The Gift of Service by Emmalia Godshall

Service is helping those in need—at least, that’s what it appears to be. Even this shallow definition instantly invokes images of devoted volunteers working long hours for people who may not be able to afford food, housing, and other essential services. Many enter volunteer work assuming they are the ones giving. While often true on a material level, the gifts given by those who allow others to serve them are incomparable. 

Service is a symbiotic relationship. It takes incredible strength to ask for help in hardship and actively strive to better your future. Once help has been offered, those being served open their hearts and demonstrate grace. They must assume strangers have positive intentions despite the possibility of being belittled intentionally or out of ignorance. Many chose to share their smiles, struggles, and hospitality; they share their humanity. These examples are only a few of the many blessings which we receive when we serve others. 

While true for all situations requiring compassion, service work presents many opportunities to learn and grow. True service, not simply volunteering, requires self-awareness and education on the complex societal and historical barriers to livelihood. We become better people when we serve. We learn to love and treat our neighbors as ourselves. 

I also have a selfish reason for serving—I see myself in the neighbors I will be serving at St. Basil’s academy. This summer, I will be an intern at St. Basil’s Academy. Their mission is to provide a loving environment, education, and protection for children and orphans in need. The community and mission St. Basil's serves resonates deeply with me. I feel compelled and blessed to be able to serve with them.

I was born in China, but the one child-policy dictated that I could not stay with my birth family. I was adopted and welcomed into a family that gave me my best friends: my two older sisters who were also adopted from China. I am so grateful to be the person I am today, but I recognize that it is only through God’s intercession and the unconditional acts of love which I received. During the formative first 18 months of my life prior to being adopted, my future was uncertain.

Service is not only a blessing — it is a necessity. As St. John Chrysostom said, we can find “salvation” from those in need.  If we can find love and salvation in service, service is truly the greatest gift and our inevitable calling.

Emmalia is interning at St. Basil's Academy in New York. St. Basil's is a national non-profit philanthropic center of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America which provides a loving Christian environment and a home for orphans, children of chronically ill or destitute parents and children from broken homes. The Academy's mission is to facilitate shelter, protection, love, and education in youth so they grow up to be healthy, wholesome, well-rounded Orthodox Christians, as well as productive members of society with vision and hope.

Leading and Learning with Generosity by Eliza Corder

When I was eighteen years old, I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. That adventure changed me in innumerable ways, but the most meaningful—and the most long-lasting—is my outlook on giving.

Hospitality takes on a new meaning when you are, to use a biblical term, a sojourner. For months I walked from town to town, carrying my pack on my shoulders. Unfortunately, that pack couldn’t hold everything I needed. It couldn’t contain medical care, showers, heating, laundry machines, or my transportation to grocery stores and post offices that were far off the trail. Though I had planned as best I could to meet these needs for myself, it did not change the fact that as a foot traveler with only 30 pounds of possessions, my life was inherently vulnerable to forces larger than myself. Anything from a freak thunderstorm to an unexpected road closure could undo days and weeks of careful planning.

It was from this position of profound vulnerability that I learned the meaning of generosity. Unlooked for and unsought, locals from everywhere along the trail (often referred to as “trail angels”) stepped up to take care of me and my fellow hikers. I cannot possibly recount the thousand tiny kindnesses they showed me. And likewise, I cannot explain to you how profoundly even the simplest acts of hospitality impacted me.

After one particularly bad morning, a group of trail angels took me under their wing. They gave me directions, fed me, got me to the post office where I needed to go, and introduced me to another trail angel who cooked a hot meal for me and a few other hikers. Although these all sound like small things, to me they meant the world.      

I say all this not to elaborate on my own adventures, but to illuminate this truth: the impact of kindness that seems small to us, who have more than we need, can be unfathomable to someone in want.

When I returned home to my former cushy lifestyle, I couldn’t shake the memories. After taking a brief job working with refugees, I realized that many people even in my own neighborhood are more vulnerable than I ever was on the trail. I felt a responsibility to give back, to care for my brothers and sisters just as so many people had cared for me, and to obey Christ’s injunction to be mindful of the widows and orphans.

All that brings me to the present day. My aim is to unite my desire to serve with my Orthodox faith. In service to that plan, I am interning with St Innocent Service Works, which has stationed me at a FOCUS (Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve) location in Cleveland, OH called St. Herman’s House. Fittingly, St. Herman’s works with the homeless population, feeding them and providing housing.

Christ asks us to love our neighbor, to feed, clothe, and shelter them: I humbly ask for your prayers and support as I and all my fellow interns attempt to do just that. Organizations like Project Mexico, St Innocent Service Works and FOCUS exist because of the generous support of donors and even if you’re unable to give of your time, you can also play a critical role in caring for the poor and spreading the light of Christ.

Last year was hard.

This year is new and different.

I know that with creativity and perseverance we can continue to grow, thrive, and serve.

Let’s make a difference together.

You can directly support my mission work at the button below.

A Role for Everyone by Anna Cunningham

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

My second summer as an intern I began site-leading. Previously each site I had worked on had been run by someone else and I was one of the assisting interns, but my second summer duty called and ready-or-not it was my turn to be in charge. To say I was nervous is accurate, but by the glory of God the house went up despite my mistakes and short-comings. That week was stressful for many reasons both internal and external and I was relived to be on-site building, but not in charge during the build week that followed.

A few recovery-builds later it was my turn to site-lead again. This time I knew the build far better and prepared thoroughly in an effort to correct my earlier mistakes. However, when the group arrived new worry struck me down again. One of my group members was a professional contractor, and had been for many years.

“Oh no,” I thought. “This guy will know I’m a phony.”

This group was interesting because instead of it consisting of one or two parishes that brought 10-20 people, it consisted of at least 4 parishes all mixed together. Among those volunteers from at least four different states, besides the contractor, there was a priest, two doctors, a handful of accomplished professionals in various fields, the wife of a construction specialist, and at least one person who had built homes with Project Mexico over ten summers in a row. That’s a lot to live up to. These people from all over the country took time out of their busy schedules and traveled to Mexico to build a home for a worthy family. They deserved excellent expertise and leadership, and instead they got me. Some 21-year-old from Ohio.

I studied, and I prayed and I prayed and I studied. Once again God blessed me with far more than I deserve, and the week went incredibly well. No one questioned my requests or disagreed with one-another. 30 strangers from four different states (6 different states if you include staff members as well) became a small family. As the outsider, I quickly forgot who came from which state and while I watched everyone work and interact, I couldn’t tell who had known each other for their entire lives and who had only met days prior. Two men who had only known each other for 48 hours were carrying on fluently in Greek and when I watched in amazement, a third man from a third group assured me not to worry because they weren’t talking about me.

The contractor took two kids under his wing and taught them all his tricks. The kids from all the groups laughed and took photos together. I walked inside at one point and found the priest, despite language barriers, working with the father of the home to install the door. In that moment and to this day I look back fondly on that week, and thank God for bringing that group of people together.

At the end of each build we come together to discuss and decompress. I sat in wonder as each of those accomplished, experienced professionals thanked us profusely for our work as interns. I had, and still have, so much less to look back on, so few years of experience compared to them, but it never showed. They treated me with the utmost respect and approval and I never felt as if I was lesser than anyone. They taught me humility, kindness, and servitude, not by speech, but by example. I hope and I pray that I can bestow the kindness and respect everyone that I meet that that group showed to me. I was assigned to be leader of that site, and through my experience on other sites and by watching them interact, I learned how to become a true leader from their examples, and their love.

Anna Cunningham is the Homebuilding Coordinator for Project Mexico and St Innocent Service Works

Crazy Faith: Building Hope in Tonga

My name is Michael Jones. I am an Orthodox Christian living with my wife and four children in Eagle River, Alaska. After listening to a podcast about the extraordinary missionary efforts of the Holy Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of New Zealand, I felt a strong calling from our Lord to reach out and see how my family and I might be able to assist in their holy work. Because I am a building contractor, the Archdiocese invited me to assist in completing a temple that has been started in the Kingdom of Tonga. 

My hope is that you will be inspired to support and participate in the missionary labors of our Holy Orthodox Church in some way – whether by supporting this project or another missionary ministry that speaks to your heart. As our Lord said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Matt. 9:13).

On January 31, 2020 I emailed Fr. Paul Patitsas, the priest whose interview on Ancient Faith Radio inspired me to reach out to the Archdiocese of New Zealand. My momentum on this project had stalled out somewhat since my first trip in April 2019, and he strongly encouraged me to get a small group together and go to Tonga while the team from Greece was still working on the Church of St. George.

I thought it was a crazy idea. The timing couldn’t have been worse for me. My business is growing, but I’ve had to make some structural changes recently, and as a result money has been tight. We have four small children. Our time and money is extremely limited. Nevertheless, Fr. Paul continued to encourage me, saying it would be really valuable to connect with Ilias and the other men from Greece who have made so much progress on the church during the last four months. With their help we could learn some tricks to navigate the obstacles of working in that remote, developing island nation, plus get an idea of what projects remained to complete the Church of St. George with the hopes of bringing other teams back to finish the project.

Considering his request, I told Fr. Paul, literally, that this idea was crazy. His response moved me, because I know his own life is an example of this: “The church in Tonga would never have been started if the people involved hadn’t been a little bit crazy.” He calls it “crazy faith” – that willingness to step out on faith in response to a whisper from the Holy Spirit. Even if you can’t see the whole picture, you take the leap, put your hope and trust in God, and let Him direct the work.

After a lot of prayer and wrestling with our own hesitations, my wife Meghan & I decided that I should go for 1 week. As soon as we made the decision all our worries disappeared. Meghan & I both felt at peace about the trip. We put it in God’s hands – if He wanted us to go, He would provide the means for the trip to happen. And it happened!

My first task was to assemble a team – primarily skilled carpenters who could get some work done even in the short amount of time we had. The first person I asked was Myles Kelly, who had committed to going on my second trip to Tonga while I was still on my first visit 10 months ago. He has been very supportive and helped me keep up the inspiration about this project, even when I was feeling overwhelmed. Once he gave the “thumbs up” to go, I knew we would be able to make it work.

I contacted two friends who own construction businesses in Colorado, Peter Lynch and David Young, and they both were immediately on board. Unfortunately, Peter wasn’t able to make it this time around, but David found support from his parish and put his work projects aside to join us in Tonga.

We needed someone to handle logistics – purchasing, arranging meals, running errands,  etc. – so I contacted Ryan Smith, who had just arrived to join the Project Mexico missionary internship program we are hosting here at St. John’s in Eagle River. I hadn’t actually spoken with him yet, but I figured if he had committed this part of his life to learning about missionary work he’d probably be the right kind of person for the trip. He turned out to be a great addition to our team. Plus, his participation led to the addition of a 5th member who also fit in perfectly – the Executive Director of Project Mexico, Fr. Demetrios Andrews.

When Fr. Demetrios heard that Ryan was invited to go work on a church building project in Tonga his immediate response was: “I want to go!” He called me and explained that he is working to reposition Project Mexico and St Innocent Service Works as an Orthodox youth service leadership initiative and expand building projects – both homes & churches – anywhere in the world where there is a need. This trip was an opportunity for him to jump right into an active church construction project and begin developing a framework for future construction-focused missionary trips. As you’ll discover as you read this blog series, Fr. Demetrios sees the big picture of any situation immediately, and before you blink he’s got plans in motion to get things accomplished that most of us never would have imagined possible.

Thanks be to God, with the support of Fr. Demetrios and the infrastructure of Project Mexico and St Innocent Service Works, I believe now more than ever that this church-building in Tonga will be completed, and other similar projects in Fiji & Samoa may finally get the support they need to be realized.

Stay up-to-date with Michael’s mission work at https://orthodoxyfortonga.com/

Everyday Saints: A Reflection by Faeli Heise

COVID and other life events made me realize how comfortable I had become with my life. Small things—perhaps even insignificant things—were pressing, panic-worthy, and rocked my world in a way they definitely didn’t need to. My endurance and my ability to have faith were barely being tested in the grand scheme of things. And yet, I felt like I was coming apart at the seams and like I had nothing to hold myself together with. I didn’t know how to even cry out for help...or rather, to Whom I should cry out for help. 

I’ve had a perspective shift since then, and I can look back and see just a few of the ways that I was being prepared for where I currently am. God was making room in my heart that I didn’t know I had.

My endurance—my resilience—is perhaps greater than it was because of that process and the work that was being done in me. Thank God! I know Who to ask for help, now. And while I have so far yet to come, I am convinced that St. Innocent Orphanage is the best place to learn by example. 

Have you ever met someone and then learned something shocking about them after getting to know them? A part of their history, something they’ve been through, something out of the ordinary? It probably changes your perspective of them. Perhaps you think of it every time you see them, or instead it just molds itself into their makeup and who they are to you. 

But have you ever heard something shocking about someone and then met them later on? Maybe without having known you would ever meet them at all?

These are two different scenarios. 

In my experience with the latter, the “shock factor” quickly wears off after you hear it. But then you meet the person it pertains to and you get to know them, and though it may take some time, it all comes back. And it comes back hard. 

This has been my experience with every one of these boys. 

It’s so easy to hear and say words like “abuse” and “institution” and “homeless.” It can even be easy to hear second hand stories about these things. It’s easy to watch the news, isn’t it? But if you ever live alongside those flesh and blood statistics and stories and they become like your family, things get very real very fast.

My experience has not been easy. I did a lot of questioning at first. I questioned my ability to be resilient in the face of these kids who have faced actual evil. As I have come to know them better, the mostly-faceless-mostly-nameless boy has become my neighbor, my playmate, my little brother, and my friend. The stories have sunk in deeper, stuck and sometimes I still question my own abilities. 

But I continue to get to know them, and I continue to hear stories every now and then. Mostly I continue to pray that I will--one day-- be able to emulate their ability to accept the grace of God and to be resilient in the face of evil. Without knowing the stories or the facts, you wouldn’t guess what they’ve seen and endured. And if you guessed, you simply wouldn’t know. It’s truly humbling: I feel like I’ve come so far in my own journey, but I know now that everything is relative because their ability to endure puts me to shame. These eighteen boys will never know how much they influence and teach me.

As I write this in all my brutal honesty, I realize that I am surrounded every single day by everyday saints. We share meals, inside jokes, a laptop for school.We share the Eucharist, a home, and a family. I dwell among saints. Yes...they’re everyday saints who wipe their hands on their shirts, say “no manches” and fall asleep during catechism. They’re everyday saints that I give a “mom look” to every now and then. But they’re also saints who have overcome more than I will see in a lifetime. They teach me while I muddle along teaching them. 

A wise woman who knows them well once said to me: “These boys are going straight to Heaven before I ever am. I will be asking for their prayers. After they’ve been through what they’ve been through...you just can’t blame them. For anything.”  And I don’t; because you can’t. There is nothing to blame. There is only room for learning resilience and accepting the grace of God who never abandons his children. 

Faeli Heise is a veteran homebuilding volunteer and current Project Mexico & St Innocent Orphanage Intern serving at St Innocent.