Yearlong volunteers look back on life-changing experience

As four yearlong Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers completed their service, they looked back on a life-changing experience full of travel, friendships, and, most of all, bringing hope to dozens of disaster survivors.

The MDS Yearlong Volunteer Program enables young adults to serve from August to July at various projects across the U.S., developing leadership skills while building relationships and having new experiences.

Jack Odhiambo, Kisumu, Kenya

Twenty-six-year-old Jack, who came to MDS via Mennonite Central Committee’s International Visitor Exchange Program (MCC IVEP), will continue to work in the construction field when he returns home. “MDS brought me to different places and brought different churches together to do one thing in common,” he said. “I will miss the friends I met and some of the jobs I got to do.”

He enjoyed the sense of adventure that entailed never really knowing where he would go next. “The thing that stood out for me most, was that I learned to be flexible and meet people from different places,” he said. “I also learned from my mistakes.”

Inkosiihnle “Inko” Ndlovu-Mathuthu, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

“It has been a good year,” said Inko, who also participated in the MDS Yearlong Volunteer Program through MCC IVEP. He will be searching for a job back in Zimbabwe—and looking for the next chance to serve in the name of God.

“If I had an opportunity to go somewhere else to serve, I’d go,” he said. “I grew up in a Christian family, so my faith has never changed.”

He added that the MDS Yearlong Volunteer Program is challenging—so you have to have a willingness to help out. “It’s a personal decision,” he said. “The part where we had to change groups every week meant you had to familiarize yourself with new people.”

Janis Ott, 19, Langenburg, Germany

Janis will return home to study economics. What did he like most about the MDS Yearlong Volunteer Program? All the travel.

“So many people—a group coming every week!” said Janis, who came to MDS through Christliche Dienste, a German organization that provides opportunities for youth to serve abroad. “I met hundreds or even thousands of people.”

He showed pins on a Google Map where he’d been. “There were so many opportunities,” he said. “And I did enjoy having warm weather in Florida in February.”

Sometimes, it was hard to say goodbye to the friends he met along the way.

“I will also miss having a structured schedule every day,” he said. “I’m really grateful and really enjoyed my year.”

Eric Douglas, 39, Shuqualak, Mississippi

Eric treasured the times of being in communion with everyone around him. “I liked being around nice people who were always willing to lend a helping hand,” he said.

After returning home, he plans to try to introduce a workforce development initiative in his community to help young people.

“I’ve always had a lot of faith in God,” he said, adding that he was impressed by how volunteers put their utmost care into the homes they repaired or built.

“I tell people about the quality of the work,” he said. “We can’t make things perfect—although we can try!”

The positive attitude of caring will stay with Eric. “There was always a spirit of ‘we might not get done today—but we will get it done,” he said.

Josh Carson, the MDS staff person who coordinates the Yearlong Volunteer Program, shared, “MDS has been very fortunate to receive the gift of these four volunteers and the time, energy, and skills that they’ve brought to us during this year. They’ve been flexible and have grown into great leaders, serving at a combined total of nine different project locations over the year. We’re excited to see how God continues to work in them as they go home, and we’re already preparing to welcome the next cohort at the end of August!”

To learn more about the MDS Yearlong Volunteer Program and apply, visit www.mds.org/yearlong-volunteer-program/.