ways. We got so excited about VMM and its mission, in fact, that we are already starting to think about recruiting some new volunteers to fill our shoes when we leave in September 2015. We'll post a job description soon.
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