Staff member & trip leader Arissa shares experiences gained and lessons learned during the cross-cultural service learning trip she and the Gap Year Program took to El Salvador back in January.

Listening

“You will sing the first verse in English, then we will sing the second verse in Spanish, then we will all sing the chorus together.” Our translator, Delaney, relays this to us as we sit in the common space of Casa Semillas. We are about to open our day with a devotional. It’s awkward. We sing the song too fast, our Salvadoran friends sing the song too slow, but somehow it blends together into harmonized worship. As we reach the chorus we begin to find an understanding of how to balance our two languages and as we sing “This is Amazing Grace” together. What begins as confusion ends in laughter as we connect over our shared commitment to God. The joy of those connections defeats the awkwardness of the language and cultural barriers. After all, we’re all just people longing for connection. 

Casa Semillas is the office of the organization, Semillas de Nueva Creación (Seeds of a New Creation). They were our hosts as we explored the culture, history and ways of life in El Salvador. We spent three weeks in January learning both about El Salvador as a country, and about the ways that “Semillas” are working as the physical hands and feet of God in El Salvador. Our 21 days with them served as a refreshing reminder of the ways that we can live out our missional purposes in this world. 

Learning

We learned how to make organic fertilizer and pesticides, and how these organic mixes are taught to rural communities. They replace the expensive chemical options that have also been causing kidney and liver diseases in the farmers who use them. Semillas showed us the gardens that they are busy helping schools and churches create. These gardens are a way to meet the food and nutrition needs in communities while empowering them at the same time. We met a man who teaches kids to breakdance and paint artful graffiti as his ministry to them. He teaches these things so that the kids know that whatever their interests are, God has a place for them. We met other children’s clubs and churches who play games and teach children about God so that they can be a part of a family that they might have otherwise lost to gang violence or prison. All throughout the country, we were introduced to the creative ways that the Church in El Salvador is making space for people from all walks of life. And, we were reminded that our role here in Hamilton is to do the same. Because, after all, in the words of our translator, “service and learning trips like this are great, but if we don’t also let them impact our own lives long-term and within our own context, we are doing something wrong.”

“We were introduced to the creative ways that the Church in El Salvador is making space for people from all walks of life, and were reminded that our role here in Hamilton is to do the same.”

Growing

As we spent our last few nights in El Salvador debriefing our trip, Act Five students were given the opportunity to create goals for back home that reflected what they had learned in El Salvador. Just recently, we received a host survey back from El Salvador, where Delaney, our translator, reflected on how impactful listening to the goals of the students was. She wrote:

“I was truly touched listening to how each student was impacted in such unique, personal, and profound ways. One student who struggled with social anxiety on the trip set a goal for herself of having at least one deep conversation per month with someone she does not know well yet. Another was excited to go home and start volunteering at an organization like Big Brother Big Sister – one that focuses on building relationships and healing and transforming people (like Semillas does), rather than just giving free handouts. Another was struck by the hospitality she experienced and wanted to bring that gift back to Canada to improve community outreach efforts with more intentionality within the Act Five program and at home. Although these students were so young, it brought tears to my eyes to see how much wisdom, conviction, and passion each of them have, and it was a privilege to know that their time in El Salvador will have a lasting impact not just on their lives but on their families, friends, and communities as well.”

Gratitude

So, to all you who have supported us on this trip in prayer or donations or any other way, we are grateful. Thank you for your help in allowing this impactful trip to happen. When you see this group of students, ask them about their experience in El Salvador. Ask what happened in them on this trip, so that their stories may not only impact themselves, but you as well.

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Act Five facilitates service-learning trips in for young adults in partnership with Resonate Global Mission and World Renew Disaster Response Services. This trip to El Salvador with Seeds of a New Creation was in partnership with Resonate, who supports the work of Christian organizations doing local missions around the world. To help make future trips possible, visit https://actfive.ca/give/. We are grateful for your support.

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In January, a small group of Act Five staff, students, and residents visited Thunder Bay in partnership with Living Hope Native Ministries. In this blog post, Cullen, one of the trip participants and an Act Five Resident, reflects on his experience of the trip.

The first thing that hit me was the cold brisk air, next the expanse of white that covers tree, hill and land as far as the eye can see. The sun rises late and sets early, and people hiding in the warmth of their home are scarce to be seen. The lake to the side carries a mysterious aura of power and the uninhabited mountains far in front remind you that this is a frontier, a land that has not been fully tamed and which deserves both respect and an attitude of caution. The streets are indentured to weather as are the houses, typically made to simply give cost effective shelter. But of course, as it always is, the full story is more dynamic and more nuanced than one description can carry. 

One takeaway that I had from this trip is that Thunder Bay is a place of unfamiliar stories that resonate across space. We all have our own individual stories of pain, and although the idea of pain is something that resonates in us, the stories of pain that I heard were unfamiliar. Through experiences of talking with residential school survivors, meeting with an indigenous couple who were deeply involved in caring for the community, and receiving background information from an aspiring politician as well as from our guide I got a taste of what the real Thunder Bay was. There were stories of abuse, trauma, the various ways people ran from their pain, separation of groups of people, blatant discrimination, deep hurt, and separation from government, particularly among Indigenous communities. Yet themes of people seeking out similarly minded people, finding safety in solitude, and division between different groups of people were deeply transparent to me.

I observed that Thunder Bay was also a place lost in time but worthy of value. The values are much more catered towards a community mentality rather than an individualist approach. People, even people that have hurt you, are precious and worth getting hurt for, and simplicity seems essential to live in the present and hold the past in hopes of not getting buried by it. Indirectness, burying certain pains under the table, and being practised in listening were all values I was shocked to witness and gave me a slight sense of unease due to their differences from my own. Due to its location both as a place separated from the rest of civilization and as a place facing the wilderness and engaged in long discussions about how to share the land between different groups of people there was a slowness to change and a separation from southern Ontario culture.

In this, however, beautiful things were found, such as a profound acceptance for people despite wrongs they’ve committed. There was a strong desire for healing which comes from knowing brokenness. And in corners, it could be seen that there was a longing for God as He was the only one powerful enough to create good. From my brief window into this new world, the good and bad seemed to be easily found in the extremes. In my experience, when one can come to terms with the extremes they can be a light to the world around them and easily point to the value which often lies misunderstood to outside eyes. From conversations we had it was clear there were people who deeply had felt this and deeply valued their community as a result and made their place, their people, and their land deeply worthy of value.

My last observation, and the most important one for me personally, was that Thunder Bay was a different world, with the same God. I’ve briefly pointed to the pains, the lifestyle differences, and left some parts out to keep an air of confusion – as confusion is a key part of my interpretation. A truth echoed by an Indigenous man we met who rehabilitates bears and carries the weight of an old culture meeting a new, a truth shared by a ministry program leader who has created a safe space for Indigenous teenagers to come from the North and in their struggles to adapt to culture shock and distance from community, a truth shared by a woman who told a story of abuse and healing, a truth shared by a parents desperate to see their kids see a better a future is this; we need God, a God we can trust to be stronger than what we face, a God who is understanding of our personal story and a God who will love us wherever we are at.

I had the opportunity to see a corner of Canada, one that did not represent well the Canada I’ve come to know and in that I got to see a church who, with a sense of desperation, worshipped God, called out their prayer requests to the pastor during the service and deeply appreciated the simplicity and the promise of hope given from the Bible. 

This trip was deeply impactful and came with many fun opportunities; northern hikes, spending time with a bear cub, sledding adventures and all the other thrills which come with exploring a new place. It was a chance to spend some time with new people, in a new place, and hear new stories. And, I got to embrace an adventure rooted in many values central to Act Five.

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At the beginning of January each year, I invite students and residents into three themes that we get to practice living out in the months to come. Essentially, I say something along the lines of, “Over the next four months, we will lean further in, engage further out, and we will prepare you to leave.”

That final phrase often startles people. “Leave? But we just got here!” they tell me.

Act Five is a stop on the road for many. We prepare young adults for a rooted and engaged life in the world, as followers of Jesus. We also know that as this is a stop in the road, it is also our mandate to prepare young adults who find themselves in our community for life that awaits them beyond our community. And, we believe that God leads us step by step not usually by ideas or 10-step strategies, but most often by being present where we are and giving attention to the people and places around us, and the movement of the Spirit within us.

So, we prepare students and residents to leave Act Five in practical ways, yes – skill building and vocational discernment and placements and important learning and reflection. And more than this, we prepare students and residents to leave by leaning further in and engaging further out. We continue in the personal and community rhythms that hold us; we continue to make our home here while we are here. And, we look outside of ourselves. We lean into the neighbourhood more and bring the good of this place outward.

Here are some of the encouragements I offer to students and residents at the beginning of the second term each year. They may be of encouragement to you as well: 

• Community is a by-product. Community does not happen by pursuing community. Authentic community is formed as a by-product of pursuing something meaningful together. What is the thing we are pursuing together? 
• Let your ideals die. Nearly every community is born of a dream, an ideal, or a vision. The path of community formation is one of descending such a precipice and choosing to see the real contours of human experience. We must let go of our ideals and see the people around us as our people, the place around us as our place. In this we become firmly planted on earth, and able to love more fully. Surrendering our idealism allows us to experience more freedom, have increased capacity for joy, and potentially more of what we actually long for in our communities.
• Lean into mentorship. Take initiative with your mentor(s). Is there that habit or rhythm of life you’ve been wanting to seek accountability for or have someone walk with you in? A book you’ve been wanting to read alongside someone else? Questions you know you want to be asked? This is the space to do that – take advantage of it! 

I am really hopeful for the months ahead in this place. With all the anticipation I perceive around me for what is to come, I also sense a peace. There is an earnestness to our longing and our pursuit of the good and beautiful here. I trust that God is near, and I invite you to pray for us—as staff, students, residents, and our support team—as we traverse this next season.

To learn more about our Six Acts in Six Sessions lecture series coming up or to register, click here or check out the information below.

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The middle of spring found me at the side door of Blake Street, ferrying my boxes, plants, books, and suitcases through winding hallways to a new room in a large house.

It was early April, and I was looking for a place to rent in Hamilton – not an easy feat. Newly graduated from Redeemer University and looking towards future graduate studies, I had only a handful of loose plans for this year in-between. As I searched, 75 Blake St. surfaced as a good option. My best friend had already signed a renter’s agreement, and I had the opportunity to live with great people in a city I love. Act Five was a familiar name for me. I had known many people who have lived or worked with the organization, but I had never taken the time to look deeper. I spent my first four months at Blake St. working and exploring in the communities here, and it allowed me to listen more and discover Act Five for myself. 

As the summer months rolled by, 75 Blake St. became a revolving door of old and new faces. As time passed, I began to fall in step with the rhythms that are embedded here. Morning prayer was a space to explore liturgy and stillness in new ways. I learned prayers by heart and began each day with the same words to God. Sitting on the porch sparked so many conversations, with strangers and housemates alike. I was introduced to our neighbours at Micah House and with L’Arche on Wednesday nights. I ate spaghetti in the backyard. We got to meet with active and faithful leaders in the community, and begin to look deeper at the scriptures. As the summer drew to a close, I prepared to say goodbye to what I thought was a brief stay in the Blakeley neighbourhood.

When the Residency Program was first mentioned to me, I was excited. Though, I had a few reservations, and I wondered how I might fit into it. I had just come from four years of living in community. Did I want to jump into more? I came from spaces where I already had the opportunity to walk alongside high school graduates. This had been a beautiful and meaningful experience, but one that stretched me in ways as well. Part of me had definitely been looking forward to having my own space, with only my dishes in the sink. 

In my mind, Act Five was a gap year for high school graduates. How exactly could I fit into this? For the first time, I actually scrolled through the Act Five website and looked closely at the programs they offer. The vision statement as written on the website says “Within our Gap Year program, students will: reflect on their story and grow deeper in their faith, imagine the world around them with fresh eyes, practice justice in loving their neighbours, and prepare for what lies ahead”. When I thought about it, these are all things that I wanted for myself. Things that are valuable at any stage of life – if I lean in. 

September ushered in a new season and a new semester. Residents reshuffled and new folks moved in. We ran up and down the flights of stairs moving beds, mattresses, lamps, and pillows and prepared for the gap year students to move in. One of my favourite parts of this fall has been the momentum and laughter that the students bring to the house. Each day there are new stories, new wonderings, and new games in every room. Being able to welcome new people into the rhythms and relationships that structure Act Five – and have shaped me, over the past many months has made me consider these things in new ways. 

Since being asked to share thoughts about this semester, a phrase that has come to my mind is “joyful work”. Some of my initial hesitations about the Residency Program came true. There are lots of dishes in the sink (many mine). There is noise, and busyness, and a pace of life that takes energy to live into. The piece I couldn’t fully see in August though, is the flip side. The house is filled with care, space for big questions, and the excitement for the future. 

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